Valse Triste by Lights Out

Summary

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The Horror! (Old Time Radio) – "Valse Triste" by Lights Out

Date: March 21, 2026
Host: RelicRadio.com
Original Airdate (Lights Out episode): December 29, 1942
Summary by: [Your Podcast Summarizer]

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Episode Overview

This thrilling installment of The Horror! delves into a classic episode of Lights Out titled "Valse Triste." Set within the realm of old-time radio horror, the story follows two city-bred women who find themselves lost in the wilderness—only to stumble upon a mysterious, reclusive man with a terrifying proposition. "Valse Triste" epitomizes radio horror’s talent for building claustrophobic suspense and psychological dread, exploring themes of chance, fate, and twisted loneliness.

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Main Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Chance and Fate: The Story’s Thematic Heart

• The episode revolves around the recurrent theme that all in life is governed by chance, not careful planning or fate.
  • John Boyd: "You say the world is planned. I say the world is chance." [03:53]
• This theme is reflected both in how the women chose their vacation spot and in their pressing predicament with the sinister John Boyd.

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2. Setting the Scene: Accidental Horror (04:01–08:00)

• Characters Introduced:
  • Laura and Dotty Nelson — spirited, bantering young women
  • John Boyd — the strange, violin-playing recluse
• While out on a canoe trip, Laura and Dotty lose their boat and are forced to wander the woods as a storm approaches.
  • Laura: "I'm scared." [06:13]
  • Their humorous, light rapport quickly turns anxious as they realize they’re stranded.

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3. Arrival at the House: Suspense Builds (08:01–12:00)

• Seeking shelter, the women are drawn to a remote house by the sound of haunting violin music.
  • Laura: "Isn't he the strangest man?" [08:41]
• John Boyd greets them politely and offers a cold hospitality, but his avoidance of light and odd demeanor spook his guests.
  • Laura (whispering): "Why does he keep away from the light of the fire?" [10:48]
• As the tension escalates, the women try to leave—only to discover that Boyd has locked them inside.

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4. The Protagonists’ Dilemma: The Ultimate Choice (12:04–14:49)

• Boyd reveals his intent: one of the women must become his wife, the other must die.
  • John Boyd: "Chance brought you here to me...To get myself a wife." [13:26]
  • Dotty: "Then what about the other?"
  • Boyd: "I marry one... And the other dies." [14:22–14:40]
• The women’s pleas fall on deaf ears, as Boyd calmly explains his philosophy of unbiased nature and random selection.

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5. All Is Chance: The Coin Flip (20:00–21:40)

• The method of choosing who will live is, fittingly, left to fate—a coin toss.
  • John Boyd: "Here, see? A coin. One chooses heads and one chooses tails. We'll let chance be the chooser." [20:25]
• Laura chooses tails, Dotty gets heads. Dotty faints under the stress, suspense mounting as Boyd delays revealing the result.
  • John Boyd: "I'll hold the coin here flat inside my hand until your friend recovers..." [21:28]

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6. Intersecting Parallel Suffering (21:51–23:07)

• Meanwhile, two men downstream discuss the missing women after finding their wrecked canoe.
  • They, too, decide to continue their search based on a coin flip—mirroring Boyd’s fatalistic philosophy.
    • Fred: "I’ll tell you what, we’ll flip for it, huh? Heads we’ll go up there, tails we’ll go downstream." [22:59]

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7. Climax: The Verdict and Reveal (23:18–25:02)

• Laura is desperate to know whether she or Dotty has been chosen.
  • Laura: "Is it head? Tell us!" [23:56–24:01]
• Boyd finally announces: Laura (who chose tails) is to die, Dotty to be his bride.
  • John Boyd: "Then die. Oh, no need for tears for her, my dear. She died quite gently..." [24:39]
  • Dotty protests, but Boyd insists chance has decided.

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8. A Macabre "Happily Ever After" (25:09–27:41)

• Boyd details his lonely life and insists Dotty will become his bride, speaking of his homeland and their grim future.
  • John Boyd: "I'm a man who always goes by chance." [25:02]
  • He reveals a monstrous secret: "Look at me. Look closely. You see, my dear, I had a little accident. I haven't got a face." [27:26]
• The chilling note cements the story’s horror, leaving the audience’s imagination with a lasting terror.

