“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” This question most frequently evokes which character?

The Shadow started out as host and narrator of the “Detective Story Hour", a radio program produced by Street and Smith Publications (S&S) to boost sales of its “Detective Story Magazine”. It first took to the airwaves on July 31, 1930.

Listeners began to ask for the magazine with stories about The Shadow, but there were none. So S&S hired Walter B. Gibson to create a character and develop a concept based on just two elements: the name “The Shadow”, and the voice of Frank Readick Jr., who opened and closed every Detective Story Hour. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” and “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit! Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows!” were spoken by Mr. Readick.

The Shadow crime-fighter first appeared in “The Shadow Magazine” on April 1, 1931. “The Shadow” radio drama first aired on September 29, 1937. From there, The Shadow spread to comic books, newspaper comic strips, films, and more. The character laid the foundation for comic-book heroes to follow, most notably “Batman.”

While The Shadow had the power to “cloud men’s minds,” Professor Charles Xavier—Professor X, who founded Marvel’s X-Man and was a powerful telepath—could enter and control a human mind. Princess Diana of Themyscira—Wonder Woman of DC Comics and a goddess—used her “magic lasso” to force people to tell the truth. In “The Romance of Helen Trent,” a soap opera that ran on CBS Radio from 1933 to 1960, Helen had nothing but her woman’s intuition.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

Test your knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

33 Comments

Anita Clark Morton

When I was a kid, I lived in a little town in British Columbia, with a single-parent mom. So we couldn't afford television. If we wanted to watch tv, we had to go to our grandparents house, which we often did on the weekend. But other times, we had the radio. It was glorious, all 4 of us kids sitting in front of the radio, listening to 'The Shadow'. I don't think we listened to any other program, but we NEVER missed that show. I remembered that quote instantly, even though it was 1/2 century ago

larrywagner

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of thumbs down monsters? Tesla knows... Leave Tesla alone......

ccoe

Anita Clark Morton, ah, Anita, in you I have found a kindred soul. My family listened to many of the old radio shows. Gunsmoke, as well as The Shadow Knows, and my childhood favorite Pet Brown Theater with Princess Pet, Pet Brown Bear and the Black Forest. Oh my, how that brings back sweet memories. We also listened to Amos and Andy, which these days would surely be considered racist.

Joanne Serin

My dad often used to say this.

Elaine Haberkamp

Anita Clark Morton, my three siblings and I did the same, only we snuggled in my parents' beds while listening to The Shadow, Inner Sanctum, and many more half-hour programs. It was the perfect rainy Saturday afternoon. I, too, remembered the quote instantly and for me, too, it had been over a half-century ago.