1 - And Then There Were None and Fantastic Horror

Summary

Abstract In this chapter, I explore Phelps’ adaptation of And Then There Were None by comparing it to earlier adaptations using Todorov's theory of the Fantastic, which argues that the Fantastic genre is a liminal one that relies on the space between the real and imaginary. By “Gothicising” these texts even further, these adaptations interrogate overly romanticised British cultural identities and give voice to those hidden between the lines in Christie's earlier writings. Key scholars employed beyond Todorov will be Noel Carroll, Dudley Andrew and Teresa Goddu.

Keywords: Agatha Christie, crime fiction, the Fantastic, adaptation studies, Gothic horror

“The house isn’t—haunted, is it?… You’ve never felt or seen anything yourself? Nobody's died here?… Perhaps I am a bit psychic,” thought Gwenda uneasily. “Or is it something to do with the house?”

—Agatha Christie, Sleeping Murder (1976)

Many Agatha Christie stories features ghosts, hauntings and illusions of the dead. In most instances, Christie's characters are figuratively haunted by the dead. In several adaptations of her work, retellings embrace these morose encounters with violence and death. And Then There Were None's (1939, hereafter None) enduring popularity demonstrates how closely Agatha Christie is aligned to the Gothic. This book demonstrates the impact that themes of death, hauntings and the Fantastic have in Christie's work in order to illuminate her relationship to the Gothic and the horror genre. For instance, the following analysis of None explores the influence Christie has had on the modern horror genre through the relationship between None's narrative and the slasher film. The Fantastic, a key framework of this chapter, is this uneasy liminal space between the supernatural and real environments. In the Fantastic narrative, the focalised character, and the viewer, are positioned in a questioning state as to what is real and what is the figment of one's imagination. Horror and gothic aesthetics are utilised to achieve this mode.

The story of the book itself has evolved dramatically throughout its various incarnations. Previous titles Ten Little Ni***rs and Ten Little Indians were rightfully scrapped due to their racist language. Upon its publication in the United States in 1940, publisher Dodd, Mead and Company used the final line of the children's poem that structured the story. The book was first adapted by Christie herself for the stage in 1943.