#scowrers

[skoulsons]

The light dragon when I don’t need her: right above me. always in my line of sight. flying beautifully across every sunset. practically next to my face. borderline sniffing me.

the light dragon when I do need her: vanished from the face of hyrule. nowhere to be found. extinct. murdered by ganondorf. doesn’t exist nor has she ever existed. who?

[sasha-whos-askin-racket]

My toxic trait is that I went and saw The Valley of Fear on tour several times, and came out hyperfixated on the Scowrers instead of Holmes and Watson.

[47gaslamps]

Scowrers Spoilerpalooza: And the grand prize goes to...

@myemuisemo, whose historical knowledge made it inevitable that the ending to The Valley of Fear would be revealed to her before the second half of the book, and whose heart is great enough to have shut up the instant she did guess (chapter three).

ALL LAUD!

[sherlockianscholar]

18. Favourite piece of Sherlock Holmes related trivia? :)

i've actually been meaning to make a post about this! my current favorite is about the valley of fear.

so the pinkerton detectives mentioned in "the red circle" and the valley of fear were (and i guess, still are?) a real detective agency. one of their most famous cases was infiltrating the molly maguires (aka the scowrers). a man named james mcparland went undercover as james mckenna and then wrote a book about it.

james mcparland and acd were on the same ship across the atlantic for some reason. acd was fascinated by mcparland's story and thus, promptly purloined it for his next holmes novella! james mcparland was...not too pleased, but whatcha gonna do? though today, mcparland would've definitely sued doyle's pants off. doyle *barely* changed any of the plot points for valley of fear. and he really didn't try for some of the names. below you'll see how pretty much every character in VOF had a historical counterpart:

from klinger's new annotated

what's fun too is that wiles' illustrations look just like james mcparland. i don't know if doyle described him or gave wiles his picture or what, but see for yourself:

playing The Game with this novella is amusing because there's no room for speculation. all of it is actually set down in history.

[holmesillustrations]

Vote for your favourite, the top 9 will proceed in the bracket. Since theyre all different shapes and sizes, make sure to click into the full views!

Paget Eliminations

Other Artist Eliminations

Full captions and details for each illustration below the cut:

"There cannot be the least doubt in the world that it has been written by two persons." W.H. Hyde, Reigate Squires (Harper’s Weekly) Characters: Mr Acton, Holmes, Col Hayter, Watson

Collier’s cover FD Steele, Norwood Builder (Collier’s) Characters: Holmes

"He carried a large old-fashioned carpetbag." FD Steele, Six Napoleons (Collier’s) Characters: Mr Sandeford

"The light from the window streamed across the shrubbery." FD Steele, Wisteria Lodge (Collier’s) Characters: Sgt Baynes, Holmes

"Beside it sat the dead man, leaning back in his chair." Gilbert Holiday, Devil's Foot (The Strand) Characters: Mortimer Tregennis

"The Cipher - and the man who solved it." Frank Wiles, Valley of Fear (The Strand) Characters: Holmes

"Who are you?" he asked, as he advanced. "What are you loitering there for?" Frank Wiles, Valley of Fear (The Strand) Characters: Scowrers, Menzies (Mine engr.)

"I sprang to my feet, for the expression upon the millionaire's face was fiendish in its intensity, and he had raised his great knotted fist. Holmes smiled languidly and reached his hand out for his pipe." Alfred Gilbert, Thor Bridge (The Strand) Characters: Watson, Gibson, Holmes

"At this moment I chanced to glance at Holmes, and saw a most singular intentness in his expression." HK Elcock, Sussex Vampire (The Strand) Characters: Mrs Mason, Robert Ferguson, Baby Ferguson, Jack Ferguson, Holmes, Watson

"Holmes raised his pipe, languidly smiling." FD Steele, Three Gables (Liberty) Characters: Holmes, Steve Dixie

"My door was flung open and Ian Murdoch staggered into the room." HK Elcock, Lion's Mane (The Strand) Characters: Insp Bardle, Holmes, Ian Murdoch, Stackhurst

"I also have a question to ask you, Sir Robert," he said in his sternest tone." Frank Wiles, Shoscombe Old Place (The Strand) Characters: Watson, Sir Robert, Holmes

[skyriderwednesday]

So, lots of spoilers under cut--

I read The Valley Of Fear and it made me very mad at a man who doesn't exist.

