The Hound of Death: A Short Story

by Agatha Christie

Previously published in the print anthology The Golden Ball and Other Stories.

A young Englishman visiting Cornwall finds himself delving into the legend of a Belgian nun who is living as a refugee in the village. Possessed of supernatural powers, she is said to have caused her entire convent to explode when it was occupied by invading German soldiers during World War I. Sister Angelique was the only survivor. Could such a tall tale possibly be true?

Genres: Mystery, Agatha Christie, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Crime, Classics

100 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short tale of the supernatural. It was … fine. It's not a traditional Christie story – there's no twisty murder mystery or magnificently mustached Belgian detective here, just a lot of rambling about past lives and death hounds and magic powers. It's not Dame Agatha's best, but it's worth the little bit of time that it takes to read it. Three stars.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit convoluted at times as it revolved around a priestess of an ancient religion who was reincarnated as a nun. She blew some shit up to save her convent from the Nazis. However, when an unscrupulous doctor tries to harness her power, things go a bit awry for him.



If you dig Agatha Christie's take on paranormal stuff, this one will be one that you want to check out. She goes all in with the supernatural in The Hound of Death, but it's just (for whatever reason) not one of my favorites.

Originally published in 1933 in The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
Read as part of the short story collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories & The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I pulled out my copy of the Agatha Christie short story collection entitled “The Hound of Death” originally published I think in the 30s, primarily to read the short story “Witness for the Prosecution” , a short story read for one of the groups I belong to. (sorry, “to which I belong”)

Anyway I started glancing at the first story, this one, and got trapped by it. Do you know, because I certainly never knew, that Agatha Christie wrote fantasy/horror/paranormal. Well she did, and in my opinion this (very) short story is just excellent. I was thoroughly hooked, and whilst of course I miss the detectiveness from her books, it is so quintessentially her writing , that it is wonderful.

Apparently the whole book is a little similar, so I’ve added it to my never ending TBR, but now I must get on to “Witness..”

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An American journalist is travelling in Cornwall when he hears a fantastic legend from WWI. Supposedly a nun called down supernatural forces to destroy a troop of German soldiers who had taken over her convent in Belgium. Finding out that the nun was evacuated to Cornwall and is still living there, he goes to meet her, curious if the story has any truth to it. She is under the care of a local doctor, who may have ulterior motives in his studies of the woman's hallucinations and strange mental state.

This short story first appeared in 1933 in the story collection by the same name. The Hound of Death collection was never published in the US, and was released in the UK as an advertising campaign for a publishing company. The stories in the collection were later published in the US in several collections. The Hound of Death was included in The Golden Ball and Other Stories in 1971.

I never realized until now that Agatha Christie wrote a few supernatural stories. I just read this story for the first time -- love it! I'm surprised this story was never adapted for a supernatural horror television show -- Suspense, Night Gallery, Twilight Zone -- any of those could have done it perfectly! I could not find an audio book version of The Hound of Death, so turned to an audio book of The Golden Ball and Other Stories to be able to listen. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the stories from The Hound of Death included in the copy of Golden Ball and Other Stories were actually taken from a prior audio book of the Hound collection read by none other than Christopher Lee!! He was a perfect narrator for The Hound of Death!

BBC4 Radio broadcast a "modernized'' version of this story in the early 2000s. While I applaud the adaptation of Christie's work for radio or television, I don't like it when the stories are fundamentally changed or modernized, so I skipped this one. It's no longer her story if it's radically changed. The modernized versions of 12 of her stories broadcast by BBC4 in the early 2000's are available -- Agatha Christie: 12 Radio Mysteries. So far I have resisted buying this collection because I know the stories have all been altered. I might change my mind at some point....but not yet.

A very entertaining listen! Not all of the stories from The Hound of Death are supernatural (it also includes The Witness for the Prosecution), but I hope there are more like this!

I can understand why Christie wrote some stories with a supernatural tone.....seances, spiritualism, table turning and the like were very popular in the 1920s/1930s.

On to the next!

[Jack Heath · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars. I'm not superstitious and occasionally roll my eyes when a person refers to unlucky numbers, fortune telling, horoscopes, or devine intervention - although I admit to thinking of lucky routines when my teams, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Maple Leafs, and the Argonauts, are close to winning. The first two haven't won it all since 1993 and 1967 so crossing fingers hasn't worked. I'm sure you've seen sports stars motioning "Thank you" to God for a successful play. My sympathy is for the opposing player who allowed it to happen - why did God favour the first over the second? So ridiculous. The Hound of Death is about superstition and the supernatural. Need I say more? From 1933. A young man, Anstruther, hears a story about a nun, Sister Marie Angelique, and how she seemingly commanded her convent in Belgium to explode after German soldiers took it over in WW1. Killing all but her. The figure of a hound was found on one of the ruined walls. She is now living in Cornwall near Anstruther's sister. He visits and finds the nun experiencing hallucinations. It's all too weird and confusing. Where is Hercule Poirot when I need him? (De2021/De2025)

[kezzie ʚ♡ɞ · Rating 3 out of 5]

✩ 3.5 stars
~
ac is really good at telling spine tingling stories

[Alyson Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ A tale a a Nun plagued by dreams, who is being harassed by a Doctor to reveal the nature of those dreams. Supernatural in essence and a short listen.

[Madeline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not care for this one.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so good

I read it twice! I do not know what it was trying to tell me. Sister Marie Angelique? Was a character that I did not understand. Why was she doing n the book?

