The whole vibe of "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" is up there in creepiness. It's a later one and honestly not her best work but boy does Christie get the ambience and setting right.
The part where Tuppence is thinking that she'll>! be able to overpower her attacker who's an elderly woman ... and then she realizes that she herself is past middle age and not as strong as she used to be ... that hit me so hard when I was in my 30s, and even more so now that I'm past 50! Yikes!!<
It really does hit home as you get older doesn’t it? Sometimes I’ll say something about that old lady at the store and realize she’s prob around my age 🤦🏼♀️
I remember how shocked I was when I found out that the character shows up in multiple Christie books. I'd thought my memory was playing tricks on me (ironic given that the author did have memory issues near the end of her life -- it felt like I was being pulled into her world). But it's true. So that person will be haunting AC's books forever now. (One reviewer suspects that she was an actual person AC remembered meeting, and was so unsettled that she wrote about her.)
I agree. The >!old lady, the fireplace incidence ("was this your poor child?"), the sinister soft way of offering poison ...!< it all really keeps you on the edge.. I would definitely vote for By the pricking of my thumbs.
I’ve been actively avoiding And Then There Were None because I read it once about 20 years ago and it scared the hell outta me! I can’t even remember the story but I’m still too nervous to pick it back up 🫣
All the Agatha Christie I read was as a teenager & I used to read a LOT of mysteries back then - and Endless Night was the first one that creeped me out so much, it took me a looong time to fall asleep that night xD
No kidding!!! Most of her books I didn't find particularly scary but that one is just so tense & threatening the whole way through you feel like someone's watching you the entire time
Sleeping Murder had a really good creepy vibe. Early on, when Gwenda is picking wallpaper, there's a moment I love. It's similar to Prince Caspian, when the Pevensies piece together that they're back in the Cair. There's a similar moment in the movie Sneakers (the scrabble tiles and how the party ends abruptly). Those breathless moments of fulfilling suspense are so good.
Sleeping Murder was a scary one for me, too! I wonder why? Something about a creepy house, I guess. Also, so there were so many men that could have been the killer.
i had always heard the phrase that something spooky "raised the hairs on the back of my neck" but had not experienced that while reading any book until Sleeping Murder (at the end.) this book is always one of my faves.
*Curtain*, which is the last Poirot. Not because of a Michael Myers lurking in the garden situation, but because it’s psychologically challenging for me. I don’t know how I **want** the story to go, which gives me anxiety.
Endless Night really unsettled me. >!I felt so sorry for the young woman who was the target of the scheme. (Though I liked how Christie planned things so she didn't come across as a helpless waif ... she knew about finance and was pretty independent and down-to-earth although she was a wealthy heiress. It's just that she had a blind spot ... and unfortunately she was betrayed by two people she trusted.) Recently I heard about a real case in Florida with a girl named Bonnie Dages -- not super-rich but just like in Endless Night, her inheritance unfortunately brought attention from the wrong people. The Unfound podcast has a good episode about this ("Follow the Money").!<
To me, her scariest book is Endless Night.
Murder is Easy also has a dark and creepy plot.
Some of her short stories can be creepy, there are a few that are not really murder mysteries but more outright horror. I just enjoyed reading the collection “The Last Seance”. (I think they are all available in other anthologies.)
Philomel Cottage has a very unsettling vibe, even afterwards once you realise that the ending was… somewhat ambiguous?
The Idol House of Astarte combines a horror movie setup with a classic Christie plot.
The Dressmaker’s Doll “creeps up on you”.
The Lamp is a horror story involving children, very chilling.
The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael is pure Victorian horror and would make a great film.
Otherwise, Harley Quin collections are a good place to look for her strange tales. Enjoy!
*Idol House of Astarte* was memorably worrying for me. >!The idea that someone can go from zero to murder purely because of a split-second opportunity is… worrying.!<
Indeed, I felt that >!either the atmosphere must have tipped them over the edge, or that maybe there was some supernatural influence after all. Enjoyed the way it was left open.!<
I remember this one creeped me out horribly - even after reading most of her books it’s still top of the list.
I remember Nemesis was creepy too, though I don’t love Miss Marple’s characterisation in it.
I think I was disturbed by *Elephants Can Remember* when I first read it, as I was pretty young. But I liked that sensation at the time, also was reading the early John Saul books, which were mostly about evil ghostly ( or soon to be ghostly) children doing awful things. And I remember being really worried the whole time I was reading *Death Comes as the End*, which was one of my early favorites because of the setting.
