Podcast Summary: The Shadow – "The Creeper" (Aired 05/29/1938)

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Host: Choice Classic Radio
Episode Date: April 2, 2026 (original air date: May 29, 1938)
Featured Story: The Shadow: The Creeper

Episode Overview

This episode of Choice Classic Radio Detectives presents a chilling adventure from the classic radio series The Shadow. The story, titled "The Creeper," revolves around a wave of disappearances and murders haunting New York's wealthy Mayfair district. The Shadow (Lamont Cranston) investigates after one of Margot Lane's close friends, Edith Day, vanishes mysteriously from her home. Cranston follows the trail below ground, uncovering a hidden horror beneath the city and facing one of the series' most memorable villains, "The Creeper."

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Mysterious Disappearances in Mayfair

• [03:03-04:46] Margot Lane urgently contacts Lamont Cranston after hearing about the disappearance of Edith Day, a dear friend. Discussion reveals that several similar cases have recently occurred under mysterious circumstances in the same district, with no ransom demands, no traces, and even private guards failing to prevent more abductions.
• Quote:
  • "Terrible people just disappearing into thin air… Something awful must have happened to Edith. No ransom notes, no nothing." – Margot ([04:35])

2. Investigative Breakthrough: Secret Tunnels

• [07:11-09:46] Lamont conducts research at the public library, discovering an abandoned underground water conduit running directly beneath the Mayfair district. By overlaying crime scenes on an old map, he realizes each affected house sits atop this forgotten tunnel—a likely route for the abductions.
• Quote:
  • "Every one of those houses is located directly over that old abandoned water main." – Margot ([08:30])
  • "Unless I’m badly mistaken, that is the answer to the disappearance of Edith Day." – Lamont ([08:35])

3. The Shadow Investigates

• [11:06-13:33] The Shadow explores the Day mansion’s basement and discovers a hollow-sounding stone slab—a concealed entrance to the tunnel below. He enlists Margot’s help to further the investigation while emphasizing the danger.
• Quote:
  • "This big stone slab has a hollow ring. This is it. This is the answer." – The Shadow ([11:06])

4. The Victims’ Plight Underground

• [15:31-16:43] Meanwhile, the audience hears the voices of chained, captured victims in the tunnels, bemoaning their hopelessness and fate at the hands of "The Creeper."
• Quote:
  • "Some of you have been here a day, a week, two weeks. I’ve been here two months. ...I know. We’ll die here. We’ll never get out." – Chained victim ([15:37])

5. The Creeper: Motivations & Madness

• [16:43-18:22] The Creeper boasts about abducting beautiful young women and furnishing his underground lair with stolen goods—cruelly rationalizing his crimes as a way to keep himself from loneliness. Margot is nearly captured while trying to reason with him.
• Quote:
  • "Nobody gets away. Nobody ever gets away." – The Creeper ([16:52])
  • "I killed him so he wouldn’t run away. But then there was no one to talk to. I got lonely." – The Creeper ([17:17])

6. The Showdown: The Shadow vs. The Creeper

• [18:22-24:01] The Shadow confronts the Creeper, taunting him with his unseen presence and psychological tactics. He manages to distract and disorient the villain, allowing Margot and the other captives a chance at rescue—but chaos ensues when the Creeper threatens to detonate stolen dynamite, intending to kill everyone in the tunnels.
• Quote:
  • "You’re hearing The Shadow." – The Shadow ([18:35])
  • "No, Creeper. I am not chained. I can get away from you. Why don’t you follow me? Follow my voice." – The Shadow ([24:29])

7. Climax & Resolution

• [24:01-26:04] The Shadow employs ventriloquism to fool the Creeper, luring him to the end of a tunnel. The Creeper, duped, throws the dynamite where he believes The Shadow’s voice to be, but the hero is safely behind him. The explosion kills the Creeper; meanwhile, police rescue the victims.
• Quote:
  • "The Shadow tricked the Creeper into following him down the tunnel... then there was an explosion. They said the Creeper and The Shadow were blown to pieces." – Margot ([26:15])

8. Denouement & Memorable Final Moment

• [26:04-27:10] In the aftermath, Lamont reveals to Margot the trick he used to escape unharmed—a classic Shadow maneuver. The episode ends with The Shadow’s iconic sign-off about the wages of crime.
• Quote:
  • "The old, old trick of voice projection, Margot. Ventriloquism. Easy. ...All the time I was behind him, far enough behind him to be safe." – Lamont ([26:40])
  • "As Mark Twain once said, the report of my death has been grossly exaggerated. The Shadow is still alive. Very much alive. As the criminal world will discover. To its sorrow." – Lamont ([27:03])

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• "Without a trace... disappearing into thin air." – Margot ([04:35])
• "That is the answer to the disappearance of Edith Day." – Lamont ([08:35])
• "Your crimes have found you out, Creeper." – The Shadow ([18:54])
• "I make them afraid. I make them my slaves." – The Creeper ([18:22])
• "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows." – The Shadow ([27:10])

Important Segments (Timestamps)

• [04:20-05:00] – Missing persons case established
• [08:13-09:46] – Discovery of the tunnel connection
• [11:06-13:33] – Underground entrance found
• [15:31-16:43] – Victims’ despair in captivity
• [18:22-19:54] – The Shadow confronts The Creeper
• [24:01-25:42] – Climax with dynamite confrontation
• [26:04-27:10] – Final revelation and The Shadow’s signature sign-off

Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is imbued with suspense and dread, characteristic of The Shadow series. The interplay between Lamont Cranston's logic and The Creeper’s mania, combined with the atmospheric sound design and performances, creates a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere. The dialogue retains hardboiled, period-specific phrasing and dramatic flair.

Summary

"The Creeper" is a quintessential Shadow story, blending mystery, psychological horror, and action. It stands out for its use of underground urban lore, an emotionally complex villain, and classic radio suspense. The Shadow's ingenuity—especially his use of ventriloquism for life-and-death trickery—wraps up a taut story about the darkness lurking beneath the city and the justice brought to those who exploit it.

Recommended for fans of:

• Classic radio drama
• Detective fiction
• Gothic horror and psychological thrillers

“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows.” – The Shadow ([27:10])