Who Is the REAL Black Hood in Riverdale? We've Got 7 Major Suspects

If you ask me, Ethel Muggs is a red herring, but we still have to discuss her as a possibility. The problem with Ethel is that she's so obvious. Ethel clearly wanted to play Carrie, and the Black Hood demands Carrie be recast. And yes, there are the magazine clippings in her trash. But would Ethel really kill Midge over something so simple? And would she really be such an obvious suspect if she was the real Black Hood?

There's a more important reason why she's on this list, though. We all know how hard things have been for the Muggs family. They lost everything because of the Lodges. Is it possible Ethel is working with her father to get revenge on everyone? Now that's a fun twist I'm more inclined to believe.

We can't make a Black Hood suspect without mentioning Riverdale's shadiest character, Chic Cooper. Chic has a dark and twisty past, he's murdered before, and it's not hard to see why the inhabitants of the town would be on his sh*t list. Chic also behaves rather strangely the night of the musical. He suspiciously pops up backstage to wish Betty luck, and when Midge's dead body is revealed, he remains eerily calm.

It's also worth noting that the murders stop right around the time Chic moves in with the Coopers. And now that he's out of the house, they've started back up again. On the other hand, Chic is such an obvious suspect. Would they really just wave him in our face like this?!

I'll be the first to admit that Moose isn't a super strong candidate, but there are a couple of worrying things in the musical episode. As you probably noticed, Moose is very upset just before the show starts. The easiest inference we can make is that Midge has been cheating on Moose with Fangs, and Moose has found out. Would that drive Moose to murder Midge? Slim chance, but it's a possibility. And he does look pretty heated backstage.

For this to work, Moose would have to be a new Black Hood, since he has previously been a victim on the masked madman. But, hey, never say never. Maybe Moose is taking a dark turn.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sheriff Keller has previously provided "alibis" for each of the attacks and now he's totally "innocent." Listen, I'm not buying it. If we return to the Black Hood's old logic, that Riverdale needs to be "cleansed" of its evil, Keller's role as sheriff would certainly line up. It would also explain one majorly contentious death: the shooting of Mr. Phillips in his jail cell.

I'm just saying, Keller definitely has the means to be the Black Hood, and he has a build similar to the villain. And didn't anyone else find it weird that he's backstage (without Kevin) on opening night?

Interestingly, very few fans have picked the mayor as a Black Hood suspect. Obviously, Mayor McCoy has the connections and the knowledge to pick off people who are causing problems in Riverdale. You could even argue that her moves come from alliances with other families. Perhaps the attack on Fred Andrews was her way of earning the favor of Hiram Lodge, a powerful businessman and crucial ally to have. And you could tie Moose and Midge and Mr. Phillips up in the Jingle Jangle industry, which is clearly a thorn in McCoy's side.

This solution would explain why McCoy's affair with Keller has gone completely unnoticed and unaddressed by the Black Hood, even though Keller and McCoy would surely be considered sinners. As for Miss Grundy? She could have tarnished Riverdale's reputation for good by sleeping with a student. What better way to punish her than to drop her ass in Greendale and then have her murdered?

All things considered, it would be pretty hard to explain Midge's murder, but McCoy could be cleaning up a previous mess. Obviously she's not the person behind the mask, but she's got that town money to help her get sh*t done.

Oh, Hiram Lodge. Obviously, as a sort of mob boss and former prison inmate, Hiram is a very obvious choice for the man behind the Black Hood. But there are a lot of reasons why he makes sense. First of all, he has the money and the connections to get this kind of inside information on the ins and outs of Riverdale. Obviously, the man behind the mask isn't Hiram himself; instead, it's likely a lackey or hitman he's hired as an associate.

It's hard to figure out why Hiram would pick the victims he has picked so far, but in terms of logistical work, he's a pretty strong suspect.

We obviously have to talk about Hal. Though he doesn't do anything particularly suspicious on the night of the show, he's always been a top suspect when it comes to the Black Hood. Hal has been a popular choice from the start, mostly because he has such a strong likeness to the man who shoots Fred Andrews at the end of season one.

When it comes to motive, it's a bit harder to pin down why Hal of all people would be doing this. But, hey, maybe that whole Chic thing really got under his skin. We're leaving him on the list for now.