History NightmareFuel / SherlockHolmes

** "The Dancing Men" is a nice dose of ParanoiaFuel. Holmes's client is a man who becomes concerned when his wife starts getting messages from home written with the eponymous figures. Holmes is able to discern most of the cipher. The last message that sends him and Watson racing to the Cubitt's home isn't fully translated, but the implication is clear; "Elsie...prepare to meet thy God."

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes pastiches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: Holmes himself. ** Watson finds out by witnessing Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room full of the victims' organs in jars.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes pastiches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: Holmes himself. Watson finds out by witnessing Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room full of the victims' organs in jars. Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe dissociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty''. He never realizes he's mentally ill, and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'' At the climax, just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his best friend. Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976, and the contents within cause massive BrokenPedestal among the Holmes fandom in-universe; which itself is nightmare fuel for certain readers.[[/folder]]

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes pastiches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: Holmes himself. Watson finds out by witnessing Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room full of the victims' organs in jars. Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe dissociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty''. He never realizes he's mentally ill, and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'' At the climax, just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his best friend. Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976[[/folder]]

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* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes pastiches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: Holmes himself. Watson finds out by witnessing Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room full of the victims' organs in jars. Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe dissociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty''. He never realizes he's mentally ill, and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'' At the climax, just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his best friend. Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.
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!!Others

* "The Cardboard Box" is often cited as one of the darkest Holmes stories, and for good reason. Never mind the [[CreepySouvenir severed]] [[EarAche ears]] [[{{Squick}} in a box]]. There's no true villain, just a family of unhappy people who brutally and irreparably destroy each other's lives to the point that Holmes wonders aloud whether we live in a CrapsackWorld, and the [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone murderer's]] [[OutDamnedSpot confession]] [[DespairEventHorizon is]] [[PleaseDontLeaveMe haunting]].

* ''The Valley of Fear'' is aptly named. The powerful Scowrers and their psychotic leader 'Boss' [=McGinty=] would be scary enough, but it's the looming background threat of [[GreaterScopeVillain Moriarty]] that makes the story really ominous. He's brilliant, he's merciless, he has the wealth and power of an enormous criminal empire at his command, and he orchestrates his crimes so carefully and blends in so seamlessly that even ''Holmes'' can't prove anything against him. And he wins in the end.

* ''The Valley of Fear'' is aptly named. The Scowrers would be scary enough, but it's the looming background threat of [[GreaterScopeVillain Moriarty]] that makes the story really ominous. He's brilliant, he's merciless, he has the wealth and power of an enormous criminal empire at his command, and he orchestrates his crimes so carefully and blends in so seamlessly that even ''Holmes'' can't prove anything against him. And he wins in the end.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes pastiches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: Holmes himself. Watson finds out by witnessing Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room ''full of the victims' organs in jars.'' Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe dissociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty''. He never realizes he's mentally ill, and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'' At the climax, just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his best friend. Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

*** Earlier in the same episode, Kitty Winter, who had been cruelly abused by Gruner in the past, treats him the same way he treated her [[spoiler:and throws oil of vitriol (aka sulphuric acid) at him. Only while Kitty was scarred on her body, Gruner gets his dose of acid ''full in the face.'' [[GoryDiscretionShot We don't see the end result,]] but as Gruner screams in sheer agony while Watson tends to him, the painting of him that also got a splash of the acid sizzles and melts...]]

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room ''full of the victims' organs in jars.'']] [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty''. He never realizes he's mentally ill, and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty]], who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler:just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his best friend.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room ''full of the victims' organs in jars.'']] [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty]], who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler:just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his best friend.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming to himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room ''full of the victims' organs in jars.'']] [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty]], who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler:just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his horrified best friend.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

** In ''The Copper Beeches'', Violet is clearly creeped out by her prospective employer, who seems willing to offer her a suspiciously high sum of money to be a live-in governess based on her appearance alone, and wishes her to rearrange her habits to suit her whims. But despite this, the head of the hiring agency flat out tells her that if she doesn't take the job, they would have to assume that she wasn't serious about seeking employment because she wouldn't take the first offer available despite it coming from someone who obviously made her uncomfortable, and strike her from the list of employees the agency would recommend to clients. [[MundaneHorror Lovely working environment there.]] And yes, this happened in the original story.

* "The Speckled Band," especially if you don't like snakes. And, as in the above story, the Stoker sisters are likewise at the mercy of their cruel and vindictive step-father who's perfectly willing to dispose of them if they threaten his income, and poor Julia falls victim to his malice. Helen has to live in the same house as him for ''two years'' afterwards, never quite certain if he was responsible for her sister's death, until one night she's woken by the very same whistle that preceded Julia dying in agony.

** Said Mormons' [[TheHeavy Heavies]], Enoch Drebber and Joseph Stangerson, eventually find themselves on the receiving end of such ParanoiaFuel: Jefferson Hope is a CrusadingWidower OneManArmy who will find '''''them''''' and kill '''''them''''' no matter where '''''they''''' hide. Not to say they don't deserve it, but still...

-->''A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.''

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while casually humming mto himself and then stumbling on Holmes's secret room ''full of the victims' organs in jars.'']] [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty]], who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler:just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls in front of his horrified best friend.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly while humming ''La donne e mobile'' and [[spoiler:stumbling on a hidden room full of the victims' organs in jars.]] [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty]], who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.' The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler:just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly]] while humming ''La donne e mobile'' and stumbling on a hidden room full of the victims' organs in jars. [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.']] The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler:just as a psychotic Holmes is about to murder Watson who he believes is Moriarty in disguise, Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide by throwing himself down Reichenbach Falls.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly]] while humming ''La donne e mobile'' and stumbling on a hidden room full of the victims' organs in jars. [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.']] The rest of the book follows [[spoiler:Watson's mounting horror that ''he is constantly in the same room with Jack the Ripper.'']] At the climax, [[spoiler: Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide at Reichenbach Falls in front of Watson.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.

* ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story'' by Michael Dibdin is considered one of the most disturbing Holmes patisches ever made. What makes it so frightening is TheReveal of who Jack the Ripper is: [[spoiler: Holmes himself.]] Watson finds out by witnessing [[spoiler:Holmes savagely mutilating the body of Mary Jane Kelly]] while humming ''La donne e mobile'' and stumbling on a hidden room full of the victims' organs in jars. [[spoiler:Driven mad by his own boredom and cocaine, Holmes has severe disassociative identity disorder, with one of his personalities being ''Moriarty'' and is now murdering a pregnant woman who he just drank and talked with mere hours before while believing he was protecting her from Moriarty, who was to 'kill twice on the same spot.']] At the climax, [[spoiler: Holmes finally realizes what has happened to him and commits suicide at Reichenbach Falls in front of Watson.]] Watson is so broken by the experience that he locks his report away in a box, with the instructions to not open it until 1976.