 | #094 "Castle of Doom"
Vol. 16, No. 4 Published: 01/15/36 Submitted: 05/31/35 as "Doom Castle" Author: Walter Gibson Review date: Jul 29, 2005 |
CASTLE OF DOOM was originally published in the January 15, 1936 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Now we're talking! To me, this is what The Shadow is all about. Stealthily stalking through the night, he uncovers strange plottings in an old English castle. Secret passages, ghostly visitations, hidden treasure. Only The Shadow can unravel the secrets of the Castle of Doom!
The Shadow travels to London, England. Tales of crime have crossed the seas to Manhattan, where The Shadow hears of the swift, mysterious crime wave. The theft of gold, jewels, jade, tapestries and much more. Valuables worth a million and a half dollars. Along with the thefts, also murder; two and counting. So, disguised as Lamont Cranston, The Shadow makes a prompt trip to the British capital. Accompanying him is Harry Vincent his most trusted agent.
On a foggy London street, we meet Geoffrey Chiswold, owner of Chiswold Castle. Owner until recently, that is. He has just sold the castle to Barton Modbury, a wealthy diamond king from South Africa. And now young Geoffrey plans to travel to Canada. But it is not to be.
Trailing Chiswold through the fog is Harry Vincent. But Harry loses track of Geoffrey Chiswold when he accidentally picks up the wrong trail -- the trail of Geoffrey's cousin just home from India, Nigel Chiswold. The two look enough alike to be twins, so it's no surprise that Harry is fooled. Unfortunately, that leaves Geoffrey Chiswold unprotected. And in the fog, awaits death. Yes, Geoffrey Chiswold meets a swift and violent death in the fog, at the hands of mysterious lurkers in the fog.
Inspector Eric Delka of Scotland Yard investigates the gristly murder. His good friend Lamont Cranston is visiting, and accompanies him to the small town of Yarwick, outside of which Chiswold Castle lies. The two are there to interview those who knew Geoffrey Chiswold, to determine if his death was premeditated by some unknown enemies, or if it was a misfortune of chance -- being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
At Chiswold Castle they meet the new owner, Barton Modbury, and his weekend guests. There is Sir Rodney Ralthorn, wealthy from the beet-sugar industry. His beautiful young daughter, Gwendolyn Ralthorn, is also a guest at Chiswold Castle. Lord Cedric Lorthing, a wealthy Londoner, is her fiance. The last of the guests is a Spaniard, Francisco Lodera, whose family held high rating during the days of the Spanish monarchy. All of these guests knew the recently deceased ex-owner Geoffrey Chiswold. All might help provide clues for Scotland Yard.
But one who they don't meet is Nigel Chiswold, the cousin of Geoffrey who has recently returned from a five-year stay in India. Nigel secretly makes his way to the castle along with his giant servant, the faithful Afghan, Amakar. Nigel doesn't want his presence known, so sneaks into the castle using secret passages that only he knows. He hides himself in a secret chamber known as the spy room, located at the top of a spiral staircase in the abandoned turret of the castle.
And with this atmospheric setting, the strange tale gradually unwinds. Set against a backdrop of a three-hundred-year-old castle sitting high on a cliff overlooking the raging ocean on the rural English coast, The Shadow will have to use all his abilities to determine who killed Geoffrey Chiswold, and why. It's an amazingly intricate story that's a real joy to read.
This is The Shadow as he is meant to be read about. He is at his full power, with stealth abilities bordering on invisibility. He spends nearly the entire story in the background, skulking about in the dark of night. He appears only occasionally in disguise; he prefers his black cloak and slouch hat. He only rarely needs the assistance of his agent, Harry Vincent. And his mastery of languages now includes the Afghan language, as well as so many others.
We see The Shadow with his portable make-up kit, that small flat box which he uses to manipulate his waxlike features. He only appears briefly as Lamont Cranston. And similarly makes brief appearances as a rustic farmer in one scene, and as Professor Roderick Danglar, of Cambridge, in two others. No one sees any similarity between the three characters, so effective is his skill at disguise.
But it's as his black-garbed true self that he spends most of his time, here. As he slides across the wide green lawns at midnight, he appears as a flickering shadow cast by the fringe of trees surrounding the estate. When he climbs the outside castle walls, using the heavy ivy vines to noiselessly ascend, no one sees him.
It's interesting to note that when this story was written, author Walter Gibson indicated that the stolen valuables were worth three hundred thousand pounds in English currency, or a million and a half dollars in American currency. The exchange rate, for those of you unwilling to do the math, was five dollars for each pound. That's changed over the years. At the time this review is being written in 2005, the current exchange rate is $1.82 for each pound. (This information courtesy of The Universal Currency Converter at http://www.xe.com/ucc/) How times change...
This is one Shadow pulp mystery that I can recommend unconditionally. Mystery and intrigue abound in this atmospheric adventure. Set among ancient underground passages, hidden rooms, secret chambers, spiral staircases, spy rooms and mysterious vaults filled with flapping bats, this story weaves a tale of strange murder! It all makes for a story not to be missed!