What happens
Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane investigate the deaths of Reverend Colby and ten parishioners in a fishing village church. Cranston, who also goes by the Shadow, learns of a cult worshipping the Ancient One and its self-proclaimed prophet, a stranger who has taken charge of Mrs. Ackley's house on the cliff. Reverend Colby's daughter, Isabel, is held there. The Shadow looks into the mystery of the house while the prophet's influence over Mrs. Ackley grows stronger. This is an episode of The Shadow, a dramatized story from The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on March 6, 1938.
A fishing village and a house on a cliff, with a church and a temple of the Ancient One.
Characters: Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, The Shadow, Reverend Colby, Isabel Colby, Mrs. Ackley, The Prophet, Martha
Listen for: The Prophet's claims about the Ancient One and the rising tension inside Mrs. Ackley's house.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.