Usually when one imagines old time radio at the time it was just plain ol' radio, one would be forgiven for picturing a group of men and women huddled around a microphone in a studio in New York City or Los Angeles. After all, these cities are and have been for quite some time the twin centers of pop culture for as long as most of us can remember. But popular culture wasn't always as monolithic as it is now. Before corporations moved in and took over everything, the means of production (if I could get a little Marxist for a moment) were in the hands of local radio and TV stations.
You said it beautifully, Tubbs!
The stations in your area, wherever that area may have been, was responsible for filling the majority of the airtime in a day's broadcast. What you heard and/or saw was the result of local people doing their best Mickey and Judy impersonation: they were puttin' on a show! And sometimes if the show was good enough, it got picked up for a national audeince.
Dark Fantasy was one such "local" show that earned a shot at a nationwide audience. Originating from WKY in Oklahoma City, Dark Fantasy had a very short life on the air: just 31 episodes running from November, 1941, to June, 1942.
Like other old time radio horror programs, Dark Fantasy was created to fill an opportunity, as well as an open time slot. When NBC decided to end its late-night dance band remote broadcasts, this allowed its affiliate statoins to fill the time with its own programming. WKY in Oklahoma City gave writer Scott Bishop a shot at it. He wrote "The Man Who Came Back." It became a hit, and the rest is history. Bishop's supernatural stories aired under the banner Dark Fantasy every Friday night.
Today isn't Friday, but let's enjoy some Dark Fantasy nonetheless. First up is "The Thing from the Sea." In it, a newspaper reports on the strange disappearance of cinema star Philip Haywood, his friend Judy Johnson, and her director father. The three had been taking Hayward's yacht to New Zealand when for some reason the boat refused to move a knot. What could be keeping the boat in place? Could the rumors of an ancient civilization beneath the waves be true.
Next up, it's "Death Is A Savage Diety." This one is a tale of witchcraft and black magic. Young Delores is the sole heir to her father's fortune in Haiti. Her aunt, Wanda, wants the money and will stop at nothing to get it...even if she must use supernatural means!
Finally, there's "The Edge of the Shadow," which takes place on a dairy farm in Vermont. Hank plans on killing his boss and marrying the boss's wife (is this a case of "Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?"). Instead, Hank gets more than he bargained for when he gets a glimpse of the near future.
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