[The Shadow 253] • The Vampire Murders

THE VAMPIRE MURDERS was originally published in the September 1, 1942 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Could The Shadow keep his promise that he, strange master of darkness, would take a hand in solving the weird riddle of Haldrew Hall, after mere humans had finished their speculations on the subject of a roving vampire that had vanished without a rattle of its bones? Pulp stories often mirrored what was currently popular in the movies. Vampire movies had been quite popular for the previous ten years or so, considering all the Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolfman movies that Universal was churning out. The other major studios got into the act, as well. MGM hired Bela Lugosi for "Mark of the Vampire" and the lower budget movie studios like Monogram were making audiences happy with their own string of horror films. So it was not surprising that a vampire story should appear in The Shadow Magazine. This story gets off to an impressive start. Very spooky and it really gets you into the mood for a vampire story. But author Walter Gibson just keeps it going too long. Too much of a good thing can get boring after a while. All the moody atmosphere which made the introduction so terrific starts to wear thin by half-way through the novel. I found myself getting annoyed by all the overly-done creepy descriptions... "OK, I get it, all ready!" Now, let me point out that there are no vampires, really. Not in this story. The Shadow stories were based in reality and things that go bump in the night always have common everyday explanations when the story wraps up things at the end. Fantastic events which could only have supernatural explanations turn out to have normal explanations after all. (The one exception to this would be "The Devil Monsters" where the prehistoric beasts actually did exist.) As I read this story, I kept wondering how Walter Gibson would explain it all away in the end, feeling most confident that he would. And he did. Just like in the Scooby-Doo stories, where the monster turns out to be a guy in a rubber mask, the vampire turns out to be a hoax. No rubber mask, but a hoax, nonetheless. I didn't feel cheated, though; I knew it would be all explained when I started reading. Half the fun was trying to figure out an explanation for the different unexplainable events, and then comparing my explanation with what was finally revealed in the story. "It was a dark and stormy night..." No, that's not how this story begins, but it could have... Maybe it should have... It starts outside Haldrew Hall, the mysterious old mansion where old Giles Haldrew had recently died at the ripe old age of ninety three. Distant relatives are arriving to stay a month in the spooky old house. That's the only way they can claim their share of the inheritance. It's not a very large inheritance, but... hey, money is money. Among the relatives showing up is Harry Vincent, agent for The Shadow. Harry isn't really related to the Haldrews; he's been sent there by The Shadow to play the part and uncover the secret of the manor. As he arrives, thunder and lightning surround the dark old house. He's greeted by Varney Haldrew, Giles only brother -- twenty five years younger. You know right from the beginning that Varney isn't to be trusted. His name alone speaks "vampire!" And his appearance... His face was almost a living skull, a leering thing with vicious, ugly teeth. His eyes were lost within their sockets. He dresses all in gray, including gray gloves which he never removes. He appears in the dark of the hallway as a grisly creature wandering from its tomb! Inside the strange old house, Vincent meets the rest of the relatives. There are Warren and Cedric Armand, look-alike cousins. Then there's George Frenton and Dr. Simon Clabb, also both distantly related. Beautiful young Gail Merwin adds the love interest. Old Sabbatha, niece of Varney, is a resident of the house. And let's not forget Throck, the strange old servant. From this group of characters, we must find a murderer. Perhaps more than one! And a vampire. Perhaps more than one, as well! Yes, vampires! This story features all the trappings. There's the bite marks on the throats of victims. The aversion to garlic. The vampire turns to a cold mist, to pass beneath locked doors. Old Varney shows up stalking the hallways in a shroud greenish from the mold of many years. We see him lying in his coffin. And he casts no reflection in a mirror. Sure sounds like a vampire to me! First George Frenton dies. Was it from fright? Did he have a heart condition? What about those two strange marks on this throat? Then Dr. Clabb turns up dead. Two murders! Who will be the third? Harry Vincent must solve the mystery of the vampire murders with the assistance of The Shadow. This story harkens back to the earlier days of The Shadow, when the character himself doesn't appear often in the story. We have a proxy hero, in this case Harry Vincent, who carries most of the action. Young Gail Merwin is also a bit of a proxy heroine, herself. The story follows her, along with the other relatives, and the reader is obviously intended to sympathize with her. The Shadow only shows up at vital moments to save the day. While living in the old house, Harry gets occasional messages from his chief. And we again are reminded that they are written in code which disappears from the paper shortly after exposure to air. This time around, some of those messages are dispatched by carrier pigeons, no less. That was a nice touch, I thought. Also in this story, we see The Shadow using his famous suction cups to climb the outside walls of the mansion. Those cups are always a favorite of mine, and I look forward to their use. And there's "The Devil's Whisper" -- the explosive mixture that The Shadow uses on rare occasions. Two dabs of different pastes: one for his thumb, the other for the tip of his second finger, and when he snaps his fingers, there is a flash and enormous explosion. No, it doesn't blow his fingers off, but it sure startles his opponent. Pretty cool! Yes, this story does have a lot going for it. And I liked this story; but, I didn't love it. I started out loving it, but then when the atmospheric stuff just kept on without relief, I started to get tired of it. I can't say it's a great Shadow story, but it is a pretty good one.