Mystery and Suspense

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Mystery and Suspense
How Will You Find Your Way ?
Just Follow the Clues !
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Part I

• The History of Mystery

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Modern crime dramas owe a lot to Edgar Allan Poe-
known as the father of the mystery story.
Poe introduced mystery fiction's first fictional
detective, Auguste C. Dupin, in his 1841 story,
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue." "The Murders
in the Rue Morgue" is the most famous example of
a mystery style known as the locked room, in
which "a murder victim is found inside an
apparently sealed enclosure and the detective's
challenge is to discover the murderer's modus
operandi. (M.O. method of operation) Poe was
one of the first to shift the focus of mystery
stories from "a focus on the superficial
trappings of eerie setting and shocking event to
a study of the criminal's mind." (Crime Classics)
The Tale-Tell Heart
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliant detective,
Sherlock Holmes, arrived on the mystery scene in
the late nineteenth century in "A Study in
Scarlet" (1887). Holmes had a style unlike any
detective seen before. With his flair for
deducing clues, Sherlock Holmes worked with his
ever-reliable sidekick, Dr. Watson, to figure
out the clues and solve the crime. The genius of
Conan Doyle was reflected in his creation of a
character whose intelligence was formidable,
turning the solving of crimes into a science.
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• The 1920s was known as the Golden Age of mystery
  fiction. A time of growing prosperity in both
  England and America, the popularity of mystery
  fiction was at an all-time high.
• Crime in these stories strictly adhered to a
  prescribed format with little or no variation.
• A writer emerged during this time whose name
  became synonymous with Golden Age fiction.
• Agatha Christie wrote more than 80 novels in
  50-plus years, and is today probably the
  best-known female mystery writer in history.

Murder on the Orient Express
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"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

• One of the most popular radio shows in history
  debuted in August 1930 when "The Shadow" went on
  the air.
• "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
  The Shadow knows!" The opening lines of the
  "Detective Story" program captivated listeners
  and are instantly recognizable even today.
• The eerie voice known as The Shadow became so
  popular to listeners that "Detective Story" was
  soon renamed "The Shadow," and the narrator
  became the star of the old-time mystery radio
  series, which ran for 24 years, until 1954.
• A figure never seen, only heard, the Shadow was
  an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many
  gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. "

The Shadow knows!"
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Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), author, showman and
famed director, had a career spanning five
decades and over 50 films He is considered by
many as the Master of Suspense of modern times.
Hitchcock's strongly religious childhood
teachings encompasses all the themes Hitchcock
would later put in his work-- terror inflicted
upon the unknowing- and sometimes innocent
victim guilt (both real guilt and the appearance
of it) fear, and redemption.
Psycho
Rear Window
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• Rod Serling was born and
• grew up in New York.
• From an early age, he and his older brother,
  Robert, immersed themselves in mystery movies and
  magazines such as Astounding Stories and Weird
  Tales.
• From 1951 to 1955, Serling wrote television
  dramas for Playhouse 90.
• In 1957, he shocked his fans by leaving to
  create a science-fiction series he called The
  Twilight Zone.

Playhouse 90
The Twilight Zone
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• In more recent times, author R.L. Stein has
  thrilled young readers with his Goosebumps
  series, telling mysterious tales of suspense and
  weird circumstances.

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Part II

• Mystery Vocabulary

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Key Terms

• Alibi- An excuse that an accused person used to
  show that he or she was NOT at the scene of the
  crime
• Breakthrough- A discovery that helps solve the
  crime
• Clue- A fact or object that gives information
  toward solving the crime
• Crime- Any action that breaks the law
• Deduction Drawing a conclusion
• Detective- Am investigator looking for clues
• Evidence- A thing or statement that helps to
  catch who committed the crime

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More Key Terms

• Hunch- A guess or feeling NOT based on facts
• Motive- A reason that a person does something
• Mystery Something that is unknown
• Red Herring- A FALSE clue
• Sleuth An investigator or detective (could
  include a sidekick who helps the sleuth)
• Suspect- A person who has a motive to have
  committed the crime
• Witness Someone who has knowledge of the crime

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Part III

• Rules of a Mystery

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Rules of Mystery

• Lawrence Trent, in his preface to the Mystery
  Writers Handbook, states what a mystery story
  really should contain in its structure. He calls
  them the rules of the classic mystery.

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Rule 1

• Rule 1 There must be a crime and the reader must
  want to see its solution his interest must be
  aroused and then he must long to see the mystery
  solved.

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Rule 2

• Rule 2 The criminal must appear reasonably early
  in the story. The villain must be evident for a
  good portion of the book.

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Rule 3

• Rule 3 The author must be honest and all clues
  must be made available to the reader. The reader
  must know everything the protagonist knows.

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Rule 4

• Rule 4 The detective must exert effort to catch
  the criminal and the criminal must exert effort
  to fool the detective and escape from him.
  Coincidence is taboo.

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Part IV

• Creating Suspense

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Suspense

• A feeling of anxiety or fear created by an author
  to keep readers guessing about the outcome of
  events.

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Suspense

• A suspending of our emotions. We know
  something is about to happen, we just dont know
  what or when.

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Suspense

• The longer the writer keeps the reader guessing,
  the
• greater the
• suspense.

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Alfred Hitchcock said ...

• There is no terror
• in the guns bang,
• only in the
• anticipation of it.

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Techniques for Creating Suspense
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Foreshadowing

• A hint or clue about what is to happen later in a
  story.

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Foreshadowing

• The use of foreshadowing allows a reader to
  predict what might happen later in a story
  without giving away too much information.

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Foreshadowing

• Foreshadowing creates nervous anticipation as the
  reader waits for it to happen.

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Describing Action as if Happening in Slow Motion

• Suspense does not rush from event to event, but
  lingers over the most horrific details of each
  event.

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Describing Action as if Happening in Slow Motion

• This allows the reader to take in or focus on
  each detail one at a time.

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Describing Action as if Happening in Slow Motion

• Descriptions that linger over the detail creates
  anticipation for what is to come next.

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First Person Point of View

• This allows the reader to see the action as it
  happens through the eyes of the person
  experiencing the events.

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First Person Point of View

• Terrible events are likely to be more vivid if
  described by the person experiencing them rather
  than a third-person narrator.

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First Person Point of View

• Suspense is created when the writer does not let
  the reader know anything before the narrator
  does. The reader lives the story along with the
  narrator.

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Omitting Important Information

• This can act as a red herring, thus preventing
  the reader from accurately predicting the outcome
  of the storys events and creating a surprise
  ending.

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Omitting Important Information

• Omitting graphic and gruesome details forces the
  reader to use his/her imagination. This often
  results in a scene far more horrific than an
  author could have described in words.

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Henry James said ...

• The worst fears can be
• the products of the
• human mind, which can
• create its own reality.

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Dramatic Irony

• Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows
  something that characters do not know.

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Dramatic Irony

• This creates nervous anticipation in the reader,
  knowing what will happen, but not when it will
  happen.

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Flashbacks
A flashback is when a character gives information
about his/her past. Flashbacks take the reader
back in time. It is a break from the current
story. A flashback can give background
information (a back-story) which can be essential
to what is going on in the current plot.
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Symbols/Symbolism
Symbol Something that represents something else
especially an object representing an abstraction
Symbolism is when the author uses an object or
reference to add deeper meaning to a story.
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Mood
Mood is the way THE READER feels while reading
the story Possible moods Fearful Spooky Serious
Annoyed Eerie Sympathetic