////]]>

IHOSE header



It's now the close of the day - the first chance I've had to sit down and type out a post in quite a few days. I thought it was important that I get one in before the day ran out, as it's an auspicious occasion. Today is Triple Seven day - 07/07/07. Some may take that as a sign of luck, others may take it as an ominous portent. But Sherlockians take it for something entirely different.

For you see, it was on July 7, 1930 that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died. Which means that today is exactly 77 years since his death.

Think that's creepy? When you consider that Doyle was an ardent spiritualist and attracted to the occult, it's not unlikely that he believed in superstitions related to numbers. We know he touched on the occult/superstitious/other-worldly in The Hound of the Baskervilles, "The Devil's Foot" and "The Sussex Vampire," in which Sherlock Holmes stated, respectively:

"I have hitherto confined my investigations to this world."
"I fear that if the matter is beyond humanity it is certainly beyond me."
"The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply."

While Holmes himself was grounded in that which could be explained scientifically, it is well-known that Doyle himself fervently believed in contact with those from beyond the grave. Could it be that he'll somehow make himself known to us? Would that we were so lucky!

In the meantime, please pause a moment to consider his epitaph on his gravestone at Mindstead Lyndhurst Hants:

STEEL TRUE
BLADE STRAIGHT
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
KNIGHT
PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN & MAN OF LETTERS



We have much to thank him for today and always.

1 comments:

sherlock said... July 8, 2007 at 6:23 PM

Whilst not particularly creepy, it's incredibly cool :)

 
Top