Fear (1949)
A Lost Script Restored
Long before the digital age, Ethel Barrett was reaching families through the airwaves of the ABC Network and Northeast powerhouses like WPTR and WPTL. This week, the Archive presents a rare look at a previously unpublished 1949 broadcast script titled “Fear.” Originally performed for live audiences at Camp Pinnacle and broadcast to thousands, this piece captures the “Story Lady” early in her career.
In this script, Ethel uses a relatable childhood anecdote about a “ghost” in a hallway to bridge the gap into the biblical story of Daniel in the lions’ den. It is a masterclass in how she used the intimacy of the radio medium to teach “spiritual muscles” to a generation of listeners.
“FEAR”
by Ethel Barrett, 1949
The boy settled back against his pillows, a wonderful warmth stealing through him.
“Have you ever been afraid?” It was all he could think of to say.
He had stood it as long as he could, the growing fear the queer and awful shapes things took in the darkness and then he had called out to his mother, and now she was here, stretched out across the foot of his bed. He couldn’t find words for the comfort she brought in her nearness and her understanding. He only knew that once they started talking, she’d somehow take care of everything, and put fear in its place.
“Yes. Lots of times.” she was saying - “but most of the things I’ve been afraid of, never happened.”
BOY: They didn’t?
MOTHER: They didn’t. I knew two little girls once. They - would you like to hear a story?
BOY: Um HMMMM
MOTHER: Well, those little girls were cousins, and they lived in the same house. Sometimes, the grown-ups of the house would go to the evening market for groceries, or to a meeting... back home by half-past eight or nine o’clock, and the girls would stay home and play but one night, something happened - perhaps the buses weren’t running - I don’t know - but the grown-ups didn’t get back. The girls didn’t even notice that it was getting late because they were really having fun. The thing they liked best to do was dress up. And that’s what they were doing. Dressing up in their mothers’ old hats and clothes and pretending. It was especially funny that night, because Alice’s clothing was stuffed with pillows - they were tied around with clothes line - and she was all dressed up and pretending to be a funny lady. Oh they were having a wonderful time. Until Alice dropped something and tried to stoop over and couldn’t pick it up - and they went into gales of laughter, when suddenly -
SOUND: KNOCKING
JANE: Ohhhhhhh, someone’s at the back door. Listen.
ALICE: There’s no knocking now.
JANE: Well, there WAS, I heard it.
ALICE: You go.
JANE: I don’t want to OPEN it - I’ll just ask who’s there.
ALICE: Alright.
JANE: You come out with me.
ALICE: I’ll come out with you but don’t open the door.
JANE: Who is it?
SOUND: KNOCKING
JANE: Who’s there?
SOUND: KNOCKING
JANE: Why don’t they answer?
ALICE: I- I’m afraid.
JANE: I’ll go get uncle Jack’s gun.
ALICE: Noooooo. Don’t leave me here. Help me take these pillows off.
JANE: You take them off.
ALICE: I can’t get the rope untied.
JANE: I’ll be right back.
ALICE: Ohhhh. (BUSINESS OF UNTYING) Maybe they’re gone. Oh, JANE. Where was it?
JANE: In his closet.
ALICE: Is it loaded?
JANE: I don’t know. I don’t know how to open it. All I know is, this is the trigger. You got your pillows off. They still here?
ALICE: (CRYING) I don’t know.
JANE: Shhhh. (ALOUD) Who Is it?
SOUND: KNOCKING
JANE: I have a gun and it’s loaded. If you come in here, I’ll shoot.
SOUND: KNOCKING
ALICE: Ohhh. I wish Rex were here.
JANE: He’s not around. If he were anywhere around, he’d bark at strangers.
ALICE: What are you doing?
JANE: I’m getting under the table. Come on. Get under.
ALICE: Why?
JANE: I just feel better under there. Come on.
MUSIC: PASSING OF TIME BRIDGE
ALICE: I wish we had a telephone.
JANE: Yeah. And I wish I knew what time it was. I’m afraid to go out and see.
ALICE: I wish our mothers would come home. We’ll face the door.
JANE: And I wish Rex was here. He’d scare ‘em away. I wish they’d go away.
JANE: Don’t cry. I have the gun. You know, it’s a funny thing. But they don’t knock unless we SAY something. As long as we’re quiet...
ALICE: That’s right. Say something and see.
JANE: We’ve still got the gun, you!
