The memorable squeaking door and the sinister voice of "Raymond, your host" introduced the macabre Inner Sanctum mysteries on radio from 1941 to 1952, first on the Blue network, then on CBS (1943-1950), and ABC.

The morbid anthology featured such film veterans as Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Claude Raines in ghostly tales of murder and mayhem. Raymond Edward Johnson hosted the show until 1945 when Paul McGrath took over. ?The show was created, produced and directed by Himan Brown. Sponsors included Carter's Little Liver Pills (1941-1943), Colgate-Palmolive shaving cream (1943-1944), Lipton tea and soup (1945), Bromo-Seltzer (1946-1950), and Mars candy (1950-1951). A number of second-feature Inner Sanctum movies were made in the 1940s by Universal, most starring Lon Chaney, Jr.