{"id":9291,"date":"2022-09-27T17:13:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T16:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/?p=9291"},"modified":"2022-09-28T11:50:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T10:50:00","slug":"the-mysterious-traveler-classic-old-time-radio-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/the-mysterious-traveler-classic-old-time-radio-show\/radio-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mysterious Traveler Classic Old Time Radio Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

If your taste in Old Time Radio Shows includes a bit of the darker side then The Mysterious Travler needs to be on your playlist. As its title suggests this anthology series is full of crime noir, with elements of horror and a little science fiction thrown in from time to time for good measure.<\/p>\n

The premise was the old chestnut of a mysterious stranger on a train (in this case Maurice Tarplin) who would regale a willing listener with a dark and creepy tale. The stories were always self-contained and renowned for their rather downbeat endings.<\/p>\n

The series was written by Robert A. Arthur and David Kogan and in 1953 they were honoured by the\u00a0Mystery Writers of America\u00a0with an\u00a0Edgar Award for Best Radio Drama.<\/p>\n

Spin Offs<\/h3>\n

The show was sufficiently popular to engender a couple of spin-off shows –\u00a0 The Sealed Book and The Strange Dr. Weird.\u00a0 Both of these leaned heavily on this series for content comprising mainly abridged or condensed versions of the original MT episodes.<\/p>\n

There was also a short-lived prose magazine series which ran for five issues between late 1951 and 1952. Loads would have been printed but few copies have survived the years. They are very collectable today as the cover paintings were by acclaimed pulp artist Norman Saunders.<\/p>\n

\"Mysterious

The final issue from 1952<\/p><\/div>\n

The final spinoff was a comic series published by Charlton Publications. The first issue saw press in 1956 and ran for 15 issues.\u00a0 Thirteen of these were published in the 1950s and it was briefly revived in 1985 for the remaining ones. Again these are highly sought after as some featured artwork by acclaimed comic artists such as Dick Giordano & Steve Ditko<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Mysterious

Issue One from August 1956<\/p><\/div>\n

370 Episodes<\/h2>\n

The series ran for nine years and around 370 episodes were produced. Sadly though as has happened to many a classic old-time radio show most episodes have been lost. Still, the shows are self-contained so remain worth seeking out.<\/p>\n

The first show aired on 5th December 1943 with the aptly cheerless title “The Hands That Killed” which is sadly missing from the archives. This introduced the listener to classic the opening line that would characterise the series…<\/p>\n

“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\u2014if you can!”<\/em><\/p>\n

It was also epitomised by the haunting sound of a distant steam locomotive, sound effects which were no doubt viewed as impressive back then.<\/p>\n

The Mysterious Travler boarded the train for the last time on the 16th of September 1952. The final show “The Treasure of Superstition Mountain” is also missing but we live in hope that a recording turns up someday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shows available<\/h2>\n

This is a work-in-progress list of shows that are reputed to still be available. We have not heard them all but are assured the ones below exist.<\/p>\n

