I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark

{{short description|1907 song performed by Billy Murray}}

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I'm Afraid to Come Home in the Dark is popular song, written by Egbert Van Alstyne and Harry Williams in 1907, and made famous by Billy Murray. Today it is popular among collectors of cylinder recordings. Billy Murray recorded the song on several record labels, including Edison Records in 1908. This version is now in the public domain.{{Cite book|last=Alstyne, Egbert van.?-1951.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/962288700|title=I'm afraid to come home in the dark.|date=1946|publisher=Remick Music. New York|oclc=962288700}}

On January 30, 1930, Fleischer Studios released a cartoon with this song through Paramount Pictures as part of their Screen Songs series.{{Cite web|title=About Fleischer Studios|url=https://www.fleischerstudios.com/filmography.html|access-date=2020-07-30|website=Fleischer Studios|language=en}}

In the season 4 episode of I Love Lucy titled "First Stop" (1955), part of the song is sung by Mr. Skinner (Olin Howland). In the season 4 episode of M*A*S*H titled "Mail Call...Again" (1975), Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) sings part of the song while shaving.