I don’t remember exactly how or where, but when I was writing the short story “All Alone” (which is included in my short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME), I stumbled across the phrase “deader than four o’clock.”
It’s a great phrase, instantly evocative, so of course I used it in the story — one character looks at another and pronounces him “deader than four o’clock.”
At the time, I was completely unaware of the March 2007 TED Talk by the poet Rives on the topic of 4 a.m. and its place in pop culture.
I saw the talk this weekend on Netflix, and it’s both delightful and a little bit spooky:
The mystery of four o’clock in the morning has also been explored by NPR.
You don’t want to miss The Museum of Four in the Morning.
And you can read more about my short story “All Alone” right here.
Erik Arneson 
I remember reading the phrase in a scary fiction piece in one of my mother’s women’s magazines when I was in second grade. I don’t remember who wrote it, but it was certainly frightening. I’ve always remembered it.
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