Witchcraft and intrigue combine for a one-of-a-kind tale from the classic series, Escape! A medieval scholar has been targeted by a deadly curse, leaving him with only three months to find a solution and save his own life. How scary can a story about passing notes and falling out of trees actually be? Is this an appropriate response to critical feedback? Is it really that easy to send the Society into screaming fits of hysterical panic? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think:
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Fair warning: The squeaky chair is pretty chatty this episode. Sorry about that! It will be gone soon.
To see a movie based on this story, watch “Night of the Demon.” It’s atmospheric up until the end, when the studio decided they needed a real demon to send the message home. Disappointing puppet.
When I was a kid, I had a book about monsters and it included a photo of the demon from that movie. It’s an image that has been vividly in my mind for decades now, and yet I’ve never seen the movie! This is a great reason to track it down. Thanks!
Thank you for telling Joshua off for biking at night with headphones on. The only thing that would be scarier would be if he didn’t have lights…
Rest assured, he has learned nothing.
This episode was really good. The performance and pacing of the final train scene was fantastic.
I couldn’t agree more! I think it was also a scene in which the audio “theater of the mind” aspect made it work all the better.
“Dana Andrews said runes gave him the blues and passing them used lots of skills” A little Rocky Horror tie in. Curse of the Demon is a movie based on the story presented, and a very good one at that. Directed by Jacques Tourneur of I Walked With a Zombie fame (a wonderfully moody movie as well) is a must see. The radio version is hands down one of, if not the best, at painting a complete movie in your mind. Just an apex of writing for Escape (most of their stories are thankfully well done) thanks for showcasing this… Read more »
I love this one too. Possibly my very favorite episode of Escape period. If you’re a fan of the original short story and M.R. James in particular, there’s a fabulous podcast about all things M.R. James, called A Podcast to the Curious. You should check it out. I am ashamed to admit I have never seen Curse of the Demon (or the American cut, Night of the Demon). I’m actually going to order a copy of the DVD right now! Thanks for the comment!
Ooh, thanks!
[…] also been adapted several times for radio. The first was in 1947 by CBS for their radio series Escape. CBS produced a second version in 1974 for their CBS Radio Mystery Theater show. In 1981, BBC […]
Several years ago, I found a set of Escape episodes on cassette at a thrift shop in St. Paul. This episode was in there and quickly became one of my all-time favorite episodes of ANY radio drama series. Classic stuff.
This story got me into M R James and his stories. I found an audio book of his stories a few years ago on Librevox read by an amateur reader Peter Yearsly. His tone & timbre were suitably somber.
I can listen to this episode over and over.