The History of Mystery From Edgar Allen Poe ToGoosebumps

What’s in a Mystery? ► A Crime ► Variety of Characters ► Clues (and Red Herrings) ► Suspense & Tension ► Solution

Edgar Allen Poe: The Father of Mystery ► Born 1809, Died 1849 ► Introduced first fictional detective, Auguste C. Dupin, in Murders in the Rue Morgue (story) ► “Locked Room” mystery ► Poe shifted emphasis from eerie setting to criminal mind

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes Mysteries ► Born 1859, Died 1930 ► Sherlock Holmes’ debut in 1887 novel, A Study in Scarlet ► Holmes deduced clues to solve crimes ► Solving of crimes became a science Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penning another mystery...

Agatha Christie: The “Golden Age of Mystery Fiction” ► Born 1890, Died 1976 ► Wrote more than 80 novels ► Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple were Christie’s most famous detectives

“The Shadow” brings Mystery to the Radio Airwaves ► Originally named “The Detective Show” ► On the air from 1930 to 1954 (24 years) ► The Shadow was an invincible crime-fighter who could defy gravity, unravel any code, and “cloud men’s minds” ► Never seen, only heard ► %20Death%20in%20the%20Deep.mp3 "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

Alfred Hitchcock: Mystery Hits the Silver Screen ► Born 1899, Died 1980 ► Writer/Actor/Director of over 50 films, beginning with “Number 13” (1922) ► Explored the notion of terror inflicted on the unknowing (and sometimes innocent) victim ► Other themes: Guilt, Fear, Redemption

Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone” ► Born 1924, Died 1975 ► Interest in mysteries from a young age ► Wrote TV dramas in the early 1950’s ► Left to create “The Twilight Zone,” a science fiction TV series, in 1957 ► b5aW08ivHU

Today’s Mystery Writers ►J►J►J►Joan Lowery Nixon (Nightmare) ►L►L►L►Lois Duncan (I Know What you Did Last Summer) ►J►J►J►John Grisham (Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer) ►D►D►D►Dan Brown (DaVinci Code)

Defining Elements of Mystery ► Mysterious/Scary Setting ► Eerie Atmosphere ► Suspense ► A determined Sleuth ► Obstacles to solving the crime ► Red Herrings that mislead the reader ► A Sidekick (sometimes) to help solve the mystery

The Detective’s Vocabulary ► Alibi : An excuse that a suspect uses to show that he or she was somewhere other than at the scene of the crime ► Breakthrough : A development that advances/solves a case ► Deduce : To derive at a conclusion from something known or assumed; infer ► Evidence : Something that helps prove who committed the crime (may be concrete or circumstantial) ► Motive : The reason(s) why a person commits a crime ► Victim : Someone who is harmed or suffers some loss due to the crime ► Witness : Someone who saw the crime being committed and can provide some information

Do Now 1. Identify the three great mystery writers and their detectives. 2. Identify five important elements of a mystery. 3. Identify the “detective’s vocabulary” terms that relate to a SUSPECT. 4. Identify the terms that relate to an INVESTIGATOR.