New "Black Stories" Crime Riddles

[Cassiebsg]

Did Harland do a hunger strike while in the dungeon?
Was he not feed on purpose?

[Mandle]

Case #64

Harland was a good man who was locked in a dungeon for a crime he didn't commit but got what he deserved.

YES
Is Harland still alive?
Is Harland human?
Is the dungeon a police jail?
Was he forced into the dungeon?
Was he locked in on purpose?
Is the dungeon real? (Not metaphorical or virtual/computerized.)
Was he released from the dungeon?
Was he compensated for his wrongful imprisonment? (Kind of)
Did he receive treatment for an illness after he was released?
Is Harland the forename?
Did he "get what he deserved" because he benefited from being in jail?
Was Harland a victim of a crime? (Technically, yes)
Did Harland get injured in the dungeon?
Was he the same form going into the dungeon as he was coming out?
Was he put in the dungeon to protect others?
Did Harland know that he was innocent?
Was Harland the victim of prejudice against some class that he belonged to?
Is his reward being healthy?
Was there a crime committed at all? (After reexamination of the wording, yes, but not by Harland)
Did Harland know that a crime had been committed? (Yes, but against him, not by him)
Is Harland a victim of police brutality? (If being dragged into a dungeon cell without having committed a crime is that then yes)
Is he hungry? (By the time he got out of the dungeon, yes)
Is the geographic location relevant?
Did something happen on the outside that caused his release? (Indirectly, though, but yes)
Was the crime Harland was a victim of simply being put in jail illegally?
Did something happen outside that he avoided because he was in jail? (I changed the word "escaped" here to "avoided" to avoid confusion with "escaped from jail")
Would what Harland was accused of be a crime in the UK today?
Was the jail Harland was put into on land and on Earth?
Was there a natural disaster outside?
Did the natural disaster also affect the dungeon ?
Have the disaster happened IRL? (Yes, this kind of disaster has happened in real life)
Are Harland's injuries caused by the natural disaster/the jail being damaged?
Did this happen in Asia?
Was he not fed on purpose?
Did this happen more than 100 years ago?



NO
Was Harland a masochist?
Did Harland commit a different crime than the one he got locked up for?
Did Harland get caught on purpose?
Did he walk into the dungeon by himself? (Not of his own free will)
Was he committing a crime  when he was locked in the dungeon?
Did Harland accidentally lock himself in the dungeon?
Did Harland deliberately lock himself in the dungeon?
Was he covering for the person who actually committed the crime?
Did he like being in the dungeon?
Is Harland still in the dungeon?
Was Harland taken for somebody else ?
Does Harland have a lookalike?
Was Harland sick?
Did he receive treatment for an illness while in captivity?
Did Harland provide a false confession?
Is Harland's profession of importance for the solution ?
Is Harland the surname?
Was Harland locked up to preserve evidence?
Had he eaten or ingested something of importance for the case?
Was the real criminal also arrested?
Was the real perpetrator known to Harland?
Was the real perpetrator related to Harland?
Was Harland tricked?
Did he get “what he deserved” because he had committed a separate criminal act?
Did he get “what he deserved” because he had done something stupid, rather than criminal?
Did the person who actually committed the crime get caught?
Did Harland help find the actual criminal?
Was Harland found at the scene of the crime?
Was Harland drunk?
Is the committed crime a murder?
Is the committed crime a burglary?
Was he compensated for his wrongful imprisonment in terms of money?
Was he put in the dungeon for his own protection?
Was he a werewolf?
Did Harland suffer from some unusual mental incapacity? (Such as amnesia, delusions, narcolepsy…)
Was Harland's imprisonment legal (according to the local laws)?
Was the crime Harland was suspected of supernatural in some way?
Was Harland in covid-19 Quarantine?
Was Harland bitten by a zombie?
Has Harland amputated any body parts while in the dungeon?
Was Harland suspected of being infected?
Is Harland black?
Is Harland homeless?
Is he hungry? (Not at the time of imprisonment, no)
Could he sue for wrongful imprisonment? (He could try I suppose, but not likely to get anything out of it)
Was Harland put in the dungeon for a crime he didn’t commit yet (as in, he was going to commit a crime but was locked up before he could commit it)?
Does he have multiple personalities?
Did Harland get attacked while in jail?
Was Harland released because he needed treatment? (No, he would have been released regardless)
Was it a long time after his imprisonment that Harland received his compensation?
Is Harland gay?
Was there anyone else in the dungeon with him?
Was the treatment he received after his release for starvation?
Did this happen in Europe?
Was there a plague outside?
Was the dungeon/jail destroyed? (Damaged but not destroyed)
Was there a change in political power outside? (Not in the way I'm assuming you mean. No coup or revolution.)
Was the natural disaster a flood?
Was the natural disaster a fire?
Was the natural disaster an earthquake?
Did the natural disaster open the dungeon for Harland to get out?
Does this story happen at present time?
Did this happen in the Americas?
Was Harland trying to alert someone of the incoming disaster?
Was the disaster a hurricane?
Did Harland get food and water while in jail?
Was the food nothing but bread?
Was he in jail for more than a week?
Did Harland do a hunger strike while in the dungeon?
Did this happen in Japan?
Was the natural disaster a tsunami?
Was the social class Harland belonged to western/caucasian?
Was Harland suspected of espionage?
Was Harland on a (voluntary) diet?
Is Harland's religious confession of importance ?
Are very low temperatures involved in the disaster?
Was Harland a soldier at that time?
Did this happen on the Asian continent?
Did this happen more than 1000 years ago?
Was the disaster weather-related?
Was the disaster caused by animals?
Was the disaster caused by some astronomic event?


