Carlton E. Morse

Born in rural Jennings, Louisiana on June 4th, 1901, Carlton E. Morse began his writing career in the 1920s, honing his skills by working as a reporter for several newspapers in California. Noticing that radio was rapidly becoming a major force in entertainment, in 1929 he landed a job with KGO, the NBC affiliate in San Francisco. There he soon proved his talent for efficient deadline-driven writing, and demonstrated to network management that he possessed the organization and firm hand needed for production work as well. Before long, Morse was given a free hand to create new programs that, though originating at KGO, would be heard throughout much of the western part of the U.S. via the NBC west coast network.

It was while working at KGO that Morse first showed a talent for writing dramatic multi-part radio serials - in particular, the thrill-packed adventure stories that were the aural equivalent of the engrossing tales that ran in the "pulp" magazines of the day. Taking a cue from the lurid full-color covers of such magazines as "Black Mask" and "Terror Tales," Morse learned early on that the best way to instantly capture the attention of listeners was to use a distinctive and alarming opening signature - the ominous chiming of a clock, a screaming police siren, the sound of a Chinese gong being struck - then quickly engross them with tales set in exotic places.

Always included in the stories were mysterious and potentially threatening elements: dark, damp jungles, bizarre and profane rituals, strange languages, sacred amulets, and - in a nod to his home-base of San Francisco - thick and impenetrable fog that concealed a wide variety of unseen dangers. To this, he added the standard elements of the classic "old dark house" mystery story: sudden and unexplained deaths, ancient curses, hidden panels, piercing cries in the night, and the gathering of a diverse group of suspicious people, all of whom had stories to tell...and secrets to hide.