Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Mysterious Traveler 48-08-10 (166) "The Visiting Corpse"
Release Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
Featured Play: The Mysterious Traveler (Original Air Date: August 10, 1948)

Overview: Episode Theme and Purpose

This episode transports listeners back to the golden era of radio dramas, featuring a suspense-filled broadcast of "The Visiting Corpse" from The Mysterious Traveler series. The story, a classic blend of domestic tension and supernatural undertones, illustrates the era’s mastery of psychological horror and black humor. The narrative revolves around Albert Jordan, his wife Louise, and her overbearing mother, exploring themes of familial suffocation, guilt, and the inescapability of one’s deeds.

Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

1. Opening & Setting the Scene 

• [01:24] The Mysterious Traveler (Narrator) invites the audience on a "journey into the realm of the strange and terrifying," immediately setting an ominous tone. The listener is encouraged to "settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable if you can."
• The story's setting: The Jordan family’s modest suburban home, late at night. Albert Jordan is plagued by nightmares—the audience immediately senses disharmony and dread.

2. Family Tensions and Overbearing Mother-in-law

• [02:26] Louise’s mother, Heather Rhoden, berates Albert, believing he tricked her daughter into marriage. She’s depicted as meddling and controlling, haunting Albert even in his dreams.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Can't pull the wool over my eyes, Albert Jordan. I'm onto your way." – Heather ([02:26])

• Louise is apologetic and hopes to appease both Albert and her mother, highlighting her role as a peacekeeper.

3. Failed Departures & Growing Frustration

• [03:20–05:00] Despite plans to depart, Heather constantly finds reasons to stay or return, deepening Albert's resentment.
• Albert expresses mounting desperation:

  • "If your mother pays us just one more visit, I'll leave this house and—I’ll never come back." – Albert ([04:02])

4. Murder and the Trunk

• [05:50–06:51] Heather’s antagonism crescendos; Albert, in a fit of rage, murders her—packing her body into a trunk.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "I didn't want to kill you, but you made me... Even in death you're a problem, Mother." – Albert ([06:51])

5. Cover-up and Mounting Suspense

• Albert attempts to ship the trunk away, but logistical snags and Louise’s interventions keep bringing it back into their lives.
• [07:54–09:07] Tension tightens as Louise wants to open the trunk, and Albert is forced to fabricate explanations about its contents and destination.

6. Mother Returns by Proxy—The Haunting Refrain

• [09:57] Throughout the episode, Heather's voice echoes eerily:

  • "I've come back, Albert, and I'm staying for good." – Heather (multiple times: [09:57], [13:52], [17:20], [21:56], [22:56], etc.)

7. Cycle of Guilt and Escalating Panic

• The trunk persistently returns—misaddressed, unclaimed, or via storage mishaps.
• Even after paying to put the trunk in storage under a false name, Albert’s loss of receipts and false details ensure it ends up "for sale" at a public auction.

8. The Charity Auction & Climactic Breakdown

• [19:47–25:56] Months later at a charity auction, the infamous trunk is unexpectedly the star item, rekindling Albert’s guilt and paranoia.
  • The auctioneer and friends encourage bidding, using the trunk’s mystery to drive up excitement and its price.
  • Albert becomes frantic and overbids to reclaim it:

    "Leave me alone! ... The Gentleman has bid $150. ... I'm not going to let anyone touch this trunk." – Albert ([24:25], [25:36])

  • Others are baffled by his behavior as he refuses to let the trunk be opened in public.

9. Downfall: Fate Sealed by the Trunk

• While hauling the heavy trunk away, overcome by guilt and the psychological strain, Albert falls down the stairs and is killed—the trunk bursts open, revealing only a load of books.
  • Memorable Moment:

    "The fall broke the trunk open. There was nothing in it but a load of books." ([27:03])

10. Closing Irony & Epilogue

• [27:35] The Narrator returns, wryly observing:

  • "There are always some mother-in-laws you simply can't get away from... Like an old refrain."

  • Implying Albert’s conscience—and the trunk—was the real inescapable punishment.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Creeping Dread:

  "Settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable, if you can..." – Narrator ([01:24])

• Domestic Desperation:

  "If your mother pays us just one more visit, I'll leave this house and—I'll never come back." – Albert ([04:02])

• Mother's Supernatural Persistence:

  "I've come back, Albert, and I'm staying for good." – Heather (recurring, first at [09:57])

• Climactic Paranoia:

  "Leave me alone! ... I'm not going to let anyone touch this trunk." – Albert ([25:36])

• Ironic Fate:

  "There was nothing in it but a load of books." – George Horton ([27:03])

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:24] - Story introduction by The Mysterious Traveler
• [04:02] - Albert voices breaking point over mother-in-law's presence
• [06:51] - The murder and trunk concealment
• [09:57] - First ghostly "return" of Heather’s voice
• [13:38] - Trunk's persistent return and public intrigue
• [19:47] - Charity auction introduction
• [24:25] - Furious bidding and Albert's breakdown
• [27:03] - Climax: trunk opens, truth revealed
• [27:35] - Narrator’s ironic epilogue

Tone and Atmosphere

• The Visiting Corpse is woven with dark, ironic humor and psychological tension, mixing mundane marital frustration with gothic horror overtones.
• Dialogues are sharp and evocative of 1940s melodrama, with the omnipresent “Mysterious Traveler” narrator teasing the audience with chilling wit.

Recap for Non-Listeners

• Plot in Brief:
  Albert, tormented by his overbearing mother-in-law, murders her and hides her body in a trunk. In a series of darkly comic mishaps, the trunk refuses to disappear, haunting Albert and, ultimately, leading to his demise—whereupon the trunk is revealed to contain nothing sinister.
• The drama explores guilt, paranoia, and the inescapable consequences of one's actions, all wrapped in the signature suspense and black humor of classic radio horror.

Final Note

This episode showcases why The Mysterious Traveler remains a beloved classic, masterfully balancing mystery, dread, and irony within a domestic setting. The story’s cyclical haunting refrain—"I've come back, Albert, and I'm staying for good"—rings out as both a ghostly menace and a metaphor for guilt that simply cannot be buried.