Screaming Castle Murder Case (novel)

*This article is about the novel. For the drama episode of the same name, see Screaming Castle Murder Case.*

## Collection Information

### Series

*The Detective Story of Clinical Criminologist Hideo Himura*

### Publisher

Shinchosha
Shinchō Bunko

### Release

October 2001
February 2004

### ISBN

ISBN 4-10-602652-X (2001)
ISBN 4-10-120433-0 (2004)

***Screaming Castle Murder Case*** (絶叫城殺人事件, *Zekkyō-jō Satsujin Jiken*) is a collection of Japanese short stories by Alice Arisugawa in his Himura Hideo series.

## Plot Overviews

"**Kokuchō-tei Murder Case**" (黒鳥亭 (こくちょうていてい) 殺人 (さつじん) 事件 (じけん) , *Kokuchō-tei Satsujin Jiken*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Shinchō*, April 1996 issue)

Upon the request of a common acquaintance, Alice and Himura go to the black-skinned pavilion "Kokuchō-tei" where he lives. There was a murder case before he started living in the pavilion; a husband had killed his wife after a fight, left his will, and committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. It was an incident that had occurred two years ago, but for some reason, a few days ago about a week after his death, the husband's body came out of the well of Kokuchō-tei. It turns out that the suicide was disguised, but the problem is why the husband came back to Kokuchō-tei recently and who killed him.

"**Kochūan Murder Case**" (壺中庵 (こちゅうあん) 殺人 (さつじん) 事件 (じけん) , *Kochuan Satsujin Jiken*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Shinchō*, April 1997 issue)

A certain wealthy man was hung with a bag on his head in his favorite study, "Kochūan", which looked like a kite in the basement. The flip-up door, the only doorway to the basement, seemed to hang a wall from the inside, and there were traces of the discovered door break-ins that opened it. In short, the scene of the crime was a locked-room murder. The two suspects are the victim's son and the latter's friend. How did the criminal make a locked room and why did he put a bag on the victim's head?

"**Moon Palace Murder Case**" (絶叫城 (げっきゅうでん) 殺人 (さつじん) 事件 (じけん) , *Gekkyūden Satsujin Jiken*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu NON*, July 1997 issue)

A year ago, Alice chances upon a three-storey illegal building in the riverside known as the Moon Palace in the surrounding area. Alice, who visits the riverside again with Himura, learns that the Moon Palace has burned down in a fire. According to a homeless man, he saw a high school student in the neighborhood set the fire, and no resident was saved. However, the testimonies of the arsonist and of the homeless man were different. Witnesses claim that the arsonist had set the fire after confirming that there was no one in the house, but some witnesses saw the victim enter the burning house.

"**Snow Flower Tower Murder Case**" (雪華楼 (せっかろう) 殺人 (さつじん) 事件 (じけん) , *Sekkarō Satsujin Jinken*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Shinchō*, June 1998 issue)

A person has died in the so-called "Snow Flower Tower", a building that was left untouched. The three people who were at the site during that time had settled in the Snow Flower Tower without permission: a young couple who had run away and a middle-aged homeless man. The victim was the couple man. According to the homeless man, the couple often had fights. On the night of the incident, the victim had already fallen outside the building when he heard the woman scream. As a result from police investigation, it was certain that the man had committed suicide from jumping off the roof, but it was a mysterious situation that the body remained after being killed. Unfortunately, in their desire to hear the details of the incident, the woman had lost memory of the incident due to shock.

"**Red Rain Villa Murder Case**" (紅雨荘 (べにさめそう) 殺人 (さつじん) 事件 (じけん) , *Benisame-sō Satsujin Jinken*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Shinchō*, October 2000 issue)

It was discovered that Shōko Ījima, the owner of "Red Rain Villa", which became famous for being used in a movie, was hanged after being strangled in another Red Rain Villa. Only Shōko lived in the original Red Rain Villa, and her three children lived in the movie version of it. In addition, Also, the puppeteer, who did not quite fit his sleigh since she was young, lived in the neighborhood and frequently went in and out of the movie version of Red Rain Villa. Of the four suspects, only the puppeteer denied the witness testimony that a perfect alibi could be obtained.

"**Screaming Castle Murder Case**" (紅雨荘 (ぜっきょうじょう) 殺人 (さつじん) 事件 (じけん) , *Zekkyō-jō Satsujin Jinken*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Shinchō*, September 2001 issue)

A series of murders that seemed to imitate the horror adventure game called *Screaming Castle* has occurred in Osaka, with four women as victims. From the piece of paper that the criminal deliberately left behind, the criminal is called "Night Prowler", a monster that appears in the game. Up to the third person, the method of killing was consistent, but only the fourth victim had escaped without seeing her killer, also being able to contact 110. Despite a quick response from the police, they were unable to find the Night Prowler. Also, a murder weapon was left on the fourth person's body, and a piece of paper with the words "Game Over" are found in her mouth. Did the same four characters appear in the game, and did Night Prowler stop the crime?

## Trivia

* According to the author's postscript, "Snow Flower Tower Murder Case" was based on an incident that actually occurred in real life.

## See Also

* "Screaming Castle Murder Case": The episode adaptation from the drama based on the eponymous short story from this collection.

## References

1. ↑ 作家アリスシリーズ — Wikipedia (Japanese)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 有栖川有栖「火村英生（作家アリス）シリーズ」『絶叫城殺人事件』あらすじとほんのりネタバレ感想 — I Want to Solve All Mysteries (Japanese)