Nightmare Fuel / Encyclopedia Brown

• Unfortunate Implications: Lindylou Duckworth, a tough seventh-grade girl, punches a younger boy (Chauncy van Throckmorton) for sassing her during football practice and then drags him into the woods and makes him strip. He finally runs away when he's down to his underwear.
• The Wounded Gazelle Gambit that one woman pulled to act like she was robbed; as she describes it, a man climbed into her window and fired two shots that missed her and hit the wall before robbing her of the jewels that she borrowed. Even though Encyclopedia figured out that she was lying because she claimed that she didn't see him but screamed before the "robber" fired the shots, it's a small wonder that the police at first believe her story.
• During the Browns' trip to Texas, Encyclopedia hears several stories about the outlaws, including a man who was hung for lying about a gunfight, thus revealing he was part of a robber gang.
• "The Case of the Missing Watchgoose" has a moment when Candida's pet guard goose goes missing. She describes he was there one moment and then he wasn't in the next. Her reaction when she finds out two men killed her goose and ate him is a Tear Jerker.
• The Onion's satirical obituary on Encyclopedia Brown, where it vividly describes how he was beaten to death. Also Bugs Meany is police commissioner, and implied to be the murderer.
• Book 9 of the series, EB Shows the Way, has a couple of cases ("The Case of the Headless Runner" and "The Case of the Lady Ghost"), which are spooky and atmospheric, not much like the usual lighthearted EB fare.

---