Sci-Fi Short Film “The Traveler” | DUST
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🪐 You are entering a fictional zone: reality has been suspended.
New York, 1887. After her husband’s death, an isolated widow becomes convinced his spirit has returned. But as the haunting escalates, she uncovers a truth that defies everything she believes about death itself.
“The Traveler” by Matthew Scheffler
📶 Connect with the Filmmakers:
Filmmaker Social: https://www.instagram.com/ironschef2021/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-traveler-2025-1/
Film Social: https://www.instagram.com/thetraveler_film/
🎬 Director’s Statement:
Growing up in rural New England, surrounded by old houses, dense woods, and landscapes steeped in folklore, I developed an early fascination with the unknown. Surrounded by stories that taught me that fear is often rooted as much in grief, memory, and longing as it is in the supernatural. That’s what continues to draw me to horror today. At its best, genre gives us a language for the things we struggle to face in ordinary life.
The Traveler grew out of that philosophy, inspired by my own experiences with loss and by paranormal encounters growing up. While it’s a Victorian ghost story on its surface, it’s really about grief, the way it reshapes our reality, and the dangerous comfort of believing what we desperately want to be true. More than anything, I hope audiences leave with the same feeling that’s stayed with me since childhood: that the world is stranger, more beautiful, and perhaps a little more haunted than we imagine.
🎞️ Credits:
Director / Writer: Matthew Scheffler
Producer: Meghan-Michele German
Producer: Matt Ruscio
Co-Producer: Quis Wallace
Co-Producer: Griffin Griggs
Production Partner: Wheelhouse Media
Executive Producer: John Allred
Executive Producer: Julia Baltz
Executive Producer: Frank Baltz
Executive Producer: Beth DiGiammarino
Executive Producer: Rick DiGiammarino
Executive Producer: Blake German
Executive Producer: Daniel Gorman
Executive Producer: Michael Krentzman
Executive Producer: Christopher Scheffler
Executive Producer: Liz Sizemore
Director of Photography: Fletcher Wolfe
Production Designer: Amber Unkle
Art Director: Brett Calvo
Editor: Daniel Roman
Composer: Benjamin Doherty
Casting Director: Daryl Eisenberg
Costume Designer: Celeste Montalvo
VFX Supervisor: Chris King
Hair & Makeup Artist: Sarah Visina
1st AD: Hans Augustave
Stunt Coordinator: Tony Vincent
Sound Mixer: Michael Sterkin
Gaffer: James Usmanov
Key Grip: Jon Mendez
1st AC: Aaron Snow
1st AC: Danny Flanagan
Sound Design: Mr. Bronx Audio
VFX: Phosphene
VFX: PXL House
Colorist: Ben Federman
PA: Marcus Eley
PA: Robbie Skaff
PA: Jannai Stroude
Cast –
Natalie Knepp
John Joseph Gallagher
Ryan Barger
Tess Micciche
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