IRRELEVANT / IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW

[heltenjon]

Did this happen in Japan?
Was the natural disaster a tsunami?
Was the social class Harland belonged to western/caucasian?
Was Harland suspected of espionage?
Did this happen more than 100 years ago?

[Ian Aloser]

Was Harland on a (voluntary) diet?
Is Harland's religious confession of importance ?
Are very low temperatures involved in the disaster?
Was Harland a soldier at that time?

[Mandle]

Answers updated above for brevity.

[Snarky]

Did this happen on the Asian continent?
Did this happen more than 1000 years ago?
Was the disaster weather-related?
Was the disaster caused by animals?
Was the disaster caused by some astronomic event?

[Mandle]

Updated above.

[Ian Aloser]

Was the disaster a volcanic eruption ?
Is Harland a celebrity ?

[Cassiebsg]

Did this happen more than 200 years ago?
Did Harland deserved to be free?

[Stupot]

Was the natural disaster a wildfire?
Was the natural disaster an avalanche?
Was the natural disaster a tornado?

Was Harland released from the dungeon by a human.
Was Harland released from the dungeon by the natural disaster.

[heltenjon]

Did this happen in Indonesia?
Did being in the dungeon save Harland's life?
Was he rescued by people looking for survivors? (Not released per se...)
Was the epicenter of the disaster far off?

[mkennedy]

Was the disaster an earthquake?
Was the jail on an island?

[Mandle]

Case #64

Harland was a good man who was locked in a dungeon for a crime he didn't commit but got what he deserved.

