Lights Out
1934-39, 1941-43, 1945-47
Circulating Episodes: 67
“A midnight mystery serial to catch the attention of the listeners at the witching hour.”
Pioneered by Wyllis Cooper, the show was handed to Arch Oboler in 1936 when Cooper went to Hollywood to write The Son of Frankenstein. It dealt with gruesome subject matter and became well-known for its ‘gory’ special effects. Oboler said that for every two horror scripts, he liked to write one that was more of a morality play, hence a few here that really aren’t scary or supernatural at all.
Many of the scripts were rebroadcast as The Devil and Mr. O by Arch Oboler in 1970, and a few record albums were released, like Drop Dead!. Lights Out was made into a television series in 1949 without Oboler. This show is the source of Bill Cosby’s notorious Chicken Heart story.
Sources:
Digital Deli
Radio Horror Hosts
Wikipedia
OTRR
Across the Gap
(See Neanderthal)
Ancestor, The
A moll is locked in the wilderness by hit-men to prevent her from testifying– and she starts to hear voices. An ancestor’s ghost is drawn back from the dead by her agony.
Archer
(See The Ancestor)
Author and The Thing, The
It’s Arch Oboler’s last show. Because he recently read a book of magic, a monster from his scary script comes to life! Its gibbering is really creepy!
Ball, The
Two sightseers in France visit a crazy dance, and are warned to leave, but the babes they met unmask at midnight. When they finally see the women’s skeletal faces… they lose their heads!
Bathysphere
A Head of State breaks the record for the deepest dive ever, but his guide cuts the line on the way back up. They have an enlightening political debate while they wait for death.
Battle of The Magicians
Ehrlick uses zombies to crash airplanes, so Saladin is hired to end his blackmail plot. When he becomes the next target, Saladin has his co-pilot feed the zombie some salt, and it jumps from plane!
Bon Voyage
Two old biddies board a ship… that is deserted! Alone, we discover they are running from a murder they committed. The captain appears, but like the Ancient Mariner, he’s made a deal with the devil… to deliver souls in lieu of payment on his own sins!
Cat Wife
(Boris Karloff) Man’s wife transforms into a cat. She eats the policeman who investigates!
Christmas Story
Religious story. An Australian, an American and a French soldier share a train home from the war (1918). They fall asleep and experience a shared dream… that they are three men wandering towards Bethlehem under a brightly glowing star. So weird that Arch Oboler does these religious tracts on a horror show! In another venue, I’d have given this a ‘B’.
Cliff, The
A tearjerker about a Joe who gets set up by a criminal named MacWeather. He hangs. His wife tries to get revenge, except she’s too chicken to let the lead fly, so the crook grabs the heater! This was so contradictory to her character it stank of misogyny, but it allowed a ghost to settle the score in the end, I guess.
Coffin in Studio B, The (1946)
Raymond Edward Johnson, your host, is mixed up in a plot for revenge involving a severed hand and a man who died ten years ago! Normally the host of Inner Sanctum, Raymond’s inclusion is an unnecessary gimmick.
Come to The Bank
A man focuses his concentration like a swami, enabling him to walk through a solid wall at the bank… but he doesn’t walk back out again!
Crazy Town (1943)
Captain Victora, a fake war hero, crashes down in a town where everyone seems insane. A doctor finds him and his co-pilot sitting on a live bomb and traps them, wounded, in a room. They contact a little girl who is crazy… then discover it is a planned utopia for mad men! The girl’s voice is creepy!
Day The Sun Exploded, The
A 15 minute episode. A new, global United Nations each take turns giving speeches about world peace. Recorded in 1945. Not a scary or weird episode, just utopian science fantasy.
Death Robbery
(Boris Karloff) A mad scientist brings his wife back to life… but not her soul! Her hideous laughter stays with you.
Devil’s Due, The
A “silent partner” joins a pair of thugs and recounts their hideous crimes of torture… the cops find only hoof-prints and the scent of brimstone. Motif: Hitchhiker *Winner of the Chicago-American Lights Out script contest!
Dream, The (1938)
A woman refuses to sleep, avoiding a recurring nightmare about a child asking for his father, until her doctor prescribes sleeping pills. She has really killed the boy! Her lack of sleep causes a misjudgement, and she ODs on the pills. She dies.
