Podcast Summary: Lights Out – “Cat Wife”

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Aired: October 24, 2025
Play Originally Aired: April 6, 1938
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Story Writer/Narrator: Arch Oboler
Episode: Lights Out 38-04-06 085 – Cat Wife

Episode Overview

This episode features the classic radio play "Cat Wife" from the Lights Out horror anthology, written by Arch Oboler. The story showcases the turn-of-the-century fascination with the supernatural, psychological horror, and unnerving transformations. “Cat Wife” explores a disintegrating marriage that culminates in a surreal metamorphosis, blurring lines between human and beast, sanity and madness.

Listeners are warned early that Lights Out stories are "definitely not for the timid soul," setting the tone for a dark, intense, and disturbing audio experience.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. A Joyless Marriage (01:41–05:47)

• Characters: Linda (the wife, B), John (the husband, A), and Linda's rowdy friends.
• Linda is portrayed as a woman living for fun and carefree company, having no respect or affection for her hardworking husband.
• Their marital discord is explicit, filled with cutting insults and confessions. Linda reveals she married John for money:

  “I married you because I was sick of working in a two bit barbershop... I wanted dough, plenty of it. All I could get you was the best chance to get it that came my way.”
  (Linda, 04:44)

• After a heated argument, John accuses Linda of being a “cat”—mean, screeching, heartless.

2. The Metamorphosis (07:03–08:15)

• John’s cruel words become a curse. Linda starts feeling unwell, losing the ability to see clearly, and then begins morphing, physically resembling a cat.
• Panic and horror peak as John witnesses her transformation:

  “Her hands. Look at her hands. They're... they're claws. Her teeth... Her teeth—Linda!”
  (John, 09:15)

3. Supernatural Repercussions (08:15–12:41)

• A doctor is called; he attributes Linda’s state to neurosis brought on by hysteria and suggestion.
• The transformation, however, seems permanent and only gets worse. The doctor talks about contacting the authorities for scientific study. John reacts in desperation:

  “You’re not going to tell a living soul about it. No one, you hear me? No one. It's my duty, John. I must inform the authorities.”
  (John & Doctor, 12:19)

• John kills the doctor to protect Linda.

4. Descent Into Madness (12:44–18:30)

• John is now isolating himself with Linda, increasingly unhinged, attempting to feed her only milk and raw liver—things more suited to her now feline state.
• Neighbors and tradespeople become suspicious—his order for “six bottles of milk” and repeated requests for fresh liver seem odd.
• There are darkly comedic exchanges with the milkman and butcher:

  “By golly, it could be you was raising a cat or something!”
  (Butcher, 15:57)

• John is deeply paranoid, refuses to let Linda out of the house, and starts shutting out the world.

5. Neighborhood Suspicion & Tragic Conclusion (18:31–End)

• A neighbor, Sergeant Keligan, visits to complain about loud caterwauling.

• John’s denials grow frantic as the noises from Linda become impossible to hide.

• Keligan tries to intervene, leading to chaos. Linda—now entirely a beast—attacks Keligan:

  “If that ain’t a cat in that bedroom there, I ain’t never heard one.”
  (Keligan, 21:00)

• John loses his eyesight in the struggle, presumably mauled by Linda, and in a final, frantic act, fires blindly, crying out:

  “You've taken everything from me. My eyes, my life. Now I'll take Linda ... I’m coming with you. Wait for me. Linda. My beloved. Wait.”
  (John, final moments)

• The program closes with the infamous Lights Out sign-off:

  “It is later than you think.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Linda's Confession

  “I loved you about as much as that canary up there loves his cage.”
  (Linda, 05:01)

• John’s Outburst

  “That's what you are. A cat. A big, white, heartless cat. You think like one. You screech like one. You even look like one.”
  (John, 07:06)

• Doctor’s Diagnosis

  “The suggestion that she was a cat caught her in an unguarded moment and resulted in a temporary neurosis.”
  (Doctor, 08:45)

• Supernatural Realization

  “This horrible thing that’s happened to Linda, it goes beyond just you and me. Goes beyond the normal, into the supernatural.”
  (Doctor, 12:19)

• John’s Madness

  “Drink the milk, my beloved. Please. But you haven’t eaten anything ... Oh, my darling, what do you want? I’ll get you anything, anything...”
  (John, 14:45)

• Neighbor’s Suspicion

  “If that ain’t creating a public nuisance, I’d like to know what is. ... If that ain’t a cat in that bedroom there, I ain’t never heard one.”
  (Sergeant Keligan, 21:00)

Key Timestamps

• 01:41 – The party in full swing, marital troubles surface.
• 04:44 – Linda declares she married John for money.
• 07:03–08:15 – John calls Linda a cat; the transformation begins.
• 09:15 – John and doctor witness Linda’s claws and teeth.
• 12:19–12:41 – Doctor threatens to inform authorities; John kills him.
• 14:45 – John’s attempts to care for Linda as a cat.
• 15:57 – The butcher jokes about John raising a cat.
• 18:31 – Sergeant Keligan’s confrontation.
• 21:00 – Linda attacks Keligan; John is blinded.
• End – John, in total despair, calls out to Linda before the final, chilling sign-off.

Tone, Atmosphere & Style

The episode maintains a tense, claustrophobic tone of psychological horror typical of Lights Out. The dialogue is rapid-fire, sarcastic, and at times venomous between Linda and John, sliding into mania as John's reality unravels. Dark humor creeps in via bystanders oblivious to the tragedy unfolding within. The atmosphere is one of ever-increasing dread.

Arch Oboler’s Lights Out stories stand out for their suggestion of the supernatural intruding on everyday life, the blurring of guilt, sanity, and fate, and this episode is a chilling example.

For New Listeners

Even without prior experience of OTR (Old-Time Radio), this episode delivers a classic taste of radio horror—dependently chilling, with strong psychological themes, far ahead of its time.

If you’re interested in Golden Age radio drama, “Cat Wife” is an essential listen, encapsulating both the era's style and its capacity for visceral, unforgettable storytelling.