(1943-1952)
The Mysterious Traveler was an anthology radio series, a magazine and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to straight crime dramas of mystery and suspense.
Written and directed by Robert Arthur and David Kogan, the radio series began on the Mutual Broadcasting System, December 5, 1943, continuing in many different time slots until September 16, 1952. Unlike many other shows of the era, The Mysterious Traveler was without a sponsor for its entire run. The lonely sound of a distant locomotive heralded the arrival of the malevolent narrator (portrayed by Maurice Tarplin), who introduced himself each week in the following manner:
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!
Only 75 of the original 370 Mysterious Traveler episodes still exist. The popularity of the series spawned other supernatural shows, such as The Sealed Book. With scripts by a Mysterious Traveler writer and Tarplin as host-narrator, The Strange Dr. Weird was a nearly identical program.
MT 440130 The House of Death MT 440227 The Good Die Young MT 440409 Beware of Tomorrow MT 440416 The Accusing Corpse MT 440702 Queen of the Cats MT 440924 Death Laughs Last MT 450106 They Who Sleep MT 450310 Case of Charles Foster MT 450331 Murder Goes Free MT 460825 Death is the Visitor MT 460901 No One On The Line MT 460908 Symphony of Death MT 461229 If You Believe MT 470112 No Grave Can Hold Me MT 470309 The Woman in Black MT 470413 Dark Destiny MT 470525 Mind Over Murder MT 470615 Death is the Judge MT 470706 Locomotive Ghost MT 470727 Man Insects Hated MT 470824 Murder Goes Free MT 470907 Vacation from Life MT 470914 Death Comes Adolf Hitler MT 471021 Death is My Caller MT 480120 Man In The Black Derby MT 480224 The Man Who Died Twice MT 480316 They Struck It Rich MT 480420 Murder in Jazz Time MT 480511 I Won't Die Alone MT 480518 Death Writes A Letter MT 480608 Murder is My Business MT 480622 Zero Hour MT 480706 Out of the Past MT 480706 The Man Who Vanished MT 480810 The Visiting Corpse MT 480921 Death Has A Thousand Faces MT 481005 Death Rings Down The Curtain MT 490106 Devil and Deep Blue Sea MT 490329 Death has a Cold Breath MT 491011 The Last Survivor MT 500110 Survival of the Fittest MT 500207 The Man Who Tried To Save Lincoln MT 500314 Big Brain MT 500404 The Man from Singapore MT 500411 Operation Tomorrow MT 500418 Death at Fifty Fathoms MT 500425 I Died Last Night MT 500502 SOS MT 500523 The Lady in Red MT 500606 Killer at Large MT 500718 Killer Come Home MT 501231 New Years Nightmare MT 510313 The Knives of Death MT 510501 Planet Zevious MT 510828 Fire in the Sky MT 511009 The Man Who Knew Everything MT 511106 behind the locked door MT 511120 The Most Famous Man In The World MT 511211 Hideout MT 511225 Christmas MT 520108 It's Only Money MT 520115 Key Witness MT 520122 Change of address MT 520129 Stranger In The House MT 520219 Strange New World MT 520429 Haunted Trailer MT 520429 Murder In 2952 MT 520617 Green Death