Dream, The (1943)
(Boris Karloff) A man who has never dreamed has a recurring nightmare telling him to “kill… kill… kill…” until he does! The only escape for his soul: The Gallows.
Drop Dead! An Exercise in Horror (1962, Capitol Records)
This vinyl record album was released with shortened versions of the original stories, some of which no longer exist in their 30-minute radio format.
A Side: Introduction To Horror, I’m Hungry, Taking Papa Home, The Dark
B Side: A Day At The Dentist’s, The Posse, Chicken Heart, The Laughing Man
Dark, The
A horrible thing is in the next room. It turns people inside out. Sluurrp! This is hailed as one of the best horror radio shows in memory, but the 1937 original has been lost! What we have is an 8 minute abbreviated version from the Drop Dead! LP.
Execution
(1944) When a Nazi is wounded in an occupied territory, their leader murders fifty women in front of the entire village. Then he hallucinates all fifty women look identical! She laughs… she is the Spirit of Liberty. “The Nazis can kill people, but not the spirit of victory!” Remember to buy war bonds!
Fast One, The
A series of simultaneous burglaries are investigated. A scientist has discovered a formula that speeds up the human body. The hit-and-run crime epidemic leads the detective straight to the Lugosi sound-alike, …but he joins the mad doctor in a crime spree! What will happen when they “up” the formula?
Flame
A man who chases fire trucks becomes obsessed and invokes the spirit of the flame, who then demands a horrific payment.
Ghost on The Newsreel Negative, The
A reporter goes to a haunted house looking for a spooky story, and meets the ghost and his sister who give them interviews! Similar to “Ghost Hunt”, the great cackling laughter is worth the price of admission!
Happy Ending
Feel good story. A young bride discovers she’s pregnant and reminisces about her husband on the way home. She is concerned about his reaction, scared he’ll worry too much about bills, and he’ll say hurtful things. “Ba-by, Ba-by…” her mind chants. Finally she arrives home, slowly climbs the stairs to their flat… Peggy tells Bill… He has a surprise, too!
Haunted Cell, The
A prisoner at a police station is put in a cell haunted by a cop-killer. Skeeter’s spirit encourages suicide rather than the chair. A tale told… by the prisoner’s ghost!
He Dug It Up
British man finds a Roman coffin in his backyard. The ancient power of Sekhmet burns him for daring to open it.
Heavenly Jeep
Two soldiers and a tag-along love interest astral travel to a world where insects keep humans like cattle! One soldier returns to tell the tale.
Immortal Gentleman
During a boring lecture a man is transported to a future where people are immortal– but those who were in power when the secret was discovered, will always be at the top. Will he have what it takes to sabotage the stagnant society? Alas, no.
It Happened
A wealthy girl looking for fun runs into the wrong sort and ends up wandering the sewers of Paris. Another of the wrong sort finds her, and forces her to make necklaces of bone. Scary first person horror, but the twist ending doesn’t add up.
Kill (1943)
A man who has never dreamed has a recurring nightmare telling him to “kill… kill… kill…” until he does! The only escape for his soul: The Gallows. *A rebroadcast of The Dream (1938), but without Karloff*
Knock at the Door, A
A woman decides to murder her mother-in-law to get ahead in life, but she keeps coming up from the basement!
Little Old Lady
A girl brings a friend along to surprise her long-unseen aunt with a visit to her house in the country. The aunt died three years ago, but there is a were-cat living there.
Little People , The
Not fairies! A jealous man shrinks his wife and her lover into dolls like the headhunter Javaro tribe. Atmospheric.
Lord Marley’s Guest
A sea monster invites Lord Marley… “for dinner.”
Man in The Middle
A stream-of-consciousness narrative in which a man finds himself trapped between his secretary, with whom he’s been having an affair, and his wife, who drops in for a visit. He loves his wife, but can’t bring himself to break up with his mistress. Maybe its because of her boxing champion brother who is also in the room. Look out– he’s got a gun in the desk!
Meteor Man
A couple watches a meteor shower, and retrieve one that falls nearby. Inside is grey flesh that grows into the head of an alien bent on taking over the world.
Mirage, The
A couple walking on the beach see a man writing names in the sand. He will not speak, and when he writes their names, they each feel as if they are dying. The guy wants to play a little game. If they survive, they find a new joie de vivre, if not they must return to the workaday world and empty social obligations.
