UK The Hound of Death
A doctor meets a nun traumatised by the Great War. An attempt to restore the woman's sanity results in the uncovering of something very sinister indeed. From The Hound of Death and The Golden Ball and Other Stories.
More about this story
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. Sister Angelique had been the only survivor. Could such a tall story possibly be true?
Although it is a tale of the occult, this story could almost be considered science fiction - a genre Agatha Christie professed a keen interest in when interviewed by Nigel Dennis in 1956.
The story was first published in the Oldhams Press edition of The Hound of Death in 1933, available only by collecting coupons from a magazine entitled The Passing Show. It was included in the US collection The Golden Ball and Other Stories in 1971. It was adapted for radio in 2010 by the BBC.
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