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In a Glass Darkly: an Agatha Christie Short Story
The narrator is startled by a vision in his mirror. He sees a man with a scar on the left side of his face strangling a beautiful blonde woman. He later meets Sylvia, and realizes she is the woman of this terrible vision, and notes her fiancé has a scar exactly where he saw it. He tells her of his premonition, and the engagement is soon broken off. Is that all there is to the story or is there more?
Librarian's note #1: the story was published in the print anthologies The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, and Miss Marple's Final Cases.
Librarian's note #2: this entry is for the story, In a Glass Darkly. Collections and other short stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The author's stand-alone short stories, those without a lead character such as Hercule Poirot, can be found by searching Goodreads for: an Agatha Christie Short Story.
Librarian's note #1: the story was published in the print anthologies The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories, and Miss Marple's Final Cases.
Librarian's note #2: this entry is for the story, In a Glass Darkly. Collections and other short stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The author's stand-alone short stories, those without a lead character such as Hercule Poirot, can be found by searching Goodreads for: an Agatha Christie Short Story.
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1934
12 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,918 books76.6k 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)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
September 27, 2024
A man sees a vision in his mirror of a girl being strangled by a man with a scarred neck. He meets the girl later and notices that the man he saw strangling her in the mirror bears a resemblance to the guy she is planning to marry…
Very short and mysterious read. Dark story dealing with visions and premonitions. Another entertaining read by Agatha Christie.
Very short and mysterious read. Dark story dealing with visions and premonitions. Another entertaining read by Agatha Christie.
December 15, 2024
Once again, Christie has her heroine getting strangled by the man who claims to love her.
What was wrong with you, Agatha?!
A young man has a vision of a beautiful woman being strangled in the room next to his while at a house party.
Can he save her from her fate?
This one gets points for being interesting because of the way she played with the idea of fate. Our narrator falls in love with his best friend's sister and thinks he's saved her from the fiance that he saw choking the life out of her.
Initially, he's unwilling to act on his love for her because he thinks that he hasn't played the game by getting her to break things off with the other man.
Eventually, they admit their feelings for each other and end up with a Happily Ever After.
Or do they?
On a spoilery note:
WHAT THE FUCK, GIRL?!
Anyway. This one has enough of a paranormal vibe to it that I'm counting it for my Spooktober reads.
Originally published in 1934 in Collier's Weekly.
Read as part of the short story collections The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural & The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories.
What was wrong with you, Agatha?!
A young man has a vision of a beautiful woman being strangled in the room next to his while at a house party.
Can he save her from her fate?
This one gets points for being interesting because of the way she played with the idea of fate. Our narrator falls in love with his best friend's sister and thinks he's saved her from the fiance that he saw choking the life out of her.
Initially, he's unwilling to act on his love for her because he thinks that he hasn't played the game by getting her to break things off with the other man.
Eventually, they admit their feelings for each other and end up with a Happily Ever After.
Or do they?
On a spoilery note:
WHAT THE FUCK, GIRL?!
Anyway. This one has enough of a paranormal vibe to it that I'm counting it for my Spooktober reads.
Originally published in 1934 in Collier's Weekly.
Read as part of the short story collections The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural & The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories.
January 18, 2026
4 Stars. Eerie to say the least. The narrator is visiting his friend Neil Carslake's family home, Badgeworthy, out in the country. Just before WW1. While dressing for dinner, he looks in the mirror and the far wall behind him opens up to reveal another bedroom. In that room he sees a scarred man strangling a lovely young woman. Blond. Later that evening his friend introduces his sister Sylvia to him. It's her! And then he meets her fiancé Charles Crawley. He's got a scar down the left side of his face! It's him! The story first appeared in Collier's in the USA in 1934; my reading came from The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories of 1939, which has been reprinted numerous times. The nine pages build to a crescendo that is both unpredictable and breathtaking. So full of questions. It clearly was a vision, in that an elderly couple were staying in the room at the time of the narrator's visit. Thus it wasn't reality but, if he hadn't told Sylvia of the vision, could it have become reality in the future? Would he have been able to live with himself if Crawley had actually killed her someday? To go further would be to reveal too much. It's your turn. (Mar2021/Ja2026)
December 6, 2016
interesting audiobook, but not too impresive
March 21, 2021
Good short story touching a few aspects of the dark side of things!