SOUND: KNOCKING
ALICE: See?
JANE: Yeah.
ALICE: I can’t sit here much longer. I’m cramped.
JANE: Just don’t CRY. I can’t wait a minute.
ALICE: What?
JANE: Voices. It’s mother and aunt Alice! And the rest of them!
JANE: What’ll we do?
ALICE: What do you mean, what’ll we do?
JANE: Whatever it is in the back hall will get THEM!
ALICE: Ohhhhh - Mother! MOTHER!?
JANE: MOTHER! (FADE)
MUSIC: DRAMATIC BRIDGE: CHANGING TO QUIET MOOD! THEN OUT
JANE’S MOTHER: I thought we’d never get here. Hope the girls aren’t frightened. Hel-ooooo, Rex! Why aren’t you inside?
SOUND: KEY TURNING IN LOCK. OPENING DOOR
JANE’S MOTHER: Hi, there! Why didn’t you let the dog in? He was asleep out in the hall - What are you doing with that gun?
ALICE: REX?
JANE: Was that Rex out in the hall? (CRYING)
JANE’S MOTHER: Why darling! What’s the matter?
JANE: Something was out there knocking. Every time we talked, it knocked. We didn’t know we were so scared. I got the gun -
JANE’S MOTHER: Ohhh you poor darlings. It was his TAIL. When he heard us, he thumped his tail on the floor two-forty. Every time he heard your voice, he thumped his tail.
02 JANE: Why didn’t he BARK?
JANE’S MOTHER: Why, he was comfortable taking a nap. He didn’t know you were frightened - He just thought (FADE)
MUSIC: NARRATIVE BRIDGE
BOY: Boy, that was a swell story. You had me scared. It was just the dog wagging his tail, ha?
MOTHER: That was all. He was a big dog, and his tail really made a noise.
BOY: Was that all true?
MOTHER: Sounds crazy, but it was true.
BOY: Did you know the girls?
MOTHER: Yes -
BOY: Did you know the one who had the gun?
MOTHER: Umm hmmm.
BOY: Who?
MOTHER: Me.
BOY: REALLY?
MOTHER: (LAUGHING) Yes. It was I and I’ll never forget it.
BOY: Boy, you were brave.
MOTHER: No, I wasn’t. I was bold because she was so frightened! Somebody had to take over.
BOY: Hummm. You make even being scared interesting.
MOTHER: (LAUGHING) I do? Well, being scared is - a normal thing. Fear IS GOOD.
BOY: It IS?
MOTHER: It is. It’s a warning to your body and mind to be on the alert. When you feel fear, your body makes a chemical called adrenalin inside you, and it makes you strong - stronger than you are normally. Then you’re ready for the emergency, whatever it may be.
BOY: Does it?
MOTHER: Mmmmm. Fear is nothing to be ashamed of, if you don’t let it get the best of you. It’s fear of fire that makes us careful of it. There are things we should be afraid of. But with the kind of fear that makes us careful - not terrified. The Lord has said, “Fear not, I am with thee - Be not afraid - Lo, I am with thee”. Oh, He tells us a hundred different ways in the Bible not to be afraid. So the kind of fear that you feel, has no place in a Christian’s heart. You’re afraid of darkness and strange shapes in your room that you know will be just chairs and things when the lights are turned on.
BOY: You make it all seem like nothing. You make it alright.
MOTHER: I’m glad. Because courage is a thing that grows. You start by having courage in little things and you exercise it and it grows like muscles and after awhile you are brave in big things - dangerous things.
BOY: Really?
MOTHER: Sure. How do you suppose Daniel got so brave when he was faced with being thrown to the lions? He’d been brave all his life.
BOY: Tell me about Daniel.
MOTHER: Well, when he was put in the lions’ den, he -
BOY: No, tell me like a story. Say, “Once upon a time.” Like a story.
MOTHER: Well once upon a time there was a king. And he had many princes and governors and captains to rule in his kingdom... but over all these, he had put one prince who was wiser than all the rest - fellow by the name of Daniel.
MOTHER: Daniel was a great favorite with the king, and everything was going very well, thank you, until the other noblemen became jealous. They watched Daniel at first to see if they could get something on him and they couldn’t, for he was honest and faithful. “We can’t discredit this man,” they said. “He takes no part in the social life of the court... he worships his own God - prays three times a day... wait! That’s just how we CAN get him. We can go to the king, and ask him (FADE)
MUSIC: NARRATIVE BRIDGE
MALE VOICE: Oh king, all the governors and princes of the kingdom have consulted together to establish a royal law that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man, but you, for thirty days - shall be cast into the den of lions. (FADE) Now, oh king sign this law that it be not changed, etc.