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9. Epilogue & Meta-Commentary (28:14–29:20)

• The show steps outside the narrative to assure listeners that the story is fiction, meant to "amaze and amuse."
  • Fred: "The young ladies were purely fictional characters and the villain existed only for the brief space of the 29 minutes during which you listened to the play." [28:25]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Theme Statement:
  "You say the world is planned. I say the world is chance." — John Boyd [03:53]
• Boyd’s Philosophy of Nature:
  "Two rabbits run before the fox. One to the right, one to the left. The fox follows one and kills. But which one? It's all a matter of chance, with gentle nature herself to choose it. And I shall choose between you too." — John Boyd [18:19]
• Revelation of Horror:
  "Look at me. Look closely. You see, my dear, I had a little accident. I haven't got a face." — John Boyd [27:26]
• Interconnected Fate:
  Jackson and Fred downstream flipping a coin—mirroring Boyd’s own actions, reinforcing the theme of random chance shaping their destinies. [22:59]

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Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Content | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 03:53 | Introduction of chance vs. planning (Boyd) | | 08:00 | Arrival at Boyd's house; violin music | | 10:48 | Suspicion and fear build in the dark house | | 12:04 | Boyd’s intent becomes clear; the ultimatum given | | 14:40 | Fatal choice: "I marry one. And the other dies." | | 20:25 | The decisive coin toss | | 23:56 | Laura pleads for the verdict | | 24:39 | "Then die." Boyd declares the outcome | | 27:26 | Boyd reveals his facelessness | | 28:25 | Epilogue: it's just a story, "permit your blood pressure to follow its normal, healthy rate" |

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Episode Tone & Experience

Rich with suspense and classic radio dramatic flair, "Valse Triste" capitalizes on the era’s love of psychological terror. Tension, dark humor, and a pervading sense of dread pulse through every moment, from the women’s early banter to the final haunting violin coda. The theme of chance as a ruling force gives the story its chilling structure, while John Boyd’s calm madness and the setting’s isolation create a claustrophobic fear, reminiscent of the best Lights Out productions.

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Final Thoughts

"Valse Triste" stands as a spine-chilling example of old-time radio horror, demonstrating how simple elements—coincidence, isolation, a lonely violin—can be marshaled into a narrative of existential terror. As the narrator soothes in the epilogue: “Permit your blood pressure to follow its normal, healthy rate”—but after this episode, listeners may find it not so easy.

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For more classic horror radio, visit relicradio.com and tune in next week for another terrifying tale.

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Transcript

[John Boyd]

Oh, stories, real stories and murders do

[Dotty Nelson]

turn out your legs.

[John Boyd]

Turn them out. Good evening. Come in, won't you? What's the matter? Surely you're not nervous for that to

[Narrator]

be calmed by drinking.

[John Boyd]

Restored, we are meant to call from

[Dotty Nelson]

out of the past.

[John Boyd]

Stories, strange and weird.

[Narrator]

Tales of mystery and terror by radio's

[Fred]

masters of the macabre.

[John Boyd]

Stories of the supernatural, the supernormal dramatized fancy, the mystery of the unknown. We tell you this Frank Franklin, so if you wish to avoid the excitement of these magic play ladies, we heard

[Narrator]

our latest series Turn off your

[Podcast Host]

this is the Horror Old Fashioned Fear every [e-mail] if you'd like to help support this podcast, visit donate.Relicradio.com or click on the support link in the show Notes. Thanks to those who have thanks for joining me this Saturday. We'll hear from Lights out this week, a series that debuted over NBC stations in January of 1934, where it aired until August of 1939 and reappeared through the 1940s in a series of rebroadcasts. The story we'll hear today was first heard in March of 1938. This one comes from December 29, 1942. It's titled False Tryst.

[Narrator]

Ironized Yeast presents Lights out, everybody. It is later that you think Lights out brings you stories of the supernatural and the supernormal, dramatizing the fantasies and the mysteries of the unknown. We tell you this frankly. So if you wish to avoid the excitement and tension of these imaginative plays, we urge you calmly but sincerely to turn off your radio now.

[Fred]

My name, Arch Ober. Tonight, another in our series of tales of the weird and the unusual.

[Narrator]

And this one is really unusual.

[Fred]

It's about that little God of chance, the one who flips a coin and makes us rich men or beggar men. But before we start, Frank Martin has something to say to you.

[Narrator]

And I'd like to suggest, friends, that success isn't all a matter of luck or chance. No, success depends largely on you yourself. You can't hope to get ahead if you're miserably thin and tired and nervous. But you needn't necessarily go on feeling that way. If your trouble is vitamin B and iron shortage, then take ironized yeast tablets. They give you both vitamin B and iron. Thus, when you need them, help. Two ways to build you up.

