The Horror! (Old Time Radio)

Episode Title: Those Who Walk in Darkness by Creeps by Night
Date: September 6, 2025
Host: RelicRadio.com
Original Air Date: April 25, 1944 (Mystery Playhouse, hosted by Peter Lorre)

Episode Overview

This chilling episode, Those Who Walk in Darkness, delves deeply into the murky territory of medical ethics, jealousy, and supernatural vengeance. The story, presented as a dramatization by the legendary Boris Karloff and hosted by Peter Lorre, follows a desperate quest to restore sight to a man blinded by a laboratory explosion. As his wife and his doctor—who is also her former lover—seek out a solution for his blindness, moral boundaries are crossed, and sinister consequences unfold. The episode combines classic gothic and psychological horror elements with Old Time Radio’s signature atmosphere of dread.

Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Introduction and Scene Setting

Peter Lorre’s Opening Monologue (01:43–03:19)

• Lorre introduces the story, warning that horror often emerges from innocuous beginnings and ordinary people. The tone is foreboding, setting the audience up for an unsettling experience.
  • Quote: “The circumstances leading up to horror and tragedy are many times as innocent seeming as a Sunday school picnic…” —Peter Lorre [01:46]

2. Hospital and Marital Tension

Stephen Denton’s Plight (03:19–06:09)

• Stephen Denton, a scientist, lies in Bayside Hospital, bandaged and fearing blindness after an explosion. Valerie, his wife, is at his side, along with Dr. Paul Wade—her former fiancé.
• Dr. Wade examines Stephen and reassures him, but it is clear there is tension between Wade and Valerie, rooted in their past.

3. A Shocking Confession

Revelation Between Valerie and Paul (05:32–08:21)

• In a private conversation, Paul reminds Valerie of their broken engagement. The emotional dialogue reveals Paul’s bitterness and Valerie’s guilt.

• Valerie suspects Paul is not being honest about Stephen's prospects for recovery. Paul admits the chances are grim but introduces hope: a possible corneal transplant.

  • Quote: “It’s rather ironic that we should meet again at the bedside of my rival… a man who may forever walk in darkness.” —Dr. Wade [06:55]

4. The Quest for Sight

Desperate Measures and Moral Dilemma (08:21–15:36)

• Dr. Wade explains that corneas can only be transplanted from recently deceased donors. Lacking available tissue, he identifies a dying mystic, Chandra, who lives in squalor by the river. Valerie pleads with Chandra for the donation of his eyes.

• Chandra, fearing blindness in the afterlife, refuses with mystical defiance and then dies, leaving Valerie and Paul facing a moral crossroads.

  • Quote: “No, you are wrong. There is no death. I am going on a journey. I will need my eyes to see into the great beyond…” —Chandra [14:04]

• Despite Chandra’s refusal, Valerie urges Dr. Wade to take his eyes, prioritizing Stephen’s need over ethical qualms.

  • Quote: “A doctor’s first duty is to the living… What responsibility have you to this lifeless thing?” —Valerie [14:56]

5. The Return Home and Unsettling Hints

Anticipation and Suspicion (16:04–18:33)

• After surgery, Stephen returns home, hopeful to regain his sight once the bandages are removed. He expresses gratitude to Dr. Wade, unaware of the full truth.
• A tense conversation ensues between Stephen and Dr. Wade, filled with metaphor and innuendo about “borrowing” eyes.
  • Quote: “It must be very pleasant to see with the eyes of love, even though the eyes are borrowed.” —Dr. Wade [17:35]

6. The Supernatural Intrudes

Haunted by the Past (18:33–23:21)

• In the garden, Stephen begins to hear a ghostly voice demanding the return of his eyes. Dr. Wade tries to dismiss it, suggesting a brain injury, but the voice’s persistence rattles Stephen and Valerie.

  • Quote: “Give me back my eyes.” —(Ghostly Voice/Dr. Wade) [20:17, 20:21]

7. The Psychological Unravelling

Revelation of Betrayal (23:21–25:36)

• Valerie discovers, to her horror, that Dr. Wade was faking the ghostly voice to torment Stephen and drive him mad. She confronts Paul with rage and disgust.

  • Quote: “You unspeakable monster. Trying to drive Stephen mad. Playing on his superstitions, his fear of the dark, of the unknown.” —Valerie [25:23]

• In the midst of this revelation, a gunshot rings out—Stephen, driven by despair and terror, has taken his own life.

8. Retribution and the Final Irony

An Eye for an Eye (26:09–28:09)

• Paul, hoping Valerie will now be with him, is instead met with her condemnation and wrath. In a moment of poetic justice, Valerie grabs a bottle of sulfuric acid and flings it in his face, blinding him just as her husband had been.
  • Quote: “You’re going to know what it is to walk in darkness. Forever… Down my eyes.” —Valerie [28:01]

Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “The eyes are the windows of the soul.” —Chandra [14:07]
• “Borrowed? What do you mean?” —Stephen [17:44]
• “Give me back my eyes.” —(Ghostly Voice/Dr. Wade) [20:17]
• “Trying to drive Stephen mad… To turn him into a raving maniac.” —Valerie [25:23]
• “You’re going to know what it is to walk in darkness. Forever…” —Valerie [28:01]
• “There, my friend, is a young lady who takes literally the old adage, an eye for an eye.” —Peter Lorre (outro narration) [28:09]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:06–01:43 — Atmospheric introduction and preview
• 03:19–06:09 — Hospital and diagnosis; Dr. Wade and Valerie’s emotional history
• 08:21–15:36 — Visit to Chandra, the dying mystic; ethical dilemma and decision to proceed with the transplant
• 16:04–18:33 — Stephen’s return home; hints of supernatural retribution
• 20:17–23:21 — Ghostly voices haunt Stephen; Dr. Wade’s psychological manipulation
• 25:09–25:56 — Valerie uncovers Dr. Wade’s betrayal; confrontation
• 26:09–28:09 — Stephen’s suicide and Valerie’s final revenge

Tone and Style

The tone is consistently ominous and oppressive, heavy with the hallmarks of radio horror: shadowy scenes, emotionally fraught confrontations, and chilling sound effects. The characters speak in measured, dramatic cadence, and the supernatural is woven seamlessly into the psychological drama.

Summary

Those Who Walk in Darkness is a masterful tale of horror and moral ambiguity, mixing medical drama with jealousy and a vengeance that extends beyond the grave. It asks chilling questions about what we owe to the living and the dead, and punishes hubris with poetic justice. The episode remains as gripping today as it was in 1944, its gothic atmosphere and psychological suspense undimmed by time.