The Mysterious Traveler

Dramatic Anthology, stories of the strange and terrifying (1943 -52)

Maurice Tarplin

This is The Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves, and be comfortable--if you can!

The show featured shows ranging from science fiction, fantasy, horror, to crime drama.  Mysterious Traveler had no sponsor through the entire run of the series.  Written and directed by Robert Arthur and David Kogan, the radio series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943 and ran until September 16, 1952.

Marice Tarplin played the main role, as imparted in The Whistler or Raymond of Inner Sanctum Mysteries. Some of the most popular episodes include:

• They Who Sleep (45-01-06): An "ugly" woman with a heavy veil pays $10,000 to retired "Chadwin the Great Hypnotist Extraordinaire" to trade bodies with her beautiful sister who married the man she loved for 10 days.
• Man the Insects Hated (44-10-07): Bugs in the jungle surround an inventor of a formula of "the perfect insect killer so much better than DDT." 
• The Good Die Young (44-02-27): The beautiful and clever child, Saundra, rebels against her new stepmother.  Saundra pretends to be a sweet innocent cherub in front of her dad, but behind his back is a conniving, disturbing brat.
• Behind the Locked Door (49-05-24): After their guide is viciously attacked, Archeologists are lost in a pitch-black cave and find the descendants of the wagon train are still living in the cave.
• Death Comes For Adolph Hitler (45-03-24 066)—Created before the death of Adolph Hitler, in this story Hitler hops on a U-boat and escape to South America only to be haunted by his victims.

Also see Sealed Book, Murder by the Experts, and the Strange Dr. Weird. For more railroad themed old time radio shows, see also: Railroad Hour, Railroad Collection, Empire Builders & Grand Central Station, and Green Valley Line.