I am not sure if this is the right sub, and if not, please do point me in the right direction.
Anyways, my question is what is the connection between Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre and Sherlock Holmes?
This has been used for a number of Sherlock Holmes radio and TV shows (Imagination Theater and the 1984 show starring Jeremy Brett an earlier radio show maybe, respectively) as well as Sherlock Holmes like shows such as Jonathan Creek. I am sure there are others as well.
Is it just using previous shows to build off of, or is there something deeper?
Sherlock Holmes played the violin. So it could be that encourages those finding background or theme music to choose music that features a soloist violin and Dance Macabre does just that.
However, the only reference as to exactly what he played is in "Study in Scarlet":
at my request he has played me some of Mendelssohn’s Lieder, and other favourites. When left to himself, however, he would seldom produce any music or attempt any recognized air.
No mention of Dance Macabre.
So my guess is just that a) Dance Macabre features a violin b) it is roughly contemporary with the Holmes stories (music published in 1874, first Holmes story 1887) c) it is of a chilling and sinister nature in line with the mood of the stories.
Apart from that though I see no other connection.