A train moves through the darkness. A stranger takes the seat across from you. His voice is calm, almost friendly.
And then he begins to tell you a story.
In this Chesterton Radio Listen with Gilbert Deep Dive, we return to The Mysterious Traveler, the remarkable series created by Robert Arthur and David Kogan and made unforgettable by Maurice Tarplin’s quietly sinister Traveler.
We explore the genius of the nighttime-train framing device, the extraordinary range of stories, and the terrifying brilliance of “Behind the Locked Door”—a story that demonstrates something radio understood better than almost any visual medium:
Sometimes the most frightening monster is the one you never see.
We’ll also explore the strange fate of the series itself. Hundreds of journeys were broadcast, but only a fraction survive. In a wonderfully appropriate twist, The Mysterious Traveler has become something of a ghost itself.
So find a dark room. Put on your headphones.
The train is waiting.
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And if you happen to hear a train whistle tonight...
perhaps you’d better listen.
This Marathon collection includes:
No One On the Line
The Acccusing Corpse
Death is the Visitor
The Woman in Black
Locomotive Ghost
The Case of Charles Foster
Death Has a Thousand Faces
They Struck it Rich
Out of the Past
New Years Nightmare
They Who Sleep
No Grave Can Hold Me
Murder Goes Free
Mind over Murder
Death is my Caller
I Won't Die Alone
Death Laughs Last
The Man Who Vanished
The Man The Insects Hated