1944<\/h3>\n

44-01-30 (009) House of Death<\/p>\n

44-02-27 (013) The Good Die Young<\/p>\n

44-03-26 (017) Stranger In The House<\/p>\n

44-04-02 (018) Out of the Past<\/p>\n

44-04-09 (019) Beware of Tomorrow<\/p>\n

44-04-16 (020) The Accusing Corpse<\/p>\n

44-07-02 (031) The Queen Of The Cats<\/p>\n

44-09-24 (042) Death Laughs Last<\/p>\n

44-10-07 (043) The Man Insects Hated<\/p>\n

1945<\/h3>\n

45-01-06 (055) They Who Sleep<\/p>\n

45-03-10 (064) Case of Charles Foster<\/p>\n

45-03-24 (066) Death Comes To Adolf Hitler<\/p>\n

45-03-31 (067) Murder Goes Free.<\/p>\n

1946<\/h3>\n

46-08-25 (074) Death Is The Visitor<\/p>\n

46-09-01 (075) No One On The Line<\/p>\n

46-09-08 (076) Symphony Of Death<\/p>\n

46-12-29 (084) If You Believe<\/p>\n

1947<\/h3>\n

47-01-05 (085) New Years Nightmare<\/p>\n

47-01-12 (086) No Grave Can Hold Me<\/p>\n

47-03-09 (094) The Woman In Black<\/p>\n

47-04-13 (099) Dark Destiny ?<\/p>\n

47-05-25 (105) Mind Over Murder<\/p>\n

47-06-15 (108) Death Is The Judge<\/p>\n

47-07-06 (111) The Locomotive Ghost<\/p>\n

47-07-27 (114) The Man The Insects Hated<\/p>\n

47-09-07 (119) Vacation From Life<\/p>\n

47-10-21 (125) Death Is My Caller<\/p>\n

1948<\/h3>\n

48-01-20 (137) The Man In The Black Derby<\/p>\n

48-02-24 (142) The Man Who Died Twice<\/p>\n

48-03-16 (145) They Struck It Rich<\/p>\n

23\/03\/48 (146) Seven Years To Wait<\/p>\n

48-04-20 (150) Murder In Jazz Time<\/p>\n

48-05-04 (152) They Who Sleep<\/p>\n

48-05-11 (153) I Won’t Die Alone<\/p>\n

48-05-18 (154) Death Writes A Letter<\/p>\n

48-06-08 (157) Murder Is My Business<\/p>\n

48-06-15 (158) Queen Of The Cats<\/p>\n

48-06-22 (159) Zero Hour<\/p>\n

48-07-06 (161) The Man Who Vanished<\/p>\n

48-08-10 (166) The Visiting Corpse<\/p>\n

48-09-21 (171) Death Has A Thousand Faces<\/p>\n

48-10-05 (173) Death Rings Down The Curtain<\/p>\n

1949<\/h3>\n

49-01-06 (185) Devil And The Deep Blue Sea<\/p>\n

49-01-13 (186) The Accusing Corpse<\/p>\n

49-03-29 (197) Death Has A Cold Breath<\/p>\n

49-04-19 (200) Out Of The Past<\/p>\n

49-05-24 (205) Behind The Locked Door<\/p>\n

49-06-14 (208) No Grave Can Hold Me<\/p>\n

49-08-02 (215) Planet Zevius<\/p>\n

49-10-11 (225) The Last Survivor<\/p>\n

49-10-25 (227) No One On The Line<\/p>\n

1950<\/h3>\n

50-01-10 (237) Survival Of The Fittest<\/p>\n

50-02-07 (241) The Man Who Tried To Save Lincoln<\/p>\n

50-03-14 (246) The Big Brain<\/p>\n

50-04-04 (249) The Man From Singapore<\/p>\n

50-04-11 (250) Operation Tomorrow<\/p>\n

50-04-18 (251) Death At Fifty Fathoms<\/p>\n

50-04-25 (252) I Died Last Night<\/p>\n

50-05-02 (253) S O S<\/p>\n

50-05-23 (256) The Lady In Red<\/p>\n

50-07-18 (264) Killer Come Home<\/p>\n

50-60-06 (258) Killer At Large<\/p>\n

1951<\/h3>\n

51-03-13 (297) Knives Of Death<\/p>\n

51-08-28 (319) Fire In The Sky<\/p>\n

51-10-09 (325) The Man That Knew Everything<\/p>\n

51-11-06 (329) Behind The Locked Door<\/p>\n

51-11-13 (330) Speak of the Devil<\/p>\n

51-11-20 (331) The Most Famous Man In The World<\/p>\n

51-12-11 (334) Hideout<\/p>\n

51-12-25 (336) Christmas Story<\/p>\n

1952<\/h3>\n

52-01-08 (338) It’s Only Money<\/p>\n

52-01-15 (339) Key Witness<\/p>\n

52-01-22 (340) Change Of Address<\/p>\n

52-01-29 (341) Stranger In The House<\/p>\n

52-02-19 (344) Strange New World<\/p>\n

52-06-03 (359) The Haunted Trailer<\/p>\n

52-06-17 (360) The Green Plague<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We hope you enjoyed quick overview and that it tempts you into giving an episode or two a listen. Before you go check out our other OTR show reviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If your taste in Old Time Radio Shows includes a bit of the darker side then The Mysterious Travler needs to be on your playlist. As its title suggests this anthology series is full of crime noir, with elements of horror and a little science fiction thrown in from time to time for good measure….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1653,1593],"tags":[245,1678,1655,1143,1677],"class_list":["post-9291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-old-time-radio-shows","category-radio-podcast","tag-horror","tag-mystery","tag-old-time-radio-shows","tag-science-fiction","tag-the-mysterious-traveler"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9291"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9348,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9291\/revisions\/9348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}