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The Lamp: an Agatha Christie Short Story
Mrs. Lancaster doesn’t believe in ghosts. She moves her family into a house that has been derelict for years, unconcerned about the story of the young boy who lived there and starved to death. But her own young son is fascinated by his new friend that lives in the attic all alone.
Librarian's note: a classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually as an eBook.
Librarian's note #2: previously published in the print anthologies, The Golden Ball and Other Stories, and The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
Librarian's note: a classic Agatha Christie short story, available individually as an eBook.
Librarian's note #2: previously published in the print anthologies, The Golden Ball and Other Stories, and The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
100 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1933
About the author
Agatha Christie
6,480 books79.4k followersAgatha 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)
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)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
February 26, 2020
Short story about a woman (Mrs. Raddish) who moves into a house that is said to be haunted, with her little boy Geoffrey, and her elderly father. Her son sometimes sees a sad little boy in the house, her father hears a child crying in the night. Mrs. Raddish hears and sees nothing of this. It is said a little boy died in this house…
Enjoyable, haunting short read.
Enjoyable, haunting short read.
November 8, 2022
A widow moves into a haunted house with her father and young son.
The price is right and Mrs. Lancaster doesn't believe in ghosts, so why not?
Her father isn't so sure.
The story is that a little boy died of starvation waiting for his father who was arrested when he went to town to come back for him. And when he hears a child's footsteps following his grandson, he knows the stories are true.
This one is kind of a bummer. So, also kind of not a bummer?
It goes well with the rest of Agatha's supernatural stories if you're reading a collection, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this one otherwise.
Originally published in 1933 in The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
Read as part of the short story collections The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural & The Golden Ball and Other Stories.
The price is right and Mrs. Lancaster doesn't believe in ghosts, so why not?
Her father isn't so sure.
The story is that a little boy died of starvation waiting for his father who was arrested when he went to town to come back for him. And when he hears a child's footsteps following his grandson, he knows the stories are true.
This one is kind of a bummer. So, also kind of not a bummer?
It goes well with the rest of Agatha's supernatural stories if you're reading a collection, but I wouldn't go out of my way for this one otherwise.
Originally published in 1933 in The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
Read as part of the short story collections The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural & The Golden Ball and Other Stories.
February 13, 2021
A widow is looking for a home to rent. When she is offered a very nice spacious home at a low rent, she immediately inquires what is wrong with the house. Apparently, it comes with a ghost....
I absolutely LOVE haunted house tales, so this story is my favorite in these collections of shorts tales so far. It's subtle....and creepy!
As far as I can tell, this story was first published in The Hound of Death, a collection of short stories (1933). It was not published in the United States until 1971 when it was included in The Golden Ball and Other Stories.
I could not find an audio book version of The Hound of Death story collection, so I listened to this story as part of an audio book of The Golden Ball and Other Stories. I was delighted to discover that the book I checked out from the library (HarperAudio) actually used the narration from an earlier audio book of The Hound of Death read by Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee is a magician at reading classic ghost stories (there is a collection of MR James tales read by him on YouTube -- amazing!).
This story was adapted into a radio play by BBC4 in 1984. It took me awhile to dredge this radio adaptation up online. Most sites had it listed (even BBC 4's site), but with no audio available. I finally found it! Internet Archive has it (of course), along with several other episodes of Haunted from BBC4. Just search the story/author on Internet Archive under audio, you will find it. The Lamp is episode 15 from July 7, 1984. The radio adaptation is full-cast with sound effects. The story is padded a bit for effect and has a few changes, but sticks to the story line pretty well. Very well done! It was totally worth the time I spent searching for it online!
I am surprised this story was never adapted for television. One of those horror anthology shows would have been perfect -- Suspense, Night Gallery, Twilight Zone, or even Amazing Stories. Fabulous ghost story! I wish BBC or even PBS would do another Agatha Christie Hour type show and do a lot of these short stories that were never adapted for television before.
