Review: "Murder Marsh" (The Shadow)
John Olsen
The Shadow Magazine. A mysterious mansion set on an island in the center
of a foggy old marsh. There, scientists looked for the Ignis Fatuus,
crooks looked for wealth, the Law sought criminals - and The Shadow
stalked death in the Murder Marsh.
This early Shadow story is a real pip. I found it very enjoyable. And it
helps make up for the somewhat tepid previous entry in the magazine
series, "The Garaucan Swindle." That one was a key story in the Shadow
mythology, explaining why Commissioner Weston left the country. But the
actual plot lacked some "oomph." This one, "Murder Marsh" makes up for
it. It's got atmosphere; it's got chills; it's got action.
Most of the story takes place on the marshes outside the town of
Rensdale. The first two chapters take place in Manhattan, where we learn
about Thaddeus Culeth, a smooth crook -- one of the smoothest in the
business -- and the dirtiest. He's dead now, and his fortune in
ill-gotten gains is hidden somewhere in the strange old house perched
upon an island in the center of a weird marshland. But after this
two-chapter introduction, we are taken to Rensdale, and the rest of the
story centers around the old mansion located just out of town.
With Culeth dead, the entire estate is going to a distant relative - a
young fellow named Hector Lundig - who never saw Thaddeus Culeth. Lundig
isn't interested in the place, and is anxious for a quick sale to anyone
crazy enough to buy the old mansion. Up steps strange old Wildemar
Brent. He's a scientist looking for those mysterious marsh lights known
as the ignis fatuus. Commonly known as the will-o'-the-wisp, it's a
pale, bluish-colored flame that is frequently seen in swampy places.
He's convinced that the house on the marsh is the perfect place from
which to seek the ignis fatuus.
But before the sale can be completed, Lundig is murdered! Now a search
for the next relative in line begins. And in the meantime, Wildemar
Brent and his young niece, the beautiful, young Miss Dorothy Brent,
continue to live in the house in the swamp. Every night, when the sun
goes down, he goes out into the marsh, leaving her alone in the house.
He sneaks into the mist, searching through the night fogs for the ignis
fatuus. But all the while, someone is searching the house for old
Thaddeus Culeth's hidden treasure.
Murder strikes again! Detective Merle Cray is killed while investigating
the death of young heir Hector Lundig. Strange footsteps are heard in
the house. And strange tappings. Then another murder! This time,
faithful old servant Twindell is killed. What's behind the whole thing?
Who is seeking the death of the inhabitants of the strange old mansion?
Where is the hidden treasure? Why is the main door left unbolted in the
middle of the night? How do mysterious figures secretly enter the
mansion without detection? When will the next murder occur? These
questions are all answered by that master detective, the mysterious
cloaked figure who is master of the night, The Shadow!
One of my favorite gadgets appears in this story: those wonderful rubber
suction cups which The Shadow attaches to his hands and feet to cling to
the brick surface of a building. With their aid, he can climb the sheer
outside walls of buildings or cling batlike to the surface of the brick.
This time, The Shadow climbs the alleyway wall of the Hotel Spartan to
cling outside a third story window and listen in on the conspiracy
taking place inside. Pretty cool. Any time these disks appear in a story
is worthy of note.
In this story, Clyde Burke appears in a small role. Harry Vincent
appears in an even smaller role. Burbank makes a brief appearance, as
does Cliff Marsland. The law is not represented. Neither Joe Cardona nor
Commissioner Weston appear; similarly government agent Vic Marquette is
absent. The only representative of the law might loosely be considered
to be the detective Merle Cray. But he's killed by mid-story.
And most strikingly, The Shadow only appears as himself. There is no
appearance by Lamont Cranston, Kent Allard, Henry Arnaud, or any of his
other well-known disguises. When The Shadow shows up, its in his
well-known cloak of black and slouch hat. And when he does, you know
that action is impending. There's gonna be some shootin'! There's gonna
be some action! And The Shadow's gonna come out on top!
Although The Shadow doesn't get to don one of his well-known disguises,
he does get to appear in a new one. It's pretty obvious from his first
appearance that the tall, owlish man with thick-lensed glasses is really
The Shadow. So I'm not really spoiling the readers' enjoyment, here. He
goes by the name of Professor Darwin Shelby, and he appears just before
the half-way point of the story. He actually plays a fairly large role
in the rest of the story, until he reveals himself at the climax of the
tale.
We do get a visit to the sanctum, although an ever-so-brief one at the
end of chapter two, just before the story moves to Rensdale. And we get
to see Clyde Burke write to his chief in a strange code that looks like
shorthand. The Shadow had lots of different codes in the various
magazine stories. Most used standard alphabetical symbols, but this
time, some non-standard symbols are used. Interesting.
And then there are the Dalwars. Who are they, you may ask? The Dalwars,
at least according to this story, are a sect of hermits who prefer to
avoid human contact. They don't even associate with themselves. In this
story, there are a bunch of Dalwars squatting in some cabins on the
hillside above the foggy old swamp. They play a small but important role
in the plot, giving Harry Vincent a place to hide out, and providing
some suspicious activity as they skulk through the mist. From what I can
tell, the Dalwars are strictly a fictional creation. There never was
such a sect in actuality. Often times, author Walter Gibson would base
his plot elements on real-life things and people. But apparently not in
this case.
My favorite part is at the very end, after all the bad guys have been
wiped up. The will-o'-the-wisp, which Wildemar Brent has been seeking
for the entire mystery, finally appears. And from the midst of those
wavering, mystic marsh lights steps The Shadow garbed in his black cloak
and slouch hat. The lights form a luminous setting for his spectral
shape. It's quite breathtaking for both the reader and the characters in
the story.
I know you'll find this Shadow mystery quite as satisfying as I did.
It's a top-notch Shadow pulp novel, and I can give it a strong
recommendation.
John
--
"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"
The wonderful old pulp mystery stories are all reviewed at:
http://www.spaceports.com/~deshadow/