Good story. I didn't figure it out until late in the show.

The widow of a union official wants revenge on the man who killed her husband. She mixes black magic and black widow spiders to get the job done.

A man decides to take on the union bosses in an election and works to gain the confidence of the membership. The current union executive appears to have no interest in the will of the workers and this man wants to set things straight. When the man is killed in a hit and run accident, the wife is certain that he was killed by the corrupt union bosses and seeks the help of her mystical advisor to right the wrongs done to her family.

I found it funny that grown men involved in illicit, almost mafia style, activities and capable of murder were so deathly afraid of a small spider. Their comments at the sight of the spider were quite humorous. I did especially appreciate the interesting surprise revealed at the end of the show. I wondered how she could be keeping a Black Widow spider in a bottle and how the spider knew exactly who to bite. A very interesting ending indeed. Too bad she didn't heed the warning to be "very, very careful when the bottle is open." As impossible as this story is it makes for a very good movie in your mind and it is one of my favorites of the series.

Oh, man...where to start? We like to deconstruct RMT shows frequently by saying "This or that is unrealistic" and there's room for such criticism in this episode as well. But I won't. - We could point out how female black widows are very sluggish (I've turned over more than one piece of wood just to find one frozen there in place, unlike other spider species which can move like canned lightning). They're also noticeable, but hardly large enough to inspire the terror the one in this RMT seemed to among the bad guys (I loved the choice of RMT actors Jackson Beck and Dan "Return of the Moresby's" Ocko for the villains). Therefore, it's kind of plausible and highly fun to envision in the RMT's theatre of the mind that the black widow spider in this episode was at least as big as an american tarantula...it'd be cooler if she was as big as this theraphosa blondi of the northern amazon. - Speaking of "cool", how cool is this? The (very conservative, in many ways) RMT has a plot about union (leadership) thugs who take out a "clean" up-and-comer in leadership, whose wife takes revenge by means of witchcraft. (Not that I like witchcraft, but the plot was just so RMT good.) - Heddy Galen as the widow, IMO, sounded like a lady who sounded more like a matron of a local bridge club, or a Pi Beta Phi alumni group, than the wife of a union shop steward but that's just me. Her voice still "worked" in that role. - And while I don't want to make fun of the dying (even the bad guys), I still got a bit of a kick out of how Beck ("GET AN AMBULANCE-HIIIIIIIIII") and Ocko (sounded a bit like Yogi Bear when he said "Get it away") played their character's final moments. - I love an RMT musical "double dip", when they play one closing "sounder" then another, different one right after it, as they did at the end of Act III right before E.G.'s words. - And for some reason I also got a kick out of when the policeman (played also by Beck) was trying to justify his actions to Robert Dryden's detective character, and the latter said "I ought to have your BADGE for this". I love plain talk in the middle of an episode of the supernatural. I LOVED this episode. Wonderful choice!!!!

Nice choice. I LOVED the ending to this episode. I was totally fooled and had no idea she was transforming into a spider until the end. I liked the daughter too. It was kind of interesting that she was actually a good person (in my view anyway) and yet she perished. A lot of times, writers seem to automatically assume that killing is always bad but in my view the widow (no pun intended) was fully justified. A fun story.

I hope there were others who listened who didn't have time to comment. The ending of this show really shows the creativity in the minds of our story writers. Listen again next week!

A good RMT episode. Not great, but good. Fun little revenge story with a supernatural twist. I agree it's rather amusing to hear these tough "gangster" types quivering with fear from an "itsy-bitsy spider", But then again, I've seen grown adults "freak-out" at the mere sight of an arachnid. It's a very typical phobia, which helps elevate this tale. The ending is very typical of RMT. Quick, to-the-point-- with quite the twist. A fun listen at any rate.

I loved the ending of this show. The voice acting was top notch. I'm scared of spiders and I'm a big guy. A hate those ugly things. What a potion! A very good story which just happened to be one of the very first RMT that I remember.

Oooooo Scary good. This story reminds me of a Stephen King short story: fantastic enough to be a tale, but true-to-life settings that make it “real.” And the “bad guys” get it, too! It's a shame about the “widow,” though. I had a funny feeling when the detective took care of the spider. But, the widow's advisor did caution her. Wonder what the lab would've turned up. Four stars!

I love these old radio dramas, so much better than television! Fantastic that these are available to enjoy now. Thank you!

I loved the surprise ending of this one. The whole time I was worried that maybe the woman's daughter would be bitten by mistake, but ....