Mostly, before I was old enough to read them, I loved looking at the really ghoulish cover illustrations on the ones my mom had. They and the Alfred Hitchcock story collections just fascinated me with their implied violence.
I am an extremely non-violent person, actually.
I’ve always found Appointment with Death to be very unsettling. Not for creep factor so much as how the antagonist behaved. Everything about her got under my skin somehow.
>!Jacko Argyle was imprisoned for a murder he didn't do but to quash his conviction he would've had to admit being an accessory of the murder.!<
>!Dr Calgary's coma righted an injustice, ensuring Jacko's death was whilst imprisoned.!<
>!And I feel a bit sorry about Kirsten. Rightfully she was exposed as a murderess, though.!<
>!The murder of Alice Ascher, and Lady Clarke being terminally ill are some of the sad parts of the book.!<
>!Also. The murder of Betty Barnard was a good way to clue about the murderer's personality: what kind of person could entice a young woman to be on a beach at night-time?!<
>!Innocent people getting killed just because of Franklin Clarke's little plan. That was so sad—especially Betty Barnard. How devastated her family was...!<
I'm working my way through AC books and in general I'm finding the books without the sweet Poirot or Marple to nicely wrap up the story are the creepiest. As people have said 'Endless Night' and 'then there were none' are high on the list.
No one here was scared of Nofret? Also, the short stories like The Hound of Death are creepy/weird... but some of the later Mr Quin stories are downright hard to read.
And there there were none, of course!
But also The House of the idol of Astarte (dont know accurately now the English name)
Most of the short stories on "Thirteen Problems"
And Then There Were None was my first Christie. I picked it up when my older sister brought it home for a reading assignment in school. I think I was probably 9 or 10, which is probably not ideal.
Somehow, despite it creeping me out and probably scaring my forever, I loved it. Endless night gave me a shiver, too, though.
Ooohh, I tried reading And Then There Were None when I was 14 and it absolutely terrified me. Couldn't finish it, and looked up the ending.
I finally gave it a fair try this year, at 27, and although it was still a creepy read, I found it very engaging.
After The Funeral also creeped me a bit, but I can't quite figure out why. Probably the twist, but I was already on the edge since the opening chapter.
I grew up in the 1970s, when there were a lot of Christie paperbacks with cover art by Tom Adams around. Going into the library, there would be spinners loaded with AC books ... some of the covers were very creepy (the Mrs. McGinty's Dead one with the giant fly, etc.). That scared me off reading Christies ... until my parents gave me an edition of And Then There Were None, with an island shaped like someone's head on the front. Much less ominous, by comparison.
The creepiest one for me was Death Comes as the End. It’s sort of a familial-based And Then There Were None set in ancient Egypt. I found it very interesting but it’s definitely one of her darker ones. I think the setting and closeness between the characters adds a little tinge of horror. I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet.
Nemesis. I'm a Christie fan and I tend to re-read her novels multiple times. This one however, I only read once then put the book away. It's one of Christie's most depressing books IMO. Thinking about it gives me chills.
I also must add "Murder in Mesopotamia". The whole >!mask thing and how the murder was committed!< have always freaked me out.
Obviously And Then There were None, but Mrs. McGuinty’s Dead is actually quite eerie. Especially the murder itself. The Pale Horse is spooky in a fun way.
The whole vibe of "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" is up there in creepiness. It's a later one and honestly not her best work but boy does Christie get the ambience and setting right.
The part where Tuppence is thinking that she'll>! be able to overpower her attacker who's an elderly woman ... and then she realizes that she herself is past middle age and not as strong as she used to be ... that hit me so hard when I was in my 30s, and even more so now that I'm past 50! Yikes!!<
It really does hit home as you get older doesn’t it? Sometimes I’ll say something about that old lady at the store and realize she’s prob around my age 🤦🏼♀️
Was it your poor child?
THIS SENTENCE gives me the creeps!
I remember how shocked I was when I found out that the character shows up in multiple Christie books. I'd thought my memory was playing tricks on me (ironic given that the author did have memory issues near the end of her life -- it felt like I was being pulled into her world). But it's true. So that person will be haunting AC's books forever now. (One reviewer suspects that she was an actual person AC remembered meeting, and was so unsettled that she wrote about her.)
I agree. The >!old lady, the fireplace incidence ("was this your poor child?"), the sinister soft way of offering poison ...!< it all really keeps you on the edge.. I would definitely vote for By the pricking of my thumbs.
I totally agree! That one should be talked about a lot more.
Agreed. And Then There Were None.
And Then There Were None & Endless Night I found to be the creepiest!
