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MysteryDetective & CrimePlot TwistSuspenseUnreliable Narrator
Red Herring
A red herring is a false clue or misleading element that diverts the audience's attention away from the real culprit or solution. While most popular in mysteries, it has been used in all sorts of genres to keep readers guessing and heighten suspense.
The name originates from 18th-19th century England, where smoked herrings (which turned red) were used to train hunting hounds by distracting them from the original scent.
Why It Works
- Engages the Audience: Audiences love piecing together clues and forming theories as the story progresses.
- Enhances Payoff: The reveal is satisfying when the audience realize both the truth and the red herring were supported all along — “oh that’s clever”
- Highlights the Theme: Can be used to highlight themes of perception vs. reality, prejudice or trust.
Red herrings succeed when the truth was always visible, but the audience was guided towards the wrong conclusion. The aim isn’t to trick the audience, but to make them realize they tricked themselves.
It is a risky device. Done well, audiences think: Of course—the answer was there all along. Done poorly, they feel cheated or manipulated.
Writing Tips
- Make it plausible: The herring must feel like a genuine possibility, with enough supporting evidence to make the audience buy in. Don’t throw in a random character two chapters before the reveal.
- Foreshadow Both Paths: Seed evidence for both the false trail and the truth. The red herring should feel airtight until the reveal, and once the truth comes out, the audience must be able to look back and see the real clues were there all along.
- Play on Bias: Lean on the audience’s assumptions to do the work for you.
Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban makes Sirius Black look guilty through both reputation and behavior throughout the book.
Careful fans will also recognize that the name “Sirius Black” first appeared in the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone →, when Hagrid rescued baby Harry from the wreckage of his home. By planting the name early and tying it to Harry’s parent’s deaths, J.K. Rowling primed the audience to believe Sirius was guilty long before the twist revealed otherwise.
In The Sixth Sense, audiences are led to believe Malcolm is a living psychologist helping Cole. Scenes are carefully framed so the “truth” (that he’s dead) is never contradicted, while the “false trail” (he’s alive) feels airtight. On rewatch, every clue for both paths is visible.
In Gone Girl, suspicious falls on Nick not just because of circumstantial clues, but because the cops, society— and audiences — are primed to assume a missing wife means a guilty husband. Amy weaponizes that prejudice, making the misdirection doubly convincing.
Examples in Action
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Knives Out
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Works Mentioned
- Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) Book / TV series (S7.E1)
- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) Book / Movie
- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) Book / Movie
- Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl (2012) Book / Movie
- M. Night Shyamalan (dir.), The Sixth Sense (1999)
- Rian Johnson (dir.), Knives Out (2019)
- Some links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which I reinvest into this project.
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