Orson Welles hosted and narrated the shows. Mr.
Welles opened each show slightly differently but followed a standard format.
For example, the show, "The Bathtub", open as follows:"This is
Orson Welles speaking from London." (Big Ben starts chiming in the background).
"The Black Museum, repository of death... Here, in this grim stone
structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homocide,
where everyday objects, a piece of wire, a chemist's flask, a silver shilling,
all are touched by murder." (dramatic music) Following the opening, Mr.
Welles would introduce the museum's item or items of evidence that was central
to the case, leading into the dramatization. He also provided narration during
the show and ended each show with his characteristic closing from the days of
his Mercury Theater of the Air, remaining "obediently yours".