He was dead. Gone. Splattered on the pavement of the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland—at least according to the distraught public of 1893. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had finally killed off Sherlock Holmes, and he was happy about it. He actually told his mother that he intended to "slay" the detective because he took his mind away from "better things." But the public didn't care about Doyle’s historical novels. They wanted the man in the deerstalker. They wore black armbands. They canceled subscriptions to The Strand Magazine.
Fast forward nearly a decade.
In 1901, the unthinkable happened. The detective returned. But it wasn't a resurrection—not yet. It was a flashback. Return of the hound—specifically The Hound of the Baskervilles—marked the moment the most famous character in literary history was brought back from the grave, even if it was technically a prequel. It’s arguably the most important pivot point in the history of franchise fiction.
The Weird History of How the Hound Actually Happened
Most people think Doyle just caved to pressure and started writing. It wasn't that simple. Honestly, it was a golf trip. In March 1901, Doyle was vacationing at the Royal Links Hotel in Cromer with a friend named Bertram Fletcher Robinson. Robinson was a journalist, and he started telling Doyle these creepy legends about "Black Shuck," a ghostly hound that supposedly haunted the fens of Norfolk.
Doyle was hooked.
He realized he had a great atmosphere—a gothic, foggy moor and a cursed family—but he needed a central figure to tie it together. He didn't want it to be a Sherlock Holmes story at first. He really didn't. But he knew that if he put Holmes in the lead, the paycheck would be astronomical. The Strand offered him £100 per thousand words. That was an insane amount of money back then. He basically decided that if he was going to bring back the "hound," he might as well bring back the man who could solve it.
What’s fascinating is how Doyle handled the "death" problem. He didn't explain how Holmes survived Reichenbach. He just set the story earlier. It was a "reminiscence" of Dr. Watson. This clever bit of narrative footwork allowed Doyle to test the waters without committed to a full revival of the character in the "present day" timeline.
Why the Hound Scared Everyone (And Still Does)
The horror in The Hound of the Baskervilles isn't just about a big dog. It’s about the clash between the ancient world and the modern one. You’ve got Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate man of science and logic, dropped into the middle of Dartmoor—a place where people actually believe in family curses and demonic pets.
The description of the hound is still visceral. Doyle describes it as a "foul thing, a visionary dog," with fire bursting from its mouth and eyes. He used phosphorus to make it glow. It’s high-concept horror.
- The Atmospheric Pressure: The moor is a character itself. The Great Grimpen Mire, where a single misstep means a slow death in the mud, creates a sense of helplessness that even Holmes struggles to overcome.
- The Isolation: Watson is left alone for a huge chunk of the book. This was a massive risk. Taking your lead character off-stage makes the reader feel as vulnerable as Watson does.
- Scientific Gothic: It’s one of the first times we see "forensics" used to debunk what appears to be a supernatural event.
The Cultural Impact: More Than Just a Book
When we talk about the return of the hound, we aren't just talking about a novel. We are talking about the birth of the "fandom." This was the first time a "reboot" or a "prequel" caused a genuine global frenzy. People lined up at newsstands. The circulation of The Strand jumped by thirty thousand copies overnight.
It also set the template for every detective story that followed. Think about it. The "detective goes to a spooky country house to solve a legend" trope? That starts here. Agatha Christie, Stephen King, even the creators of The X-Files—they all owe a debt to the way Doyle structured this specific comeback.
It’s also been adapted more than almost any other story. We have the 1939 Basil Rathbone version, which defined the "look" of Holmes for a generation. Then there’s the 1959 Hammer Horror version with Peter Cushing, which leaned into the blood and the fog. Even the modern Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch had to tackle "The Hounds of Baskerville," though they turned the supernatural element into a chemical conspiracy. Every time a new generation discovers Holmes, they start with the hound.
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The Mistakes People Make About the Story
There's a lot of misinformation out there about this specific era of Doyle's life. One big myth is that he hated the book. He didn't. He actually thought it was a "really cracking" story. What he hated was the obsession people had with Holmes's personal life over the actual mechanics of the mystery.
Another common error is the idea that The Hound of the Baskervilles was the "official" return of Holmes to the living. It wasn't. As I mentioned, it’s a prequel. The actual resurrection didn't happen until The Adventure of the Empty House in 1903, where Holmes reveals he used "baritsu" (a misspelling of the martial art Bartitsu) to toss Moriarty over the ledge.
What This Means for Us Today
Why does a story about a Victorian detective and a glowing dog still matter in 2026? It’s because it represents our desire for logic in a world that feels chaotic and "supernatural." We live in an era of misinformation and "ghosts" in the machine. Holmes represents the idea that if you look closely enough—if you really examine the footprints—there is always a rational explanation.
The return of the hound proved that some characters are too big to die. They become part of the collective consciousness. They are modern myths.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into this specific moment in literary history, don’t just watch the movies. Read the original serialised version if you can find a reprint. The way Doyle ends each chapter is a masterclass in the "cliffhanger" technique that modern TV shows like Stranger Things use to keep you bingeing.
How to Experience the Hound Properly
- Read the Annotated Version: Look for The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Leslie S. Klinger. It explains all the Victorian slang and the geography of Dartmoor that might confuse a modern reader.
- Visit Dartmoor (Virtually or In Person): If you’re ever in Devon, England, you can actually walk the trails that inspired the Great Grimpen Mire. Just stay on the path. Seriously.
- Compare Adaptations: Watch the 1939 Rathbone version and then the 1988 Jeremy Brett version. Brett is widely considered the most "accurate" Holmes, and his performance in The Hound is twitchy, brilliant, and haunting.
- Check the "Black Shuck" Legends: Research the actual folklore of East Anglia. It’s wild how much Doyle pulled from real-world "demon dog" sightings that still persist in British folklore today.
The legend isn't dead. It just keeps evolving. Whether it's a book, a film, or a digital reimagining, the hound is always out there on the moor, waiting for someone to try and debunk it.