These performances are a useful tool in order to learn English language. I discovered it recently and they are amazing. Thank you for uploading. Greetings from Spain.

I loved this episode from the beginning to the end. If you like episode 085 Dracula, you should love this episode as well. Scary Episode with great ending. I gave this episode 5 stars.

What can I add on top of what has already been mentioned? Nothing. This was a good listen.

Listen to "Black widow" (one of my favorite RMTs). She plays both an adult daughter and a fortune-teller/witch named "Tarot" (or something like that). I think the voice she used as the daughter was her "normal" or "natural" one...it's the one I most often heard her use.

This episode was somewhat prescient, as it occurred just 6 months before the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, under similar circumstances, i.e., the dispute over trade union leadership. I'd like to answer the listeners who noted that it is not realistic with regard to both the potency and reaction time of black widow venom. Those readers probably did not listen to the end of the story. I don't want to say more because of spoilers, but suffice it to say the story revealed it was a slightly different kind of spider. . .

I love this show.

I REMEMBER THIS STORY!!! Heard it on a rebroadcast when I was in grade 7 :) I will re-listen to it this week

I rate this episode ★★★★★ for EXCELLENT. Once again, Bob Juhren, wrote another great Fantasy-Mystery. This had suspenseful plot points, terrific protagonists & antagonists, and the most outstanding part of all: the surprised Ending! That shocked me as much as the Ending in #0367-THE SUMMER PEOPLE did, which was also written by Bob Juhren. Sound effects of the rotary phones, doors, tarot cards, footsteps, crickets, pop open the black bottle, loud buzzer, furniture barricading the door, door knob rattling, and smacking the black widow spider at the 35-minute mark were supportive. And the music was highly supportive, including the tunes in the 2nd Act that could give CBSRMT fans goosebumps. E.G. Marshall starts his Prologue off by saying, “Your host for another adventure so strange and so chilling, that we dare say you’ll get little sleep this night.” One of his best intros. In ACT-1, we get to know our main characters: one who ran for Union President and the other becomes the grief stricken widow. In ACT-2, our Host points out that our main character has a unique method to kill: untraceable. In ACT-3, he tells a little rhyme about the spider & the fly. A good way to describe the plot points in a symbolic way. In the Epilogue, it’s one of his best narrations when he said, “It is fun to stretch our imaginations out, isn’t it? And that, of course, is what Radio Mystery Theater is all about.” And finally, our cast: Robert Dryden (as John Hawthorne & Lieutenant Kerry), Evie Juster (as Lillian Hawthorne & Caro), Hetty Galen (as Martha Hawthorne), Jackson Beck (as Max Conger & Police Officer Joe), and Dan Ocko (as Hank Thomas). Both Jackson Beck & Dan Ocko were great as the villains. Robert Dryden is an unforgettable actor on CBSRMT. But our leading actresses stole the show. Kudos to Evie Juster for playing a young girl and an old witch. And big props to Hetty Galen for playing the widow with a vengeance. This is a fantastic episode for those that are seeking stories on spiders, or witches, or any horror tale to listen to during the Halloween season. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =^D

My very first story and I've been hooked ever since. 📻 Still listen to them every night. Thank you for making them available.

This episode had a surprise ending and a great story line. As always with RMT...no disappointments! I listened to the program when I was in high school in the 1970's. They have never lost their magic!

This is one of my favorite episodes. LOVE IT!!!

When I was 5, I used to listen to these in the car with my dad while we drove to pick my mom up from swingshift across town. This one I remembered forever - I was always warning people to "be very careful, Mrs. Horthorne!" (I couldn't say the name right.) People thought I was such a weird kid. These are so much fun, and the lack of visuals lets your imagination run wild. This is still one of my favorites of RMT.

Great episode, these shows are so much better then the stuff on tv and in the theaters these shows make you use your imagination and each episode can be whatever your mind pictures. People complaining about the episode and how unbelievable it is need to go listen to something else, it’s make believe it’s classic Hollywood.. it’s not real

With out a doubt, this is one of the best stories the CBSRMT tells. It all works, the actors, sound effects, plot line. This episode is what brings us all back to keep listening to the shows. My hat off to the CBSRMT they hit a home run with this one. Oh and if yo dont like a very scary story with a wild ending, then dont listen to The Black Widow. I first heard this as a little kid, 12 years old, listening to 850 WJW Cleveland radio on a transiter radio in bed, and it scared the @#$% out of me. Ha, enjoy this show its a good one