April 12, 2025
It’s a short story from our beloved Agatha Christie but “short and sweet” it is not. The narrator, a war veteran, is becomes paranoid that his wife Sylvia is having an affair with a coworker. We never find out if this is true which is frustrating. I did not take a liking to Sylvia for I found her to be inconsiderate and rude at times. She acted differently when her coworker was around. I don’t blame Matthew for being suspicious, nevertheless his actions that lead to murder are inexcusable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2020
BBC Radio 4 Full cast dramatization.
Desert Storm? Uhm...started in August 1990. How did this make it in the audiobook?
Agatha Christie died in 1976.
How about these line:
I love you, You love me. I love you, you love me?
Desert Storm? Uhm...started in August 1990. How did this make it in the audiobook?
Agatha Christie died in 1976.
How about these line:
I love you, You love me. I love you, you love me?
October 5, 2019
Modernised to Desert Storm and Saudi from WWI.
A pilot, home on leave with one of his crew, is invited to stay at their estate and he sees a woman being strangled in the mirror of his room. It’s some kind of vision. When he meets the man’s sister, he realises she was the woman in his vision. All he saw of the strangler was a facial scar which coincidentally her fiance has.
He falls in love with her at first sight, and feels obligated to tell her about the vision. She seems to believe him and the engagement is broken.
Later, back on mission, they crash and her brother is killed.
Years later at a reunion, they meet again, talk and they start to date. But he is often jealous and haunted by the time they ‘wasted’.
***
This is one of those ‘warnings weren’t what you thought it was’ kind of things. Part of a dip into the supernatural by Christie.
And the ending is left up in the air, too.
[I did not mean to make a flying joke… ha!]
3 stars
A pilot, home on leave with one of his crew, is invited to stay at their estate and he sees a woman being strangled in the mirror of his room. It’s some kind of vision. When he meets the man’s sister, he realises she was the woman in his vision. All he saw of the strangler was a facial scar which coincidentally her fiance has.
He falls in love with her at first sight, and feels obligated to tell her about the vision. She seems to believe him and the engagement is broken.
Later, back on mission, they crash and her brother is killed.
Years later at a reunion, they meet again, talk and they start to date. But he is often jealous and haunted by the time they ‘wasted’.
***
This is one of those ‘warnings weren’t what you thought it was’ kind of things. Part of a dip into the supernatural by Christie.
And the ending is left up in the air, too.
[I did not mean to make a flying joke… ha!]
3 stars
February 6, 2020
Read in The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories: Featuring Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Mr. Parker Pyne This story was random. It didn't have any of the leads from Agatha Christie's other books, but I enjoyed. It was quite interesting and I liked the twist.
April 28, 2021
An Interesting Short Story
I actually finished this a day after I started it. I just wanted to write a review. If you could see the future, would it change how you would handle a situation? And whose future are you actually witnessing? Read In a Glass Darkly and see how Ms. Christie brilliantly answers these questions.
I actually finished this a day after I started it. I just wanted to write a review. If you could see the future, would it change how you would handle a situation? And whose future are you actually witnessing? Read In a Glass Darkly and see how Ms. Christie brilliantly answers these questions.
January 10, 2020
Foreboding, supernatural.
December 24, 2020
This story was very dark and foreboding, yet deep and meaningful all at once.
January 9, 2022
An eerie short story by Agatha Christie. Quick and entertaining.
December 14, 2024
I guess you could call this one a happy ending. For their time, at least. But honestly girl, you’ll do better on your own.
November 21, 2023
Having completed the audiobook, it served as a suitable companion during my train rides. While the beginning intrigued me, it fell short of the promised "chilling tale," providing only a moderate listening experience.
August 3, 2022
BBC dramatisation
September 7, 2024
Ágata tinha problemas sérios, mas não deixa de ser uma creepy short story que entreteu
December 30, 2025
This story borders on creepy but still quite good.
February 16, 2021
Can I say that it's my favorite short story... how things turned to be I just love anything by agatha
December 23, 2025
I can't help butt hate this story. He sees himself in a mirror dream? OMG
December 30, 2021
Short, simple, pretty flawless.
January 31, 2021
Agatha Christie's horror stories are just worried.
