Saturday, July 21, 2012

When The Shadow Stalked Gulfport

There is a story that my Uncle loves to tell about my grandfather and the Shadow. The Shadow was a burglar who was terrorizing the Gulfport residents in the 1930's.

My grandfather was awakened by a scraping noise in the middle of the night. He quietly got up and took out the gun his father in law had given him to protect themselves from such disreputable characters like the Shadow.

My grandfather quietly went into the living room from which the sound came. He could hear someone at the window unscrewing the window screen. He stood to the side with the colt revolver cocked waiting. The noise suddenly stopped and still he stood waiting. He stood for over an hour until he was satisfied that the burglar had given up.

The next morning my grandfather went outside to investigate. He saw the screws on the screen worked out, and footprints in the dirt upon the ground. He saw that the footprints lead around to the other side of the house as well, to another window, where the Shadow possibly saw him standing there in the dark waiting for him with his gun and decided it best to leave.

 The Daily Herald 
February 24, 1936



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