The Baskerville Effect
“A complex mind.____________________
________All great criminals have that.”
- Doyle, “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” -
________All great criminals have that.”
- Doyle, “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” -
“It was the sketch of a black dog-like beast imprinted on one side of a small paper card. The hound had a beady eye the colour of hellfire; its dark fur shaggy and unkempt with jagged fangs showing ominously from its mouth.”
A formidable criminal, a devoted detective and a game meant for outplaying.
A formidable criminal, a devoted detective and a game meant for outplaying.
The Baskerville Effect, or the Hound of the Baskervilles Effect, is the statistical observation that psychological stress increases the mortality of people through heart attacks. The effect’s name originates from one of Doyle’s well-known Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles where the fictional character Sir Charles Baskervilles dies of a heart attack caused by the stress of fright when seeing a ferocious dog. Doyle’s possible inspiration for the hound derives from a legend of a ghostly black dog that haunts the Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk coastline of England.
This story was entered into What’s in a name? contest hosted by Maxxie Oliver. The idea was to take a name and its meaning, and create a story pertaining to the meaning of the name. The name was “Caleb,” which is a male name said to mean “dog” in Hebrew. It was also entered into yourpainfulnightmare’s Suicide/Murder/Near Death stories! contest.