 | #016 "The Ghost Makers"
Vol. 3, No. 4 Published: 10/15/32 Submitted: 04/01/32 without a title Author: Walter Gibson Review date: Feb 01, 2002 |
THE GHOST MAKERS was originally published in the October 15, 1932 issue of The Shadow Magazine. It was only the sixteenth story of The Shadow ever published. And when you consider that there were 325 of them eventually published, that makes this story a very early one. One that you'll want to read.
But you won't want to read the paperback reprint version. Seem like just about every paperback reprint of The Shadow was edited. Some in minor ways. Some in very major ways. But you deserve better. You deserve an exact scan of the original pulp story. Complete, unedited and word-for-word exactly as originally published. And that's exactly what you are being offered. Now you can download and read the original version as it originally appeared in the October 15, 1932 issue of The Shadow Magazine.
It all starts in the Hotel Dalban where Professor Raoul Jacques holds his seances once a week. As the dozen people sit around the table in the dark, a glowing dagger appears in mid-air. Suddenly it descends! There is a mysterious laugh, and the lights come on. On the floor lies the body of Herbert Harvey, stabbed to the heart with the keen-bladed knife. It's murder. Murder by a ghost!
Was The Shadow present at the seance? Was he involved in the murder? Was he the mysterious man who disappeared before the seance ended? Is there an entire ring of crooks holding fake seances? Who is behind it all?
The Shadow travels to Philadelphia to the home of another medium, Anita Marie. It appears a similar swindle is going on there. Then, the rich husband of Maude Garwood dies, apparently from an accidental overdose. Since he no longer stands in the way of her generous donations to the medium, things seem suspiciously convenient.
The Shadow also travels to Cincinnati, where Madame Plunket is fleecing Arthur Dykeman whose daughter, Stella, died in an automobile accident a month ago. And more trouble rears its head in Chicago.
It's The Shadow against the fake medium racket. Millions are being fleeced from innocent and gullible believers in the spirit racket. Only The Shadow can stop the wide-spread gang.
It's a great tale from early in The Shadow's career. Whenever The Shadow appears in this story, it's as himself in his usual cloak, slouch hat and gloves. He never appears as Lamont Cranston, Henry Arnaud, or any of his other well-known disguises.
Also appearing in the story is Detective Joe Cardona, playing a large role. Commissioner Ralph Weston appears briefly. Similarly Burbank and Harry Vincent show up in cameo roles. The main action is carried by Joe Cardona and The Shadow.
The method in which The Shadow communicates with Cardona is unusual. He inscribes brief messages on small, flat metal disks. These disks are placed inside a small bouquet of violets and delivered to Cardona. I don't believe I've seen this methold of communication before. In the other stories I've read, usually The Shadow would either send Cardona a note or make one of his whispered phone calls. But this was early in the magazine's run, and it would seem that Walter Gibson was still working out those kinds of details.
This story mentioned the weekly broadcasts made by The Shadow on a national radio chain. That was worked into most of the early stories, probably to assure readers of the relationship between the magazine and the actual broadcasts hosted by The Shadow character. Also mentioned in this story is The Shadow's mysterious girasol ring.
One thing that seemed out of character to me was the more brutal personality of The Shadow. In one scene, The Shadow held a crook at gunpoint and forced him to drink poison, then watched him die. That's not The Shadow that I've come to know from reading 250 of the stories. But again, we can probably attribute that to the fact that the story was early in the run, and Gibson was still experimenting with the character of The Shadow.