#the hands of mr. ottermole

[babyspacebatclone]

I found it!!!

happy flailing and screaming

*coughs*

Forgive me, allow me to explain.

Have you ever read a short story that stuck with you, but you were complacent about it enough that when you remembered again you lacked the title to look it up??

It wasn’t even that for me, because I did have the title, if not the author - well, 75% of the title:

The Hands of Mr. [Name]

That, with my very detailed recollection of the mystery contained in the story, should have been enough, correct?

Sadly, the details of said mystery led web searches to tragic real life news reports, and for several attempts off and on over the years I couldn’t find the right combination of key words to force them out.

Until!!

(an excellent and spoiler-free review to entice you)

Written in the 1930s, it was recognized at the time as one of the greatest suspense stories; sadly, the key features that shocked the time period - the psychological insight into a motiveless murderer - are more prosaic today.

But it still has punch, even today, and the fair-game mystery remains chilling to reread and trace the obvious throughout.

It’s not openly available to read online, sadly, but I did find an equally excellent anthology of 45 tales from the 80s from Readers Digest stored in the Open Library:

You just need to create an account to borrow (after I’m done enjoying it, of course); it definitely is available to USA audiences at least.

There’s an unabridged narration available on YouTube if you have 50 minutes, and an episode from Alfred Hitchcock Presents based on the story if either of those are more your style.

I’m partial to the abridged story, however; I read it in a different anthology in the 1990s, but that’s the length I remember it being, with less diversions from the core horror while maintaining the chilling perspectives of the narration.

[meanstreetspodcasts]

BONUS - Horror Headliners

With Halloween right around the corner, I'm sharing some classic episodes of Suspense featuring some of the biggest stars of classic Hollywood horror: Peter Lorre in "Till Death Do Us Part" (originally aired on CBS on December 15, 1942); Bela Lugosi in "The Doctor Prescribed Death" (originally aired on CBS on February 16, 1943); Boris Karloff in "Drury's Bones" (originally aired on CBS on January 25, 1945); Claude Rains and Vincent Price in "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" (originally aired on CBS on December 2, 1948); and Price again in "The Pit and the Pendulum" (originally aired on CBS on November 19, 1957).

Check out this episode!

[21bwc21]

Suspense The Hands Of Mr Ottermole w/Vincent Price Old Time Radio otr

[prissnukem]

VINCENT PRICE & CLAUDE RAINS • Best of SUSPENSE • [remastered] • "Hands of Mr. Ottermole"

[contentabnormal]

In this, our Halloween show, we’ve got Claude Rains AND Vincent Price starring in a murder mystery about a strangler lurking the foggy streets of London!  I, Frankentyner, will also tell you what kinds of candy we’ve got here at Area MCA51, reveal McBlaggin’s Halloween costume, discuss the music of The Who and deliver a very special announcement.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

[spookdoodles]

Inner Sanctum is perfect for Halloween! I'd highly recommend the episodes 'Death Across The Board' and their adaptation of 'The Tell-Tale Heart', both are super-good. I also highly recommend Suspense Theater episodes 'The Hands of Mr. Ottermole' and 'The Man Who Knew How', they're suitably unsettling for this time of year! Enjoy!

Thanks for the recs! I haven’t listened to much of Inner Sanctum yet so I’ll give them a listen. I think I might have listened to The Hands of Mr. Ottermole at one point but I can’t remember the plot so I’ll have to revisit it.

[blonohorror]

hey, stupid question google isn't answering for me: are the sin of abby hart and song of surrender the same film??? the hands of mr ottermole episode of suspense makes mention that claude was in abby hart except...that movie doesn't seem to exist unless it was 1) lost or 2) reworked into song of surrender

[thevortexofourminds]

Old Time Radio - Suspense "The Hands Of Mr. Ottermole"

[meanstreetspodcasts]

BONUS - Best Two-Handers

We've got two stars for the price of one in each of these Suspense shows! For this bonus episode, I'm sharing my favorite installments of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" that featured a pair of big name stars at the microphone. J. Carrol Naish and Joseph Cotten are hunter and hunted in "The Most Dangerous Game" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1945) and Hume Cronyn and Keenan Wynn hope a big bet will bail them out of trouble in "Double Entry" (originally aired on CBS on December 20, 1945). Vincent Price joins Lloyd Nolan on a "Hunting Trip" (originally aired on CBS on September 12, 1946) and walks the streets of London with Claude Rains in "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" (originally aired on CBS on December 2, 1948). Finally, Fibber McGee and Molly are joined by an armed and unwelcome passenger in "Backseat Driver" (originally aired on CBS on February 3, 1949), and Phil Harris and Alice Faye try to escape a small town's harsh justice in "Death on My Hands" (originally aired on CBS on May 10, 1951).

Check out this episode!

[meanstreetspodcasts]

BONUS - Best of Vincent Price

In this bonus show, I'm sharing my four favorite episodes of Suspense starring the great Vincent Price. First, he co-stars with Ida Lupino in "Fugue in C Minor," a Victorian-era chiller from Lucille Fletcher (originally aired on CBS on June 1, 1944). Next, Price and Lloyd Nolan go on a "Hunting Trip," but only one man will come back alive (originally aired on CBS on September 12, 1946). Then, Claude Rains joins Vincent Price in the hunt for a serial strangler in "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" (originally aired on CBS on December 2, 1948). Finally, Price stars in one of the scariest old time radio shows of all time - "Three Skeleton Key" (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1956).

Check out this episode!

[meanstreetspodcasts]

BONUS - Bride of Halloween Hoopla!

Put out your Jack-o-lantern, grab the candy bowl, and enjoy the Down These Mean Streets Halloween Special! It's a full-sized candy bar of a show with eight old time radio shows - a mix of frights and delights - to get you in the spirit of the season. First, Paul Frees stars in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" from Escape (originally aired on CBS on October 22, 1947) and Basil Rathbone drops by The Jack Benny Program for Halloween hijinks (originally aired on NBC on November 2, 1941). A killer stalks the streets of London in "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole," a spine-tingling tale from The Mollé Mystery Theatre (originally aired on NBC on June 21, 1946) and Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of a witch in "The Laughing Lemur of Hightower Heath" (originally aired on Mutual on October 26, 1947). William Bendix visits a haunted house on The Life of Riley (originally aired on ABC on October 29, 1944) and we'll hear an unusual werewolf story on The Stan Freberg Show (originally aired on CBS on October 6, 1957). Finally, we're back in Poe country as The Weird Circle presents "The Cask of Amontillado" and Bud and Lou drop by Bela Lugosi's monstrous mansion on The Abbott and Costello Show (originally aired on ABC on May 5, 1948).

Check out this episode!

[thesmilingfish]

This is from the 1948 CBS Suspense Radio Play “The Hands of Mr. Ottermole”. A kind soul has uploaded it to YouTube.

Vincent Price and Claude Rains