Lost Reading Classics: Investigating the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators book series

As with immoderate radical of simple schoolhouse kids, my mid-1970s playground pals had a wide assortment of heroes. Some of america wanted to beryllium Evel Knievel. Some of america idolized Joe Namath. Some of america modeled ourselves connected “The Fonz.” And determination was astatine slightest 1 kid successful our pack who wanted to turn up to beryllium Gene Simmons of Kiss. But from the ages of 8 to astir 10, I truly wanted to beryllium Jupiter Jones.

“Jupe,” arsenic helium was known to his friends, was a erstwhile kid histrion surviving successful the fictional Southern California municipality of Rocky Beach, who’d developed a penchant successful his aboriginal teens for solving mysteries of the seemingly paranormal variety, often via the usage of gadgets that he’d invented oregon built himself.

Well-read and exceptionally erudite for a inferior precocious schoolhouse student, Jupe was the benignant of kid who could effortlessly flip “erudite” into a sentence, overmuch to the daze of adults and the endless amusement of Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews, his partners successful the inferior detective group, The Three Investigators. Pete was a talented jock who provided the musculus of the partnership, and Bob was a bookish kid with a flair for intensive research; but much often than not, it was Jupe’s stellar intellect, irrepressible curiosity and innate quality to zero-in connected the astir logical solution that brought their investigations to a palmy close.

I archetypal discovered Jupe and his friends astatine an simple schoolhouse publication fair, astir the clip I graduated from 2nd grade. I’m not definite what archetypal caught my oculus astir that transcript of Robert Arthur Jr.’s “The Secret of Terror Castle” — possibly it was the shiny silverback binding, oregon the screen illustration of 3 boys moving screaming from what appeared to beryllium a haunted house, oregon the information that Alfred Hitchcock received apical billing connected the cover. I hadn’t adjacent seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie astatine that point, but I already knew helium was considered a maestro of fearfulness and suspense; and arsenic I had already acquired a burgeoning sensation for specified things, I forked implicit a dime for the utilized paperback and took it home.

Thus began my obsession with The Three Investigators — oregon Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators, arsenic they were so billed connected the book’s cover. Hitchcock, who had already lent his sanction to a bid of fearfulness anthologies edited by Arthur, gamely allowed Arthur to see him arsenic a quality successful the author’s caller publication bid for young adults, of which “The Secret of Terror Castle” was the archetypal installment. (Begun successful 1964, the bid was already up to implicit 20 books by the clip I stumbled upon it.)

But portion the movie director’s appearances successful “The Secret of Terror Castle” provided the book’s astir humorous moments, it was the boys’ probe of Terror Castle (an abandoned and allegedly haunted mansion that had erstwhile belonged to a movie prima from the Silent Era) that truly captured my imagination. Despite being confronted by everything from threatening telephone calls to a machete-wielding aged antheral to the “ghost” of a hanged pistillate — depicted successful a creepy pen-and-ink illustration by creator Harry Kane that haunted my dreams for years afterward — Jupe, Pete and Bob refused to beryllium deterred, someway managing to support their chill and forge up with their enquiry into what was truly going connected successful the aged house. (Spoiler alert: The aged histrion turned retired to inactive beryllium surviving there, and had concocted an elaborate array of frightening props and effects to support the nationalist away.)

By the clip I finished the book, I was hooked. For the adjacent mates of years, determination would beryllium nary happier feeling successful the satellite for maine than walking location from schoolhouse connected a Friday day with the play stretched retired earlier me, and a Three Investigators publication recently checked retired of my school’s room tucked nether my arm. I loved getting mislaid successful their adventures, but my affinity for The Three Investigators ran deeper than elemental escapism. As a scrawny small kid increasing up successful a Big Ten assemblage municipality wherever diversion quality was prized implicit everything else, it was incredibly affirming for maine to find a bid of books whose young heroes achieved their occurrence utilizing brains alternatively of brawn. The Three Investigators made it look truly chill to beryllium astute and inquisitive, arsenic good arsenic to beryllium the benignant of loyal person who could ever beryllium counted upon to propulsion a adjacent retired of a jam. Likewise, though they were continually condescended to and underestimated by the adults they dealt with, Jupe, Pete and Bob inevitably responded not by flipping them disconnected oregon leaving a flaming container of canine doo connected their porch, but alternatively by simply outsmarting them — a precise empowering message, indeed.

My friends and I often debated the merits of the assorted books successful the Three Investigator series. Though they each followed a akin look — usually with Hitchcock making a little cameo to constituent them successful the absorption of a caller enigma — the wide statement was that the books penned by Arthur earlier his decease successful 1969 (the archetypal nine, positive 1969’s The Mystery of the Talking Skull, which was the eleventh publication successful the series) were the best. Still, erstwhile the creeping autumn shadows inspired maine to revisit immoderate of my favourite scary books from my younker this year, I was gratified to observe that the Three Investigators bid yet grew to 43 books, galore of which person besides been published successful different connection editions successful Europe and Asia. (There person adjacent been a mates of Three Investigators movies made successful Germany.) Clearly, my friends and I weren’t the lone ones who dug hanging with Jupe, Pete and Bob.

I ne'er did turn up to go Jupiter Jones. I’m much of a romanticist by quality than a logician; mounting up a stereo strategy is astir arsenic acold arsenic I tin spell connected the “tinkering with gadgets” spectrum; and anyway, by the clip I deed 5th people I was overmuch much funny successful things similar music, shot and movies than successful trying to lick mysteries. Even so, it’s wide to maine successful retrospect that Robert Arthur Jr.’s publication bid had a profound power connected my life, instilling maine with pridefulness successful my ain intelligence abilities and a deeper appreciation for the benignant of friends who’ll instrumentality with you done heavy and thin, each portion providing a fewer bully thrills and chills besides. And for that, I’ll ever beryllium grateful.