And Then There Were None Supernatural

Typically in gothic literature authors tend to incorporate supernatural aspects into their story. For instance, in the novel And Then There Were None, published in 1939, Agatha Christie displays a hint of supernatural by having events occur that don’t always make sense. One of the characters, Emily Brent, is oddly overcome in a trance and ends up writing, “BEATRICE TAYLOR IS THE MURDERER.” Although we know who Beatrice Taylor is and how she relates to Miss Brent, we don’t understand why she writes this when another person is actually the murderer. Similarly in the short story, “The Stolen Body” written in 1931, H.G. Wells tells of how one night, Mr.Bessel, a paranormal researcher, inadvertently succeeds in projecting his spirit from his body, …show more content…
Each character has a specific personality that is shown through their actions, behavior, words, and thoughts. For instance, one of the characters, Vera Claythorne, is very intelligent and mature. One reason this can be concluded is because when another character, Philip Lombard, offers to pour a glass of alcohol for her, her response is for him to open a brand new bottle. She is aware and smart enough to distrust an already opened bottle in their nerving situation. In contrast, a gramophone recording accuses her of letting a little boy drown so that her lover could inherit the family money. She eventually reveals that she did, in fact, commit this crime, but makes the point to mention that she is in great guilt over it. In the short story “The Stolen Body,” the character’s personalities aren’t depicted as vividly. Most inferences are said directly from the author or can be easily noticed. For instance, in the first paragraph, the author blatantly states that “instead of living in the suburbs, after the fashion of his class, he occupied rooms in the Albany, near Piccadilly.” The author is referring to one of the main characters named Mr.Bessel. This line shows that Mr.Bessel doesn’t fall into conformity. He doesn’t follow the majority of his class and chooses to do reside where he wants. This shows that he is a self-sufficient individual. Despite this detailed character trait, …show more content…
The one aspect that’s frequently found in almost all gothic literature, especially And Then There Were None. However, “The Stolen Body” has little suspicion. Perhaps because it portrays gothic elements through supernatural principles. This is unusual for a piece of gothic literature. The only hint of suspicion that is used in this short story is the theory that Mr.Bessel could possibly be insane and the possession never actually occurred. To show this, towards the end of the story, Wells says that “Mr. Bessel must have gone violently mad.” Wells has no need to use a lot of suspicion in this short story since he clearly describes who’s at fault for the possession. On the contrary, And Then There Were None places suspicion upon every character at one point or the other. In chapters 2 and 3, we can suspect there’s something odd going on with Lombard just because the general doesn’t trust him and because he decides to keep the real reason he was invited to the island a secret. Later on in chapter 7, the suspicion shifts to Wargrave as the killer due to his boldness and leadership. The Judge's announcement that it could be any one of them shatters all possible trust between the characters. He then sets them all at each other's throats by asking for random speculation and evidence, as if it were another one of his trials. Christie lays these paths of suspicion carefully and critically. By doing so, it allows us to become more intrigued throughout the novel and be