During the Month of October, I will again be reviewing Gothic and Horror fiction here at ClimbingSky. I begin this month of reviews with an unexpected surprise from the “Queen of Mystery” herself, Agatha Christie.

When you begin a Christie short story, you naturally expect to find yourself reading a detective mystery of some kind. And though “The Fourth Man” has qualities of a Mystery, it is really a Supernatural short story.

“The Fourth Man” is the story of a prominent churchman, a prominent doctor, and a prominent lawyer, journeying together by train and discussing the tragic fate of Felicie Bault. Felicie was a French girl with apparent “Multiple Personalities” whose suicide remains a baffling enigma. Their speculations about the mysterious case remain unresolved until a fourth passenger, who had seemingly slept through the entire journey, suddenly awakens and offers a chilling perspective.

I have mentioned here before that it is only within the last year that I have really spent time with Agatha Christie. My bias for Hardboiled Crime had led me to believe, incorrectly, that I would not like her work. Boy was I wrong!

“The Fourth Man” can be found in a collection of short stories by Christie called, The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories. I am including a link to the book here. I highly recommend the book and, of course, the short story.