Mister Maggs
Mr. Maggs buys a locked chest at an auction. Now, what to do about that nagging wife… [Rebroadcast as: The Devil & Mr. O “The Chest”]
Money, Money, Money
During The Great Depression, a sailor kills a co-worker for his winning sweepstakes ticket. To avoid a murder rap, he takes a diving gig with treasure hunters. But guess who’s waiting down below!
Monster off The Screen
(See Super Feature)
Munghara
A poor man kills an aboriginal Australian over a huge diamond. Before Munghara dies, he predicts the man will die on the third day after he returns home.
Murder Castle
A homebuyer’s tour of a castle including the murder locations. One victim’s sister comes on the tour looking for revenge!
Murder in the Script Department
Two typists are trapped at work and odd things begin to happen: typewriters jam, desks move… the lights go out! Someone, some… thing appears! Creepy atmosphere!
Nature Study
A group of adults sets out on a nature field trip. When one member of the party is killed in a rock slide, she confesses to murder with her final breath. One by one, all the people admit they are guilty of murder as they die!In the end only the guide is left alive… but for how long? He has a confession of his own!
Nobody Died
When a scientist discovers an elixir of youth, a powerful man soon arrives to take the discovery and create an army of the eternally young. His excellency tests it on fifty soldiers before trying it on himself. A poor story, but the ending transition sound effects as the mind within a grown man’s body devolves into a child then a baby is shivery!
Organ, The
A couple move into a house with their young son, then discover its supposed to be haunted. Little Billy talks to the old lady at the foot of his bed at night. Ghostly organ music assaults them at night! Spirits play out the murder of the previous tenants by the caretaker… who then shows up with a gun! The walls crumble to reveal an old organ and several corpses!
Oxychloride X
A student discovers a formula that will dissolve anything. When he mixes it in the lab, it blows a hole in the school, and the hole keeps growing into the earth…
Poltergeist
Three ladies think it’s a lark to dance on a grave, but the spirit wants revenge!
Prelude to Murder
A maestro convinces hiimself he is losing his wife to another man. We hear his inner thoughts as he grows jealous enough to kill! Told in a unique perspective. Will maestro destroy his relationship, or win back his wife’s love?
Profits, Unlimited
A woman inherits an island and a factory that has been in her family for 300 years. Factory work is so ingrained in the inhabitants’ lives, she barely needs to work at all to manage them…
Protective Mr. Drogan, The
A drunk swills down a crazy concoction at a party and wakes to discover he has the power to make any hateful thought come true! He decides that rather than turn himself over to the authorities as a living weapon, he’ll try blackmail. But his goody-goody doctor doesn’t agree!
Reunion After Death
When a man’s young lover dies, he picks a flower from her grave, not knowing the legend that when you drop a flower from a grave, the ghost shall appear there forever more. Though heartbroken, Adam runs off, gets married and doesn’t return for seven years. Diane waited for him. When Adam dies, their friend Basil brings her a flower… from his grave. Sound quality is terrible.
Revenge of India, The
A psychic assassin returns to revenge his brother who was killed by mob thugs. Captured, he reaches out mentally to his servant Jeer Singh in Calcutta who calls for venomous snakes to appear and strike down the mobsters!
Revolt of the Worms
A scientist allows his assistant to dump leftover growth serum in the backyard. His wife hears strange sounds like movement beneath the ground… before she disappears down a giant hole!
Rocket Ship (1938)
A rocket ship speeds home from a successful moon-landing mission. The Doc jinxes it by revealing his discovery: the craters on the moon are identical to atomic testing craters on Earth.– Not 24 hours later, they witness a light show on the planet below. Only these lights are colored… hydrogen bombs. This version begins with a drinking song that was snipped from “Rocket from Manhattan” on The Devil and Mr. O.
Room for the Night, A
Laszlo and Maria Drachenstein’s car stalls near an old house with no phone. They are traveling far from home, the mountains of Transylvania. Dr. Paul Benjamin, researcher of psychic phenomena, welcomes them into his home, where he lives alone with his daughter. After being tipped off by a newspaper article detailing the Drachensteins’ death, Dr. Benjamin and Esther make preparations for a vampire confrontation that comes all too soon. The end is a lot of nondescript struggling, moaning and grunting, but it sounded like the vampires were on top until the Benjamins sacrificed themselves by burning down the house with everyone locked inside.
