CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER PRESENTS......


Monday January 7 1974 was the last day we spent in Cambridge. We had known we were moving for over a month but didn't bother to begin packing until the weekend before. My family had moved so often that we all knew what to do. By Sunday night we had everything ready to go. Monday morning Dad had the moving van outside and we began to move into our new home.
I stayed behind most of the day loading up boxes and making sure a new load was ready to go when the moving van came back from Kewanee. Dad who had not drank much since Mom lost the baby started drinking around noon that day. By time early evening came he was pretty tipsy. Dad sat down around 5 in the evening, opened another can of beer, and said we would finish moving the next day.
We were shocked. Moving to us had always been a one day affair for our family. It was almost a point of pride for us. Some of us insisted that we keep going , but Dad made it clear that the subject was closed. Since most of our stuff had been moved Dad wanted Geno, John, and I to spend the night in Kewanee to make sure nothing happened to our belongings. Everyone else stayed behind.
So around 9 in the evening Dad drove us to our new house in Kewanee and dropped us off. It turned out that the only light in the house was in the kitchen. All the lamps were still in Cambridge. So my first view of the house in Kewanee was through a flashlight. It had 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Downstairs there was a large living room and a dining room and a kitchen with a another large bedroom off the dining room. This was to be the room I was to share with Geno and John. Steve and Kathy were moving in with us, so they were taking one of the bedrooms upstairs.
The only thing we had to entertain us that night was a radio.
Around 10.30 that night we started surfing the radio stations to see if the was anything good to listen to. Almost immediately we heard the sounds of a creaking door coming across the radio. It turned out it was the beginning of the second night of a new show called CBS Radio Mystery Theater. It was a throwback to the old 1930's radio shows (like the War of the Worlds broadcast Dad had scared me with a couple years earlier.) that used to be so popular. The episode in question that night was called THE BLACK CAT

It was a story about a man who murders his wife and walls up her body in the basement. Her cat proves to be his downfall when it turns out the husband walled up the cat as well. The cats wails attract the police. It was a nice scary story.
It was very rare that we agreed on anything but by the end of the first evening we were hooked. It might have had something to do with listening in a dark house lit only with a flashlight. What ever the reason after that night we always made to catch it.
The next day we moved finished moving in. Wednesday January 10th I started school in Kewanee. The first day started out well, but rapidly went downhill. As usual everyone wanted to eat lunch with me since I was the new boy. I made sure to pick a table near a girl who lived only 2 houses away from me. One look and I was smitten. She was the cutest girl I had ever seen. I became determined to impress her.
After lunch the teacher gave us an assignment. We were to write a story that was about an animal. I thought to myself that if I came up with a good story that I would look very cool. My thoughts drifted back to the radio show. I knew what to do. I'd write the story I heard on the radio only a few nights earlier. I busily wrote the story down. She gave us plenty of time and soon I was done.
The teacher started calling on students to read their stories. One girl read a story about a talking dog. Another boy read a story of a talking chicken. Soon I was called to read the story. I stood up and began to try to pass this story off as my own. After a few cute stories about talking animals helping people I began to tell my story of murder and intrigue. I could tell my new classmates were very impressed. Even my teacher seemed enthralled. When I was done she smiled at me and asked,"Tom have you ever heard of Edgar Allen Poe?"
"Um ....No."
"Oh. Well the funny thing is your story is actually a famous Edgar Allen Poe story."
" Edgar Allen who?"
" Tom do you know what the word plagiarism means?"
"Um......No."
In front of the class my teacher gave me the meaning of the word plagiarism. I wanted to make an impression on my class. And I did. Not the impression I wanted but an impression nonetheless. My teacher said she would normally make me take a note home to my parents but since it was my first day she would let it slide this time.
Time passed and I settled in to school. Everyday I lamely tried to impress the girl who lived close to me. Everyday she didn't notice my efforts. She wasn't ignoring me. She would have to know I was alive first to ignore me.
At home Dad's drinking was getting worse. His work as an exterminator was beginning to suffer because of it. It became a cruel little cycle. Dad's drinking caused problems at work. The more troubles at work the more he drank. We did our best to ignore the situation.
One night less then a month after we had moved in to our new home. John was babysitting next door and Geno was out with Steve and Kathy. Dad was out drinking. I was alone downstairs in my room listening to the radio. The show on this night had something to do with the Abominable Snowman killing many people. Alone downstairs I became scared. As the show went along I became convinced that the Abominable Snowman or Bigfoot was lurking outside my window. I peaked quickly outside my window and saw only snow blowing against the house. The more the wind blew the more paranoid I became.
The show ended and I turned off the lights and went to bed. In the dark I became even more afraid. I looked up at the clock. It was 11.30 John would be home in half an hour or so. I could make it that far I thought. The wind blew harder and I could hear even more odd noises. One of the noises sounded like someone knocking at the kitchen door. I put the blanket over my head. If it was one of my brothers or Dad they would have keys. They wouldn't need to bang at the door.
Could it be Bigfoot?
Maybe it was just the wind?
The sounds stopped. I breathed a sigh of relieve. I moved the blanket off my head. I had just started to relax a little when I heard something at my bedroom window.
I froze afraid to move. The sound at my window became louder. I slowly turned my head towards the window.
There, outside my window I saw a snow covered face.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I got up from my bed and yelling wildly ran though the dining room and living room and tore up the stairs. I ran up to my parents room and banged on the door. Mom opened her door.
"What's wrong", she asked.
" Bigfoot is trying to get in my window!"
My gave me a look like I was speaking Greek. "What?"
"Bigfoot is outside in the snow!"
Rose had opened her door and was listening to me. Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the front door.
"AHHHHH! It's Bigfoot!"
Mom gave me a another odd look. "I don't think Bigfoot would knock."
In a small voice I said," He's sneaky."
Mom went downstairs while Rose and I stayed at the top of the stairs looking down at her. The banging on the door got louder. Mom looked out the window and opened the door. Dad stumbled in.
"It's about Goddamn time," he mumbled drunkenly. " I lost my key." Dad staggered towards the couch and fell onto it. He was out cold.
Mom yelled up at me. "Get a blanket."
I brought a blanket down to Mom and she put it over Dad. I was confused.
"Dad's was Bigfoot?"
"No. Just a Big Drunk." With that Mom left Dad where he was and went back to bed.
You'd think that finding out it was Dad would have made me feel better. However this incident just cemented to me that there were indeed monsters lurking outside my window.