[John Boyd]

Help.

[Narrator]

Two ways to restore strength and pep. Men and women. But the thousands who only needed more vitamin B and iron say thanks to ironized yeast, they've gained new vigor, new weight and strength, often in A few weeks. That's right. Ironized yeast tablets. All druggists have them.

[John Boyd]

Enough.

[Fred]

Lights out, everybody.

[John Boyd]

You say the world is planned. I say the world is chance

[Laura]

Sailing, sailing over the bounding main Cut it out, Lauren. Cut it out.

[Dotty Nelson]

You're rocking the boat.

[Laura]

This is really fun.

[Dotty Nelson]

Will you quit doing the big action? This ain't Roxy. This is a canoe.

[Laura]

No, it. Aunt, Isn't it just terrific?

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, there's too much of it.

[Laura]

Dottie Nelson, don't you talk that way. You know mighty well we came out here to get healthy.

[Dotty Nelson]

All right, all right. So I'll get healthy even if it kills me.

[Laura]

Sure was a funny way to pick out a place to go on a vacation, wasn't it? Eeny, meeny, miny, mo.

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, and this place was mo. Well, what if we picked out Alaska or Cicero or someplace like that at least.

[Laura]

Oh, Daddy, look for the what? On the show over there. All those big flowers. Flowers?

[Dotty Nelson]

For Pete's sake. The way you were wiggling, I thought it was Indian.

[Laura]

Come on, let's go pick them.

[Dotty Nelson]

Okay. Finally. As long as you do the paddling.

[Laura]

Hey, look out, Girl Scout.

[Dotty Nelson]

You're driving over the curb.

[Laura]

Oh.

[Dotty Nelson]

Hey, we'll tear the bottom out of this battleship and we'll have to pay for it.

[Laura]

Oh, I didn't hurt it. Come on, get out and help me pick these poses.

[Dotty Nelson]

All right, all right. As long as there's no keep off the grass signs.

[Laura]

Dotty Nelson, will you get it through that head of yours? If this ain't Central park, this is honest to gosh, wilderness.

[Dotty Nelson]

Says you. Make mine vanilla with onions.

[Laura]

Aren't they just the loveliest flowers you ever saw?

[Dotty Nelson]

Two bits were right in the middle of some poison ivy.

[Laura]

Hey. Hey, look. What? The boat. It's drifting off. Well, catch it quick. What do you mean, catch it? I can't swim. Dot, do something. Do something. Don't just stand up.

[Dotty Nelson]

Don't you yell at me. You're the one to blame.

[Laura]

You should have pulled the boat higher

[Dotty Nelson]

out of the water.

[Laura]

Oh, Dot, what'll we do? They'll make us pay for it. Who cares about the boat?

[Dotty Nelson]

I'm worried about us.

[Laura]

Us? Yes.

[Dotty Nelson]

How are we going to get back to that camp?

[Laura]

Well, we can walk.

[Dotty Nelson]

You sure must have strained your brain thinking up that one.

[Laura]

Oh, you needn't get so fresh about it. You certainly don't think I wanted to go.

[Dotty Nelson]

All right, let's hang up the boxing gloves and get out of here.

[Laura]

How dark it's getting. So what? Why is it getting so Dark.

[Dotty Nelson]

Listen, my brain. I may be just a hillbilly from 10th Avenue, but I know clouds when I see him. So they're clouds. You know, clouds, rain, remember?

[Laura]

I'm scared.

[Dotty Nelson]

Oh, what have you got to be scared about all of a sudden? Come on, come on. I'll get you back to King.

[Laura]

No, we. Dot. Huh? That's not the way. We gotta go the other way.

[Dotty Nelson]

Listen, lame brain, I'll do the pathfinding.

[Laura]

But you're wrong. You're all mixed up. It's the other way.

[Dotty Nelson]

Is that a path or isn't it?

[Laura]

But there's a path going the other way. Yeah.

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, that's right.

[Laura]

Well, what'll we do?

[Dotty Nelson]

You go one way and I'll go the other.

[Laura]

Oh, no, we won't. I'm scared. We'll stick together. Okay.

[Dotty Nelson]

We'll flip for it as usual. I had a nickel. Oh, yeah. Here it is. Heads, we take the right hand path. Tails, we take the left hand path. All right. Okay, Call it.

