Strange Stories (1956– )

As I recall, the show began each week with a shadowy figure resembling the grim reaper, walking very slowly through a forest thicket. Then all of a sudden, his eerie voice could be heard saying the following: "Out of the darkness of men's minds and out of their torments and twisted desires, passions and hates come...Strange Stories."

This low budget half-hour anthology series presented stories with ironic twists, reminiscent of the Alfred Hitchcock series. I recall a B-actor named John Bromfield appearing in a couple of episodes. I don't recall it being broadcast on the major TV networks. I remember watching it either on WPIX or WOR in the New York City area. The music that was used to punctuate the drama were stock melodies that I often heard on other B-dramas such as Superman or Racket Squad.

In summary I found the shows to be spooky little melodramas, very entertaining for its time. The plot twists and that great lead-in preface by its shadowy host gave the series its edge.