SOLVED. 1940's or 50's science fiction short story about a guy who buys a ticket to a utopian world and backs out at the last minute [s]

[Dean]

I remember reading this story when I was a kid. I'm sure it was written in the 40's or early 50's, possibly by a major author. It was in a collection of short stories from that era. The plot of the story is that a lonely depressed man goes into a shabby travel agency on a whim looking for somewhere interesting to go. The old guy behind the counter makes some suggestions he's not interested in. After a while he talks about something special they don't offer to everybody, a trip to a better place where you can start over without the problems of the modern world. He hints that it's a one-way trip. He shows the guy a generic brochure about it. The guy agrees and buys the ticket. He shows up for the trip and rides a bus with a bunch of other nondescript looking people out into the country where they finally stop at an old barn. The driver leads them inside and tells them to wait. They wait for a short time and the protagonist starts to feel foolish and get angry, he thinks he's been swindled. He gets up and opens the door, runs outside. As he does there's a flash of light and he sees a glimpse of the people walking down into an idyllic valley. The door won't open and he can't get inside. Later on he goes back to the travel agency but the guy pretends he has no idea what he's talking about. That's the synopsis of the story as I remember it.

[Sue]

Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney?

[David]

Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney sounds like your book.

While I don't find a lot in GR about it, Wikipedia's plot includes this
"As he sits and waits in the dark barn, Charley descends into a rage after he concludes he has been played for a fool. He storms out of the barn, but just as he crosses the threshold, he looks back and briefly glimpses, in a flash of light, the planet Verna through the back window of the barn before the barn door slams shut. By the time he gets the barn door back open, the people he left in the barn are gone, taken to Verna. Returning to the travel agency some time later, Charley is greeted by the proprietor, who hands him his money and says, "You left this on the counter last time you were here. I don't know why."

[Rosa]

Yep, definitely that.
I can't link to it, but there's a list of books in which it was included on isfdb.org. You might find where you read it there.

[Sue]

Of Missing Persons
There’s a bit of information on this page that might help. I’m more or less certain it’s the right story having read it many years ago.

[Rosa]

David already linked to it.

[Denis]

I'm sure I myself read this story in Alfred Hitchcock Presents: More of My Favorites in Suspense; I used to read every one of those I could get hold of.

[Dean]

David wrote: "Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney sounds like your book.

While I don't find a lot in GR about it, Wikipedia's plot includes this
"As he sits and waits in the dark bar..."

Thank you, thank you, that's it.

[Rosa]

Glad you found it, Dean. Where do you think you read it?