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hound of Death is bonkers, in the best possible way. It starts with a tale of a convent mysteriously blowing up during WWI, and forges ahead with unapologetic weirdness. To say more about the plot is to spoil it, which is a shame because this is best experienced cold. Agatha Christie had a clear talent for writing Weird fiction as well as mystery fiction, and the Hound of Death makes me sorry she delve further into the weird.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars
This is a supernatural suspense story and not Christie's typical mystery. I like that it's unusual, but I was also confused a lot of the time. I'm still glad I read the book since it's a short story I don't recall reading before this. It's an intriguing and short read.

[Ruchika Pahwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very interesting in the name of supernatural, yet not bad to read through a break.

[Mo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was convoluted (all those "circles"!) and the narration by Christopher Lee was sub par.

Audiobook
About 45 minutes

[Charly Troff (JustaReadingMama) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Agatha Christie, but I'm not a big supernatural person.

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash. Paranormal activity, a nun who gets hypnotised. It really wasn’t worth the time it took to read except that I’m one step closer to reading every Christie publication.

[Watchdogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hound of Death - A Standalone Short Story by Agatha Christie
First published in 1933
GR summary -
A young Englishman visiting a Cornwall village finds himself delving into the legend of a Belgian nun, Sister Marie Angelique, who is living as a refugee in the area. Apparently possessed of supernatural powers, she is said to have caused her entire convent to explode when it was occupied by invading German soldiers during World War I. She was the only survivor. Could such a tall tale possibly be true?

My thoughts -
AC delves into the supernatural and paranormal in this story. Not her forte', but well worth reading for a bit of the other from this acclaimed mystery writer. Don't want to say much in order to give the twist away but suffice it to say I think AC does a better job with the supernatural that she does with some of spy/espionage type stories. A solid three stars meaning - Good - better than average - consonant with my ratings.

Note -
[From some modest research]
Agatha Christie did have some association with spiritualism and psychic phenomena, particularly in her early works. She explored supernatural themes in several of her stories, most notably in her collection "The Hound of Death". This collection includes tales that delve into spiritualism, seances, and other psychic phenomena.

While Christie was not a committed spiritualist like her contemporary Arthur Conan Doyle, she did incorporate elements of the supernatural into her mysteries. For example, stories like “The Last Seance” and “The Call of Wings” feature spiritualist themes. However, in many of her later works, any supernatural elements are often revealed to have rational explanations.

[Keri · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE NUN FUCKING EXPLODES THE NAZIS

[Lily Whitehead-Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry Agatha this flopped for me. I 100% prefer her detective stories; not a supernatural girly.

[Berit Lundqvist · Rating 1 out of 5]

A nun has memories of a past life(?) in an ancient(?) civilisation. A local doctor and a magic crystal are also involved.

I lost track several times, and I’m now confused at a higher level.

[A.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nun suffering from terrifying dreams reaches out to an author.
The nun survived an explosion at a convent. It was odd, as there were no high explosives involved and the blast left a mark shaped liked a giant hound on the wall.
Now she dreams of a city of circles and words of power.
The author starts to suspect Doctor Rose who is supposed to be treating her for her nightmares, has other motives.
***
This is a dip into the supernatural for Christie, but I’m not sure it works; at least not in this production.
And this audio-book confused my brain as the Miss Marple actress is Alice and Det Foyle stars as Doctor Rose.
[no, brain. Corral those plot bunnies…]
2 stars

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.25 ⭐

On my first read, I listened to this story as a dramatization of the audiobook. I could not keep track of anything. When I finished it, I had no idea what had happened or who the characters were. It made no sense to me and I rated it two stars.
After thinking about it, I realized that the rating was unfair because I didn't understand the story. Thus, I borrowed the ebook from Hoopla (a great app!) to give it another try. I liked the story much more on the second read. Overall, I found it to be a short little story about a man's want for power and the consequences he must endure for his greed led actions.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a mess. I really dislike Ms. Christie’s supernatural stories. This one involves a nun during WWI who calls upon the spirits to keep the Germans from advancing into the convent. The convent exploded, killing all the Germans and destroying the convent. Now, years later, the nun is a refugee in England and is considered mad and is under the supervision of a doctor. Is she guided by Christian spirits or by other gods? The doctor tries to harness her abilities for his own purposes and it backfires and they both end up dead.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather liked this story. The story revolves around and incident in a Belgium Monastery that the locals believed to be superstitious. The only surviving Nun, ended up in Cornwall. Whereupon, a local doctor tries to find the truth about what happened.

Agatha Christie has done a few works around seances, but, this one was interesting as it involved mysticism, hypnosis, regression and perhaps other worldly activities.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

the Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[Sandra Tomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kobieta zakochana w zamężnym mężczyźnie znajduje sposób na zniszczenie jego małżeństwa. Ta sytuacja sprawia, że na wierzch wydostają się jej najgorsze cechy. Destrukcja może zatem spotkać nie tylko związek Geralda, ale również samą Klarę.

Ładna historia o ludzkiej naturze, głównie o kłamstwach, które wmawiamy sobie, by usprawiedliwić nasze czyny.

[Tabrizia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. A small departure of what Agatha Christie usually writes, however, not as great as her other mysteries. But the creepy and supernatural element was a nice touch. It is nice to see Christie our of her element, even though she could have done a better job with it.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to a BBC radio dramatization - good production values (no surprise there) but the story didn't do much for me. The ending especially fell flat. I wonder if I'd enjoy the written version more?

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the full cast audio book and this was one of my least favorite. I listened to it twice because I was confused and was a bit distracted the first listen. I just didn't care for the plot and I think I like her murder mystery whodunit better.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p5: They called it the Hound of Death and they wouldn't pass that way after dark.

I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.

Read as part of the collection The Hound of Death and Other Stories.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erm... Christie, despite her wonderful insights and formidable pen, didn’t exactly shine in her horror stories. This is a classic case.
For a completist, it’s an essential read. Otherwise, it's merely good than great.