A Haunting of Venice: a Gothic horror, supernatural, Agatha Christie murder mystery which all becomes quite camp

Date

2023

Authors

Richards, S.

Editors

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Type:

Website

Citation

Statement of Responsibility

Conference Name

Abstract

Agatha Christie regularly drew upon the supernatural to generate a feeling of uncertainty. We – the audience, and the ensemble of characters – are given limited information regarding a murder. This uncertainty, ultimately, concerns the fear of death. Is something more sinister, dangerous and supernatural at play? Witches, seances and hauntings often appeared as devices in Christie’s writing to generate these macabre tones. A séance is faked in The Sittaford Mystery. A ghost supposedly haunts a house in Sleeping Murder. Witchcraft is a red herring in Murder is Easy, Endless Night and The Pale Horse. While these supernatural inclusions develop the mood of the story, the logic of the “whodunit” dictated these potentially supernatural elements were explained away as the workings of an individual trying to cover their crimes.

School/Discipline

Dissertation Note

Provenance

Description

Access Status

Rights

Copyright 2023 the author. This publication is available under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/)

License

Grant ID

Call number

Persistent link to this record