[Laura]

Heads.

[Dotty Nelson]

Heads it is. Okay, Girl Scout, lead the way.

[Laura]

No, no, you go first.

[Dotty Nelson]

Okay, but if this path leads up to the middle of nowhere, so help me. Going to pull you apart like a herring. So D. Keep moving. Keep moving.

[Laura]

Wait, Dot.

[Dotty Nelson]

What's the matter now?

[Laura]

It's more posing. Listen. You hear it?

[Dotty Nelson]

Help me a little.

[Laura]

I told you we were heading the right way.

[Dotty Nelson]

Turn over that I told you so. Record and keep moving.

[Laura]

I'm hungry. Keep moving. All right.

[Dotty Nelson]

Well, this must be the front door that you're.

[Laura]

Why, how funny.

[Dotty Nelson]

Oh, what's funny? Now, that's pretty music.

[Laura]

The place hasn't any windows.

[Dotty Nelson]

The door's all I care about.

[Laura]

Think we ought to disturb whoever's playing?

[Dotty Nelson]

Disturb us? Right. One side, Lady Gwendolyn. I'll do the knocking.

[Laura]

Seem to hear.

[Dotty Nelson]

He'll hear me.

[Fred]

There.

[Laura]

That did it. It's awful thrilling, isn't it?

[Dotty Nelson]

Okay, you do the thrilling and you do the ping. If they can't find that boat. Of all the jump.

[John Boyd]

How do you do?

[Dotty Nelson]

How do you do? We're sorry to bust in like this.

[Laura]

We sort of lost our way. I mean, our boat. And we thought maybe you could tell us.

[John Boyd]

Yes, of course. Won't you step in? I'm more than glad to see you.

[Laura]

Well, of course we will. Come on, Dot.

[Dotty Nelson]

Okay.

[John Boyd]

It's going to rain.

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, we found that out.

[Laura]

We certainly were lucky to find this place. We heard you playing the violin.

[John Boyd]

Now, did you really? If you'll step this way.

[Laura]

Oh, Dot. Isn't he the strangest man?

[Fred]

Turned his Face away.

[Laura]

He must be terribly ugly. Oh, forget it.

[Dotty Nelson]

Go on.

[Fred]

Keep open. If you'll step in here, I have

[John Boyd]

a small fire going.

[Laura]

Kind of dark. Yeah.

[John Boyd]

If you'll do me the honor of being seated.

[Laura]

Hooray.

[Dotty Nelson]

Oh, boy. What a chair.

[John Boyd]

Yes, it's most comfortable. Now, if I might be permitted to introduce myself. I'm John Boyd.

[Laura]

I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Boyd. I'm Laura, and she's dinner.

[Dotty Nelson]

Believe me, mister, it's a pleasure to. My dog's hurt.

[John Boyd]

May I sit and talk with you? There's so very much to talk about.

[Laura]

Well, we should be getting back. We can.

[Dotty Nelson]

Oh, we got plenty of time anyway. Mister, you don't know what a lifesaver you were.

[John Boyd]

Was I really?

[Dotty Nelson]

Anything gets Laura scared is to be in the dark.

[Laura]

All those rain plants.

[John Boyd]

Then I must apologize for not having more light. Here. You see my eyes.

[Laura]

Oh, that's all right, mister. Boy, I never could remember names. I. I guess I don't really mind it being dark in here. It's sort of like a nice tea room, really.

[Dotty Nelson]

Don't mind her, Mr. Boyd. She was hit on the head by a bowling ball when very young.

[Laura]

Oh, Ned,

[Dotty Nelson]

will you listen to that wind?

[John Boyd]

The storm will come in just a few more moments.

[Fred]

Isn't in the woolies?

[Laura]

Is your wife home, Mr. Boyd?

[John Boyd]

I'm quite alone.

[Dotty Nelson]

Sure must get lonely out here.

[John Boyd]

It was very lonely.

[Laura]

Getting awful dark in here, isn't it?

[John Boyd]

The storm? Don't be alarmed. A door banging in the wind. If you'll excuse me for just a moment.

[Laura]

Okay. Okay, dad, let's get out of here. Why? You're scared, too. I'm not scared. He looks so funny and shadowy in the dark. Dad? Huh? What's that funny smell? Yeah, I noticed it. Like medicine. He walks and holds his head. So funny. Hang on. And why does he keep away from

[Dotty Nelson]

the light of the fire?

