Death stalks menacingly through a mysterious mansion of ghastly, blood-curdling horrors as crime takes its grim toll. Armed with a razor-sharp intellect, a well-trained body, and most of all a desire to crush criminals wherever they may be, The Phantom Detective walks into a horror house, one that not even he may survive!
Oftentimes, readers of Pulp magazines in their Golden Age of publication read the wild, over the top stories for one reason - escape. Looking to get out of the humdrum of Depression or War era America, fans of all ages marveled to the adventures of larger than life heroes and insane villains. The Phantom Detective both met this qualification to be a Pulp Hero, but also stood out in his own unique way as a relatable character. Though born into wealth, Richard Curtis Van Loan became a self-made man when he decided to become The Phantom Detective. Undertaking to train himself in every aspect of crimefighting, including disguises and escape techniques, Van Loan crafted his own destiny. He also did this without a super scientist father, a likely mystical training in a far-off land, or any other such devices. Granted, he had wealth that many of his readers did not have at his disposal, but still, Van Loan was in many ways a regular joe who saw a need and came up with a very unique way of helping fill it. Yes, he is introduced in the earliest stories as a world renowned detective, but later tales fill out how he came to be such, why law enforcement around the world respects a masked man so much, something that many of his counterparts before, during, and after his series did not enjoy.
‘The House of Murders’ was originally published in the February 1935 issue of The Phantom Detective Magazine and is read with pulse pounding intensity by award winning voice actor Milton Bagby.
