The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Lore & Background

Helen Stoner tells Holmes that her sister Julia, shortly before her wedding, heard a low whistle in the night and died warning of "the speckled band"; the room had been securely locked and the doctors found no poison. Now Helen is engaged, has been moved into Julia's room and has heard the whistle herself. In that room Holmes finds the bed anchored to the floor, a bell cord connected to nothing and a ventilator opening into Roylott's room, where there are a large safe and a saucer of milk.

Reader's Guide

Before Holmes sets out, Roylott visits Baker Street and threatens him. At the courthouse Holmes learns from the will of Helen's mother that each daughter can claim an income of £250 on marriage, which would leave Roylott little to live on. That night he and Watson wait in Julia's room; at a hissing sound Holmes lights a candle and strikes at the bell cord, and a scream follows. In Roylott's room they find the "speckled band", a swamp adder that Holmes calls the deadliest snake in India; angered by the blows, it had turned on Roylott and killed him. He had trained it to crawl through the ventilator and down the bell cord and to return at his whistle.

Did You Know?

• Dr. Grimesby Roylott is one of the few villains in the canon who dies during the investigation rather than being arrested or escaping justice.
• The story was adapted for film and television numerous times, often cited as a definitive 'locked room' mystery involving an animal weapon.