I've seen The Diary of Fate called a horror program but that's really not accurate - this isn't Inner Sanctum or the Mysterious Traveler! The presence of Fate as host gives the program supernatural overtones but that's the extent of the program's dip into horror. It's really a crime program and follows in a similar pattern as contemporaneous crime comic books (such as those by Lev Gleason and Marvel) which were also hosted by "Fate."
It's easy to compare this program to the Whistler. In both, the narrator is an all-knowing figure who comments upon and judges the protagonist's actions. In both, there's a surprise ending. However, Fate comes down much more harshly on his subjects than the Whistler ever did; while the Whistler seemed bemused by the actions of the protagonists on his series, Fate doesn't like his protagonists. Fate takes pains near the end of each episode to remind the audience that he isn't the protagonist's collaborator; although in each episode Fate creates the situation which sets off the plot, he observes that the protagonist themselves make the choice for good or evil.
Of course, what sets this apart from the Whistler is that the protagonists always choose evil and are punished by the climax. In the Whistler, sometimes the protagonists were led towards committing a crime but would refuse at the last minute. In that way, the Whistler truly did claim to have a "surprise ending." The Diary of Fate is much more predictable - the protagonist always chooses evil near the start of the program and thus is punished at the climax.
I find the Diary of Fate was a decent program with some good performers (ie, Howard McNear, Bill Johnstone, Lurene Tuttle) but because it was very formulaic it's not the kind of series you want to listen to very often.
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