The extraordinary resurgence of Jules Verne - Science Fiction and Fantasy - Salon.com: And with some justification, since this book is an illuminating rarity among Verne's output, a Gothic-steeped romance whose scientific aspects are kept hidden till the climax. And so, yes, we have here Verne's very own pioneering entry in what the invaluable TV Tropes website identifies as the "Scooby Doo Hoax" mode of storytelling: "The characters investigate a site with reported paranormal activity. By the end of the episode, they discover that the supposed supernatural activity is nothing but an elaborate hoax taking advantage of local lore to frighten off the curious from discovering and interfering with their main criminal activity." Verne's villain even manages to satisfy the "You Meddling Kids" trope well known to fans of Scooby and Shaggy's adventures: "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"
The theme of a superior outside power deranging the isolation of an obsolescent backward enclave is prime SF matter — see Samuel R. Delany's archetypal "We, in Some Strange Power's Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line."
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