The first half was pretty good, but also you could cut out the whole 'Scowrers' thing and it would be SO MUCH BETTER FOR IT.

It's not like ASIS where the Utah section is at least necessary to understand the murderer's (ultimately sympathetic) motivation, it's just 'let's describe an awful man doing awful things for six whole chapters before turning round and going PSYCH! HE WAS THE GOOD GUY ALL ALONG!!!'

Which is just, no. If we're in the guy's head, as we are, there's no need to pull this plot twist. It would be way more interesting (imo) to do 'so I was sent to infiltrate a organised crime gang in this mining town and this is how I did it', while going into far less of the gory details.

It feels like Doyle wrote the first half but then the publisher was like "okay but can we get way too many words about why Douglas blew a man's head off and put him in his own dressing gown?"

Because that part still doesn't make sense.

What was your plan after you'd faked your own horrific murder, sir? Were you planning to get off on self-defence and flee the country? It doesn't sound like you were, given Holmes has to tell your wife England isn't safe for you anymore.

Also--

For being the retroactive 'see, Moriarty was a big threat all along' story, it's... incredibly weak on that point?

All that happens is that one of his agents informs Holmes that Douglas is going to be killed, then Moriarty sends a note to Holmes, having had Douglas thrown overboard on his way to South Africa.

And sure the note is a bit of an 'oh shit, Moriarty knows where you live', but there's no great detail on what he's actually capable of except... having enough money to buy extremely expensive paintings? And pay Moran (who is mentioned once) a higher salary than the prime minister?

So yeah, I'm not overly impressed by it.

[tiger-moran]

@47gaslamps: Re: Johnny Reb: I'd thought the major plot element you mostly hated was The Scowrers. The Confederacy being the highest-profile early nemesis of the Agency - look up Frederick Seward and Rose O'Neal Greenhow for details - with the Pennsylvania episode being more or less the hinge that made them the villains you know. The point there being that history can be complicated.

Ohhhhh, OK.

To be honest I remember almost nothing about The Valley of Fear beyond the bits directly about Moriarty and Moran (and Ivy) since I've read the whole thing once in my life something like... 13 years ago. I mean true I guess, I don't have any interest in the Scowrers or any of the rest of the story really (which is partly why I've never read it again) and I also know literally nothing about american history but then I don't really see the american stuff being that important to them anyway but the plot element I was referring to was putting it in a modern day setting. I am so done with Sherlock Holmes things in modern day settings especially because people so often change almost everything about the characters and then stick the canonical names on them (or sometimes not even those names, sometimes even the names get changed) but then people still act like somehow I'm supposed to just accept these as the characters I love so much and automatically care about them even though they're basically completely different characters.

[47gaslamps]

Of course murder is a large point when it comes to whether someone's a hero or not. The perps the Scowrers were modeled after were murderers who killed whatever guy got in their face and was a reasonably easy target, which happened to include a couple foremen; there was a union later on in Gem, Idaho which murdered very much For The Union; but no matter. One understandably overlooked reason to admire the Progressive muckrakers is that not one of them orchestrated a series of cold-blooded murders.

The difference with the Pinkertons is that VALL is based on their first union case. That is: they took on a murder conspiracy case that happened to involve a union. Whereas by 1892, they took on a union which happened (in the unique case of Gem, Idaho) to be a murder conspiracy. And sadly, the case VALL is based on is directly to blame for that trajectory. It was the first well-publicized success after the Panic of 1873, they were remunerated in robber-baron figures, and, well... they followed the money downward from there.

When I said in the comments that Birdy Edwards got out at EXACTLY the right time, I did not exaggerate.

So after finishing the valley of fear turns out Sherlock Holmes canonically aided a Pinkerton but Moriarty canonically killed the same one. Possibly personally.

I think we’ve misjudged who the REAL villain of the story is for much too long.

[finalproblem]

Oh who will find me?

[Mostly a smooshed-down version of some key points from this older post.]

🎵 And under we go... 🎵

If everything after the explosion in The Final Problem wasn’t real, and Eurus isn’t really Sherlock’s sister, that means her song couldn’t actually have been about what the episode suggested. No sister = no hidden message about wanting her brother’s attention.

🎵 My soul seek the shade of my willow’s bloom... 🎵

The song existed before the explosion happened, though, which suggests it’s still something. But what?

Here are the full song lyrics (some of which were never sung in the episode, and only appeared onscreen while Sherlock “solved” the riddle):

I that am lost, oh who will find me? Deep down below the old beech tree. Help succour me now the east winds blow. Sixteen by six, brother, and under we go!

