The House in Cypress Canyon

"The House in Cypress Canyon" is an episode of the American radio series Suspense. Written by Robert L. Richards, produced and directed by William Spier, this episode is consistently cited^[1] as one of the most terrifying programs broadcast during radio's Golden Age. It was originally broadcast December 5, 1946.

Plot summary

The plot is presented as a "story within a story," framed by a meeting between detective Sam Spade (played by Howard Duff) and a friend who has discovered the manuscript regarding the mysterious house. After a brief introduction, the narrative shifts to the story presented in the manuscript.

It's a few days before Christmas, and James (Robert Taylor) and Ellen (Cathy Lewis), married seven years and recently relocated to California for the husband's engineering job, move into a hastily finished rental house in a development that was started before the war. Dusty furniture and creaky hinges seem to be the only problems with the place at first glance. But the very night they move in, the two hear inhuman cries in the night, and find blood oozing out from under a closet door they can't open. Next, Ellen, sleep-walking, attacks James like a crazed animal and bites him savagely, waking with no memory of the attack; then the milkman is discovered with his throat torn out. The narrative concludes with James' indication that he has accepted his fate and is no longer afraid, leaving the outcome shrouded in mystery.

The episode then returns to the framing story, with Sam Spade discussing the case with his friend. The friend explains the paradox that the manuscript was found in the same house in which the story appears to have taken place, but that at the time the manuscript was found, the house was derelict and unfinished. Impossibly, the story set down in the manuscript appears to have taken place in the house *after* the manuscript was discovered. Spade suggests that this is just a coincidence and leaves.

After Spade leaves, his friend returns to his regular occupation -- a rental agent for the housing development. As the story concludes, a young couple comes into his office and asks about renting the house in Cypress canyon. The couple is James and Ellen.

Broadcast history

Despite being such a well-regarded episode, "The House in Cypress Canyon" was only performed once on Suspense.

References

External links

• Escape and Suspense blog: "The House in Cypress Canyon"
• "The House in Cypress Canyon" script by Robert L. Richards
• Review of "The House in Cypress Canyon" by Harry Heuser
• Scattered Sounds Productions remake of "The House in Cypress Canyon"