Now, although the roots of the mystery story in serious literature go back as far as Balzac, Dickens, and Poe, it was not until the closing decades of the 19th century that the private detective became an established figure in popular fiction.

The Harrowing of hell, combined with the theme of Christ's ascension into heaven, became a favourite motif in medieval art and drama and led to the three tiers of the mystery plays.

Throughout the Greco-Roman world, the cult of Isis became one of the most significant of the mystery religions, and many classical writers refer to her temples, cults, and rites.

It became a catch phrase, often used humorously for Yankees visiting the South, as in the mystery novel, Death of a Damn Yankee: A Laura Fleming Mystery ( 2001 ) by Toni Kelner.

In the Alexandrian and Roman renewed vogue for mystery cults at the turn of the millennium — mystery cults had already existed for almost a millennium — the worship of Horus became widely extended, linked with Isis ( his mother ) and Serapis ( Osiris, his father ).

His first writing success came in 1902 when the Brantford Courier accepted a mystery story from him, and he became a reporter there ( for five dollars a week ).

Double-O Duck became a separate character to Launchpad ( who was kept as the sidekick ) and made into an egotist ' man of mystery ' and given an array of duck-headed vehicles after Batman and a motorcycle based on Judge Dredd's Lawmaster bike.

In 1912, the question of election became a hurdle to uniting three American Lutheran denominations ; the Madison Settlement by which the union was effected declared the question of election to be a mystery that should not be resolved " either in a synergizing or a Calvinizing manner, in other words, reject every doctrine which either on the one hand would deprive God of His glory as only Savior or on the other hand would weaken man's sense of responsibility in relation to the acceptance or rejection of grace.

While studying the works of the contemporaneous climatologist Julius von Hann, Milanković noticed a significant issue, which became one of the major objects of his scientific research: a mystery ice age.

What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery.

The Queen novels are examples of the classic " fair play ", whodunit mystery, textbook examples of what became known as the " Golden Age " of the mystery novel.

As the series entered the middle of the decade, it remained a Sunday night staple and eventually became the longest-running mystery series in television history.

In time, he became an orchestra-leading pianist in his own right, as well as the author of a series of mystery novels, a presence in high society ( into which his mother had been born ), and a frequent entertainer ( as well as musical director for U. S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's inauguration ) at the White House and on television.

After he reached his 50th year, his methods changed to focus on breadth of tone and an approach to poetic power conveyed with thicker application of paint ; and about 20 years later, from about 1865 onwards, his manner of painting became full of mystery and poetry, created with a more impressionistic touch.

While stone tools were abandoned in the metal ages, the origins of stone-weapons became a mystery.

His films include, the psycho-thriller Sisters ( 1973 ), a film about dual personalities and with music from Hitchcock's frequent and favorite collaborator, composer Bernard Herrmann, Obsession ( 1976 ) which was somewhat inspired by Vertigo, Dressed to Kill ( 1980 ), the assassination thriller Blow Out ( 1981 ) told about a sound-effects man who witnessed the ' accidental ' killing of the governor and the erotic Body Double ( 1984 ) which was about a struggling B-movie actor who became involved in a tale of intrigue and mystery involving his erotic next-door ' body double ' neighbor.

In the 4th century, this uniqueness of the circumstances related to the Nativity of Jesus, and their interplay with the mystery of the incarnation became a central element in both the theology and hymnody of Saint Ephrem the Syrian.

During the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire, exotic mystery religions became widespread, not only in Greece, but all across the empire.

The only widespread religious writing that was not produced by clerics were the mystery plays: growing out of simple tableaux re-enactments of a single Biblical scene, each mystery play became its village's expression of the key events in the Bible.

It eventually became the best selling mystery novel of the Victorian era, John Sutherland terming it the " most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century ".

At first it was a mystery to the villagers living outside of Camelot, Tir na nog, and Jordheim, but in time it became apparent: the Dragons were on the move.

In the four centuries since their disappearance, the Roanoke colonists have been the subject of a mystery that still challenges historians and archaeologists as one of America's oldest.

Speculation on the subject has given rise to the " Princes in the Tower " mystery.

* John Dickson Carr's The Hollow Man ( 1935, U. S. title The Three Coffins ), usually considered the quintessential locked-room mystery, replete with a tongue-in-cheek philosophical disquisition on the subject by the detective, Dr. Gideon Fell

Over a decade later, the Money Pit mystery was the subject of an episode of the television series In Search of ..., which first aired January 18, 1979, bringing the legend of Oak Island to a wider audience.

The Money Pit mystery was the subject of a January 18, 1979, episode of the television series In Search of ....

When art critic Franz Roh applied the term magic realism to visual art in 1925, he was designating a style of visual art that brings extreme realism to the depiction of mundane subject matter, revealing an " interior " mystery, rather than imposing external, overtly magical features onto this everyday reality.

In the 2009 film, the mystery regarding Uhura's first name is the subject of a running joke as Kirk repeatedly tries to find out what it is, before finally hearing Spock utter it.

In Watt's transcript of the sermon, Young said he intended to discuss " who it was that begat the Son of the Virgin Mary ", a subject which he said " has remained a mystery in this kingdom up to this day ".

The subject is an illusive one that has been approached tentatively through the centuries -- the mystery of the holy grail ... Occasional pandering to modern taste weakens the fundamental values, perhaps, but insures the larger market.

The death of Duke Humphrey is the subject of a 2003 mystery novel The Bastard's Tale, by Margaret Frazer.

This is one of them. In 1911, the Italian playwright Gabriele d ' Annunzio in conjunction with Claude Debussy produced a mystery play on the subject.

The first section ( pp. 4-43 ) describes the ascent of Christ through the different regions of the spirit-world, from the earth through the way of the midst, and through the various provinces of the Kerasmos, up to the 13th Aeon, in order to accomplish the diakonia entrusted to Him by the first mystery, and subject all the Archontes to His dominion.

Christie herself became the subject of a mystery film in 1979's Agatha starring Vanessa Redgrave.

On radio, the subject to be guessed was revealed to the audience by a " mystery voice " ( originally Norman Hackforth from 1947-1962 ; he was later a regular panelist ).

According to creator Reginald Rose, " the law is the subject of our programs: not crime, not mystery, not the courtroom for its own sake.

Richard Pankhurst summarized the state of knowledge on the subject in 1992 as follows: " The early origins of the Falashas are shrouded in mystery, and, for lack of documentation, will probably remain so for ever.

Although a detective / murder mystery novel at first glance, Rising Sun deals with the controversial subject of Japanese-American relations, and questions the premise that foreign direct investment in the high-technology sectors of the United States is beneficial.

Just before the " mystery voice " tells the listeners the title of the subject, Humph usually announces that the team to perform it and the audience are being shown it on the " laser display screen " ( sometimes described in more elaborate terms ).

To solve the mystery once and for all, they take Hoag to their office and subject him to questioning under drugs.

This is a mystery that we can now subject to scientific study.

The subject matter was always adventure, whether western, horror, mystery or science fiction.

The murders have proven to be a popular subject in the Finnish media and commonly return to the headlines whenever new information or theories surface, but the case is still unsolved and will probably remain a mystery.

MacGyver's first name remained a mystery until the third season ; whenever he is asked about it, he says he dislikes his first name and quickly changes the subject.

The Poe Toaster is the subject of numerous non-fiction occult treatises, most notably Curt Rowlett's " Labyrinth 13: True Tales of the Occult " wherein a chapter is dedicated to the Poe Toaster mystery.