Sakhalin
The sadistic cousin of the czar is sent to oversee a prison camp on a remote island. When he overhears his wife lovingly ask an inspector from the Kremlin to take her away with him, he tells a vengeful hunter that the inspector is really the czar’s nephew and arranges a murderous hunting trip. His scheme backfires wonderfully!
Scoop
J.R. fires everyone over 50 at the newspaper. His driver then abandons him when his car breaks down. Then a stranger arrives to help… the spirit of a fired reporter J.R. drove to suicide. The only escape: hiding in a coffin!
Sea, The
A woman has two sons; one, a good, honest boy, the other lazy and hateful. The evil twin crosses his parents and is responsible for his father’s death. when he murders his good twin, the drowned brother must know why… so his corpse rises from the sea to take revenge!He must protect the woman he loves from the evil twin’s desire, but he falls! Will evil win? The mother says no!
Signalman, The
A reporter interviews a railroad man who lives in a shack 52 feet below the surface. Twice before the old man saw a ghostly figure shouting “Hello, below there!” just before an accident. Lately he’s been seeing the apparition again. If only the ghost would tell him how to prevent the tragedy! [Adapted from The Signalman by Charles Dickens]
Special to Hollywood
The private jet of a conceited movie star hangs in mid-air! No speed, no fall. It creates a situation in which the pilot levels with the arrogant lady, describing what an ungrateful jerk she is. The ending is muddy, but the plane seems to be released once she repents her snotty ways. The supernatural occurrence goes unexplained.
Spider, The
Two men on a jungle expedition encounter a spider as big as a dog.
State Executioner
A stream of consciousness story (like Man in the Middle,) reflecting the thoughts inside the mind of the executioner. He recounts the history of how he came to his position… then grew to enjoy killing! But he is presently in fear of the men coming for him, even contemplating suicide. He himself may hang! He loved his killing so much, he stole evidence to ensure a murder conviction. The neck ends up being his.
Sub-Basement
A raptor dinosaur is loose in the subways! A man brings his wife to the sub-basement to see the train… I mean, kill her… but ends up sacrificing himself for her in the end.
Super Feature
A criminal intends to force his mousey assistant to rob a town blind while he distracts the residents with film screenings. Then a monster walks right off the screen! This episode really had potential, but fizzled out at the end.
They Met at Dorset
Undercover Nazis land at a deserted American mansion from which to launch an attack, but find it far from deserted. Was it the right target? When they kill the inhabitants… they return again!
Ugliest Man in the World, The
A disfigured man dreams of finding love, and meets a woman who has lost her sight. Then she has an operation to fix her eyes. Not horror.
Until Dead
A man framed for murder escapes prison seeking revenge upon the true killer. He finally gets even– but not until they were both already dead!
Valse Triste
Two women are trapped in a cabin by a “very gentle man.” They bet their lives on the flip of a coin!
Visitor From Hades, A (1949)
Obviously influenced by LeFanu’s Green Tea, this story is about a woman (with a terribly fake accent) and a hard-working joe who argue over everything until one night… -something- appears on the sofa and won’t go away! Only they can see it. Can they figure out why it has come, or is it too late?
World, The
A couple ride the elevator up to the 102nd floor of a skyscraper in New York, and from the observation deck notice people looking scared at a dark cloud moving in. When they return, they discover themselves alone in the world. Where did everyone go? Did God become tired of The War and wipe the world clean? Why were the two of them spared? Not much to this one, but it’s well delivered and kinda spooky at times. A hilarious war bonds commercial at the end encourages listeners to give our boys overseas the best war equipment available to achieve victory, right after this morality play!
My hometown library had a cassette tape version of The Dark where people get turned inside out. It was a compilation of Lights Out episodes including Subbasement. It might have been the eight minute version or it might be the missing one. How long is the complete version?
Ryan, The original broadcast episodes ran in a half-hour time slot, so the recording would be 25 minutes to half an hour. But if it was on a professionally made cassette, it is likely the same version from the Drop Dead album. Glad you enjoy listening to the old shows!