MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

In “The Adventure of the Empty House” (1903), Watson remarks, “It was indeed like old times when, at that hour, I found myself seated beside him [Holmes] in a hansom, my revolver in my pocket, and the thrill of adventure in my heart” (Conan Doyle 798). This sentence reflects the entire canon of Sherlock Holmes. “It was indeed like old times” winks at the reader, who waited ten years for a return of their favorite detective. The readers are once again transported; they are sitting beside Holmes in the hansom, revolver in hand, and the thrill of adventure in their hearts. It is as if they never left. Here, Watson stands in for the reader; he becomes a “fan character,” a character who reacts like fans would on popular television shows. Doctor Who’s Osgood, for example, dresses like previous regenerations of the Doctor, wheezing when the Doctor complements her outfit.

Like a video game, Watson is the player one avatar; readers view the virtual world of Sherlock Holmes’ London and 221B Baker Street through the eyes of the avatar, Watson. Michael Saler argues that Sherlock Holmes is the origin point of virtual reality as a method of re-enchanting a disenchanted modern world, opening a door to a further examination of Watson’s role in the creation of this virtual reality. Through exploration of “The Adventure of the Empty House,” and BBC’s Sherlock, this paper argues that Watson, through acting as a surrogate reader, and a so-called “fan character,” establishes the Sherlock Holmes stories as one of the first instances of what we now call virtual reality in order to explain present-day fan behaviors, fandom, and fan work.