SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE Article by Matt Cowan

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859.  He trained as a doctor, which he turned into a successful practice.  His teacher, Dr. Joseph Bell, was the inspiration for Doyle’s best remembered creation, Sherlock Holmes.  Aside from his stories of the master detective, Doyle was very intrigued by the spiritualist movement.  He participated in paranormal investigations often and fast became a staunch defender of the subject.  It is claimed that his second wife Jean began to produce automatic writing soon after the death of her brother in World War I.  Unfortunately Doyle’s extreme willingness to believe led to some embarrassment when he publicly backed things that turned out to be fraudulent.  He and escape artist Harry Houdini even fell at odds with each other over the veracity of some psychic phenomena.  Doyle once proclaimed Houdini was the world’s greatest medium, using dematerialization to perform miraculous escapes, he deemed would otherwise be impossible.  In 1902, Doyle was knighted.  It is believed his outspoken defense of the United Kingdom’s role in the Boer War in South Africa contributed to his receiving the mantle.  He died of a heart attack on July 7, 1930.
 
1-  “The Lord of Chateau Noir” (1894) – After invading German soldiers take over an area of France, they find they are being killed off one by one at night.  They seek answers as to who is behind the killings, eventually learning it is the work of a nearby nobleman, The Lord of Chateau Noir.  A group is sent to take care of this noble, but when they arrive they find only his servant.  The servant tells them his master has gone out for the night.  The group makes themselves comfortable in his home to await him.  When the nobleman returns, the reason for his vendetta is made clear to the captain, who is forced to endure the pains and kindnesses of his fellow countrymen.
2- “The Brazilian Cat” (1898) – The young man at the heart of this story has fallen on hard times after his father’s death because he was never prepared to make a living for himself.  His father believed the boy’s wealthy uncle would take care of him, but that turned out not to be the case.  At an opportune time, the destitute young man receives an invitation to visit a cousin he never met.  This cousin is well off, and so he goes to meet him.  While there the uncle is very friendly, but his wife of Brazilian descent is rude to him and keeps insinuating he should leave.  The uncle also has an impressive Brazilian cat he keeps in a cage.  It is a large and dangerous creature that would tear anyone else apart except for the uncle.  As the story continues the young man finds his life has been put in jeopardy by accepting the invitation.
3- “The Japanned Box” (1899) – A man who serves as a tutor in the house of a well-to-do gentleman learns the mystery of the strange japanned box the man keeps locked in his study and of the disembodied female voice that comes from the room when no one but the gentleman is inside.
4-Playing with Fire” (1900) – A group of novice spiritualists gather together regularly to perform séances.  One evening a Frenchmen, who is considered an expert in the occult, joins them.  With his help they come into contact with a spirit guide who warns them of the dangers of what they are doing.  They push further to try and cause a materialization.  The thing that comes through is more than they can handle. This story is thick with atmosphere and anticipation during the séance.  A great section describes the sounds from the street outside and the occasional passing lights from the carriages, which help light up the dark room.
5- “The Terror of Blue John Gap” (1910) – An ill man enjoys walking along the lime stone hills of the farmland where he is recovering.  The hills are honeycombed with caverns beneath them, and in one section there is a man made opening once used for mining.  It is referred to the Blue John Gap.  Local legend tells of some hideous creature that lives inside it.  Lately something has been stealing sheep, and the man believes the thing from the gap is the culprit.  As he starts to regain his strength, he embarks on attempts to find it.  What follows is an unsettling tale of his exploration of the gap and what he finds within.
6-  “The Horror of the Heights” (1913) – A notebook missing some pages is found in a field.  It became known as The Joyce-Armstrong Fragment, named after the airplane pilot who wrote it.  It details his belief that there exists, in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, strange creatures in what he calls an air jungle.  He pushes the limits of his plane to attain the necessary heights to locate these things.  He believes the headless body of a recently found airman, along with a few other deaths, was brought about by encounters in these dangerous, unexplored regions.  In this recovered journal is a detailed account of his finds.
7-“The Bully of Brocas Court” (1921) – A long search for a boxer capable of putting up a good contest against a powerful combatant named Slogger Burton comes to fruition with an able bodied young fighter named Alf Stevens.  When he is being carted to the place where the match is to be held, they have to pass through a heavily wooded area where the ruin of old Brocas Hall lies.  Legend has it a spooky, evil pugilist from long ago often appears there to challenge passers-by to a fight.  He is known as The Bully of Brocas Court, and he has left many a taker in a bloody heap afterwards.  Alf Stevens and his driver soon find themselves confronted by the hideous Bully.  When the Bully removes his hat Alf is surprised to discover “…a horrible mutilation of the head of his antagonist.  The whole upper forehead had fallen in, and there appeared to be a broad red wheal between his close cropped hair and his heavy brows.” It is then he realizes he must fight an opponent who should have died long ago from his horrible wounds.

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