CBS Radio Mystery Theater – The Ghost Grey Bat (1981) 🦇

An Alpine Sabbatical

• 💡 Alec and Moira Grant arrange a house exchange for Alec's sabbatical, trading their New York apartment for an isolated Alpine chalet in Austria.
• 🏡 They are greeted by Fra Zalber, an elderly housekeeper, who seems overly attentive and claims to be a family retainer.
• ⚠️ Alec experiences uneasy feelings and premonitions, which he dismisses due to Moira's excitement for their trip.

Mysterious Occurrences

• 🦇 Alec believes he sees a "monstrous ghost gray bat" flying outside their window on the first night, though Moira is asleep.
• 😴 Moira falls into an unusually deep, prolonged sleep, appearing to be in a coma, with two small marks on her neck.
• 🔍 Alec discovers a hidden, damp passage in the cellar leading to a vast cave filled with bats, including a huge "worm gray one" that attacks him.

A Desperate Search for Help

• 🚗 Alec attempts to drive to town for a doctor but finds his car's tires are mysteriously flat, stranding them at the chalet.
• 📞 He eventually walks to Winterbot and contacts Dr. Kernish, who reveals that Fra Zalber is actually Gretel Gottschalk, born in 1871 (making her 109 years old).
• 🧙‍♀️ Dr. Kernish explains the local legend of a witch/vampire who possesses human bodies and suggests Fra Zalber is trying to invade Moira's body.

Confrontation and Resolution

• 🚨 Returning to the chalet, they find Moira missing and locate a secret passage behind an armoire leading to the bat cave.
• 🔥 Alec confronts the "ghost gray bat" (Fra Zalber in bat form) attempting to feed on Moira, impaling it with a torch.
• 💥 The cave then explodes due to subterranean sulfur springs, burying the entity and saving Moira.

The Power of Belief

• ✅ Moira recovers, and Dr. Kernish attributes the events to drugs and illusions caused by the steam and poor light in the cave.
• 🤔 The host concludes by pondering the nature of reality, suggesting that "we are what we believe," leaving the supernatural elements open to interpretation.