Imagine a world where your favorite fictional character is so loved, they become an icon. Now, picture the unthinkable—your hero dies at the hands of his very own creator! That’s exactly what happened in December 1893 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the brilliant author of Sherlock Holmes, shocked the world by killing off his most beloved creation. This bold move ignited riots, protests, and even made Queen Victoria herself express her disappointment!

When the Creator Killed His Creation

The year was 1893, just before Christmas. A crowd gathered outside a Victorian house in Norwood, London, angrily throwing stones at the windows. Why? They were mourning the death of their hero—Sherlock Holmes. Meanwhile, in Fleet Street, the heart of London’s journalism, a massive parade took place to protest the loss. Holmes, who had been solving mysteries for years, was dead! And to make matters worse, it was his creator, Conan Doyle, who had caused this uproar by sending him to his death in The Final Problem.

But why would Conan Doyle do such a thing? Wasn’t Holmes his golden ticket to fame and fortune?

The Reluctant Creator

Despite Holmes’ enormous success, Conan Doyle wasn’t particularly fond of his own creation. To him, detective stories were mere child’s play, unworthy of the literary respect he craved. He longed to write historical novels like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, but Holmes kept dragging him back to the world of detective fiction. He was trapped! Publishers and fans kept demanding more stories about the great detective, and Conan Doyle reluctantly delivered, often with a great deal of frustration.

He once wrote to his mother, saying, “I want to kill off Holmes once and for all!” This wasn’t just a passing thought—Conan Doyle was serious. Holmes had become a burden, like an overfed goose, and the very name of his creation made him feel nauseous.

The Great Escape: Holmes’ Death

In 1893, Conan Doyle decided he’d had enough. He wrote The Final Problem, where Holmes plunges to his death at the Reichenbach Falls in a struggle with his arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Fans were furious. Over 20,000 people canceled their subscriptions to The Strand Magazine, where Holmes’ adventures were published. There were protests in the streets, with people even marching with a coffin for the fallen detective. Conan Doyle was vilified—people hated him for killing their hero. His life became a living nightmare. Even his mother joined the protests!

But Conan Doyle couldn’t ignore the damage he had done. Ten years later, he resurrected Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles, though fans never stopped grieving for their lost detective.

The Man Behind the Mysteries

While Conan Doyle might have been best known for Sherlock Holmes, he was much more than just a writer of detective stories. He was an adventurer, a sports enthusiast, and a man deeply involved in social causes. He played cricket, football, and even learned to ski after moving to Switzerland in 1893. He was the first Briton to document skiing and predicted it would become a popular sport.

But Conan Doyle wasn’t just about writing and sports. He solved real-life mysteries, too. One of the most notable was the case of Oscar Slater, who was wrongfully accused of murder. Conan Doyle used his investigative skills to uncover new evidence, which eventually led to Slater’s exoneration.

A Man of Action, Both in Fiction and Reality

Conan Doyle didn’t just sit back and write. He was a man of action, tackling real-world issues head-on. He even ran for Parliament twice, though unsuccessfully, and used his fame to draw attention to causes he believed in. One of his most impactful efforts was his crusade against the atrocities occurring in the Congo under Belgian rule, which led to the publication of The Crime of the Congo.

A Surprising Turn: From Skeptic to Spiritualist

Despite his early staunch atheism, Conan Doyle’s later years saw him become a passionate believer in spiritualism. After losing several family members, including his wife and son, Conan Doyle turned to spiritualism to cope with his grief. He became convinced that spirits of the deceased could communicate with the living. His belief in ghosts and magic led him to publicly promote spiritualism, even clashing with friends like Harry Houdini, who remained a skeptic.

In 1918, he published The New Revelation, detailing his transformation from a non-believer to an advocate for the supernatural.

The End of an Era

In 1930, after years of crusading for spiritualism and writing, Conan Doyle passed away in his garden, holding a flower. His last words to his wife were, “You are the best.” A man who had once killed his own hero was finally at peace, his legacy living on through Holmes, his unexpected spiritual journey, and his contributions to literature and society.