The Terror of Blue John Gap
"The Terror of Blue John Gap" is a short story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in "Strand Magazine" in 1910. The story comprises the adventures of a British doctor, recovering from tuberculosis, who goes to stay at a Derbyshire farm looking for rest and relaxation, becomes entrapped in a series of sinister events, and is forced to uncover the mysteries surrounding "Blue John Gap" and the "Terror" that lurks within it. Plot summary. Dr James Hardcastle, who is convalescing in a Derbyshire farm, discovers Blue John Gap, a Roman  Derbyshire Blue John mine. He begins to investigate the mine and the extensive underground formations to which it connects, despite the warnings of a local farmer who claims it contains a monster that has been stealing his sheep. Hardcastle hears a large creature moving in the cave, and uncovers more evidence that it has been preying on local sheep. He determines to face it alone, as the colleagues whom he asked for help dismissed his claims as madness. He manages to wound the creature, and is badly hurt himself doing so. The local people, who believe Hardcastle, seal the mine  after the creature has returned to it. Hardcastle dies from trauma, leaving a description of his experience to try to convince his London colleagues. Themes. One of the central themes of "The Terror of Blue John Gap" is Hardcastle's difficulty in getting the world to believe him. This theme is mirrored with Conan Doyle's other character, Professor Challenger's struggles to get the world to believe the truth of his adventures in "The Lost World" (the creature in "The Terror of Blue John Gap" is a prehistoric survivor like the creatures in "The Lost World"). It also echoes  Conan Doyle's career as a campaigner for various causes such as the atrocities in the Congo and spiritualism where he was met with denial in the former case and doubt in the latter. In that respect Philip Gooden theorises that Dr James Hardcastle, and Professor Challenger, who boldly prove the scientific community wrong, may have been a wish fulfillment on Doyle's part.