What happens
Steve Kavanaugh, a collector of oriental art, buys a small bronze laughing idol at an auction in San Francisco. Soon after, he is shot at and nearly struck by a thrown axe, and a mysterious man called Jin Khan begins to give him strange instructions. Steve's wife Selena and her brother Howard are part of the household. Steve is now in a city prison, distraught and insisting on his story. The episode is from the Inner Sanctum Mysteries series, first broadcast on December 13, 1948, with Carl Swenson as Steve and Charlotte Holland as Selena.
San Francisco, including an auction hall, a Chinatown street, Steve's home, and a cemetery at Mount Fiore
Characters: Steve Kavanaugh, Selena, Howard, Jin Khan, Mr. Cabernon, Stapastine
Listen for: The laughing idol that seems to turn toward Steve, and Jin Khan's warnings about the Chandra Ruby
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.