Amber’s Comments: On October 30, GPL will be hosting a Monster Mash, a community Halloween party! From 5:00-7:00, we will have safe trick-or-treating. Local businesses will be providing the treats, and GPL will be providing “creepy crawly” stations for the kids. We will also be giving prizes to the best costume for Adults, K-5th graders, Baby/Preschoolers, 6th-12th Graders and the business that has the best "Spirit of the Event". The winner of each category will receive a prize! Read more about Monster Mash on our website.In anticipation of the Monster Mash, I have been reading some “creepy crawly” books to get in the mood. Most recently, I finished Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (check status at GPL). I chose this particular Sherlock Holmes mystery because it featured a supernatural family legend – just the thing for a Halloween read!
The Baskervilles have lived in Devonshire for more than 500 years, just on the edge of the moor. One ancestor, Hugo Baskerville, brought a curse upon the family because of his evil deeds. The curse, in the form of a fire-breathing hell hound, has reportedly caused the death of several Baskervilles over the years. The hound has now been spotted again, prowling around the desolate moor. Sir Charles Baskerville believed in the curse and was very nervous about it. When he died of a heart attack there were many suspicious circumstances, and his doctor is convinced the hound caused it. Now that the last heir is returning to collect the inheritance and take up residence at Baskerville Hall, there are concerns the hound may go after him as well. Sherlock Holmes takes up the case to protect Sir Henry Baskerville and to get to the bottom of this family curse.
This Sherlock Holmes story is interesting because for a large portion in the middle Watson takes front seat on the action, reporting back to Holmes via letters. The whole mood of the book is very dark, and the moor makes an especially eerie setting. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!
1 comment:
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a neat story that combines mystery with some Gothic horror and supernatural atmosphere. Another good Sherlock Holmes story with somewhat similar elements is the short story "The Speckled Band" from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
This list of the best Sherlock Holmes stories gives the top 12 Holmes tales, and notes that The Hound and the Speckled Band are generally considered the best.
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