BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Key word?

**Posted by SusiGo** October 28, 2014 12:27 pm

Sherlockology @Sherlockology
· 1h1 hour ago
"I can certainly give you one word. Ghosts..." - Mark Gatiss, #SherlockChronicles Page 302.

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Sherlockology seems to interpret this as a key word for series 4.

Last edited by SusiGo (October 28, 2014 12:28 pm)

**Posted by tonnaree** October 28, 2014 12:31 pm

Oh please!!!! Now give us two more!

**Posted by nakahara** October 28, 2014 12:34 pm

I´m trying to recall anything from the canon that has to do with ghosts, but I´m coming up blank.
Vampires, on the other hand....

**Posted by gently69** October 28, 2014 12:45 pm

Maybe Moriarty is the ghost ...

**Posted by lil** October 28, 2014 1:01 pm

Interesting Doyle was into ghosts wasn't ..he founded /was in the ghost club?..

Also this ACD quote comes to mind..."Of all the ghosts the ghosts of our old loves are the worst."....

Last edited by lil (October 28, 2014 1:07 pm)

**Posted by nakahara** October 28, 2014 1:05 pm

lil wrote:
Interesting...Doyle was into ghosts wasn't he...he founded /was in the ghost club?

That´s true. He was deep into spiritualism, believed in fairies and similar stuff...

**Posted by SolarSystem** October 28, 2014 2:14 pm

Do we know anything about the context in which Mark says this in the book?

**Posted by SusiGo** October 28, 2014 2:48 pm

No, it will only be released on 6 Nov. as far as I know.

As for the word - just think of rat, wedding, bow. Wedding was the only really obvious one. Ghosts could mean everything or nothing.

**Posted by SolarSystem** October 28, 2014 2:50 pm

Just like Redbeard.

**Posted by SolarSystem** October 28, 2014 3:09 pm

Interesting...
http://ughbenedict.tumblr.com/post/101175517778/limecou-constancecream-source-sherlockology

**Posted by nakahara** October 28, 2014 3:26 pm

Interesting indeed, Solar.
Also, there were some theories that one story of S4 will be based on "The Valley of Fear" where a scary criminal organisation of freemasons is mentioned. Could the word "Ghosts" be possibly refering to them?

**Posted by stoertebeker** October 28, 2014 9:39 pm

Maybe the word ghost does not refer to a certain Sherlock Holmes story but to the term 'ghosts of the past'. That would fit for the Moriarty-situation but also for a probable Mary-storyline. There are several original ACD stories in which the sins of the past catches up with someone.

**Posted by tonnaree** October 28, 2014 9:46 pm

Isn't "ghosts" also a term that can refer to "spies?" Just a thought.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** October 29, 2014 9:36 am

First thing I thought of when I saw it was that phase stoertebeker just mentioned. "The ghosts of our past come back to haunt us"...etc....And then I instantly thought of Mary. She definitely has a few ghosts in her past and I think they're going to catch up with her in Series 4.

**Posted by SolarSystem** October 29, 2014 10:25 am

But wouldn't that be a bit... obvious? After all, it's what most of us expect to happen anyway... Mary's past catching up with her.

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** October 29, 2014 3:10 pm

Most of the keyword clues are kind of obvious though. I mean, look at "Wedding". It could have been a whole number of canon stories with different twists and turns on it, but no, it was just basically Sign Of Four with John and Mary getting married, the most obvious wedding of them all.

Same with "Bow". Everyone was like, "ooh, is it the bow of a ship"...no, it's just a variation on His Last Bow, the most obvious one. The clues aren't as clever as people like to make out! The only ambiguous one was "Rat".

And the clues from Series 2 were even more obvious.

**Posted by gently69** October 29, 2014 3:14 pm

I don't know canon that good. So what does "Ghost" mean? If it is a obvious clue?

**Posted by Sherlock Holmes** October 29, 2014 4:42 pm

I have no idea! I don't think it is that much of an obvious clue...the only thing I can think of is a reference to Mary's ghosts of the past catching up with her, like I said before. But I'd rather wait till the official three words are released before speculating too much!

**Posted by Liberty** October 29, 2014 6:17 pm

Ghosts are usually the spirits of dead people who come back to haunt the living. Which would absolutely, and probably far too obviously, fit Moriarty. But there's only one of him.

ACD attitude to the supernatural was very strange ... on the one hand, this solid, medical, scientific background (and interest in science) and on the other hand being amazingly gullible, particularly about that obvious fairy hoax. I find it difficult to understand.

**Posted by besleybean** October 29, 2014 6:52 pm

His religious upbringing left him open to believing the unbelievable.