Land
of Mystery
13 May 2000
I am fascinated with the land of mystery. I am enthralled with the hunt for a
murderer, on television, movies or in novels.
Mysteries have become a passion of mine and many who know me don't know
that. I grew up on watching Miss Marple
and Sherlock Holmes, along with today's sleuths like Jessica Fletcher or
Columbo. I very much enjoy unraveling
the clues and suspects, figuring out who done the deed. If you enjoy a good mystery, I am sure you
will enjoy the land of mystery.
Jack the Ripper
There are many upon many unsolved murders throughout
history. Including one of my favorites,
Jack the Ripper. I had become
fascinated with the legend many years back while doing a report on the subject
for school. There have been many
theories, movies, books and investigations into the White Chapel murders, and
all the facts have been laid out on the table.
Still no one knows for sure who was actually the murderer. Speculations, theories because much of the
evidence had been lost, thus only speculation has been brought against a few
men, however there wasn't anything proven conclusively to convict just one
man. Many books have been written about
this serial killer and many are fascinated by the legend of Jack the Ripper.
There were at least 5 women, possible as high as 8 that were
murdered during the months of August through November of 1888. Many were suspect, including 1 woman, but no
conclusive evidence was brought forth to convict. Eyewitnesses to shadows were asked to give their recollections of
the night and it seems that many of their descriptions were quite different. The killing technique seemed to be apparent
in each of the murders, he strangled
then mutilated each of the victims.
Jack the Ripper is still an unsolved mystery. Will we ever know who really committed the
White Chapel Murders, only time and technology will tell?
Great Jack the Ripper Links
Casebook: Jack the Ripper
- Wonderful. Facts, Theories, Pictures,
and more.
Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of Sherlock Holmes
in 1887. Holmes was the main character
in 4 novels and 56 short stories throughout the years of 1887 to 1927. In 1890 Doyle introduced a collection of
books called "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and people couldn't
get enough of the sleuth. Holmes had a
sidekick in all of the stories, he of
course was Dr. Watson.
Click here for more on Sherlock Holmes and Watson.
Agatha Christie
Christie created the infamous Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgium
police officer made his fictional debut in 1920 in a novel called "The
Mysterious Affair at Styles". Christie
had written it 5 years earlier, and it was just now being published.
Christie wrote over 30 novels with Poirot as the main fictional
character, most popular being "The Murder on The Orient Express" and
"Death on the Nile".
Another favorite from Christie was debuted in 1930, which was
Miss Jane Marple in "Murder in the Vicarage". Miss Marple was an elderly spinster in the
English village of St. Mary Mead. Miss
Marple was featured in 12 novels and ultimately defined "the Golden Age of
fiction" in England during the 1920's and 1930's.
Agatha Christie wrote over 66 novels, and many short stories and
screenplays.
Perry Mason
Perry Mason was created in 1933 in a novel called "The Case
of the Velvet Claws" written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Mason was featured in more than 80 novels,
several movies, and the 1940's radio shows.
Perry Mason was a household name by 1957, which was the beginning of the
television series. The show ran for 10
years, during which Gardner kept writing the novels involving this famous
character.
Nancy Drew
Edward Stratemeyer created the character of Nancy Drew in
1930. The teenage sleuth had aged from
16 to 18 over seven decades and had solved over 350 mysteries.
To read more about Nancy Drew and her creator, please click here.
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was debuted in 1955, although
Hitchcock was already a success in Europe since 1926. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1940 to direct a film called
"Rebecca". The 50's and 60's
were very productive for Hitchcock; he made several films including The Rear
Window and Vertigo.
To read more about Alfred Hitchcock and his films, please click here.
Modern Day Sleuthing
Columbo - The Ultimate
Lieutenant Columbo Site
Jessica Fletcher - Link to follow
Father Dowling
Inspector Morse
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Mannix
Links to all of these sleuths, click here
Information used from Mystery.net
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