The Murder That May Have Inspired Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde can be just a scary yarn about a monster or a deep philosophical exploration. Robert Louis Stevenson's tale looks at the duality of the psyche, the good and evil that reside together in one man. In the story, they came out at different times of the day, the kind and respectable Jekyll in daylight, and the murderous Hyde at night. A true case of murder may have been the inspiration for the story.

Stevenson had an acquaintance in Edinburgh, Scotland, that was a French teacher at an exclusive school. Eugène Chantrelle was a friendly fellow to those around, and obviously loved his children. But he abused his wife for years until she died under mysterious circumstances. The cause of her death was hard to determine as there were so many suspicious circumstances- was it the gas Chantrelle left on, the opiates found in his home, or the poison he hoarded? Read about Eugène Chantrelle and the split personality he displayed at CrimeReads. -via Damn Interesting