NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (1804-1864)
The Minister's Black Veil


ANONYMOUS
Horror: A True Tale



"Riddle Stories"

Introduction by Julian Hawthorne


When Poe wrote his immortal Dupin tales, the name "Detective"
stories had not been invented; the detective of fiction not having
been as yet discovered. And the title is still something of a
misnomer, for many narratives involving a puzzle of some sort,
though belonging to the category which I wish to discuss, are
handled by the writer without expert detective aid. Sometimes the
puzzle solves itself through operation of circumstance; sometimes
somebody who professes no special detective skill happens upon the
secret of its mystery; once in a while some venturesome genius has
the courage to leave his enigma unexplained. But ever since
Gaboriau created his Lecoq, the transcendent detective has been in
favor; and Conan Doyle's famous gentleman analyst has given him a
fresh lease of life, and reanimated the stage by reverting to the
method of Poe. Sherlock Holmes is Dupin redivivus, and mutatus