Friday the 13th on a full moon – “Lights Out everybody”

Before there was Suspense Radio and before Inner Sanctum Mysteries was conceived it was Lights Out, a horror-based radio series that ran from 1934 through 1947. I’ve heard many of these episodes through the years, but never – I confess – with the lights out. These shows are very effective in the spine-tingly department and are a great way to celebrate the double-whammy sure to bring out the evil in everyone. That is the concurrence of Friday the 13th and a full moon, which took place at 12:13 this morning on the East Coast and will not occur again until August 13, 2049. (Vox.com)

So, is this cause for celebration? I say yes. Anything to share more old-time radio. Enjoy. Oh, and be safe. bwahahahahahaha

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As the world’s most popular master of horror in the 1930s it made news when Boris Karloff decided to appear on Lights Out. Here’s the mention that appeared in the March 25th 1938 edition of the Tonawanda Daily News:

(Tonawanda is a town in New York, by the way. I wasn’t familiar with it myself.)

DIAL DIVERSION FOR HOURS AT HOME

Boris Karloff, Best of Bogeymen, To Appear on “Lights Out” Show

Let’s all sit down and have a good scare. At exactly half an hour past midnight (EST), tonight, lights will be dimmed in innumerable homes throughout the nation, armchairs will be dragged closer to radios, books and papers will be laid aside, and a shudder will pass over the face of the land, for Boris Karloff, the best known bogeyman in the movies, will be undertaking a role in “Lights Out”–the best known horror drama in radio. His first midnight horror, tonight, will be “Cat-Wife,” with Betty Winkler as the neurotic wife.

Fear, you know, is a funny thing. We talk bravely about rooting it out of our minds and banishing it from our lives, but the truth of the matter is that we probably wouldn’t if we could, for we really enjoy it. We have an appetite for fear. Boris Karloff in his first appearance on the “Lights Out” show may be heard over station WBEN at 12:30 a.m.

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Karloff’s stint on Lights Out included a series of episodes. Following are two of those.

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