The theater world has long been a prime setting for mystery and mayhem. Shakespeare, that homicidal scribe, virtually carpeted the stage with slain corpses. The murderers he created are numerous: Richard III, Othello, Titus Andronicus, Lear’s daughter Goneril, Macbeth (both He and She) and a whole squad of Caesar-skewering assassins—whose best-known member, Brutus, made this…
It was recess in St. Mary’s schoolyard. A handful of us boys, all eleven-ish, were discussing the merits of an old film recently re-broadcast on TV. The discussion soon took on the form of a confession, a mutual one, albeit different than the kind we were expected to make in the confines of the church…
Having recently finished The Nine Tailors, Dorothy L. Sayers’ golden age whodunit, I had a small epiphany during the re-shelving process. I realized that I have quite a lot of numerically titled mysteries in my collection. Well, friends, my epiphany is your epiphany. For no reason other than whimsy (not to be confused with Lord…
Disturbing specter or spectral delusion? Predatory phantom or primitive fear? Dead face at the window or live madness in the mind’s eye? It’s for you to decide… In 1898, as the Victorian era drifted towards its close, Henry James added to the world’s trove of ghost stories with a short novel that, to this day,…
Here’s how it commenced: One night when I was twelve, maybe thirteen, I caught the film Ten Little Indians on TV. It was the 1965 version, not the best (see 1945’s Then There were None) but compelling all the same. The set-up and execution (literally!) really grabbed me: Take ten strangers, strand them in an…
With All Hallow's Eve soon approaching, here for your consideration are an unlucky number of books that, each in its way, fit the mood of this spectral season. As the above heading implies, many are indeed mysteries while others are merely, well, mysterious. My suggestions here are skewered towards the antiquarian. There’s one 1992 offering,…
Just to be crystal clear, we’re talking about the original now. Not the slick, overblown, CGI-laden 1999 affair. Yes, we’re all about the real deal here: the half-a-century-old public domain classic, the one starring Vincent Price, the inarguably authentic version—House on Haunted Hill, the 1959 model. The film was directed by William Castle, the B-picture…
The canary, like the cat, has many lives. Especially the black-feathered variety (genus Serinus Something-or-other.) The Black Canary, aka Dinah Drake, first spread her wings more than sixty-five years ago in the August 1947 issue of Flash Comics. Since then, she’s gone on to many identities, costumes, teams, and series. The Canary of the 1940s…
At times, Britain’s chief export would seem to be well-crafted television shows in the suspense line. From across the pond, we’ve been given Prime Suspect, Public Enemies, Waking the Dead, and the recent Sherlock. Additionally, we have the mysteries of Inspectors Lewis, Lynley, and Luther (and even some inspectors whose names don’t start with L.)…
I saw her standing on her front porch just twirlin’ her baton. Me and her went for a ride, sir, and ten innocent people died. This could be the world’s shortest crime novel. It’s terse, evocative, quirky, and sinister. It’s also the opening couplet of Bruce Springsteen’s song “Nebraska,” which chronicles Charles Starkweather’s infamous 1958…