April 29, 2025
A sense of time and place.
An interesting Agatha Christie short story which poses more questions than it answers at a time of great social upheaval- the outbreak of World War I.
A room with an adjoining room, the door concealed by a wardrobe becomes visible in the mirror. While dressing he sees in the reflection a murder being committed but as he turns round to save the young women he can only see the wardrobe.
The room exists but isn’t occupied by the two people captured in the mirror. However, they are staying elsewhere in the old rambling house and more worrying engaged to be married.
Should he share his premonition?
Clever exploration of the ‘supernatural’ against the normal complications of the heart and the range of emotions in a relationship. Made more uncertain by the loss of love ones and broken futures after a four year attritional conflict.
For U.K. readers, the story first became available through Woman's Journal in December 1934. Happily in these modern times it can be purchased individually on kindle or as part of a collection. “Miss Marple's Final Cases”.
An interesting Agatha Christie short story which poses more questions than it answers at a time of great social upheaval- the outbreak of World War I.
A room with an adjoining room, the door concealed by a wardrobe becomes visible in the mirror. While dressing he sees in the reflection a murder being committed but as he turns round to save the young women he can only see the wardrobe.
The room exists but isn’t occupied by the two people captured in the mirror. However, they are staying elsewhere in the old rambling house and more worrying engaged to be married.
Should he share his premonition?
Clever exploration of the ‘supernatural’ against the normal complications of the heart and the range of emotions in a relationship. Made more uncertain by the loss of love ones and broken futures after a four year attritional conflict.
For U.K. readers, the story first became available through Woman's Journal in December 1934. Happily in these modern times it can be purchased individually on kindle or as part of a collection. “Miss Marple's Final Cases”.
January 28, 2021
Very different from Christie's typical work - a little more spooky, less of a mystery to be solved. Enjoyable!
July 7, 2016
The story is told from a man's point of view.
He goes to a dinner party before WWI. When getting dressed, he sees a scene of a man with a scar on his face choking a blonde in the other room. He slightly investigates, and discovers that the host's sister is blonde, and her fiancée has a scar.
He continues narrating his story, how the war happened, some people died, and how he married the host's sister. He described the changes that came over them in the course of time. He described how a vague letter made him outraged. He then tried to choke his wife, but the memory of the scene seen in the mirror stops him from killing her.
He goes to a dinner party before WWI. When getting dressed, he sees a scene of a man with a scar on his face choking a blonde in the other room. He slightly investigates, and discovers that the host's sister is blonde, and her fiancée has a scar.
He continues narrating his story, how the war happened, some people died, and how he married the host's sister. He described the changes that came over them in the course of time. He described how a vague letter made him outraged. He then tried to choke his wife, but the memory of the scene seen in the mirror stops him from killing her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2019
Another amazing Agatha Christie mystery with elements of supernatural. Man visits a haunted house, has a vision of a blonde woman being choked by a scarred man in his mirror, meets said woman and her scarred fiance at dinner, falls in love with her, goes to war heartbroken, gets a few scars, returns and marries that woman, becomes an insanely jealous husband, chokes her, sees his own reflection in the mirror - a scarred man choking a blonde woman. Boom! Thankfully, there's no murder but the mystery of the haunted house vision is left unanswered.
January 3, 2025
I really enjoyed the audiobook quite a lot - it extremely atmospheric and well voiced. It was quick paced but it was very clear to understand the characters and the situations they were in. It was enticing, dark and mysterious - I really liked this short book. It was clear to me that his premonition was himself, but was interesting how the story reached to that point. The most memorable part was when Sylvia confronted Jeff about his jealous and inner guilt - she was strong and beautiful in the way that she was presented. Overall, a very fun read and left me wanting for more.
March 17, 2017
Oh, the hubris! This creepy, well-written story models well classical drama and the tragic downfall of the main character. I can understand why someone wouldn't like this story; its no happy ending, but that is the point. Its a warning voice of the dangers of jealously in love, and it takes real skill to write this well in such a short frame. A+.
August 26, 2020
the Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
February 19, 2018
It's possible I read this before because I could see the major plot twist coming from the start. Even so, it was an enjoyable story and an enjoyable production. As with another recent BBC Audio Christie production I listened to, I do wonder if it was updated for modern times (eg Desert Storm).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews