The Green Shadow by Anthony P. Morris

The Green Shadow "The Green Shadow: Helene Cercy, the Beautiful Tigress. The Romance of the Fatal Star of Diamonds," serialized fiction by Anthony P. Morris in this September 1899 issue, opens with a Gothic mystery. During a violent Philadelphia storm, the wealthy and beautiful Helene Cercy confesses to her servant Eloise that a faceless, luminescent green phantom has haunted her for fifteen years, appearing at night with an unearthly laugh and occasionally at her throat. When the apparition flees toward the cellar, Helene resolves to discover its identity. In the basement, they find a hidden aperture behind a barrel. Their investigation is interrupted by an unexpected visitor: Cortez Mendoze, a muscular Spanish gentleman whom Helene believed dead in a New Orleans brawl. His sudden appearance fills her with fury and thoughts of revenge. The narrative cross-cuts to Mendoze drinking punch in a Philadelphia restaurant, reflecting on fifteen years of torment, suggesting a personal vendetta connecting him to Helene's mysterious curse.