Analysis of Three Coffins' Works

A person walks into a house and evaporates; A man was shot in the snow, and there was no trace of a second man around him-two incredible events, together with paranormal, such as brother feud, corpse resurrection and evil curse, made three coffins the pinnacle of impossible crime's novels.

Strange mysteries make readers dizzy, such as falling into clouds and fog. However, only Dr. Phil can find a ray of light from the fog and finally get rid of the cocoon and see through the impossible murderer. Three coffins occupy an unusual position in the novels of the Chamber of Secrets. One factor is that it contains two incredible secret rooms (one is a secret room in the snow in a broad sense), and the other factor is that Dr. Phil delivered the most famous "secret room speech" in history. In fact, any one is enough to make this work immortal. It is not an exaggeration for three coffins to be the masterpiece of the first secret room in the history of reasoning. In this book, Carl combines the mechanical secret room and the psychological secret room perfectly, and carefully creates a perfect secret room. In chapter 17 of the book, he also gave a lecture on "The Chamber of Secrets" through the mouth of Dr. Gideon Phil, commenting and analyzing the chamber of secrets for more than a hundred years, which can be described as a masterpiece of ancient and modern times. The following is Carl's classic "Lecture Notes in the Chamber of Secrets":

"well! Ha! Now, your box has a door, a window and a solid wall. On the premise that the doors and windows are closed, before discussing the escape method, I will not mention the so-called low-level tricks of having a secret corridor leading to the secret room (which are rare now). This kind of story design is unacceptable to readers, so any self-respecting author doesn't even need to declare that there is no secret passage. As for some minor fouls, we won't discuss them, such as the gap between panels, which is wide enough to reach into a palm; Or the bolt hole in the ceiling has been stabbed with a knife, the plug has been stuffed into the bolt hole unnoticed, and the attic floor upstairs has been sprinkled with dust, as if no one had walked by. Although this action is small, it is also a foul. Whether the secret cave is as small as the tailor's thimble or as big as the barn door, the basic rules will never change, which is a foul. About the reasonable type, you just need to copy it down, Mr. Peters ... "

"Good," Peters said with a grin. "Please continue."

"First of all, there is a murder chamber. The room at the crime scene is really completely closed. In that case, the murderer didn't escape from the room because the murderer was not in the room at all. The explanation is as follows: First, it was not murder, but a series of coincidences led to an accident similar to murder. First of all, before the room was locked, there may have been robberies, attacks and fights, some people were injured and furniture was destroyed, which is enough to remind people of the struggle at the time of the murder. Later, the victim died in the accident or lost consciousness in the locked room, but all the events were considered to have happened at the same time. In this case, the cause of death is usually a brain rupture. Generally speaking, it should be made of sticks, but it is actually a certain part of the furniture, perhaps the corner of the table or the protruding edge of the chair, but the most common object is actually an iron fireplace cover. In short, since Sherlock Holmes' adventure story "The Humpback Man" came out, this cruel stove cover has really killed many people. To some extent, these deaths seem to be murders. In this type of plot, including solving the mystery of the murderer, the most satisfactory work is Gaston Leroux's The Secret of the Yellow Room, which is the best detective novel in history.

Second, this is murder, but the victim was forced to commit suicide or strayed into a death trap. It may be caused by the haunted room, or it may be induced. It is more common to take air from outside the room. Whether it is poison gas or poison gas, it will drive the victim crazy, slam into the wall of the room, and make the scene look like a fight between trapped animals, and the cause of death is still a knife wound imposed on him. Another variant example extended from it is that the victim inserts the spike of a tree lamp holder into his head, or hangs himself with barbed wire, or even strangles himself with his hands.

Third, this is murder, and the method is through the mechanism installed in the room, which is difficult to detect. It is hidden in a seemingly harmless place above the furniture. The design of this trap may have been made by a guy who has been dead for many years. It can work automatically or be reset by the current user. It may be an evil new invention extended by modern technology. For example, there is a pistol mechanism hidden in the microphone. Once the victim picks up the microphone, the bullet will shoot through his head. And a pistol with a silk thread tied to the trigger. Once the water freezes and solidifies, the original water will expand, so the silk thread will be pulled out immediately. Let's take the alarm clock as an example. When you wind up the alarm clock, the bullet will shoot out. Or (alarm clock is a popular killing weapon), we also have another exquisite big wall clock with a terrible jingle bell device at its upper end. Once the noise starts, when you want to turn it off, as long as you touch it, you will throw a sharp knife and cut your abdomen on the spot. In addition, there is a heavy object that can swing down from the ceiling. As long as you sit in a high-backed chair, the force of this heavy object will surely smash your head. Another bed will release deadly gas; There will be a poisonous needle mysteriously disappearing, and it will-"

"Look," Dr. Phil pointed a cigar at everyone. "When we studied these various traps, we really entered the field of' impossible crime', and the locked room was pediatrics. This situation may continue to develop, and even electrocuted organs may appear. A string placed in front of a row of portraits can be electrified; The chessboard can be charged; Even gloves can electrocute people. Anything in the furniture, including the teapot, can kill people. However, it seems that no one has used these tricks now. So, let's move on.