YES
Is Harland still alive?
Is Harland human?
Is the dungeon a police jail?
Was he forced into the dungeon?
Was he locked in on purpose?
Is the dungeon real? (Not metaphorical or virtual/computerized.)
Was he released from the dungeon?
Was he compensated for his wrongful imprisonment? (Kind of)
Did he receive treatment for an illness after he was released?
Is Harland the forename?
Did he "get what he deserved" because he benefited from being in jail?
Was Harland a victim of a crime? (Technically, yes)
Did Harland get injured in the dungeon?
Was he the same form going into the dungeon as he was coming out?
Was he put in the dungeon to protect others?
Did Harland know that he was innocent?
Was Harland the victim of prejudice against some class that he belonged to?
Is his reward being healthy?
Was there a crime committed at all? (After reexamination of the wording, yes, but not by Harland)
Did Harland know that a crime had been committed? (Yes, but against him, not by him)
Is Harland a victim of police brutality? (If being dragged into a dungeon cell without having committed a crime is that then yes)
Is he hungry? (By the time he got out of the dungeon, yes)
Is the geographic location relevant?
Did something happen on the outside that caused his release? (Indirectly, though, but yes)
Was the crime Harland was a victim of simply being put in jail illegally?
Did something happen outside that he avoided because he was in jail? (I changed the word "escaped" here to "avoided" to avoid confusion with "escaped from jail")
Would what Harland was accused of be a crime in the UK today?
Was the jail Harland was put into on land and on Earth?
Was there a natural disaster outside?
Did the natural disaster also affect the dungeon ?
Have the disaster happened IRL? (Yes, this kind of disaster has happened in real life)
Are Harland's injuries caused by the natural disaster/the jail being damaged?
Did this happen in Asia?
Was he not fed on purpose?
Did this happen more than 100 years ago?
Was the disaster a volcanic eruption ?
Is Harland a celebrity ? (He became one after this event, yes)
Did Harland deserved to be free? (As far as I can judge.)
Was Harland released from the dungeon by a human.
Did this happen in Indonesia? (Yes, lets go with that)
Did being in the dungeon save Harland's life?
Was he rescued by people looking for survivors?
Was the jail on an island?



NO
Was Harland a masochist?
Did Harland commit a different crime than the one he got locked up for?
Did Harland get caught on purpose?
Did he walk into the dungeon by himself? (Not of his own free will)
Was he committing a crime  when he was locked in the dungeon?
Did Harland accidentally lock himself in the dungeon?
Did Harland deliberately lock himself in the dungeon?
Was he covering for the person who actually committed the crime?
Did he like being in the dungeon?
Is Harland still in the dungeon?
Was Harland taken for somebody else ?
Does Harland have a lookalike?
Was Harland sick?
Did he receive treatment for an illness while in captivity?
Did Harland provide a false confession?
Is Harland's profession of importance for the solution ?
Is Harland the surname?
Was Harland locked up to preserve evidence?
Had he eaten or ingested something of importance for the case?
Was the real criminal also arrested?
Was the real perpetrator known to Harland?
Was the real perpetrator related to Harland?
Was Harland tricked?
Did he get “what he deserved” because he had committed a separate criminal act?
Did he get “what he deserved” because he had done something stupid, rather than criminal?
Did the person who actually committed the crime get caught?
Did Harland help find the actual criminal?
Was Harland found at the scene of the crime?
Was Harland drunk?
Is the committed crime a murder?
Is the committed crime a burglary?
Was he compensated for his wrongful imprisonment in terms of money?
Was he put in the dungeon for his own protection?
Was he a werewolf?
Did Harland suffer from some unusual mental incapacity? (Such as amnesia, delusions, narcolepsy…)
Was Harland's imprisonment legal (according to the local laws)?
Was the crime Harland was suspected of supernatural in some way?
Was Harland in covid-19 Quarantine?
Was Harland bitten by a zombie?
Has Harland amputated any body parts while in the dungeon?
Was Harland suspected of being infected?
Is Harland black?
Is Harland homeless?
Is he hungry? (Not at the time of imprisonment, no)
Could he sue for wrongful imprisonment? (He could try I suppose, but not likely to get anything out of it)
Was Harland put in the dungeon for a crime he didn’t commit yet (as in, he was going to commit a crime but was locked up before he could commit it)?
Does he have multiple personalities?
Did Harland get attacked while in jail?
Was Harland released because he needed treatment? (No, he would have been released regardless)
Was it a long time after his imprisonment that Harland received his compensation?
Is Harland gay?
Was there anyone else in the dungeon with him?
Was the treatment he received after his release for starvation?
Did this happen in Europe?
Was there a plague outside?
Was the dungeon/jail destroyed? (Damaged but not destroyed)
Was there a change in political power outside? (Not in the way I'm assuming you mean. No coup or revolution.)
Was the natural disaster a flood?
Was the natural disaster a fire?
Was the natural disaster an earthquake?
Did the natural disaster open the dungeon for Harland to get out?
Does this story happen at present time?
Did this happen in the Americas?
Was Harland trying to alert someone of the incoming disaster?
Was the disaster a hurricane?
Did Harland get food and water while in jail?
Was the food nothing but bread?
Was he in jail for more than a week?
Did Harland do a hunger strike while in the dungeon?
Did this happen in Japan?
Was the natural disaster a tsunami?
Was the social class Harland belonged to western/caucasian?
Was Harland suspected of espionage?
Was Harland on a (voluntary) diet?
Is Harland's religious confession of importance ?
Are very low temperatures involved in the disaster?
Was Harland a soldier at that time?
Did this happen on the Asian continent?
Did this happen more than 1000 years ago?
Was the disaster weather-related?
Was the disaster caused by animals?
Was the disaster caused by some astronomic event?
Did this happen more than 200 years ago?
Was the natural disaster a wildfire?
Was the natural disaster an avalanche?
Was the natural disaster a tornado?
Was Harland released from the dungeon by the natural disaster.
Was the epicenter of the disaster far off?


