# Hitchcock mystery anthology fans....help me out (story spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700 "2009-11-07T06:25:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/1 "2009-11-07T06:25:24Z")
As a quiet child in the 70’s who preferred reading to being outdoors, I was enthralled by Alfred Hitchcock’s mystery/horror anthologies. I was afraid to see scary or bloody movies, or even PG-rated movies – I was a Disney kid all the way – but I would sit in the school library or the public library until they told me to move along, nose deep in Alfred Hitchcock’s collections of classic tales by classic writers, such as _Haunted Houseful, Ghostly Gallery_ or _Monster Museum_. I was also a Three Investigators fan – and being a kid, I even liked those dorky Happy Hollisters – and I well remember sitting by the radio of an evening, listening to hourlong episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which drew much of its material from the same sources as Hitchcock. (Yes, radio drama in the 1970’s!) After I grew up and became a grade school teacher, I found that being around kids made me nostalgic for the “good stuff” from my youth, so over the years I bought many used books and introduced many of them to my classroom library. Of course the Hitchcock anthologies are long out of print, but you can still find used copies of _Haunted Houseful, Ghostly Gallery_ and _Monster Museum_ on [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) . I have also found a few Three Investigators mysteries here and there, and even some surviving Radio Mystery Theater episodes on CD. But, tantalizingly, there are a few great stories that still elude me… There is a story, “The Hands of Mr. Ottermole,” which is quite well known, but I can’t find out which anthology it was published in. The title character is a serial killer who surreptitiously stalks his victims through London and strangles them, for no reason other than impulse. In the twist ending, (spoiler) (spoiler) (spoiler) Mr. Ottermole is revealed to be a high-ranking police officer working the case; the journalist who deduces this makes the fatal mistake of interviewing Constable Ottermole alone. When asked about his motive for killing, the officer replies, “Why, something just came into…into…” – and then quick as lightning his hands surround the reporter’s neck – “_into my hands!_” Which anthology published this story? I seem to remember that the same anthology contained a story about one Mr. Manning, an embezzler who hid his money in a hole where a sapling was being planted, and some watered-down thing called “Larceny and Old Lace.” A different anthology contains a rather fantastic tale of a man who investigates reports of carnivorous giant snails on a remote island, and finds to his chagrin that the reports are real. Do you know where to find these stories? I have searched the internet and raided local libraries, but no luck so far. Any information you can provide is most appreciated. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/2 "2009-11-07T12:24:56Z")
Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/3 "2009-11-07T12:52:30Z")
Sorry, no help here…I just wanted to say that… > [@](#): > > and I well remember sitting by the radio of an evening, listening to hourlong episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which drew much of its material from the same sources as Hitchcock. (Yes, radio drama in the 1970’s!) …I loved that show with its creepy EG Marshall intro (the creaking door) and breathless acting, and huddled under my blankets on school nights (it ran at 11PM) with the radio turned low to listen to it; and that… > [@](#): > > I have also found a few Three Investigators mysteries here and there …I have somewhere around 30 of these, which really have very little to do with Alfred Hitchock, but which are highly entertaining (I often wonder why they weren’t more popular). Good luck with your question! ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/4 "2009-11-07T20:34:11Z")
> [@tclouie](#): > > Do you know where to find these stories? I have searched the internet and raided local libraries, but no luck so far. Any information you can provide is most appreciated. 🙂 Are you sure you’re not confusing the anthologies with the television series? The Hands of Mr. Ottermole (short story by Thomas Burke) was an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. You can watch it on Hulu. [http://www.hulu.com/watch/13914/alfred-hitchcock-presents-the-hands-of-mr-ottermole?c=Horror-and-Suspense](http://www.hulu.com/watch/13914/alfred-hitchcock-presents-the-hands-of-mr-ottermole?c=Horror-and-Suspense) If you go to [abebooks.com](http://abebooks.com), there are quite a few mystery anthologies that contain the story (none of them Hitchcock) for reasonable prices. Also, this page: [http://www.alfredsplace.com/mysterybooks.htm](http://www.alfredsplace.com/mysterybooks.htm) Has a pretty decent selection of the anthologies but I don’t see Hands as one of the stories. I’m pretty sure you can find these on abebooks, as well. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/5 "2009-11-07T20:53:57Z")