Fourth, it was suicide, but it was deliberately arranged as murder. Someone pricked himself with icicles, and then the icicles melted! Since the murder weapon could not be found in the locked room, it was assumed to be murder. Or, someone committed suicide with a gun tied to the end of a rubber belt-as soon as he let go, the gun was pulled into the chimney and disappeared. This trick can be changed to use silk thread to connect heavy objects and tie the gun without a secret room. After shooting, quickly pull the gun over the bridge railing and then fall into the water; Similarly, a pistol can also smash through a window and fall into a snowdrift.

This is murder, but the mystery is caused by illusion and disguise. For example, when someone was watching the door, the victim was murdered and died indoors, but everyone thought he was still alive. The murderer dressed up as a victim, or was mistaken for a victim from behind, and hurried to the door to show up. Then, as soon as he turned around, he took off all his disguises, turned himself into the original appearance, and immediately walked out of the room. Because he walked past others when he left, he had hallucinations. In any case, his alibi has been established; Because when the body was later found, the police presumed that the crime occurred after the fake victim entered the room.

6. This is murder. Although the murderer committed the crime outside the room, it looks like he committed the crime inside the room. "

"For the sake of explanation," Dr. Phil interrupted the topic of classification, "I classified this kind of crime as' long-distance crime' or' icicle crime'. Anyway, no matter how they change it, it is an extension of the basic prototype. I just talked about the example of icicles, and you should all understand. The door is locked and the window is too small for the murderer to pass through; But the victim was obviously assassinated in the room, and the whereabouts of the murder weapon are unknown. Well, icicles came in from outside the room like bullets-and then they disappeared without a trace. I believe that anna katharine green (1846- 1935, the pioneer of American reasoning women writers) was the first person to use this tactic in detective novels. Her novel is called Only the Beginning (19 1). By the way, some tricks will develop into various genres, and she has really made great contributions. More than 50 years ago, in her first mystery novel, she created a story that a vicious secretary killed her employer, and I think that from today's statistics, the secretary is still the most common murderer in the novel. And today's most popular mystery writer, like others, calls his role as a murderer a' good guy'. But these days, as long as there is a mansion, the secretary is the most dangerous person. )

Continue the topic of icicles. Its practical application is thanks to Medici (15, 16, a famous family in Florence, Italy, which contributed a lot to the protection of literature and art). In an admirable "The Story of Fleming Si Tong", a satirical poem about war was quoted, in which the decline of Rome in the first century was mentioned, and icicles provided reasons for the country's national subjugation. With the help of crossbows, icicles are fired, thrown and thrown. In the adventure story of Hamilton Crick (the charming character in forty faces), there are similar elements, such as soluble pellets, salt bullets and even bullets made of frozen blood.

Icicle crime theory proves my point: murder in a house can be committed by people outside the house. There are some other possibilities here. The victim was stabbed, and the murder weapon may be a crutch with a thin blade, which can pass through the woven goods around the summer resort and be lost with one blow; Alternatively, the victim may be stabbed with a blade. Because the blade was too thin, he didn't realize that he was injured, and then when he walked into another room, he suddenly fell to the ground and died. Or, the victim was lured out of the window; You can't climb to the window from below, but from above, the ice can fall and hit him hard on the head. The head was smashed, but the murder weapon could not be found, because it had already melted.

Under this heading (actually, under the third heading, it is also very appropriate), we can also list the methods of killing people with poisonous snakes or insects. Snakes can be hidden not only in wardrobes and safes, but also in flowerpots, stacks, chandeliers and walking sticks. I remember a very exaggerated case-

The amber handle was carved into a strange scorpion shape. When the victim was about to put it in his mouth, the sculpture came back to life and became a live scorpion. However, when it comes to the most amazing long-distance killing technique in Murder in the Chamber of Secrets, ladies and gentlemen, I recommend one of the most wonderful short stories in the history of detective novels (in fact, there are several equally outstanding and famous first-class masterpieces, such as Thomas Burke's The Hand of Mr. Ottmore, chesterton's The Man in the Passage, and Jacques Fautrel's The Problem of Cell 13). ) is Melville Davison Post's "The Mystery of Doomsday-The Assassin Who Killed at a Distance is the Sun". The sun shone through the window of the locked room on the wine bottle that Du Fu put on the table. Because the bottle is filled with unprocessed methanol and white wine, it forms a fire mirror (that is, a convex lens that gathers sunlight to generate heat), and the gun hanging on the wall just ignites the detonator through a ray of light: therefore, the disgusting guy lying in bed is naturally bloody. And ... wait a minute! Aha, I'd better stop; Now, I use the last title to draw a perfect rest for the classification work.

