SHUDDERING CASTLE
By Wilbur Fawley
GREEN CIRCLE BOOKS
NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT, 1936
by LEE FURMAN, INC.
[Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any
evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Printed in the United States of America
SHUDDERING CASTLE
Shuddering Castle is not a mystery novel in the generallyaccepted sense. It is a novel with a mystery; a highly imaginativestory, with revelations in the field of radio and short-wavebroadcasting. None of the strange events recorded oversteps theboundaries of accepted natural laws.
In this novel of exciting action, radio communication is establishedbetween Earth and Mars, with a world-girdling hook-up from RadioCenter, in New York City, and the reader will be amazed to find thatthe Martians are human beings like ourselves, subject to the same laws,the same temptations and passions which affect humanity. Into thispulsating picture of tensed American life of the near future, comesanother revelation from the sky. This brings the reader to the dramaof a frightening but plausible visitor from the jungles of Mars tothis world, whose presence in the old spooky castle of an eccentricmillionaire-scientist on Long Island causes great fear to its inmateswhen night falls.
But there is thrilling romance to warm your hearts, the infatuationof a young newspaperman for the alluring debutante niece of the oldscientist; a humanly drawn boy and girl who are caught in the violentweb of mystery and sudden death. Shuddering Castle is a uniquestudy in the mysterious recesses of the universe.
SHUDDERING CASTLE
I
As a staid and wealthy New York family, of distinguished but remoteEnglish ancestry, we moved formally and rather arrogantly within oursmall, exclusive circle, holding on grimly to the traditions andelegancies of the past. During the winter season, we viewed the outsideworld placidly, and with the respectful composure of middle-age, fromthe dignified privacy of our red brick mansion in Washington Square.
On May first, as regular as clockwork, year in and year out, andwith all the solemnity of a ritual, we put our elaborate upholsteredfurniture in linen shrouds, veiled the somber, scowling familyportraits in their dull gold frames with fly-netting, boarded up thewindows and doors, and went to the country. Our summer home is calledThe Castle, and it is situated at Sands Cliff, Long Island. As a familywe resembled nothing so much as this embattled stone fortress, ofold-world design, in which we spent more than half the year.
As long back as I can remember, we had successfully preserved thefamily's seclusion from the living world. Wherever we happened tobe, in town or country, we had protected our privacy with shutteredwindows, and massive iron gates that were secured both day and nightwith heavy chains. Numerous signs of "Private" and "No TrespassingAllowed" dotted our grounds like grave markers.
And then, quite suddenly, our lives became incredibly transformed.A series of weird events brought us out of our privacy andseclusion—brought us plenty of excitement and trouble and even horror.
But that was not to be wondered at, with Henry, my elder brother,suddenly developing a mania for research in scientific matters,especially the science of heavenly bodies and th