Forgot to add. Robert Arthur (author of Mr. Manning’s Money Tree and Larceny and Old Lace) did a ton of writing for the Alfred Hitchcock label: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert\_Arthur,\_Jr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Arthur,_Jr). Scroll down for the list of anthologies he worked on. I would think the two stories above can be found in them. Also to add, I think he had a few of his own anthologies published, most likely out of print but you can probably find them on abebooks or alibris or ebay. Can’t help you on man-eating giant snails though. ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/6 "2009-11-08T04:12:09Z")
Thanks, pal! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/7 "2009-11-08T04:20:08Z")
> [@](#): > > After I grew up and became a grade school teacher, I found that being around kids made me nostalgic for the “good stuff” from my youth, so over the years I bought many used books and introduced many of them to my classroom library. Have you introduced your students to The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew? I recaptured some of my youth buying a few old editions off Ebay. Unfortunately the newer editions have been revised. I prefer reading them the way they were written originally. The older versions are still readily available and cheap. ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/8 "2009-11-08T04:31:29Z")
Nancy Drew, yes. Also Encyclopedia Brown. But I only ever read one Hardy Boys as a kid, so no nostalgia there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/9 "2009-11-08T04:54:31Z")
\*\*Success!! 🙂 \*\* I typed “Mr. Manning’s Money Tree” into Google, and I was directed to this page: [robertarthurbooks](http://threeinvestigatorsbooks.homestead.com/robertarthurbooks.html) which pretty much lists all the anthologies Robert Arthur wrote or edited. The “Mr. Manning” and “Larceny/Old Lace” stories are both in _Mystery and More Mystery_, which collects stories written by Arthur himself, and…YES…“Mr. Ottermole” is in _Thrillers and More Thrillers_, an Arthur-edited anthology of other people’s works. The latter title also contains R. L Stevenson’s “The Bottle Imp” and Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart.” And both books are affordable on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). WOW! Thanks, boardmates, for the help! I couldn’t have found this if you hadn’t pointed me towards Robert Arthur and his stories. I previously only knew him for his Three Investigators work. Thanks guys! But…still no carnivorous snails. Dang it, can’t have everything. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/10 "2009-11-08T06:22:51Z")
> [@tclouie](#): > > A different anthology contains a rather fantastic tale of a man who investigates reports of carnivorous giant snails on a remote island, and finds to his chagrin that the reports are real. Unless you were to get your wheelchair stuck in a slime trail, it’s hard to get too worked up over this one. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/11 "2009-11-08T08:40:24Z")
Actually, I take that back, I think I can help you. Using my google fu, I came up with: The Quest for Blank Claveringi by (interesting enough) Patricia Highsmith. You can find it here and see if it’s the one you’re looking for (carnivorous, giant snails being a popular literary genre). Google has omitted some pages but there should be enough there to identify it. > **[Eleven](https://books.google.com/books?id=sY9qYgtl5FUC&pg=PA69&lpg=PA69&dq=the%2Bquest%2Bfor%2Bblank%2Bclaveringi&source=bl&ots=nCZhMFrW3L&sig=2rUt6dWrL0FzUFYIwGqgeYFCUDY&hl=en&ei=3oL2Sqi_JcPi8QbyqNTzCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=the%20quest%20for%20blank%20claveringi&f=false)** > > From the eerily outlandish to the dark and brutal, Eleven presents a gallery of bizarre characters, each driven by strange unspoken urges, whose cumulative effect is at least as unsettling as any of Highsmith's previous novels. ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/12 "2009-11-08T19:33:29Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Unless you were to get your wheelchair stuck in a slime trail, it’s hard to get too worked up over this one. Well, see, that’s what the protagonist of the story thought too. Boy, was he surprised at the end!!! Thanks again, valleyofthedolls. ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hitchcock-mystery-anthology-fans-help-me-out-story-spoilers/516700/13 "2009-11-08T19:57:23Z")
Found it!!! It’s in _Alfred Hitchcock’s Supernatural Tales of Terror and Suspense_, seen on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) at [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394926765/ref=cm\_rdp\_product](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394926765/ref=cm_rdp_product) . One helpful Amazon reviewer even listed all the stories in the book, and sure enough, Blank Claveringi is there. Boy it sure helps to know the author and the title when you’re hunting old and relatively obscure literature. You guys on this board are not only geniuses, you’re the best kind: helpful geniuses!!!