Another great,imaginative episode. I give it 5- stars. It a different take on the classic about paintings,especially portraits that seem to be watching you. This effect is uaually done for comedic effect in movies or tv shows with potraits with the eyes cut out and somebody looking through them. This episode gives new meaning to "in the picture"!

I love this episode. It reminds me of an episode of the Night Gallery.

Hi Julie! Re: "The House on Chimney Pot Lane"- Which episode was it on "Night Gallery" that reminded you of this episode? Since I LOVE this episode and I remember seeing Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" series on TV reruns , I would love to know the name of the tv episode so I can seek it out. That series has been released on DVD. Thanks.

Hi Kristen, the Night Gallery episode is on Season 2 titled "The Painted Mirror" with Zsa Zsa Gabor. Let me know what you think!! Julie

"THANK YOU" a few years ago I was washing dishes and all of a sudden a feeling came over me and it was a weird scene. I just remember the thought was a pair of stocking feet running through a jungle or somewhere tropical and screaming. Then an image of a painting but vague. Then the sound of a roaring dinosaur. It bothered me so much, I had to sit down and clear my head. It bothered me so much I couldn't sleep. I asked some old friends I grew up with and they thought I was nuts. I insisted it was something I saw when I was very young and I must have blocked it out. NOW I see this and I KNEW I WASN'T GOING NUTS! THANK YOU!

In this Radio Mystery Theater episode, a couple buys a house, put a mural on wall that's a blow-up of a photo taken in Africa, phone man gets trapped in mural, then 2 women, etc (don't want to give away the ending) - the plot is very similar to a 1986 Twilight Zone episode called "Still Life" - anyone else noticed TV shows or movies that "stole" plots from CBSRMT? Or CBSRMT that "stole" from somewhere else?

The other CBSRMT site that has descriptions of some of the episodes hinted this was a haunted house story. I was expecting "The Blair Witch Project" or "The Amityville Horror" or something like that, but instead got "Jumanji"....this one was fun (IMO). A husband/wife playwriting team is house hunting in suburban Connecticut and come across this quaint looking house on the lane in the title. They tell the real estate agent they'd like it, but she says although she doesn't like to think a house is haunted that's not a house they'd want...originally a cult lived there which left the place all at once, then a family which one day disappeared in thin air, then another man who finally got so upset he tried to burn the house down but could not...the fire only singed one wall an burnt itself out. He moved to Florida and would not sell. Well, in the Sunshine State he passed away and his son was only too happy to sell the property. They buy the house and love it. One of their good friends is a photographer...he suggest blowing up a photo he's taken of a beautiful tropical African jungle scene (complete with exotic birds, a lion, etc.) as a mural covering the full length of (I believe) the wall which wouldn't burn. (Hey, that might have been a good title for this. It's all wonderful, until they have guests over at a party and the wife notices, while looking at the wall in a quiet momnt, a native tribesman's face peering out through one corner of the bushes. The photographer, also in attendance, sees it and doesn't remember the face. Later when most of the guests have left, they build a fire and look at the mural...the face is gone. They must have just been imagining things...in the firelight and enjoying his adult beverage, the husband notices how the foliage in the picture almost seems to sway. Later everyone's gone but the ladies. The next day or so the phone repairman comes to take care of a problem. He fixes it and calls into his office from the den (where the picture is) and calls into his office to say all's well and learn where his next service call is (not noticing a low growl in the background that sounds like the "king of beasts"). He gets off the phone, then hears the noise and starts saying "Nooo...get back...get back..."

I think the phone repairman was the very first person who disappeared.....then, the two ladies, if I recall the scenes correctly?

A couple against all advice purchase a house with a strange and checkered past. They commission a wall sized photograph to match their tropical jungle theme. Once the picture of the great lion is installed, the photographer tells them of how it was taken. Amidst head hunting tribes and ferocious animals, the picture was taken to capture the spirit of the jungle… and it captured it with all-too-accurate realism.

I'll try and say more in a moment but... Some shows have too much plot for too little time. Others aren't developed enough for the time they have. THIS show, IMO, is masterfully written. I don't know why exactly, but I felt like I heard a little movie fitted, not shoehorned, into a 1 hour program. Some people wondered what happened to the previous owners of the house. I think we were given just the right amount of information for a program like this. We expect the unexpected. That being said, this is a program which, IMO, could not be remade under today's p.c. climate. Can you imagine having a CBS program where a "native" with a "bushy head" (from Africa) would be portrayed as any type of negative presence? Also, this program is in keeping with one of the great (and quite correct) RMT traditions..."evil spirits" and "magic" of any kind were almost always put in a negative connotation, and properly so. This episode takes it a step further with the cavalier treatment "Jim and Marian Sage" give the possibility that their house is, well, "haunted" by evil spirits? (Is that the right term given the way this story unfolds?) One more thing...the RMT's Teri Keane (and forgive me for having said this before) sounds so much like the original Saturday Night Live comedienne Jane Curtin, a very talented actress in her own right. I thought Ms. Keane and Marian Seldes indeed sounded like two best friends in this particular program.

