The Radio Ghost by Otis Adelbert Kline

Name: The Radio Ghost
Author: Otis Adelbert Kline

Dr. Dorp, an investigator of psychic phenomena, is visited in his study by Greta Van Loan, niece of his late friend and fellow spiritist Gordon Van Loan. Her uncle's will leaves her his fortune and Highland Park estate on condition she live in the house continuously for a year; if she fails, the estate reverts to her cousin Ernest Hegel or, failing him, the Society for Psychical Research. Since taking up residence she has experienced terrifying manifestations she believes are her uncle attempting to prove life after death: rapping, footsteps, overturned furniture, foul odors, flickering lights, cold touches, self-opening doors, and an icy breath reminiscent of the medium Eusapia Palladino. Her Airedale, Sandy, has grown savage and fearful. Her cousin Ernest, of German descent and educated at Heidelberg and Vienna in chemistry and bacteriology, has supposedly sailed for Germany on business. Dr. Dorp and his colleague Evans, the narrator, agree to investigate that evening. At the house they meet the cadaverous servant Riggs and are greeted by Greta. That night they witness a poker sliding across the floor, dimming lights, an icy wind, and a luminous six-foot spectral figure that Evans's hand passes through harmlessly. Greta faints and is carried outside; while Evans revives her, Dr. Dorp goes back inside alone and disappears. Searching upstairs, Evans and Greta find Gordon's old bedroom, where knocking, groaning, and a locked closet door confront them; Evans forces it open against resistance and drags out Dr. Dorp, nearly frozen and asphyxiated, from beneath a pile of clothing. They revive him on the porch with help from the housekeeper and Riggs, and a young physician, Dr. Graves, arrives and treats him, diagnosing shock and cold exposure. While the men attend Dr. Dorp, Sandy the dog goes mad, foaming and snarling, and Evans fights it off in the darkened living room with a chair after being trapped inside. Dr. Graves shoots the dog dead after Greta, holding a flashlight and pistol, alerts him. Evans is bitten on the arm and taken to the hospital for rabies serum treatment, then returns near midnight. The next day Dr. Dorp leaves early for the city on unexplained business while Evans stays with Greta, discussing whether Sandy had hydrophobia and whether the events could really be Gordon's ghost. That evening Dr. Dorp returns with two engineers, Easton and Brandon, and two detectives, Hogan and Rafferty, along with surveying and radio equipment. They set up a radio direction-finding apparatus on the beach, measuring a line toward a distant point. Easton, disguised with a false beard to impersonate Dr. Dorp, and Rafferty take Evans's and the doctor's places in the living room as a decoy while the real investigators drive off. Using a portable radio direction finder in the car, Dr. Dorp traces a signal toward a remote farmhouse west of Highland Park. At the farmhouse, through a window, they spot Ernest Hegel operating a radio control panel with a frosted-glass screen showing a live shadow picture of the Van Loan living room, allowing him to watch and manipulate events remotely. Hogan picks the lock, and they arrest Hegel, who is cuffed and taken into custody. Back at the house, Dr. Dorp explains the mechanisms to the assembled group: hidden photoelectric "eyes" and microphone "ears" in the walls fed images and sound to Hegel; electromagnets beneath the floors and inside door hinges moved the poker and chair and operated the locks; a Crookes X-ray tube and phosphorescent powder created the luminous footprints; a light fixture concealed a dry-ice (CO₂) refrigeration unit that produced the icy breath and released small ice globes filled with foul-smelling, faintly phosphorescent gas to simulate the ghostly apparition. He explains Sandy was deliberately inoculated with rabies virus by Hegel, who had befriended the dog earlier. Dr. Dorp also reveals that Hegel, knowing of Gordon's terminal cancer and the will's terms, had gained access to the house the previous winter under the guise of overseeing redecorating while his uncle was in Florida, using that opportunity to install the equipment; his supposed European trip was a cover. Dr. Dorp states Hegel will face charges of robbery (having stolen equipment from a radio and camera shop and wounded a police officer while escaping), resisting an officer, and attempted murder, with fingerprint evidence making conviction certain.

By Otis Adelbert Kline · First published 1927 · Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller · 13,695 words

First lines

This remarkable story, made so principally by the fact that radio enters into it, is one of the most ingenious we have ever read. The best part about the story, however, is that the radio principles throughout the story are quite accurate. There is nothing fantastic about it, and the thing can be duplicated by any good radio man today.

Here, then, is a scientifiction story, thrilling, mysterious, and breathtaking, that we know you will enjoy.

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Genres

Science Fiction — The narrative is explicitly described as 'scientifiction' and centers entirely on the ingenious application of advanced radio technology, photoelectric cells, X-rays, Crookes tubes, and electromagnetic systems to create seemingly supernatural phenomena. The technical accuracy of these mechanisms and their role as the plot's core solution establish this as the dominant genre.
Mystery — The entire narrative structure revolves around investigating inexplicable phenomena—locked doors, moving objects, apparitions—and systematically uncovering their rational explanation. Dr. Dorp's methodical investigation and the gradual revelation of the mechanism driving the mystery define the work's fundamental architecture.
Thriller — Multiple sequences generate sustained tension and physical danger: Dr. Dorp's near-fatal asphyxiation in the locked closet, the frenzied dog attack in the darkened living room, the pursuit through darkness with luminous eyes as the only guide, and the apprehension of a dangerous criminal. The pacing accelerates toward climactic confrontation.
Horror — The manifestations—ghostly raps, icy breath, phosphorescent spectral forms, foul odors, objects moving autonomously—create genuine psychological dread and atmospheric unease despite their eventual rational explanation. The decaying appearance of Riggs, the charnel odor, and the eerie house setting establish gothic-horror aesthetics.

What this Textopian page supports

The Radio Ghost is listed on Textopian as a novella by Otis Adelbert Kline, dated 1927 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Novella
Author: Otis Adelbert Kline
Date: 1927 CE
Language: English
Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Detective Fiction
Length: 13,695 words
Structure: 1 section, 311 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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