Be not afraid to walk in the shade Save one, save all, come try! My steps - five by seven Life is closer to Heaven Look down, with dark gaze, from on high

Without your love, he’ll be gone before. Save pity for strangers, show love the door. My soul seek the shade of my willow’s bloom Inside, brother mine - Let Death make a room.

Before he was gone - right back over my hill. Who now will find him? Why, nobody will. Doom shall I bring to him, I that am queen. Lost forever, nine by nineteen.

Eurus’ song is clearly inspired by canon story The Musgrave Ritual, which includes a mysterious poemy-thing that turns out to be a verbal treasure map. Here’s a snippet of that:

Where was the sun? Over the oak. Where was the shadow? Under the elm. How was it stepped? North by ten and by ten, east by five and by five, south by two and by two, west by one and by one, and so under.

You can see the similarities, including the mentions of trees and use of “___ by ___” number pairs.

Gatiss and Moffat’s song is wordier, crams in more elaborate symbolism, and seems less likely to be the setup for a sneaky geometry puzzle. But maybe it’s still some kind of verbal map?

Let’s dig in to a big difference between Eurus’ song and the canon ritual: the number pairs. In canon, the pairs are all “twins”: ten by ten, five by five, etc. In Eurus’ song, the pairs don’t match: sixteen by six, five by seven, and nine by nineteen.

Those numbers are what give us something to “decode.” And here’s the key:

The very last shot of the episode is John and Sherlock running out of Rathbone Place, a London post office. (Or rather--another building with signs added so it could stand in for the Rathbone Place post office, which was demolished soon after Series 3 aired.)

If Eurus’ song is a map, where do the random number pairs point? The London postal service has that covered:

So we take London postcodes and apply them to the numbered pairs in Eurus’ song. This is where the fun begins. (The... deeply nerdy fun. I enjoy it, anyway. 🥳)

First up:

Help succour me now the east winds blow. Sixteen by six, brother, and under we go!

“East” is in the rhyming line, so let’s check the E postcode, and... yes!

E16 is next to E6. Sixteen by six.

Next:

My steps - five by seven Life is closer to Heaven

“Heaven” isn’t a compass direction, so this one is a little trickier. If we instead think of “closer to Heaven” as “up,” then on a map that would become “north.” Let’s try the N postcode...

Sure enough, N5 is next to N7. Five by seven.

Finally:

Doom shall I bring to him, I that am queen. Lost forever, nine by nineteen.

Not a lot of great directional clues in that pair of rhyming lines. Let’s back up and grab the whole verse:

Before he was gone - right back over my hill. Who now will find him? Why, nobody will. Doom shall I bring to him, I that am queen. Lost forever, nine by nineteen.

Maybe we can use “right back” to suggest returning to where we started. Is the E9 postcode next to the E19 postcode?

Nope.

Actually, there aren’t any “9″ postcodes next to “19″ postcodes in London.

Does this mean our treasure hunt is over?

Nope!

Trivia time: There is no E19 postcode. E1 through E18 all exist, but then the list jumps to E20.

You may remember when London hosted the Olympics in 2012. Officials decided the Olympic Park needed its own postcode, but skipped E19. The park, now officially known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, was assigned postcode E20.

So you could say E19 was lost forever. Doomed by the queen, even, since the park bears her name.

And is E9 next to E20? E20 is so small that it doesn’t look like those are bordering postcodes on some of the zoomed-out maps above, but with help from Google Maps you can see E9 smushed up against the Olympic Park:

E9 by E20. There may never be a nine by nineteen, but at least now we know where the song wants us to look on a map.

So we can start to see places of interest in London highlighted by Eurus’ song-map. What do we do with that information? More importantly, what was Sherlock supposed to do with that song stuck in his head?

Sherlock: Help succour me now... Mycroft and Sherlock: ...the east winds blow. Sherlock: Sixteen by six... Mycroft: ...and under we go. You’re starting to remember. Sherlock: Fragments.

Since this is just meant to be a quick rehash post, I can’t go too far down that rabbit hole right now. But speaking of “under we go,” I can point you to something else Sherlock’s writers have set up that involves underground tunnels belonging to the London postal system.

Read that post, then consider who would have a very good use for a coded map that incorporates London postcodes. I think you can connect the dots.