I am SO glad that I finally am reading everything Christie wrote....I have wanted to ever since I was 9 years old and read my first Hercule Poirot novel. But some of the books were hard to find all those years ago and life got in the way.....now I have some time (kids raised!) and the internet to back me up! Growing up in a small town with no book shop and only a very small public library made it so hard to read anything by Christie that wasn't a main stream best seller. Many of these short stories and lesser known novels are brand new to me -- I LOVE THIS! :) This bibliophile is in heaven!
I do have a much better understanding of why it was so difficult for me as a girl to find some of Christie's works. Some were published under one title in the UK and another in the US. Others were only published in the UK, or only in the US. And these short stories.....right now to read all of the stories from The Hound of Death and The Listerdale Mystery I am jumping between 3 audio books to get them all, as they were never published in the US. Thank God for the internet! It is misused a lot -- but there is so much GOOD to be found on the 'net as well! Digital library books are the BOMB! Back in the 80s when I was trying my best to find all of Christie's books, I was just unable to do so. I have about 50 old paperbacks from my efforts....but I now know I never would have been able to find them all! I can now though -- all's well that ends well!
I'm reviewing each short story separately and as a part of the collections they appeared in later because most were published in magazines long before being gathered into books. And I'm researching little bits and pieces as I go to find out which were adapted for radio or television, and anything else that strikes my fancy along the way. Fun times!
On to the next! :)
I absolutely LOVE haunted house tales, so this story is my favorite in these collections of shorts tales so far. It's subtle....and creepy!
As far as I can tell, this story was first published in The Hound of Death, a collection of short stories (1933). It was not published in the United States until 1971 when it was included in The Golden Ball and Other Stories.
I could not find an audio book version of The Hound of Death story collection, so I listened to this story as part of an audio book of The Golden Ball and Other Stories. I was delighted to discover that the book I checked out from the library (HarperAudio) actually used the narration from an earlier audio book of The Hound of Death read by Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee is a magician at reading classic ghost stories (there is a collection of MR James tales read by him on YouTube -- amazing!).
This story was adapted into a radio play by BBC4 in 1984. It took me awhile to dredge this radio adaptation up online. Most sites had it listed (even BBC 4's site), but with no audio available. I finally found it! Internet Archive has it (of course), along with several other episodes of Haunted from BBC4. Just search the story/author on Internet Archive under audio, you will find it. The Lamp is episode 15 from July 7, 1984. The radio adaptation is full-cast with sound effects. The story is padded a bit for effect and has a few changes, but sticks to the story line pretty well. Very well done! It was totally worth the time I spent searching for it online!
I am surprised this story was never adapted for television. One of those horror anthology shows would have been perfect -- Suspense, Night Gallery, Twilight Zone, or even Amazing Stories. Fabulous ghost story! I wish BBC or even PBS would do another Agatha Christie Hour type show and do a lot of these short stories that were never adapted for television before.
I am SO glad that I finally am reading everything Christie wrote....I have wanted to ever since I was 9 years old and read my first Hercule Poirot novel. But some of the books were hard to find all those years ago and life got in the way.....now I have some time (kids raised!) and the internet to back me up! Growing up in a small town with no book shop and only a very small public library made it so hard to read anything by Christie that wasn't a main stream best seller. Many of these short stories and lesser known novels are brand new to me -- I LOVE THIS! :) This bibliophile is in heaven!
I do have a much better understanding of why it was so difficult for me as a girl to find some of Christie's works. Some were published under one title in the UK and another in the US. Others were only published in the UK, or only in the US. And these short stories.....right now to read all of the stories from The Hound of Death and The Listerdale Mystery I am jumping between 3 audio books to get them all, as they were never published in the US. Thank God for the internet! It is misused a lot -- but there is so much GOOD to be found on the 'net as well! Digital library books are the BOMB! Back in the 80s when I was trying my best to find all of Christie's books, I was just unable to do so. I have about 50 old paperbacks from my efforts....but I now know I never would have been able to find them all! I can now though -- all's well that ends well!
