Saturday, October 22, 2005

Lights Out, Everybody!


Just in time for Halloween! The freindly folks over at Old Time Radio are sharing some wild and weird radio featuring programs like Witch's Tale, Lights Out, Innersanctum, Quiet Please, The Haunted Hour and others that directly inspired Horror Comics and shows like Twilight Zone and Thriller.

Although the first radio stations began broadcasting in 1920, it wasn't till the golden age of radio that horror shows were broadcast. Radio was a perfect arena for horror due to the endless possibilities for sound effects. Often, a spooky voice would tell a story while sound effects conjured up the images of thunder and lightening and other atmospheric surroundings.

With the advent of television, radio slowly evaporated, although "Lights Out" made the transition to television in 1949, featuring Frank Gallop as host and Jack La Rue as narrator. The old time radio horror show, "Witch's Tale" is reported to have served as inspiration for EC Comics, which virtually, visually presented old time radio style story telling.

In 1992 Mystery Playhouse honored the golden age of horror radio with a set of trading cards, "Tune in for Terror", featuring art that depicted scenes from famous horror radio broadcasts. OTR continues to be enjoyed by people around the world thanks to the magic of the Internet.

So, get yourself into the Halloween mode and downlaod, tune in and check out The Monster Club while you're digging the awesome collection of Monster Mag Covers!

Lights Out, Everybody!

That's Right,

HMK