SPOILER: I didn't think he was going to turn out to be the murderer after all. Paul knew about the murders before the police did, evidently, and I thought the glass ball was going to end up being a red herring. Murder mystery, explained apparent supernatural phenomena.

When the glass ball is destroyed what is deep inside is let loose. The result is murder.

An artist and his wife acquire a glass paperweight at an antique shop. The artist develops a fixation on it -- and when a greedy developer dies, the woman suspects that her husband has been taken over by an evil spirit. A real thriller with a wonderful climax. One of Bell's finest performances. Highly recommended.

Agreed on Ralph Bell’s performance. I am always grateful when he is in the cast!

A struggling artist purchases an odd glass ball with a black object in the middle. Some think it is a paperweight, others a witch ball. Whatever it is, the painter is taken with the object and spends considerable time looking at it. When he hears a voice telling him if he releases the black object he will receive his wishes, he tries to break the seemingly unbreakable object.

Many RMT's leave the listener to draw his or her own conclusion regarding whether or not the supernatural explains events. In this show, however, it seems to be apparent that no other worldly elements were involved. I was convinced there was a supernatural component to the story, until near the ending. My favorite scene depicted the main character opening the glass ball. At that point, I expected a witch, demon or genie to spring out. The ending seemed too abrupt and not too well thought out. I liked this cast a lot. Good actors can add depth and texture to the story.

Seems like antique shops are a major supplier of material for horror stories. The psychological twist reminded me a little of the "The Shining." That movie had ghosts, but the main character was also an artist with a lot of mental detioration adding to the mayhem. As always, Ralph Bell was excellent .

well as a man who hates those kind of shops.....now i know why i prefer computer shows and electronic toy stores. oh.....and i go grocery shopping once in a while. but i never ever buy any glass paper weights or genie pots. guess i'll never get my 3 wishes.

This is one of my favorite episodes. I love Ralph Bell--he often plays characters who are arrogant and/or nasty, and the malice he so excellently conveys is never better than in this episode. I also love the idea: that a seemingly ordinary object that the character comes across by chance exerts a strange and powerful hold over him, and he becomes fascinated by and obsessed with it. A wonderful episode I can listen to again and again!

I agree with Mr. Downey--the ending was way to half-hazard and fast. The story and characters led up to an ending that the listener can complete in their imagination. This is an episode which could have been epic. 3 stars.

I agree with Andy in that it seemed to point to Paul as being the murderer. Even at the end when Ralph Bell was talking to Paul it almost seemed like Paul was trying to manipulate Ralph's character. It was still a good listen.

Great episode. The acting makes you like all the characters. Despite the spoilers, I was still surprised by the ending.

I rate this episode ★★★★★ for EXCELLENT. "Astonishing" would be the word to describe Robert Newman's art of storytelling, especially this tale. He wrote a Drama-Mystery with a dose of Fantasy-Mystery to go with it. The more I listened to it, the closer I was getting to the edge of my seat. Not only the murderous scenes were shocking, but the very ending of the story…WOW! Just when you think you have all the pieces together, and suddenly, a twist pops up. This story would be qualified for THE TWILIGHT ZONE and/or THE NIGHT GALLERY. The sound effects of the doorbell ring, footsteps, the glass ball, the fireplace, tongs, hissing of the glass ball, water drips, rotary phone ringing, tableware clinking, the poker stick, the howling wind, and the car screeching were highly effective in this tale. The music as well. Suspicious tunes in ACT-1, edgy tracks in ACT-2, and the best part of all: the Sinister theme at the 37-minute mark--hair raising!! In our Host's Prologue, E.G. Marshall doesn't use the classic phrase, "The fear…you can hear." Instead, he says, "I'm afraid the chairs aren't very comfortable, but that doesn't matter because in just a moment, you'll be sitting on the edge of them." Now THAT is an attention-grabber for an intro! In ACT-1, he asks the CBSRMT fans how to define Evil, how we sense it, and how we're attracted to it. More importantly, he introduces us to our main characters at an Antique shop in a New England village. In ACT-2, he states that dusk is a time of uncertainty. At the end of the Act where the first murder is committed, he asks was it a coincidence and was the glass ball involved. At the end of ACT-3, he quotes a bible verse; Matthew 7:7 "Seek and ye shall find" and our main character ended up finding what people find so often when they reject the ugly truth: Death. But the best part was the Epilogue because this is where E.G. Marshall reveals the twisted ending about "The Thing Inside" (SPECIAL HINT: it was not in the glass ball, the thing was inside somewhere else). And finally, our cast: Ralph Bell (as John Ferrar), Bryna Raeburn (as Sara Ferrar & the Voice), Robert Kaliban (as Paul Chandler & the Antique Shop Owner), and Leon Janney (as Ezra Tate & Sergeant Osborne). Talented acting by Leon Janney & Robert Kaliban for playing their roles. Kudos to Bryan Raeburn for playing an anxious wife but also the mysterious Voice. (Did the Voice came from the glass bubble or someplace within a person? Leave that for the fans to decide). But a round of applause to Ralph Bell for playing one of his best roles on CBSRMT. His character was well defined and it was definitely an eye-opener to what happened to him at the very last scene. If you're a fan of Ralph Bell, I highly recommend this one. And check out the other episodes that Robert Newman wrote: #0052-THE SENDING and #0639-THE PRISONER OF ZENDA. Until next time…pleasant dreams. =^D

Not to parallel the characters at all but the classic Alfred Hitcock movie Pscho is reminiscent of this Mystery Theater. The character John has some issues! I find his character from the very begining to be somwhat abrasive and he just gets worse during the episode! It did not take me long to dislike this character and I suppose that is the point! Well acted and well written. Check this one out and let us know what you think!!!

A curious glass ball purchased by artist John Ferrar and his wife Sara causes problems when John is convinced that it contains a spirit that will grant his wishes. When two of John’s enemies are found brutally murdered, Sara and a friend of hers are convinced that it’s no coincidence.

“It’s the same thing happens twice in exactly the same way that’s not a coincidence!” It seems to me that’s the very definition of coincidence!

A TERRIFIC story they botch at the very end with a gratuitous “rational” materialist psychologicsl ending. Too bad. Up to the last few minutes, the story was superb!

EG Marshall leads you down a twisted trail with this story, his comments make you think there is something unnaturally evil at hand, that's the twist! It's human evil and John traps his reward. Really great effects and acting. Well worth a listen, kudos RMT!

Great tale, but ended to abruptly. I was hoping for something a little more macabre!