MOTHER: And the king signed the law... put his seal on it and sealed Daniel’s doom. They watched to see what Daniel would do. To see if he dared to pray to his God, when his life was at stake!
And Daniel? How can we know how afraid he was? This was not fear of the dark or of being poor, or fear of POSSIBLE death... it was the terrifying certainty that he would be thrown into a den of hungry lions. To be delivered if God chose to deliver him - to be crushed and ripped apart - if that was the way God wanted it!
And so the man who had faced danger and fear all his life - and through God had conquered it - made one of his greatest decisions. When morning came - he opened his window that faced his beloved Jerusalem and there, in plain sight of all he knelt and prayed. He knew they were watching him... he knew what would happen and the morning wasn’t far gone when word came to him (FADE)
MALE VOICE: Sire - they have reported to the king that you worshipped your God... you know the law just passed.
DANIEL: Yes, I know.
MALE VOICE: The king knows now they’ve tricked him - he has sent everyone away from court except his closest advisors - he is trying to find a way to change the law and save you. (FADE)
MOTHER: All day long, it was the talk of the great city. The law could not be changed, once the king’s seal was upon it. Would Daniel pray at noon? Yes - he did. In his open window! Had any word come from the palace? No - the king wasn’t seeing anyone. That night? Daniel prayed again! The excitement ran high, Daniel had been the king’s favorite - and finally -
SOUND: BUGLE
MALE VOICE: His majesty, King Darius has commanded, according to the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be changed - (FADE)
MOTHER: Daniel was to be thrown to the lions!
The king’s orders were carried out swiftly - Daniel was brought under guard to the lions’ den - and there, with all the nobles of the land gathered round - he was let down - down - into the dark den -
“Thy God will be able to deliver thee!” cried the king.
Can you imagine it? Those are the last words you hear, before the great stone is rolled over the entrance, and you are left in darkness.
MUSIC: THIN, HIGH, SUSTAINED FEAR NOTES ON ORGAN CLIMBING HIGHER UNDER:
Darkness. And silence. Though you can’t hear them, you can feel them as they move about, graceful, noiseless, waiting - And then as your eyes get used to the dark, you can see the huge shapes, some still, some moving back and forth - back and forth. And then they are close - eyes glowing in the darkness - you can hear their breathing. Close your eyes - shut out the glowing eyes - shut out the fear - and with all your will and with all your strength, keep your eyes on the Lord. Thy God will be able to deliver thee. Thy God will be able to deliver thee. (FADE)
MUSIC: SWELL TO DRAMATIC CLIMAX OR STAB: THEN OUT.
Outside the den, the excitement had died down. The king had gone to his rooms - it was reported that he could not sleep and would not eat. The crowd had broken up - some of the nobles had left - some remained with the guards all night. And so the long night passed.
At the crack of dawn the excitement mounted again as sleepy guards were roused and the crowds began to gather and the news came that the king was on his way. People stopped breathing as the stone was moved and the den was opened and the king cried, “Daniel - is thy God able to deliver thee from the lions?”
“Oh king, live forever” came the voice from the den. Daniel’s voice: “My God has shut the lions’ mouths and they have not hurt me.”
They looked down.
And there were the lions, some quiet, some pacing back and forth - and there was Daniel in the midst of them - unharmed!
The king gave swift orders. Daniel was lifted up out of the den. The battle was over. The victory was won. He was given back his position of honor, and the nobles who plotted against him were punished.
BOY: Boy, that was a swell story.
MOTHER: Mmmm. It’s the story of a boy who cut his teeth on fear, grew up in the midst of danger, and developed his spiritual muscles until he could face death, even death by hungry lions, with the strength of one who knows he’s on the winning side no matter what happens.
BOY: His life was in God’s hands.
MOTHER: And your life is in the same hands, darling.
MUSIC: (BRING SLOWLY)
She left after that, and went back to bed. After she was gone, the room was dark and quiet, but the weird shapes in the room were familiar again. The boy turned over on his side and began to think of Daniel. But before he’d hardly started - he was asleep.
Great story! Thank you Sean.