The Shadow – Episode 002: Murder By The Dead

The Shadow continues with “Murder By The Dead,” a chilling old time radio mystery starring Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston and Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane.

A condemned man has gone to the electric chair — but before he dies, he promises revenge from beyond the grave. Soon, fear spreads through the city as the impossible seems to become real. Can a dead man truly commit murder, or is something far more human hiding behind the terror?

That is where The Shadow enters.

In this eerie Golden Age radio thriller, Lamont Cranston moves through a world of superstition, guilt, revenge, and murder, using his mysterious power to cloud men’s minds and uncover the truth that criminals desperately try to keep buried. With its blend of pulp mystery, supernatural atmosphere, and crime drama, “Murder By The Dead” is exactly the kind of shadowy storytelling that made this series one of radio’s most iconic thrillers.

Originally associated with the 1937 run of The Shadow, this episode features the classic pairing of Orson Welles and Agnes Moorehead, whose performances helped define the early dramatic radio version of the character. Before superheroes became a screen-dominating empire, The Shadow was already stalking the airwaves with menace, mystery, and that unforgettable warning to evildoers.

B4TV presents The Shadow as part of our growing collection of classic old time radio mystery, crime, suspense, science fiction, comedy, westerns, and adventure programs from the Golden Age of broadcasting.

Subscribe to @B4TV-OTR for more classic radio drama, vintage mystery, detective stories, pulp adventure, supernatural suspense, and unforgettable voices from radio history.

Presented by @BobbyJayOTA