Being “PC” in this day has gotten totally out of hand. I believe that’s why other countries have taken such advantage of our overly KIND.... & sometimes, ridiculous actions. Saying “fuzzy-haired native” is just what it is....a descriptive phrase, nothing more. To make it seem “racial” or “prejudiced” is absolutely insane. Pretty soon, we won’t even be able to say or print the simple words.... “white snowman” without someone claiming that it’s “racist” or “sexist”! 🤫

I too very much enjoyed this episode. The imagery evoked by the mural on the wall was great, the sound effects effective, and it had an unexpected happy ending. Very nice!

This episode goes to show just why radio plays work. Good use of SFX to create mood and tention.... Well done indeed!

This one is just a real fun radio episode. Just the right mix of suspense and the supernatural. The setting really works. You can almost feel the chill of the ice storm and the steamy oppresive air of the jungle. Great sound effects and good use of the RMT music "library". Love the music they use as they "fade-out" at the end of Act One. There are certain aspects that wouldn't wash in today's politically correct atmosphere. Still, one of those episodes that's enjoyable to listen to with the lights out...

This episode goes to show just why radio plays work. Good use of SFX to create mood and tention.... Well done indeed!

This episode displays RMT at its finest. As a previous poster mentioned, the story fits the length of the show perfectly. I would not call this episode a haunted house episode but then again something mysterious happened to the prior owner and it obviously did not involve the mural as that was introduced by the characters in this episode. It was a nice touch to refer to black magic being practiced by previous tenants which gives us just enough in the way of a possible explanation without getting too specific. My favorite part is when the women stumble upon the poor telephone repairman. I hope he received overtime pay. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this show a 10.

Quote: This episode goes to show just why radio plays work. Good use of SFX to create mood and tention.... Well done indeed! and Hy got all this done, post production, etc...all in a single day. ambitious and well done indeed.

Quite a contrast to the lame Orient Express one I listened to last night. This one had everything. It is amazing the visuals that the dialogue instills in the mind...right down to the pygmees with warpaint, stretched out earlobes and big bones through the hair..(I kind of got creative) The plot was good and well presented. How'd they explain the return of the guy from Ma-Bell with a spear wound, no less, to the police? I used to see things in the walls when I was in college, but that was usually because of a late night out with my frat bros......(or was it??????) This episode made for a very enjoyable listening experience.

I agree with the statements above. Freaking GREAT episode! I too was basically spellbound during the entire show. Great one!

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I'll just say what this program is and what it isn't: - I isn't a 1 1/2 hour movie, but it almost feels that way in a good sense. Ya'll remember how some RMT episodes just felt like they needed more time (like a whole second episode ) to adequately develop and be told? Maybe the writers like will disagree, but when I first heard this episode earlier this year at the end I felt as if I'd been in a theatre...this writer and the production team did one of the best works of script timing I've ever heard on the RMT, but that's JMO. - It isn't, unfortunately due to today's political correctness, something that I'd expect to hear recreated today, and that's a shame. - It isn't your typical "haunted house" story. - It isn't "Picture of Dorian Gray", rather, it's the concept on steroids.

I agree that this script crammed a lot of action into a 42 minutes. I gave it a four. I like everything about it -- especially the high level of action and tension. However, I failed to get (maybe I missed it) the connection between the picture, the house, and the previous residents. All in all, an excellent selection. I know this episode enjoys a great deal of popularity and deservedly so.

Good episode. I enjoyed listening to it. I had never heard this one before and it definitely kept my attention. It's interesting how listening to these episodes always draws connections for me to other related programs in the genre. Much of this show reminded me of an older episode of the "Suspense" radio series called "The House in Cypress Canyon" where a couple buys a strange (and I do mean "strange") home. It also reminded me of the Ray Bradbury story "The Veldt" where a family has a "holodeck" type room in which the children conjure up images of Africa with real lions that have the parents over for "lunch" (if you get my meaning.) I do admit though that I was also puzzled as to the link between the previous residents wanting to get rid of the house and what happened to the new owners.

There are enhanced by certain elements that are never resolved. I took that to heart, and frankly (and a little surprisingly) that concept works for me in the stories of the previous owners. We don't know what happened to them, but we DO clearly hear what happens here, and to me that's enough of a connection. (I also liked Teri Keane's brief incarnation as the "Mrs. Green" realtor...she relates the stories of the previous occupants in a simple dialogue which sounded very realistic to me. I've really come to like her work.)

