Professor Moriarty’s chief of staff and the second most dangerous man in London. Primary antagonist of The Adventure of the Empty House (EMPT), the story of Holmes’s return.
Background
- Former officer of the 1st Bangalore Pioneers; served in India
- Described by Holmes as “the best heavy-game shot that our Indian Empire has ever produced”
- After Moriarty’s fall at the Reichenbach, Moran became the greatest remaining threat to Holmes’s life
Role in EMPT
With Moriarty dead, Moran has continued operating independently. He uses a specially constructed air-gun (built by Von Herder, a blind German mechanic) firing soft-nosed revolver bullets to attempt to shoot Holmes through the Baker Street window. Holmes anticipates this: he has Mrs. Hudson arrange a wax dummy of himself, seated in profile at the window, while he and Watson wait across the empty house opposite. Moran fires, shatters the dummy’s head, and is immediately arrested.
Significance
Moran is Holmes’s last mortal antagonist of the Moriarty era. His capture in EMPT closes the chapter opened by FINA — Holmes can now return openly to Baker Street without fear. Moran also demonstrates that Moriarty’s organisation did not die with Moriarty; lieutenants remained.