History Mystery Introduction

Needs to include:
1. an interesting lead
2. background on your topic
What do we need to know about your
topic before we can learn about the mystery?
(location, time period, people involved, why
its a mystery, etc.)
3. a transition sentence into your body
paragraphs

Example Introductions

A.
In 1920 a series of astounding photos captured the attention of the world
(Cottingley). The photos had been taken by two young girls, the cousins Frances
Griffith and Elsie Wright, while playing in the garden of Elsie's Cottingley village home,
in West Yorkshire (Fairies). Spiritualists promoted them as proof of supernatural
creatures, and despite criticism by skeptics, the pictures became among the most
widely recognized photos in the world (Cottingley). Did the pictures prove the
existence of fairies or were they faked?
 B.

In November of 1922 a miraculous discovery was made (Tomb of
King). After searching for thirty-one years, Archeologist Howard
Carter had finally found the tomb of King Tutankhamun (Tomb of
King). It wasnt until much excavating and three years later, that the
tomb was finally opened, and Carter (and the world) got their first
glimpse of Tutankhamun (Story). What they found while examining
the tomb was remarkable. They uncovered the tomb's greatest
treasurea stone sarcophagus containing a solid-gold coffin that
contained the remains of the boy-king (Story). King Tuts tomb and
the riches it contained would fuel a worldwide obsession with ancient
Egypt in general and the long-dead ruler, who reigned for just one
decade some 3,300 years ago (Story). Tut died at the early age of
nineteen.; he did not live long enough to produce any living heirs (Tut).
Since the day his tomb was opened, the world has wondered why King
Tut died so young. In order to understand King Tuts death, we must
first look at his life.

C.
"Death will come on swift pinions to those who disturb the
rest of the Pharaoh" (Egypt). The curse of the mummy began
when many terrible events occurred after the discovery of King
Tut's tomb (Egypt). Legend has it that anyone who dared to
open the tomb would suffer the wrath of the mummy
(Mummy). Because mummies have been associated with many
magical powers throughout history, some of the mummies found
from Egypt were ground into a fine powder and sold as mystical
mummy powder (Mummy). It's believed the powder had
magical healing powers, and it wasn't until the discovery of King
Tut and the hype of the media that things would change forever.
 D.
The date is September 5, 1922, and Mrs. Sarah L. Winchester had just died
of heart failure at the age of 82 ("Sarah"). Sarah Winchester is the creator
of one of the world's biggest mysteries-- the Winchester House (Kissell).
The house has many mysteries, but one of the biggest is why she even
decided to build this enormous house. Why did she do it? Was she crazy?
Possessed? Or just plain weird?

Wait, What?

Sarah and her husband William were a part of the Winchester Rifle
Company, a gun company that is still around today (Kissell; Sarah). When
both William and their child Annie died, Sarah fell into a deep depression
("Sarah"). So, Sarah Winchester went to a medium (someone like a psychic,
someone who can talk to the dead), and the medium told her that she was
being haunted by every person the Winchester guns killed, and the only way
to make them happy was to build a house for them ("Sarah"). According to
the psychic, if she continued to build the house, she would live forever
("Sarah").

Background Leads
Good Example: Most owners of haunted houses want to rid their homes of spirits, but
Sarah
Winchester wasnt like most people (Herman).

Bad Example: Have you ever wondered about history's mysteries? Well, Im here to tell you
about
the Mary Celeste.

Bad Example: The Winchester Mystery Mansion was named after Sarah L. Winchester (Brand).

Good Example: Get your life jacket on, and come along on an adventure of a lifetime! or An
enormous vessel, a distinguished crew, two massive waves, and a tale that ends in tragedy
(Shold).

Good or Bad Example: All that glitters is not necessarily golden. Learn the tragic tale about
one of the largest treasures in European history and about the
mystery
that surrounds it.
Good or Bad Example: Imagine a beast living for over 1500 years (Emerson)!

Good or Bad Example: The lost colony of Roanoke is only three miles wide and is on the east
coast of North Carolina (All About Roanoke).

Good or Bad Example: The mystery that surrounds Atlantis is long and complicated.

Good or Bad Example: CROATOAN, the word has sparked many debates and discussions over
the years. But what does it mean and could it be the key to solving a
424 year-old mystery (Looking for Roanoke)?
Works with three to five authors. Include all names in the first in-text parenthetical
citation, separated by commas and then an ampersand (&). For all subsequent in-text
parenthetical citations, include only the first author, followed by et al. and
publication year if it is the first citation in a paragraph.