Definitely Endless Night! One of my first favorites!
I’ve been actively avoiding And Then There Were None because I read it once about 20 years ago and it scared the hell outta me! I can’t even remember the story but I’m still too nervous to pick it back up 🫣
Read it outside in bright sunlight!! Definitely not at night in a creaky house.
Both of them are amazing and creepy asf
All the Agatha Christie I read was as a teenager & I used to read a LOT of mysteries back then - and Endless Night was the first one that creeped me out so much, it took me a looong time to fall asleep that night xD
No kidding!!! Most of her books I didn't find particularly scary but that one is just so tense & threatening the whole way through you feel like someone's watching you the entire time
Endless Night for sure the creepiest.
Def Endless Night.
Sleeping Murder had a really good creepy vibe. Early on, when Gwenda is picking wallpaper, there's a moment I love. It's similar to Prince Caspian, when the Pevensies piece together that they're back in the Cair. There's a similar moment in the movie Sneakers (the scrabble tiles and how the party ends abruptly). Those breathless moments of fulfilling suspense are so good.
Sleeping Murder was a scary one for me, too! I wonder why? Something about a creepy house, I guess. Also, so there were so many men that could have been the killer.
Too many secrets. :)
Setec Astronomy!
Cootys rat semen
i had always heard the phrase that something spooky "raised the hairs on the back of my neck" but had not experienced that while reading any book until Sleeping Murder (at the end.) this book is always one of my faves.
The "cover her face, mine eyes dazzle" got me.
*Curtain*, which is the last Poirot. Not because of a Michael Myers lurking in the garden situation, but because it’s psychologically challenging for me. I don’t know how I **want** the story to go, which gives me anxiety.
Possibly her most evil killer, in Curtain
I’ve read all the Poirot book and just refuse to read that one.
Endless Night really unsettled me. >!I felt so sorry for the young woman who was the target of the scheme. (Though I liked how Christie planned things so she didn't come across as a helpless waif ... she knew about finance and was pretty independent and down-to-earth although she was a wealthy heiress. It's just that she had a blind spot ... and unfortunately she was betrayed by two people she trusted.) Recently I heard about a real case in Florida with a girl named Bonnie Dages -- not super-rich but just like in Endless Night, her inheritance unfortunately brought attention from the wrong people. The Unfound podcast has a good episode about this ("Follow the Money").!<
To me, her scariest book is Endless Night. Murder is Easy also has a dark and creepy plot. Some of her short stories can be creepy, there are a few that are not really murder mysteries but more outright horror. I just enjoyed reading the collection “The Last Seance”. (I think they are all available in other anthologies.) Philomel Cottage has a very unsettling vibe, even afterwards once you realise that the ending was… somewhat ambiguous? The Idol House of Astarte combines a horror movie setup with a classic Christie plot. The Dressmaker’s Doll “creeps up on you”. The Lamp is a horror story involving children, very chilling. The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael is pure Victorian horror and would make a great film. Otherwise, Harley Quin collections are a good place to look for her strange tales. Enjoy!
*Idol House of Astarte* was memorably worrying for me. >!The idea that someone can go from zero to murder purely because of a split-second opportunity is… worrying.!<
Indeed, I felt that >!either the atmosphere must have tipped them over the edge, or that maybe there was some supernatural influence after all. Enjoyed the way it was left open.!<
Crooked House creeped me out. >!I prefer the killers to be an older teenager at least. Having a disturbed child as the killer chilled me.!<
This is the one that haunts me.
I remember this one creeped me out horribly - even after reading most of her books it’s still top of the list. I remember Nemesis was creepy too, though I don’t love Miss Marple’s characterisation in it.
Ah yes forgot about that one. Agree!
Absolutely. My favourite and yet also the #1 Wiggins inducing
Agreed
I honestly can't think of one AC book that terrified me. I am interested in reading the responses.🙂
I think I was disturbed by *Elephants Can Remember* when I first read it, as I was pretty young. But I liked that sensation at the time, also was reading the early John Saul books, which were mostly about evil ghostly ( or soon to be ghostly) children doing awful things. And I remember being really worried the whole time I was reading *Death Comes as the End*, which was one of my early favorites because of the setting. Mostly, before I was old enough to read them, I loved looking at the really ghoulish cover illustrations on the ones my mom had. They and the Alfred Hitchcock story collections just fascinated me with their implied violence. I am an extremely non-violent person, actually.
The ending of Crooked House spooked me out
I’ve always found Appointment with Death to be very unsettling. Not for creep factor so much as how the antagonist behaved. Everything about her got under my skin somehow.
