Captain James Calhoun is a major antagonist in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, being the unseen main antagonist of the fifth short story, The Five Orange Pips. He is a KKK member who targeted the Openshaw family to ensure the evidence of its wrongdoings were wiped out.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close To Being Pure Evil?[]
- According to Holmes, he must have been an active member of the KKK for years, and was quite devoted and competent at carrying out its atrocities.
- He was undoubtedly racist, probably participating in many hate crimes against African-Americans and it's very likely he assassinated other people before the Openshaw family, considering how skilled he had become at it.
- Given that the KKK dissolved in 1869 yet he was still an active member by 1887, it's very likely he tried to revive it several times.
- He sent the signature orange pips to Elias Openshaw's house, causing him to spend the rest of his life in immense fear.
- He and his two cronies drowned Elias in a shallow pool from his very own garden, making it look like a suicide. While Elias definitely deserved to die for being an important member of the KKK, James killed him just to get revenge for stealing the organisation's papers.
- Two years later, they sent the orange pips to Joseph Openshaw, commanding him to "put the papers on the sundial". As he didn't understand, they cornered him while he was walking home a few days later and threw him down a chalk-pit, shattering his skull open.
- Two more years later, they sent the pips to John Openshaw, and as he was walking to Waterloo Station, they managed to force him to the Embankment and throw him overboard, causing him to drown in the heavy storm.
- Sherlock Holmes was depressed, crestfallen and infuriated by the death of John, swearing to get vengeance on them all and especially James. Thus, he has personal villainy towards Holmes as well.
- While he tried to destroy the evidence of the KKK's wrongdoings, it's clearly not out of any care for his fellow members and just so that racists like him continue to have impunity.
- While the Heinous Standards for evil organisations in Sherlock Holmes are quite high, James stands out for being one of the very few KKK members remaining, thus having very few resources compared to other organisations. He is also the leader of the gang of the three members who murdered the Openshaws.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Evil?[]
- He is very insufficiently characterized, due to never actually physically appearing in the story and having no lines, thus his personality is a complete unknown. However, he has a clear motive of racism and making sure the atrocities of the KKK are forgotten.