[Laura]

Let's get out of here.

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, okay. We'll make a run for it before the rain starts.

[John Boyd]

I suggest you stay. Yes, I suggest you stay.

[Laura]

Come on, Darth.

[John Boyd]

You'd better stay, my dear. The storm, it's close at hand.

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, well, something tells me I'd rather be out there than in here.

[Laura]

Me, too.

[Dotty Nelson]

Well, we see you.

[Laura]

Come on.

[Fred]

Laura.

[Laura]

Jenny. Mister.

[John Boyd]

Yeah?

[Laura]

Mister, the door's locked.

[John Boyd]

I know it.

[Dotty Nelson]

You know it. Hey, listen, what's the big idea locking that door on us?

[Laura]

You let us out of here.

[Dotty Nelson]

Mr. Boyder, or whatever your name is.

[Laura]

Didn't you hear me?

[Dotty Nelson]

What's the big idea locking the door?

[John Boyd]

I Have some very interesting things to talk about with both of you.

[Laura]

We want to get out of here. Come on. Come on.

[Dotty Nelson]

Unlock the door.

[Laura]

We'll scream our heads off.

[John Boyd]

There's no one around for 15 miles.

[Dotty Nelson]

Are you going to open that door?

[John Boyd]

I suggest you sit down.

[Laura]

Give us that key. Now open that door, I tell you. God, why did you.

[John Boyd]

Sorry I had to do that. I'm really a very gentle man.

[Laura]

Oh, my God. Honey, please don't cry. Please stop crying.

[John Boyd]

I think we'll understand each other quite clearly now, won't we? Sit down. Sit down, the both of you. Sit down, I say. There. Now that we understand each other so clearly, we can talk with each other quietly now, can't we? You know I dislike loud talking intensely. You see, I'm really a very gentle man.

[Laura]

Please, Dot, don't cry anymore.

[John Boyd]

That's excellent advice, my dear Laura. Excellent advice. Dottie. I suggest you stop crying.

[Laura]

Dot, Please do what he says. I. I'm all right.

[John Boyd]

Of course you're quite all right. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Let me tell you of Chance. Here I was, a quiet, contented man, sitting here all alone. And yet I was not quite content. Chance brought you here to me. And chance found me quite discontented. As a man of thorough sameness, as a man of infinite realism. I realized that this fortuitous circumstance of our meeting, cancelled as it might have been, is a welcome opportunity for me.

[Laura]

Opportunity of what?

[John Boyd]

To feel my loneliness permanently. To get myself a wife.

[Laura]

Wife? It is crazy.

[John Boyd]

I suggest, my dear Laura, that you substitute another word, a kindlier one than the one you're using. Yes, I said a wife, Laura.

[Laura]

Oh, we wouldn't make good wives. Honestly, we wouldn't. We're just a couple of kids, aren't we, darling? We may call for heartfelt. Oh, mister, have a heart, will you?

[Dotty Nelson]

Open the door and let us out of here?

[Laura]

We'll keep our mouth shut, I swear we will. Mr. Boy, please. Please, the boy will.

[John Boyd]

You haven't quite finished. Then here's my answer. One of you becomes my bride. Oh, yes, my bride. I'm leaving this place shortly. When we reach our destination, one of you will become my wife. Oh, very legally.

[Laura]

One of us.

[John Boyd]

I marry only one.

[Laura]

Then what about the other?

[John Boyd]

To the ordinary man, that would be quite a problem, now, wouldn't it? But to me. Well, I told you, I'm a realist. So the answer is quite simple. I marry one. And the other.

[Laura]

The other.

[John Boyd]

The other dies.

[Narrator]

Ladies and gentlemen, two girls apparently are forced to decide between the being who calls Himself a gentle man and death the most difficult choice to make. But before it takes place in tonight's exciting lights out tale, a deep breath to slow up at least my racing pulse. And a moment more to consider another matter before we return to the story of Voss Triste. It's a matter that's facing many an American today.

[Fred]

Listen.

[Narrator]

Gosh, they say I'm too old to fight. And it's beginning to look like I'm even too old for this war job of mine.

[John Boyd]

Why?

[Fred]

Can't eat or sleep.

[John Boyd]

Losing weight.