I'm reviewing each short story separately and as a part of the collections they appeared in later because most were published in magazines long before being gathered into books. And I'm researching little bits and pieces as I go to find out which were adapted for radio or television, and anything else that strikes my fancy along the way. Fun times!
On to the next! :)
January 28, 2019
This is a very good short story by Agatha Christie.
It is about a small family which consists of a Grandfather, a Moher and a small sickly son, who move into a haunted house.
I recommend it to all.
Enjoy and Be Blessed
Steven
It is about a small family which consists of a Grandfather, a Moher and a small sickly son, who move into a haunted house.
I recommend it to all.
Enjoy and Be Blessed
Steven
June 18, 2020
الأم لانكستر
التي لا تؤمن بالجنّ
تنقل عائلتها إلى منزل مهجور
متجاهلةً قصّة طفل مات فيه من الجوع
لكن ابنها الصغير مفتون بصديقه الجديد الحزين
الذي يعيش في العلية بمفرده
أمّا والدها العجوز فيسمع بكاء طفل في الليل
وهي لا تسمع أو ترى شيئًا
التي لا تؤمن بالجنّ
تنقل عائلتها إلى منزل مهجور
متجاهلةً قصّة طفل مات فيه من الجوع
لكن ابنها الصغير مفتون بصديقه الجديد الحزين
الذي يعيش في العلية بمفرده
أمّا والدها العجوز فيسمع بكاء طفل في الليل
وهي لا تسمع أو ترى شيئًا
August 31, 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qxzttDescription: A sickly young boy settles into a new address, but his ghostly playmate has other ideas. Stars Judy Cornwell and Timothy Bateson.
"How many servants do you have?"
"One. Only the one."
January 8, 2017
A horror story. It was seriously freaking scary although perhaps my word shouldn't be taken as an evaluation for horror since anything can scary. However, the story was also left open which can be interpret as that the kid was dead or cured. Either way, I really did enjoyed this one.
October 26, 2019
~3.5stars
October 16, 2025
3.5 stars
February 17, 2019
3.5 Quick and interesting. Christie never fails, she is quite talented, the best at turning a simple story and idea into something truly enchanting. Good short story if you're in the mood for a creepy read. The ending, damn I loved it!
September 4, 2015
From BBC Radio 4:
A sickly young boy settles into a new address, but his ghostly playmate has other ideas. Stars Judy Cornwell and Timothy Bateson.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qxztt
A sickly young boy settles into a new address, but his ghostly playmate has other ideas. Stars Judy Cornwell and Timothy Bateson.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qxztt
December 18, 2025
3 Stars. Those stars are for the wonderful writing. This truly is a supernatural story about a haunted house. Many of the great Christie's non-mysteries have supernatural leanings, but some just flit around the edge of the pond. Here she dives right in. Not as much to my liking. I like them better when the reader is left to make his or her own judgment - what just happened? Here we find that money is tight for Mrs. Lancaster and her family of three, herself, her father Mr. Winburn, and her precocious son Geoffrey. At possibly 5 years old, he's an active one! She finds an older house for rent at a very affordable rate; the monthly is so low that she asks why and finds that it could be haunted. Apparently a Mr. Williams and his son who was about the same age as Geoffrey may have lived there 30 years ago. He was arrested and the child starved to death waiting for his father to come home. Again the father plays an important role; this time it's Winburn; he thinks he hears a second set of footsteps when Geoffrey is moving around. It soon becomes serious and his grandson gets extremely ill. Did I say, not to my liking? (De2025/Mar2026)
September 10, 2024
The Lamp: A Short Story by Agatha Christie
The story was first published in book form in the Oldhams Press edition of The Hound of Death in 1933, available only by collecting coupons from a magazine entitled The Passing Show.
