The Gem Theater: Mystery of The Alien Banshee

Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7^th and 8^th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Mystery of The Alien Banshee

1930s western heroes battle out-of-this-world enemies

The Hollywood Cowboy Detectives ride again as Hoot Gibson, who has walked away from his western movie career, prepares a wild-west show for the circus. The Hooter invites Republic Pictures flack Sean “Curly” Woods and studio chauffeur Nick Danby for a few days of “rest and relaxation” at a Southern California ranch while he gets his act together.

Unfortunately, they find out the historic ranch house is known locally as Demon House. Built by Confederate Col. Jeb Reynolds following the Civil War, it has a history of death and evil.

Curly, Hoot and Nick are joined by legendary western star William S. Hart and 10-year-old stunt-rider Dick Jones as they battle a ghostly band of Confederate soldiers and a scaly green Banshee that appears out of an electrified, flying white cloud. The cowboys are unsure whether they are dealing with an international, supernatural or extraterrestrial enemy as they encounter the ghostly images, flying saucers and two strange beings with unearthly powers.

G-man Big Jim Webber joins the wild-west performers as the Hollywood Cowboy Detectives ride head-on into the Valley of the Banshee with gun-blazing action, amazing horsemanship and the knowledge that the survival of the civilized world hangs in the balance.

The Mystery of the Alien Banshee has just been released in Kindle format on Amazon.com. Currently, there are seven Hollywood Cowboy Detectives adventures available in Kindle format on Amazon. However, Mystery at Movie Ranch is also available as a paperback with the bonus short story, Mystery of the Murdered Badman. Mystery of the Arizona Dragon is available, as well, as a paperback with the bonus short story, Mystery of the Stuntman’s Ghost. Soon, Mystery of the Matinee Murders will be released as a paperback with the bonus short story, The Man of the Mist. Mystery of the Alien Banshee will be available as a paperback with the bonus short story, Mystery of the Kidnapped Cowboy, this spring.

All can be found on Amazon.com by searching for Hollywood Cowboy Detectives in books.