[Narrator]

Getting more jittery and worn out every day. I sure am discouraged. Whoa, there. Don't be so quick to blame your age or your job. Maybe you simply need more vitamin B and iron. You see, when you don't get enough vitamin B from your meals, you may lose your appetite. Not eat enough to maintain normal weight and strength. And when you don't get enough iron from your food, you may be weak and washed out. Feel only half alive. Well, if I do need more vitamin B and iron, how can I get them? The easiest way I know is take ironized yeast tablets. These pleasant little tablets are a cinch to you. They cost but a few pennies a day and they give you both vitamin B and iron. That's why ironized yeast habits have worked such wonders for thousands who only needed more of these substances quickly help them regain their old time pep and strength. And 5, 10 even more pounds of good new flesh. So try ironized yeast tablets. If more vitamin B and iron is what you need, then see if soon you aren't saying who said I'm a has been. Why, I've got pep to burn. These days I look like a new man with the pounds I've gained. And a promotion wouldn't surprise me one bit. Why didn't somebody tell me about ironized yeast tablets sooner? And now back to lights out. The two girls have heard the choice. One is to live and one is to die. And their hysteria has grown with the terror in them.

[John Boyd]

Are you quite through, my dear? How unfortunate. And after I told you how much I disliked loud talking.

[Laura]

Don't hurt him, please.

[John Boyd]

Hurt you? Oh, haven't I told you I'm really a very gentle man. Oh, yes, much too gentle.

[Laura]

What? What are you gonna do now?

[John Boyd]

Why do you ask that?

[Laura]

Why, the way you look at it,

[John Boyd]

I'm trying to decide which one shall live and which one shall die.

[Laura]

You wouldn't kill us?

[John Boyd]

Oh, just one, my dear. Just one.

[Dotty Nelson]

You wouldn't dare.

[Laura]

We could both stay with you.

[John Boyd]

I marry One, the other die.

[Laura]

Mr. Lesson, my family, they've got money, lots of money.

[John Boyd]

Just a moment, my dear. Just a moment. Money to me. And what will I do with it? Oh, no. One of you must die. And this is quite as good a time as any other.

[Laura]

No, no.

[John Boyd]

You look so amusing. Backs against the wall, skin on your faces tight with fright. So white, so fresh and young. And yet. Believe me, there's nothing to be afraid of.

[Laura]

You wouldn't kill me. I don't want to die.

[John Boyd]

Oh, it isn't a matter of want, my dear. It's a matter of judicious election, like nature itself. You see, sitting out here, I've had a chance to watch nature and understand her. She's very gentle, just like I am. And yet she's quite a realist. Two rabbits run before the fox. One to the right, one to the left. The fox follows one and kills. But which one? It's all a matter of chance, with gentle nature herself to choose it. And I shall choose between you too.

[Laura]

Oh, I tell you, not me. Don't look at me.

[John Boyd]

It's chance, my dears. Yes, all is chance. Your being there, my being here. All things in heaven and on earth. Chance, chance. All is chance. And so you'll die by chance.

[Laura]

I won't die. I won't die. Mister, please. Please let me out of here.

[John Boyd]

But, my dears, why be afraid? The one that lives. My bride. A calm and peaceful, happy existence. For as you know, I'm really a very gentle man.

[Dotty Nelson]

You devil, you.

[John Boyd]

I go to my homeland, and there I'll sit and play my violin. Oh, so sweetly and so gently.

[Laura]

I want to live. I've got to live.

[John Boyd]

And the one that dies, quick, sudden, complete oblivion. So why be afraid?

[Laura]

Mr. Boyd. Mister, listen. I'll marry you. Sure, Sure. I don't want to die. You hear me, Mr. Boyd? I'll marry you. Oh, then you'll kill me. Will you marry me? I'll marry you.

[Dotty Nelson]

Stop.

[Fred]

Stop now.

[John Boyd]

You're making me angry.

[Laura]

I don't like loud talking. It isn't good for me. I've been alone too long.

[John Boyd]

Now.

[Laura]

Talking hurts my head.

[Fred]

Why did you do it?

[Laura]

Why?

[John Boyd]

You see what you did? You made me raise my voice, and that isn't good for me. Oh, no, it isn't. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Flattered as I am by your eagerness to marry me, most regretfully, I must refuse. Chance must pick my bride and the bride of death. Here, see? A coin. One chooses heads and one chooses tails. We'll let chance be the chooser.

[Laura]

No.

[John Boyd]

Quickly.

[Laura]

Choose.

[John Boyd]

Please don't make me angry. Choose. You little one first, will you choose?

[Dotty Nelson]

Choose.