I liked this episode but like several others was bothered by its loose ends. However, after reading your comments, I think you may be onto something when you say, "often mystery programs like this are enhanced by certain elements that are never resolved." I wonder if that is the difference between TV and radio? Or maybe I've become too accustomed to nice clean endings because of television? Any thoughts on this? Anyway, I really liked the depth of this episode and the quality of the acting. Like others said, it seems like they packed a whole lot into just 42 minutes and left a lot for the imagination.

I do think the writers leave some endings up to the imagination of the listener...like “The Wind & the Flame” episode, which was also very good w/a great plot twist! Listening, vs watching, helps our imaginations develop more. Too bad little children aren’t given much of an opportunity to use theirs...w/computer programs & Ipads filling their minds & showing them every single detail of certain things that children probably shouldn’t be exposed to when very young. Their minds are still formative & developing. We shouldn’t want them to grow up too fast or be too mature fir their age. Let them be innocent children for as long as possible. The realities of life will be upon them soon enuff.

I really did like this episode. Of course I am easily entertained. I listened to it late last night, and as tired as I was, I couldn't go to sleep until it was over.

Although this show is very different than I thought it would be I liked it a lot. It was a fast moving and very full show. Some ends were left loose but I guess that is part of the mystery. I like listening to shows like this one because they hold your attention well. I'm glad to have finally listened to it.

Am I late in getting in my two cents. I listened to this show about a month ago so maybe wasn't as keen to listen to it right away as I am with the ones I haven't heard. But I remember hearing this show in the original broadcast and liked it then and still think it is one of my favorites after listening to it recently. The sounds which begin to emanate in the room are different from the usual creaking doors, footsteps and moaning voices etc. and I think that makes this show intriguing.

Suspension of disbelief is critical when indulging in sci-fi / mystery / horror / suspense stories. This discussion reminds me of The Blair Witch Project - hearing mixed reviews of it i took the advise of a friend who said, "when you watch, just pretend you are sitting at a friend's place watching their home movie." The same can be said of many of these episodes... just pretend you are listening to a story told by a close friend who you trust and believe. The sound effects and dialogue created rich visual imagery in my mind with this episode.

THOCPL belongs in the CBSRMT's top 50 shows. Though, realistically, property in Connecticut has to be too valuable to just "never sell." And, there's an actually Chimney Pot Lane -- in Ardsley, NY., just out of NYC near Dobbs Ferry. Was there a place there that sparked this episode? A look on Zillow shows there's several places that could have been the inspiration.

I loved this episode. I, however, did feel that the friendship between the couple and the real estate agent did blossom awfully fast; but then there would be no story. The den was cozy with the with the coffee, doughnuts, fireplace, and the winter scene through the bay window. The creepy mural is another story. Teri Keane and Earl Hammond used their voices brilliantly in this episode.

wow!!!!!!what a crazy story!!!!!!!!!that house needs to be quarantined & condemned!!!!!!!!!!!

House on Chimney Pot Lane is my favorite.

The House on Chimney Pot Lane is my favorite.

The House on Chimney Pot Lane...Great!

Reminds me of the movie Jumanji with Robin Williams.

The House on Chimney Pot Lane brought memories of yesteryear and had me clinging in suspense to my armoire! PB and I were most astonished! The port flowed and it was a fireside thriller to be sure!

Well besides the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery Episodes mentioned and Jumanji, some worlds inside pictures that predate this Radio Mystery theater episode. If you include a mirror as well as a mural on the wall, there is Alice Through The Looking Glass. Also I remember a Lost in Space episode where there is a mirror on the planet that Will Robinson discovers, and finds he can walk through it when he sees a girl on the other side move. Naturally poor Doctor Smith witnesses it and is terrified and can't make the others believe him. In the end they have to figure out how to get Will back out and to destroy the mirror. Also in Star Trek, "All our Yesterdays", Kirk is looking at a mural on a planet that looks like Salem of the 16th century, and he hears a woman scream coming from the mural. Without thinking he runs to her aid, into the Mural and is trapped in the Salem witch trials. Spock and McCoy trying to save him pick the wrong mural and find themselves trapped in the Great Ice Age. Another show with another world through the mural is The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, where the kids stumble through a mural at the back of the wardrobe. The world is called Narnia. Even though I think the movie came after RMT, the book certainly came before.

This episode reminds me of Ray Bradbury’s “The Veldt”

Very good episode more than a little inspired by Ray Bradbury's The Veldt. Just get past the couple's insipid dismissal of the house's issues and it gets much better.

☆☆☆☆☆ One of my favorite episodes