The Strange Dr. Weird
1944 - 1945
Maurice Tarplin was not only The Mysterious Traveler, but also The Strange Dr. Weird.
The Strange Dr. Weird was the stepchild of The Mysterious Traveler. It featured the same kind of spooky stories, hosted by the same narrator, Maurice Tarplin. He even used a similar exit strategy in both series, pretending it is the listener who is ending the story early, but inviting him back next week for another creepy tale told in the same slithering voice. If that were not enough resemblance, both the director (Jock MacGregor) and the writer (Bob Arthur) were also from Mysterious Traveler (Buxton, 229). The new host told his stories in a mansion overlooking a dreary cemetery, but other than that, the only change was that the show was 15 minutes long instead of 30. Why the shorter time? A listener asked Dr. Weird that very question during a 1944 commercial break (by way of the announcer). Let's let the good doctor answer for himself:
Announcer: "While my goose pimples go away, and we all wait to find out what happens next, I'd like to ask Dr. Weird a question."
Weird: "Yes, yes young man. I'm all ears."
Announcer: "Well, point them the other way please, and answer me this. One of our listeners wants to know why you are on the air only 15 minutes instead of a half hour?"
Weird: "If we can scare people to death in 15 minutes, why take twice as long?"
Of course, that doesn't explain why The Strange Dr. Weird ended after just one season, while the thirty minute version of Mysterious Traveler lasted nearly a decade. Whatever the reason, fans of frights should enjoy the 29 or so recordings that survive of Dr. Weird. Aside from the very dated Adam Hats commercials that interrupt the stories mid-way through, the stories themselves hold up quite well.
The Typical Intro:
(Sfx: Thunderclap.)
Announcer: "The strange Dr. Weird!"
(Music: Organ flair, followed by sound effect of a door opening and closing.)
Dr. Weird. "Good evening. Come in, won't you? Why, what's the matter? You seem a bit nervous. Perhaps the cemetery outside this house has upset you. But there are things far worse than cemeteries. For instance, men with murder in their hearts. As in my story tonight, a story I call... The Devil's Caverns! "
A Typical Closing:
Host: "Too bad about poor Victor, wasn't it? Such a horrible way to die. But two few weeks later, when a searching party entered the caverns, they found a clean white skeleton lying a few hundred yards from the entrance. Unfortunately, they were never able to find a trace of John Drake or Paul. It was as if, as if they vanished from the face of the Earth. Now I once knew a dead man who-- oh, you have to go now? Perhaps you'll drop in on me again soon. Just look for the house on the other side of the cemetery The house of Dr. Weird!"
(Sfx: Organ plays musical flair.)
Hear it now, FREE!
Hear up to 29 different episodes of Strange Dr. Weird in RealPlayer on OTR.net!
(RealPlayer allows you to continue to browse other sites while you listen.)
And here too. (Courtesty of tennesseebillsotr.com)
Read a script: The Voice of Death (courtesy of GenericRadio.com)
Some Suggested Samples!
(Courtesy of OTR.net)
Summoning of Shandor - A mystic has the power to summon the dead.
Journey Into The Unknown - A mad scientist is accidentally turned into an ape.
The Dark Wings of Death - The story of a Raven that could talk, and the problems it caused.
The Man Who Talked to Death - A morgue attendant says he can communicate with the dead, but when a newspaper reporter decides to test the theory, he regrets he ever got involved.
© 2007 Monsterwax Sci-fi & Horror Monster Cards
rev 8.3.09**