[Laura]

Tails.

[John Boyd]

And that leaves heads for you. A dot, my little friend.

[Dotty Nelson]

Take a head.

[John Boyd]

Chance. Chance. All is chance. Shall one of you flip up a coin? No, no, I think I will myself. High in the air.

[Fred]

There, that does it.

[John Boyd]

Land flat in the palm of my hand. Heads or tails? My bride or the bride of death. No, no, no, don't touch her. Let her lie there. Poor little child. Couldn't stand the strain of waiting now, could she? How unfortunate.

[Laura]

Is it head?

[John Boyd]

Oh, we must have patience. I'll hold the coin here flat inside my hand until your friend recovers. If she lost it wouldn't be fair to kill her while she's unconscious, now would it?

[Laura]

This it hits.

[Fred]

Oh, there's no doubt about it, Jim. They're drowned, the both of them. I should have had more sense than to let him have the boat. Couple of city kids like that. Now, Jim, don't blame yourself. This water's treacherous. Look where the bottom of the canoe stove in. It must have hit a rock and gone right over. Yeah, neither one of them could swim.

[John Boyd]

They told me that.

[Fred]

Oh, this is an awful thing to happen. Need you wire the sheriff? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I will as soon as we get back. Come on, let's keep on going downstream. We've got to find him. Yeah, that's right. Hey, what's that?

[John Boyd]

What?

[Fred]

You hear it? Oh, that. You mean that fiddle plan?

[Narrator]

Oh, I know.

[Fred]

That's old man Boyd. Lives a couple of miles up through the valley. At least I think he does. I've never been up there though. The wind makes it sound as if that fiddle's right here.

[John Boyd]

Yeah.

[Fred]

Well, how about going up and talking to him? Maybe he saw. No, no, now he's way off in the woods. He wouldn't see him. Well, anyway, let's talk to him. I tell you, it's no use, Fred. They're drowned. And that's the end of a downstream. That's where we'll find their bodies. At least let's go talk to him. Why waste the time? Well, they might have wandered off. Don't be a fool. Look at the canoe. Well, at least let's go talk to the guy. It's a couple of miles over there. I'll tell you what, we'll flip for it, huh? Heads will go up there, tails will go downstream.

[Narrator]

Okay.

[John Boyd]

Okay.

[Fred]

You got a coin?

[Dotty Nelson]

Yeah, yeah. Here. Here.

[Fred]

You flip. Okay.

[Dotty Nelson]

There.

[Fred]

What is it, Tails? Well, we save a two mile walk.

[Dotty Nelson]

You gotta Tell me, is it head?

[John Boyd]

Patience, patience, my dear daughter. You must have patience. Oh, Laura's waking up. Yes, yes. Open your eyes, Laura.

[Laura]

What?

[John Boyd]

You fainted. Yes, my dear, you fainted. Help her to her feet, Dotty. Help her to her feet.

[Dotty Nelson]

Come on, Laura.

[Laura]

Oh.

[John Boyd]

Now then, we're all together again. Once more now, aren't we? You're feeling quite well, aren't you, my dear?

[Laura]

What? What?

[John Boyd]

That was Chance's verdict. Oh, don't worry. It's all quite well. Oh, no. The coin is still inside my hand. I waited for you. Oh, I knew you'd like it better that way.

[Laura]

Stop torturing me. Tell me. Is it head? Is it head? Tell us.

[Dotty Nelson]

Please tell us.

[John Boyd]

You've made me quite angry. I told you not to shout at me. Very angry. Yes, indeed, mister.

[Laura]

Tell us.

[John Boyd]

All right, all right. My fingers cramped a little bit from holding them closed so tightly. But now we'll see. Well? Interesting indeed.

[Laura]

Which one is which one?

[John Boyd]

Remember, I promised one of you the happiness of being my own dear bride.

[Laura]

Which one?

[John Boyd]

And remember, I promised the other one would have extinction quick and sudden.

[Laura]

Oh, which one?

[John Boyd]

No. Let me ask. Which one of you chose tail?

[Laura]

I did.

[John Boyd]

Then die. Oh, no need for tears for her, my dear. She died quite gently. Now, now, enough of tears. For since she's dead, it's you who will be my bride.

[Laura]

No, I won't. I won't.

[John Boyd]

There is no choice. Chance was the chooser, and you the winner. I'm a man who always goes by chance.

[Narrator]

Now, get up to your feet.