IRRELEVANT / IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW

[Mandle]

I think there's enough information now, and enough people who know what's going on, for someone to complete this round with a solution.

[Stupot]

Was Harland put in the dungeon specifically to save him from the volcanic eruption?

[Ian Aloser]

Has Harland's story been published in a book IRL, e.g. such as Robinson Crusoe ?

[heltenjon]

Harland was arrested on suspicion of something we don't know, because of prejudice against his social class or similar.

Other than that, I guess the rest of the solution is that the Krakatoa eruption happened, killing people outside and damaging the jail. Then Harland became a celebrity because he was rescued - a survivor near the volcano.

Edit: Was Harland or his class given the blame for the smoking volcano, then put in jail to prevent an eruption?
Was Harland a witch/witch doctor?
Was Harland a king or other ruler?

[Mandle]

Case #64

Harland was a good man who was locked in a dungeon for a crime he didn't commit but got what he deserved.

SOLVED!!!

Harland was arrested on suspicion of something we don't know, because of prejudice against his social class or similar.

Other than that, I guess the rest of the solution is that the Krakatoa eruption happened, killing people outside and damaging the jail. Then Harland became a celebrity because he was rescued - a survivor near the volcano.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

I based this case on the real life case of Ludger Sylbaris who was (he insisted) falsely accused of a crime and imprisoned in an underground dungeon cell just before a nearby volcano erupted, killing pretty much everyone else of the other 30,000+ population of the island.

Rescuers found him days later, burned and barely clinging to life, while sifting through the rubble and extracted him from the cell.

His imprisonment had saved his life.

He later became a celebrity touring with a major circus, displaying his burn wounds, hyped as the only man ever to survive a direct blast from a volcanic eruption.

I changed several key factors in the real-life story so the riddle would not be guessed too fast or be Googlable.

(The backstory I had in mind, which was reflected in a few of my answers but is a bit unimportant for the solution, was that "Harland" was a man of low birth who planned to elope with the Mayor's daughter but the corrupt Mayor made up a false criminal accusation and had him thrown in the dungeon.)

Over to whoever has a new one for us to have a go at!

[heltenjon]

Case #65

In the home of Barney and Greta we find two dead bodies and a note on the floor.
What happened here?

[Ian Aloser]

Are Barney and Greta still alive?
Are the dead bodies human?
Did either Barney or Greta write the note?