Weird Circle 10 - William Wilson

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: William Wilson."

This episode, first broadcast on October 31, 1943, is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839. The adaptation seems to have mostly kept the core of the story, while transporting the setting across the Atlantic to the Northeast.

We start with Charlie Vernon coming unexpectedly to a party where his former college fraternity brother, William Wilson, is to announce his engagement to Laura St. Clair, although that was supposed to be a secret. Soon, shots are heard from the library, and it seems like Wilson has shot himself. He insists he did not, and so starts a story of his unpleasant deeds, of which Charlie was but one victim, and of another, younger William Wilson, who stalked and taunted him through the low points of his life.

This story is very similar in structure to The Knightsbridge Mystery, which also starts at the end and then fills in the gap through a long flashback, mostly seen from the point of view of a single individual, although it's more dialogue- than description-driven nonetheless. The other William Wilson serves a similar function to the outsider in The Horla.

Weird Circle 9 - The Horla

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: The Horla."

This episode, first broadcast on October 24, 1943, is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Guy de Maupassant, first published in 1887. From reading a summary and skimming over the story, it seems that the creators took the journal-based original, gave the unnamed protagonist a name, compressed a lot of his internal world into instances of him speaking to himself out loud, added an objective narrator for descriptions, and upgraded the outside presence and the people mentioned into fully active characters.

The story starts with an objective narration of the protagonist, Gabriel Bouvet, spending his days enjoying the view of the boats from his dilapidated sea-side home, until a Brazilian schooner casts a shadow over him that starts haunting him. He writes a letter to his cousin, Renee Sable, who is so disturbed she arrived with her friend, Dr. Parent, to have a look at him. She initially rejects the idea of a supernatural presence, while the Doctor is more methodical, skeptical but open to belief. In the end it doesn't matter much - despite the content added by the dialogue between them, it's ultimately the conflict between Bouvet and the Horla, the outsider, that drives all the action, up to the horrible conclusion.

The violence that precedes this conclusion reverts to the confusing free-for-all of much earlier episodes. The evil presence is characterized a bit too extremely to my taste. I'll have to give the original a good read at some point.

Weird Circle 8 - The Knightsbridge Mystery

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: The Knightsbridge Mystery."

This episode, first broadcast on October 17, 1943, is an adaptation of a novelette with the same title by Charles Reade, first published in 1882. From skimming the original text, it seems that, while the main plot is similar, the story's development was condensed, and significant subplots were excised entirely.

The story starts with the narrator-character, Captain Cowen, confessing to the murder and burglary of wealthy landowner Mr. Gardiner, and to shock at the victim sitting alive right next to him as if nothing had happened. He proceeds to describe his motives, the setup to the crime, his preparation for it, its execution, his escape, and his return to an unchanged Knightsbridge Inn.

If being a murderer wasn't bad enough, he admits to taking advantage of a mentally disabled man, and putting a woman at physical danger. Some aspects of his story hint at the roots of his own downfall.

While there is some dialogue, this particular story was moved mostly by narration, especially the lengthy description of the details of the crime. This did a good job of keeping the point of view focused on the narrator-character.

Weird Circle 7 - What Was It?

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again their immortal tale: What Was It?"

This episode, first broadcast on October 10, 1943, is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Fitz James O'Brien, first published in 1859. Skimming some summaries, it looks like it's a reasonably close adaptation of the original.

In a first return to the supernatural since The House and the Brain, lodgers at a New York City boarding house encounter a haunting. Their reactions range from incredulity to faith, and their methods of finding out more about it range from a séance to systematic observation.

The haunting turns out to be both more mundane and more fantastic than any of them imagined - but they struggle to spread their knowledge of it further once it has passed on.

I think the creators might have finally managed to get a crowd scene going well - despite the fact that they had five to six participants in the conversation for long periods, it was clear who was talking to whom. The action sequences had, instead, a more limited cast, keeping them focused. This is in contrast to some instances in previous episodes, where over-subscribed fights sounded like a confusion of voices. Narration by the protagonist, Dr. Hammond, provides framing to the story and drives the plot forward where dialogue wouldn't make sense.

An enjoyable adaptation to a story I'm now glad I know about.

Weird Circle 6 - A Terribly Strange Bed

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: A Terribly Strange Bed."

This episode, first broadcast on October 3, 1943, is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Wilkie Collins. From the summary, it seems like Collins` tale was merely a seed for this one, which is far more gruesome and titillating than the original.

Like The House and the Brain, we are led by a thrill-seeking protagonist and a more reserved partner; this time it is Jack Wescott, who has become morbid since joining his author friend Burke Manning on a trip to Paris. Burke is there to do research on historical murders; Jack is far more interested in recent killings.

When a flattened corpse is dragged out of the Seine, and they are told that this is part of a series of such grisly murders, and in addition, they witness an inconclusive back-and-forth with a strange man who has been to all previous discoveries (and who is unfortunately frequently characterized by his weight, both antagonists and colleagues referring to him as "The Fat Man"), Jack is eager to pursue.

Despite having prior knowledge about the dangers involved, that the original protagonist did not have, he steps into a a gambling den, and falls into the same trap, with similar results.

The creators decided to add more narration to move the plot forward in this one - some subjective, some all-knowing - but it did not feel out of place. Dialogue was used well, even if it does seem to add far too many additional characters.

Weird Circle 5 - Declared Insane

"Out of the past phantoms of a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: Declared Insane."

This episode, first broadcast on September 26, 1943, again adapts a full novel, this time The Commission in Lunacy (L'interdiction) by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1839. Skimming the summary suggests that this adaptation covers similar ground to the original, although obviously with much less detail.

I am starting to wonder whether my first impression, that this series is focused on the supernatural, was misguided. Instead, Declared Insane joins The Vendetta and Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym as another mundane tale, about power and its relation to justice, and how far decency and integrity could get you in Bourbon Restoration Paris - not as far as the connections and influence, which will provide you with very sincere liars to muster to your cause.

We see this as the conflict unfolds between the estranged wife of the Marquis d'Espard, who wants to seize control of her husband's affairs by committing him to an asylum, and Judge Popinot of the inferior courts, who would preside over the necessary hearing, but is not easily swayed by influence or wealth (a poignant quote: "Such a place for a judge to live... what kind of a judge are you anyway, living here? Huh! You must be an honest one!"), in parallel series of dialogues and described actions that believably lead to a not so satisfying conclusion.

The theme of the mental health system being used as punishment unfortunately lingers to this day. An investigating judge, however, probably reads as unusual to an American audience.

Weird Circle 4 - Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

"The Weird Circle. In this cave by the restless sea we are met to call from out the past stories strange and weird. Phantoms of a world gone by, speak again the immortal tale: Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym."

This episode, first broadcast on September 19, 1943, is an adaptation of a full novel by the same title by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1838. Skimming the summary suggests that this is, again, a very loose adaptation.

Another mundane horror like The Vendetta, this compresses many of the real terrors of life at sea into one neat package. Shanghaiing, abuse of power by captains, storms, mental stress, mutiny, and the extremes to which thirst and starvation lead people are all there. Obviously a nautical theme goes well with the show's shoreside frame.

This recording adds some organ music to the outro, as well as a statement about this being part of the Armed Forced Radio and Television Service (now Armed Forces Network), which suggests that this was recorded from an overseas broadcast, or possibly that at this point this was produced for that purpose.