Thumbnail -
“The Lamp” is a chilling short story by Agatha Christie, first published in 1933. It revolves around Mrs. Lancaster, who moves her family into a house that is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a child waiting for his father. Despite her disbelief in ghosts, strange occurrences begin to unfold, particularly affecting her young son who becomes fascinated by his new, unseen friend in the attic.
A child ghost haunts the house where his father left him and never returned. The title is taken from a poem, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and is quoted by the grandfather in the story:
"What lamp has Destiny to guide
Her little children stumbling in the Dark?
A Blind Understanding, Heaven replied.”
My thoughts -
Another of AC's supernatural stories. Quite well done and stands up well against other vintage ghost stories. A little tame to be classified as horror. Thoroughly enjoyed it, so 4 stars 'from the other side'.
The story was first published in book form in the Oldhams Press edition of The Hound of Death in 1933, available only by collecting coupons from a magazine entitled The Passing Show.
Thumbnail -
“The Lamp” is a chilling short story by Agatha Christie, first published in 1933. It revolves around Mrs. Lancaster, who moves her family into a house that is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a child waiting for his father. Despite her disbelief in ghosts, strange occurrences begin to unfold, particularly affecting her young son who becomes fascinated by his new, unseen friend in the attic.
A child ghost haunts the house where his father left him and never returned. The title is taken from a poem, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and is quoted by the grandfather in the story:
"What lamp has Destiny to guide
Her little children stumbling in the Dark?
A Blind Understanding, Heaven replied.”
My thoughts -
Another of AC's supernatural stories. Quite well done and stands up well against other vintage ghost stories. A little tame to be classified as horror. Thoroughly enjoyed it, so 4 stars 'from the other side'.
August 17, 2021
Mr. Raddish!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 22, 2020
Audiobook
About 20 minutes
About 20 minutes
July 26, 2023
Fajne, krótkie, paranormalne opowiadanie. Słuchowisko też dobrze przygotowane
May 29, 2023
En weer een mooie korte AC. Dit keer met een droevig einde of toch niet.
March 1, 2026
Next time I want to be depressed for 20 minutes I’ll just stare at my bank statements
August 25, 2020
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
March 13, 2021
Another supernatural tale from Ms. Christie, which are not my favorite. A woman moves into a house with shocking low rent because it is supposedly haunted by a young boy. Her son hears and sees him in the attic and wants to play with him. Later than night, he has a terrible fever and dies and the woman hears the sound of 2 sets of footsteps haunting the house.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2020
A very sweet and sad story. It is a story of a family who buy a potentially haunted house, and, a young child looking for a friend or companion. I liked the fact that Agatha Christie pricked up on the aspect that there are certain things in life children are aware of that adults are not.
April 12, 2023
This, in my opinion, is one of the inferior efforts of the Dame. Even amongst her supernatural works, this one pales in comparison to 'The Hound' or 'The House of Dreams'.
But of course, it’s eminently readable.
But of course, it’s eminently readable.
December 6, 2024
eponymous sentence:
p10: "...Sometimes, when we are quite old, a faint gleam comes back to us, but the Lamp burns brightest in childhood...."
Little boys and ghosts...
Read as part of the collection The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
p10: "...Sometimes, when we are quite old, a faint gleam comes back to us, but the Lamp burns brightest in childhood...."
Little boys and ghosts...
Read as part of the collection The Hound of Death and Other Stories.
September 16, 2015
Scary !! awesome.
March 30, 2020
Read 2020
June 14, 2025
Not the usual type of mystery from agatha christie.
August 28, 2025
Agatha Christie writes a really good ghost story as well as crime.
Great little read.
Great little read.
September 3, 2025
Not my favorite. I personally prefer her mysteries to her supernatural.
September 4, 2025
It's not one of her best, but I still enjoyed it
December 23, 2025
Again, a ghost story is IMO so trite. Why do people writing things go bump (or pitter patter pitter patter) in the night cause fears in the readers to tantalize them?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews