Saturday, October 20, 2018

riddle - The Case of the Missing Kitten (Part 1)


You wake up at 6:30 AM to a knock on your door. By the time you get dressed and answer the door, you can see (in your motion-activated lawn lighting) a person riding away on his (or her) motorcycle. At your feet is a slip of paper. You pick it up, and it reads:





We have your cat. Your precious Geronimo. Answer this riddle within the fortnight, and you'll get him back (for a fee, of course. I mean, what type of kidnappers would we be if we gave you your cat without charge?)


Who am I?



Some say I'm quite insane.
I blame it on the heights.


Take a ride on the Phoenix-Durango.
Chances are you'll know no-one when you go.


Don't look out the back.
Do you really know what hides in dark corners?


Follow the V-formation,

Stop at the top of the mountain.


If you pick up the phone, press 6.
Maybe you'll reach "Bush Sandwich" Hill.


Let's hope you've got just enough ignorance; nobody likes a know-it-all.
Otherwise, look forward to some road bumps in your progress; maybe a couple pitfalls?



Love, Al.


Hint #1:



Only the text below the question ("Who am I?"), any postscripts to the letter, and hints are relative to the answer. Anything else is just flavor.




Hint #2:



My mistake. The answer is actually a "Who", so the question was originally misleading. I have rephrased it to fit.



Hint #3:



Stanzas are only divided into lines of two for aesthetic purposes, with the exception of the second stanza. Each line of each stanza (other than the second) has its own, separate meaning from the other line in that stanza.



Hint #4:




Each clue is related to the Who in the same way (obviously). More specifically, each clue can be connected to the Who by the same logic. I hope I'm directing you well with these hints. Furthermore, each clue is completely different from the rest, and is concrete. It will have a very specific link to the solution.




Answer



The who is



Alfred Hitchcock



Not got all the links but here are a few:


Some say I'm quite insane.




Psycho



I blame it on the heights.



Vertigo



Don't look out the back.



Rear Window

You'd need a rear window in order to look out the back; I think this works as a fairly straight clue to the film as well.



Follow the V-formation,



The Birds
Some migratory birds fly in a V-formation, particularly geese. This initially made me think of Top Gun, which got me the film link.



If you pick up the phone, press 6.



Dial M for Murder

M being one of the letters for number 6 (MNO) on old phones.



Let's hope you've got just enough ignorance; nobody likes a know-it-all.



The Man Who Knew Too Much



edit


After a little research:


Take a ride on the Phoenix-Durango. Chances are you'll know no-one when you go.




Strangers on a Train
The Phoenix-Durango is a train line in Atlas Shrugged, it would appear.
Obviously if you know no-one, it's because everyone is a stranger.



Do you really know what hides in dark corners?



Shadow of a Doubt



And some guesses and the remaining ones.


Maybe you'll reach "Bush Sandwich" Hill




Secret Agent?
Following Going hamateur's reading of this as Clinton Hill, and with a little work on Wikipedia, I turned up Clinton "Clint" Hill, a secret service agent.



Otherwise, look forward to some road bumps in your progress; maybe a couple pitfalls?



Sabotage?
A bit of a guess, but if I saw that my path ahead had lots of holes dug in it, I might suspect sabotage.



Stop at the top of the mountain




Downhill?
Really stretching here, but if you're at the peak of a mountain, you can only go downhill.



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