[elephantpantomime]

Porlock

Porlock in The Valley of Fear

The name "Porlock" originally comes from a Romantic poem, Kubla Khan: Or a vision in a dream. A Fragment, written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  Coleridge wrote the poem after awakening from an opium induced dream with lines of inspiration.  Unfortunately, he was interrupted during his recollection by a "person from Porlock" and the poem recorded is but a fragment of his original inspiration.

Ever since, the term "Porlock" refers to the literary allusion of an unwanted intruder who disrupts inspired creativity.

Doyle uses Porlock as the name of one of Moriarty's dimmer informants, one who sends Holmes a letter betraying the confidence of Moriarty himself.  This takes place during the novel The Valley of Fear.

In BBC's Sherlock adaptation, Porlock is the codename of Vivian Norbury.

Back to The Valley of Fear, where a Mr. Douglas attempts escape from the Scowrers, a crime syndicate in America that has traced him to England.  An assassin is on his trail, but Douglas kills him and then attempts to disguise his foiled assassin as himself so he can escape as a dead man.  However, he is found out by Holmes and eventually succumbs to one of Moriarty's assassins.

Mary Morstan/Watson similarly attempts escape from the remaining AGRA assassins, changes her identity multiple times, but is uncovered by Holmes and is apparently killed by Norbury/Porlock.  Could it be possible that this death is yet another coverup and she still needs to face Moriarty herself?  Is Moriarty still alive?  Many questions arise from these parallels between the original stories and the BBC adaptation.

What remains clear, however, is that not everything is as it seems.  We've been "porlocked" after Sherlock's own overdose, our narrative interrupted and the final product corrupted.  How the reawakening occurs is left to the remaining act of the romance.  

@garkgatiss @sarahthecoat @inevitably-johnlocked @teaandforeshadowing

[biblioncollection]

Return | H. Beam Piper, John J. McGuire | Science Fiction | Audiobook full unabridged | English Content of the video and Sections beginning time (clickable) - Chapters of the audiobook: please see First comments under this video. Two-hundred years after a global nuclear war, two explorers from a research outpost, that largely survived the cataclysm, discover a settlement of humans who have managed to maintain their civilisation despite ferocious cannibal neighbours, the Scowrers. However, the explorers must turn detective in order to understand the mystery of their hosts philosophy and religion. (Description by Reynard) This is a Librivox recording. If you want to volunteer please visit https://librivox.org/ by Priceless Audiobooks

[musingsofdreah]

As I was already at the University discussing the Mormons with old friends I decided to ask about the Freemasons as well as conduct my own light reading in the Library. Below is an organized report of my findings. 

Who/What were the Freemasons?

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest non-religious, non-political fraternal and charitable organizations. It is believed that Freemasonry began in medieval Europe as a guild for stonemasons, and later, expanded to become a social organization. Freemasons strive for “self-improvement” through active participation in charitable endeavours, as well as involving themselves in the traditions of the fraternity. Together, the Freemasons donate nearly two million dollars every day to institutions, such as children’s hospitals and schools. With an estimated six million members worldwide, the Freemasons have extended their circle to include some of the world’s most influential figures, such as Sir Winston Churchill, Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, Mozart, Rudyard Kipling, and Benjamin Franklin.

Describe the history of the Freemasons.

It is unknown when Freemasonry began, but it is widely believed to have begun in the Medieval era, involving actual stonemasons. The oldest printed reference to the Freemasons is the “Regius Poem”, which was published in 1390. It wasn’t until 1717 that Freemasonry became a formal organization. By 1731, Freemasonry had established several lodges within the United States and only continued to expand within its western states. Founding fathers, such as George Washington, were attributed to being part of the Freemasons themselves. Within the timespan of the 1800s to the early 1900s, the Freemasonry grew to include many more countries, gaining its status as an international organization. Previously, the Freemasons established orphanages, retirement homes, and homes for widows in an effort to provide security within society.

Identify the key features of Freemasonry/Masonic practices.

While Freemasonry is not considered a religious organization, it is required that every member believes in the existence of a “higher” power or being as spiritualism often enforces discipline and self-control. Teachings of the Freemasonry include:

Since God is the Creator, all men and women are the children of God.

No one has the right to tell another person what he or she must think or believe

Each person must learn and practice self-control.

Faith must be in the center of our lives.

Each person has a responsibility in being a good citizen and obey the law.

It is important to work to make this world better for all who live in it.

