Enjoy two horror episodes of Lights Out! w/ Boris Karloff

A) 4/26/39 The Devil’s Due w/ Arthur Kohl

B) 7/16/47 Death Robbery w/ Boris Karloff

Lights Out! was the brainchild of Wyllis Cooper. Originating out of the studios of WENR in Chicago, Cooper presented a late-night horror program - heard only in the Midwest - seething with vampires, invisible monsters, evil beings, and survivors of an atomic apocalypse. Several fan clubs sprang up and in 1935, NBC decided to expand its coverage nationwide. A year later, Wyllis Cooper went to Hollywood to pursue a screenwriting career, leaving the program in the capable hands of playwright Arch Oboler. Oboler wrote, directed and hosted the series confining most of the casts to two or three players. His favorite cast members included Lou Merrill, Bea Benaderet (who would later voice “Betty Rubble” on The Flintstones), Joseph Kearns, Mercedes McCambridge and Hans Conried. Oboler employed elaborate sound effects with the stark reality of no music, using only a gong sound for scene transitions. Under Oboler’s guidance, the show broadcast psychological chillers with stream-of-consciousness narrative, each featuring an element of classic horror – from giant worms and haunted houses to monsters from outer space. Announcer Frank Martin would often banter with Oboler after the story inquiring as to Oboler’s motivation for writing it. The Sterling Drug company was the sponsor (Ironized Yeast tablets and Energine Shoe polish) for the 1942-43 seasons, hosted by Oboler from Hollywood. In the summers of 1945, 1946 and 1947, Wyllis Cooper returned to the fold. His career in Hollywood never really panned out, so he chose to return to his roots. Lights Out! made a transition to television in 1949 hosted by Frank Gallop as a disembodied head introducing and closing each creepy episode.