[John Boyd]

This one is Death's bride. You make it all quite difficult, you do. Why do you persist in making me angry? Chance, chance. All is chance. You'll be my bride. We'll be quite happy in my homeland. When we get there, we'll pack, get to the seashore.

[Fred]

No.

[John Boyd]

First I'll play for you. I play so well now, don't I? Softly, softly. Doesn't the music creep inside of you like long, thin snakes? Oh, what a lonely man I was. Strange thoughts twisting in my head and no one to tell them to. But now I have someone. My thoughts. Your thoughts? Yes, yes, your thoughts. And I'll watch the snakes twist in your brain.

[Laura]

I can't stand it anymore.

[John Boyd]

Now you make me very angry. I won't play for you again. I won't. And crying loudly too. When there's no reason. The marriage will be quite legal on shipboard.

[Narrator]

Shipboard?

[John Boyd]

Yes, shipboard. I told him it was hurry. The rendezvous. I've been waiting for months. If we miss this, there'll Be no more. And I must get back. And that reminds me. There's something I must tell you. Yes? Tell you because I try to be a fair and gentle man. Tommy, over by the fire. Come, I say. There, just light enough now. Come into my arms. Into my arms, I tell you. There, close to me, my little bride to be. Yes, I shall tell you everything. I suppose you wonder why a man of all my talents and education hides away in this forsaken place for all these months. Well, you shall know the reason. Look at me. Look closely. You see, my dear, I had a little accident. I haven't got a face. Hey, Fred.

[Fred]

Yeah? There's something I want to tell you. Yeah, I know, I know. Shouldn't let him have that canoe. No, no, no, it ain't that fella. It's the coin we flipped a little while ago. Well, I jipped you, Fred.

[John Boyd]

How?

[Fred]

Well, it wasn't tails.

[John Boyd]

It was heads.

[Narrator]

You won.

[Fred]

It's been kind of bothering me, Fred. Come on, let's go back upstream and talk to old man Boyd the way you said, huh?

[Narrator]

Mr. Oh, I. I want to say something very quickly to the radio audience.

[Fred]

Ladies and gentlemen, believe me, the story you just heard was just a story intended purely for amazement and amusement.

[Narrator]

The young ladies were purely fictional characters and the villain existed only for the

[Fred]

brief space of the 29 minutes during which you listen to the play.

[Narrator]

So stop breathing hard, permit your blood

[Fred]

pressure to follow its normal, healthy rate, and as soon as Frank Martin tells you about a certain matter, I'll be back to tell you about the fast one.

[Narrator]

Friends, don't forget. Now, if more vitamin B and iron is all you need to help build yourself up, then try ironized yeast tablets. Remember, if they don't quickly help you to eat better, feel more like your old time, peppy, happy self. Yes, and if you're not convinced that ironized yeast tablets can help you gain the pounds you need to look better and feel better. The cost of the first package will be refunded to you in full by the Ironized Yeast Company. Box IY Rahway, NJ. Ask for Ironized yeast tablets by their full name. Make sure you get what you ask for. Ironized yeast. Now, what about next week, Mr. Oebler?

[Fred]

Well, it's a mystery story. An amazing series of crimes and hit and run accidents which take place in different parts of a certain city, miles apart at the same moment. No one sees the auto strike, the victims, no one sees the criminals. There are no clues, and yet the dead litter the streets. But that story is next week.

[Narrator]

Lights out will come to you again next Tuesday. At the same time, be sure to listen to Arch Oblor's weird story of the Fast one. And if you need more vitamin B and iron, be sure to try Ironized Yeast, the one and only ironized Yeast with the big letters IY on the package and on each tablet. It is later that you think

[Fred]

did you get new clothes for Christmas? Well, there's a shortage of many clothing materials today, so take good care of those new clothes and call on Energene

[John Boyd]

Cleaning Fluid to help you do it.

[Fred]

Energene removes grease spots from your clothes. Grease spots that may be harmful because they make your clothes look worn and run down, and because they're the favorite feeding place of moths all year round. Energene will get rid of those grease spots in a jiffy, easily, neatly, efficiently. To get better wear from your clothes, Get Energene Cleaning Fluid tomorrow.

[Narrator]

This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Podcast Host]

There's more from Lights out, the Horror and all of the Relic Radio podcasts at the website relicradio.com don't forget to donate if you'd like to help support this and all of the shows. And be sure to come back tomorrow for Strange Tales and next Saturday with our next episode of the Horror.