Honor and integrity are essential to life.Freemasons are to prioritize the betterment of society through charitable acts. Personal beliefs and opinions are put aside in an effort to express kindness, respect, and tolerance to everyone, regardless of their circumstances.

Is there a connection between the Freemasons and Sherlock Holmes? Between the Freemasons and Arthur Conan Doyle?

Arthur Conan Doyle, at the age of 27, initiated into the Masonic Fraternity on the 26th of January, 1887. His involvement within the Freemasonry has led him to reference the organization in his literary work, specifically Sherlock Holmes. An example can be found in “The Valley of Fear” when “V.V341“, a symbol to the Scowrers of Vermissa lodge no. 341, an Ancient Order of Freemen, was found on a card as evidence in Sherlock Holmes’ investigation. As well, in “The Study of Scarlet”, a gold ring found in Drebber’s pocket had a masonic device. While Doyle later removed himself from the Masonic Fraternity, there have been no other records of his involvement in other lodges/organizations.

Sources:

“History of Freemasonry.” History of Freemasonry. N.p., N.d. Web. May 2017. <http://www.msana.com/historyfm.asp>.

“What’s a Mason?” Who Are the Masons? N.p., n.d. Web. May 2017. <http://www.yorkrite.com/mason.htm>.

“Who Are Masons, and What Do They Do?” Masonic Lodges. N.p., n.d. Web. May 2017. <http://www.masonic-lodges.com/masons.html>

[47gaslamps]

McMurdo's criminal soul seemed to have already absorbed the spirit of the vile association of which he was now a member. “I like it well,” said he. “'Tis a proper place for a lad of mettle.” Several of those who sat around heard his words and applauded them. “What's that?” cried the black-maned Bodymaster from the end of the table. “'Tis our new brother, sir, who finds our ways to his taste.”

Clear implication: normally, a freshly-minted Scowrer's reaction is more along the lines of "ha ha great, can you please get me something to puke in"

...but don't worry, they'll adjust to their new society soon enough.

Shiver.

[pundromeda]

Fucky Things about TBB

"Steve Thompson" wrote it

Directed by EUROS Lyn

Lots of shit about tea

DI Dimmock

Only reappears in the incredifucky T6T

DYMM-ock

Yellow spray paint like the smiley face

The Black Lotus (referencing the Scowrers, which relates to the Mary is Birdy Edwards theory)

The PDF is not called "final-shooting-script" like the others

Please add more. I probably missed some.

[holmesillustrations]

Vote for your favourite, the top 9 will proceed in the bracket. Since theyre all different shapes and sizes, make sure to click into the full views!

Paget Eliminations // Other Artist Eliminations

Full captions and details for each illustration below the cut:

"As he watched it he saw it writhe along the ground." DH Friston, Study in Scarlet (Beeton’s Christmas Annual 1887) Characters: Jefferson Hope, John Ferrer

"The papers had been taken from the desk." WH Hyde, Naval Treaty (Harper’s Weekly) Characters: Percy Phelps

"The composure of despair." FD Steele, Dancing Men (Collier’s) Characters: Abe Slaney

"Gilchrist" FD Steele, Three Students (Collier’s) Characters: Gilchrist

"Now, my dear Hopkins, draw up and warm your toes." FD Steele, Golden Pince-nez (Collier’s) Characters: Hopkins, Watson, Holmes

"Very interesting, indeed!" said Holmes." Arthur Twidle, Wisteria Lodge (The Strand) Characters: Gregson, Baynes, Holmes, Watson

"By George! It's Black Gorgiano himself!" cried the american detective." HM Brock, Red Circle (The Strand) Characters: Holmes, Leverton, Black Gorgiano

"It was all he could do to keep himself from screaming out." Arthur Keller, Valley of Fear (1915 US Novel) Characters: Douglas/McMurdo, Scowrers

"He placed the slipper upon the blood-mark on the sill." Frank Wiles, Valley of Fear (The Strand) Characters: Holmes

"On the floor of Miss Dunbar's wardrobe they found the damning evidence." GP Nelson, Thor Bridge (Hearst’s International) Characters: Grace Dunbar

"A printing press — a counterfeiter's outfit," said Holmes." JR Flanagan, Three Garridebs (Collier’s) Characters: Holmes

"Stop! Where are you going?" "To Scotland Yard." HK Elcock, Three Gables (The Strand) Characters: Isadora Klein, Holmes, Watson