Seven, this is murder, but its trick operation method, just runs counter to the fifth question. In other words, the presumed time of death of the victim is much earlier than the actual time of the crime. The victim fell asleep in the locked room. So slamming the door can't wake him up. At this time, the murderer began to pretend to be frightened. He forced the door open first, then rushed in, stabbed or cut the victim's throat, and at the same time made others feel that they saw something they didn't actually see. Israel.Zangwill, who invented this trick, should be respected, because his ideas are still used by later generations, but in different forms. This trick has been used (usually to assassinate) ships, old houses, greenhouses, attics and even outdoors. In these places, the victim tripped and fell unconscious, and finally the assassin leaned over him. So ... "

"I'm sorry about the chimney," Dr. Phil continued. Once he concentrated, he went back to his original appearance. "Sorry, in detective stories, chimneys are an unwelcome way to escape;" Except, of course, the secret passage. Let me give some important examples. For example, there is a secret room behind a hollow chimney; The back of the fireplace can be unfolded like a curtain; Or the fireplace can be rotated to open; Even under the stones of the furnace, there is a secret room hidden. In addition, many highly toxic things can fall through the chimney pipe. However, it is rare for the murderer to climb the chimney and escape. On the one hand, it is almost impossible, on the other hand, such a move is even more despicable than tampering with doors and windows. Of the two main types of doors and windows, doors are obviously more popular. Let's look at some cases of deception, which have been modified to make the door look like it can be locked from the inside:

First, move the key inserted in the keyhole. This traditional method is quite popular. But today, because its various changing methods are widely known, few people really use it. You can hold the key handle with pliers and turn it; This is the way we used to open Grimau's study room. There is also a very practical trick, that is, a thin metal strip two inches long and a very long strong rope tied at one end. Before leaving the room, insert the metal bar into the small hole of the key head, with one end facing up and the other end facing down to exercise leverage; The rope fell to the ground and was pulled out of the room from the bottom of the door. Then close the door from the outside. Just pull the string and turn the key to lock the door under the action of lever principle; Then shake the string to loosen the metal strip. Once it hits the ground, you can pull it out from under the door. Under the same principle, there are various applications, but strings are absolutely indispensable.

Second, the hinge of the door can be easily removed without destroying the lock and door bolt. This technique is clean and neat, and most male students are familiar with it, especially when trying to steal from a locked cupboard. But only if the hinge device is outside the door.

Third, tamper with the door latch. The string appeared again; The skills used this time are clothes pegs and sewing needles. The clothes peg is attached to the door and designed as a lever device, which can close the door bolt outside the door and then pull out the string from the keyhole. I must pay tribute to Philo Vance, who gave us the best demonstration. There are some simple but inefficient methods, but a string is essential. You can tie a loose knot at one end of a long rope-it will loosen when you pull it suddenly-and then buckle it into a ring. The ring sleeve is wound on the handle of the door bolt, and the string part hangs down and passes under the door. At this time, the door has been closed. At this time, pull the string to both sides and bolt the door. Then pull the rope hard, the knot will fall off the handle, and then you can pull the rope out. Ellery Quinn also demonstrated another technique. He played this trick with dead people. But his mysterious explanation is too simple and boring, and it sounds too bizarre, so the arrangement of this trick is really unfair to savvy readers.

Fourth, tamper with the sliding bolt lock. The usual practice is to put something under the latch lock, then close the door from the outside, and then remove the bracket placed inside, so that the latch lock can slide down and lock. Speaking of this support, ice that can be used at any time is obviously the best tool, and the lock is propped up with ice; When it dissolves, the bolt will fall off. In addition, in one case, the strength of closing the door alone is enough to make the latch lock on the door slide down by itself.

Fifth, creating illusion is simple but effective. After the murderer killed someone, he locked the door from the outside and took the key with him. However, everyone thought that the key was still in the keyhole of the room. The murderer was the first person who pretended to be panicked and found the body. He broke the glass panel on the first floor of the door, hid the key in his own hand, and then put the' key' in the keyhole to open the door. If you need to break the siding on ordinary wooden doors, this trick will also work.