What happens
Ernie, a restless boy, is drawn into trouble with his friend Whitey after a childhood fear of Bertha Abbott, a neighborhood woman whispered to be a witch, returns to haunt him. The two boys ride a freight train and make their way through a troubled night, with Ernie struggling against guilt and a sense of doom he cannot shake. Suspense is a radio drama series, and this installment originally aired on October 16, 1956, with Sam Edwards and Richard Krenna starring. The story follows the boys' growing desperation as their choices grow more dangerous.
A small American town, a railroad yard, and a rural highway near San Diego, in the 1950s.
Characters: Ernie, Whitey, Bertha Abbott, Goofy
Listen for: The menacing taunt of Bertha Abbott in the childhood scene, and the recurring image of the train wheels.
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.