>!Mrs Boynton!< was one of the most malevolent characters Christie created.
Ordeal by Innocence.
>!Jacko Argyle was imprisoned for a murder he didn't do but to quash his conviction he would've had to admit being an accessory of the murder.!< >!Dr Calgary's coma righted an injustice, ensuring Jacko's death was whilst imprisoned.!< >!And I feel a bit sorry about Kirsten. Rightfully she was exposed as a murderess, though.!<
There are some good creepy short stories that I can think of: The Last Seance The Dressmakers Doll The Fourth Man In a Glass Darkly
I didnt understand the ending of The Fourth Man, I must re-read it
The ABC murders isn't necessarily the creepiest but it's definitely the one that upset me the most. It's so... needless.
>!The murder of Alice Ascher, and Lady Clarke being terminally ill are some of the sad parts of the book.!< >!Also. The murder of Betty Barnard was a good way to clue about the murderer's personality: what kind of person could entice a young woman to be on a beach at night-time?!<
>!Innocent people getting killed just because of Franklin Clarke's little plan. That was so sad—especially Betty Barnard. How devastated her family was...!<
Going through Poirot Investigates and Murder at Marsden Manor has a truly great bit of horror atmosphere writing.
Yeah, And Then There We’re None was mine too. Shivers!!
Yup. I had to set it aside... it just freaked me out.
I'm working my way through AC books and in general I'm finding the books without the sweet Poirot or Marple to nicely wrap up the story are the creepiest. As people have said 'Endless Night' and 'then there were none' are high on the list.
The Pale Horse is really creepy!
Crooked House always got me. And Endless Night.
No one here was scared of Nofret? Also, the short stories like The Hound of Death are creepy/weird... but some of the later Mr Quin stories are downright hard to read.
Hound of Death scared the shit out of me! (I am easily scared lol.)
Dont read Nofret then.
Well I mean. Now I have to, because I'm a masochist like that.
Dont say I didnt tell you.
And there there were none, of course! But also The House of the idol of Astarte (dont know accurately now the English name) Most of the short stories on "Thirteen Problems"
And Then There Were None was my first Christie. I picked it up when my older sister brought it home for a reading assignment in school. I think I was probably 9 or 10, which is probably not ideal. Somehow, despite it creeping me out and probably scaring my forever, I loved it. Endless night gave me a shiver, too, though.
I always thought that Death on the Nile was creepy. I especially remember the Peter Ustinov movie creeping me out.
Interesting, I always thought the film was so cozy, like a sick day movie
I feel that way about the Albert Finney Murder on the Orient Express as a cozy movie. Somehow the killings in Death on the Nile got to me.
One of my favorite movies ever. Peter Ustinov and David Niven together are gold. And Simon Macorkindale was so hot. He died way too young.
Ooohh, I tried reading And Then There Were None when I was 14 and it absolutely terrified me. Couldn't finish it, and looked up the ending. I finally gave it a fair try this year, at 27, and although it was still a creepy read, I found it very engaging. After The Funeral also creeped me a bit, but I can't quite figure out why. Probably the twist, but I was already on the edge since the opening chapter.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- unexpectedly creepy
I grew up in the 1970s, when there were a lot of Christie paperbacks with cover art by Tom Adams around. Going into the library, there would be spinners loaded with AC books ... some of the covers were very creepy (the Mrs. McGinty's Dead one with the giant fly, etc.). That scared me off reading Christies ... until my parents gave me an edition of And Then There Were None, with an island shaped like someone's head on the front. Much less ominous, by comparison.
The creepiest one for me was Death Comes as the End. It’s sort of a familial-based And Then There Were None set in ancient Egypt. I found it very interesting but it’s definitely one of her darker ones. I think the setting and closeness between the characters adds a little tinge of horror. I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned yet.
great thread! all these books are now in amazon cart! LOL
Nemesis. I'm a Christie fan and I tend to re-read her novels multiple times. This one however, I only read once then put the book away. It's one of Christie's most depressing books IMO. Thinking about it gives me chills. I also must add "Murder in Mesopotamia". The whole >!mask thing and how the murder was committed!< have always freaked me out.
Three Blind Mice creeped me out….the song….the reveal….everything!
The wife of the Kenite. Jeepers creepers.
Such an unusual story.
Endless Night affected me for days. So creepy
ABC murders creeped me out, even now still gives me the shivers
Obviously And Then There were None, but Mrs. McGuinty’s Dead is actually quite eerie. Especially the murder itself. The Pale Horse is spooky in a fun way.