How I became RMT fan

[lmcewen]

Hello,
I am new to the forum and am not quite sure how to navigate this website. Anyway, my name is Linda McEwen & I reside in Chicago. I first heard the CBS Radio Mystery Theater sometime in 1974 when I was almost 12 years old. I shared a small bedroom with my older sister. We had a plug-in radio in our bedroom. She would sometimes listen to CBS Newsradio 78 radio station. Guess she wanted to get the latest scoops on President Nixon, the Patty Hearst thing, so on and so on. Or perhaps she just wanted to get the weather forecast so she’d know how to dress for school the following morning, who knows? Late, one night at 10:30 p.m., (bedtime being 10:00 o’clock) we discovered the CBS RMT and we were hooked on it. We thought we were keeping the volume on the radio low enough so our parents wouldn’t hear it…because we was supposed to be asleep. A significant amount of time passed, perhaps months (I don’t recall at this point) when one morning as I was getting ready for school, and my dad gave me a sinister grin and replied, “I know what you’re doing late nights.” My heart started to pound. “What do you mean?” I asked trying not to let on that I was scared out of my mind that I’d been busted. “You & Gail (my sis) are staying up late at night listening to the Mystery Theater, aren’t you?” His smile indicated that I was not in trouble. This I believe is how ‘he’ discovered the CBS RMT because soon after I began to hear the program playing on his radio in our parents’ bedroom.
:wink_smile:

[wadenjulie]

Welcome Linda. Your story is a great one. So many of us found Mystery Theatre by accident and were instantly hooked. :)

The "Show of the Week" is a great place to get started on the forums. Each week there will be a show posted for download and, after listening, comments and discussion about the show are welcomed.

If you wish to download the latest complete set of 1,399 shows we are set up to do that by way of Bit Torrents. An explanation is here (http://www.cbsrmt.info/macabre/forumdisplay.php?f=26) .

Wade

[CardsFan]

I became acquainted with RMT as a kid, about 9 or so. My brother and I slept in the same room. With the lights out, we would go to sleep listening to RMT. As a kid, I loved spooky tv shows, such as the Nightstalker series and The Twilight Zone. The theater of the mind constructed by RMT hooked me and I listened to the show on a regular basis growing up in Peoria, IL. The show was broadcast on WMBD. As much as a I enjoyed some of the better tv shows, for tales of the supernatural and suspense, nothing matches radio. In Danse Macabre, Stephen King's fine non-fiction survey of literature and films dealing with the supernatural, he discusses the idea that what we can't see can be scarier than what we actually view. Conjuring up vampires or space aliens in our imagination with a thunderstorm outside is more entertaining than watching a film in which a guy runs around with a chain saw drenched in gore.

RMT had quality writers, a great sounding host and talented actors. The show managed to produce a large quantity of shows without sacrificing quality. RMT was also not afraid to tackle controversial topics.

As another poster mentioned, the RMT show of the week is a good place in the forums to start; you can make suggestions as to what shows to run and discuss them.

[FredinAZ]

Hi Linda,

Welcome aboard - I enjoyed reading your story and I hope you continue to post messages from time to time.

I have enjoyed reading the RMT discovery stories that have been posted on this site and after reading yours, I realized that many of the fans of the show are a bit younger than me. In 2008 the age isn't significant, but in 1974/5 the age difference could have been worlds apart.

At the time I was about 17/18 years old and while I enjoyed listening in bed at night (and rarely hearing the end because I fell asleep), many of the listeners posting their stories were between 8 & 12 years old roughly. I'd like to have heard these stories at a younger age because it would have dramatically turned up the intensity of the imagination and then add to that, keeping it a secret from my parents! :-) Two active ingredients to enhance our listening pleasure as children.

When I was 8, I watched The Alfred Hitchcock Hour with my older brothers and sisters (our parents were out for the evening, of course). Afterwards, I had to go upstairs and go to bed. Our house had no electricity upstairs, so I had to use a flashlight to get to my bedroom; just about every creepy thing I had ever seen was chasing me up the stairs... I just knew it. I'm sure my older siblings planned it that way, but that was fine - I loved the show and was rivited every week. Good stuff!

Anyway, enjoy rediscovering the show and let us know what your favorites are.

Fred