5. Horror

5. Horror

Author: The Swinging Christies March 31, 2024 Duration: 1:41:59

In the fifth episode of The Swinging Christies, Mark and Gray spook each other by discussing everything from contemporary fears to olde folklore in the 1960s Agatha Christies. 

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Our website is ChristieTime.com.

The Swinging Christies is a Christie Time project by Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown. 

Next episode: Drugs 

00:00:00 - Opening titles

00:00:39 - Introductory chat

00:05:21 - Horror landscape in the 1960s

00:21:05 - Domestic horror

00:36:28 - Folklore

00:51:25 - Horror and insanity, suicide

01:12:19 - Hardboiled thrillers, violence

01:22:00 - Sanitised horror in adaptations

01:30:06 - Rising crime in the 1960s

01:37:33 - Next episode, how to get in touch

01:38:22 - Closing titles

01:38:49 - Coda


Solutions revealed! - Hallowe’en Party, A Caribbean Mystery, The Patient, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, The Pale Horse, Endless Night, At Bertram’s Hotel 

TW - death of children, suicide, mental illness, outdated terms in quoted material 


The Swinging Christies: Agatha Christie in the 1960s might seem like a contradiction, but that’s the fascinating territory this podcast explores. Hosted by Dr Mark Aldridge and Gray Robert Brown, it’s a deep and often surprising look at how the Queen of Crime’s later work intersected with a decade of radical change. Forget the stereotypical image of a cosy, unchanging writer; here, we examine how Christie’s stories from that era engaged with shifting attitudes towards youth culture, morality, and social upheaval. Each episode digs into a specific novel or theme, unpacking the subtle-and sometimes not so subtle-ways her writing reflected or reacted to the world of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a rad journey through time that treats her work with serious scholarly insight while embracing the vibrant spirit of the period. You’ll come away from this podcast with a completely refreshed perspective on one of history’s most prolific authors, hearing her familiar plots through a new, decidedly swinging lens.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 35

The Swinging Christies: Agatha Christie in the 1960s
Podcast Episodes
Agatha Christie: Murder and Mirth? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:04
Welcome to a very special episode, recorded at the London Comedy Film Festival, the world’s premiere comedy film festival! Gray was interviewed by festival director and Agatha fan Benedict Morrison about the 1960s filmic…
The Swinging Christies LIVE! The Confessions of Agatha Christie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:00
Back by popular demand, The Swinging Christies goes LIVE for only the second time! This special episode was recorded in Torquay at the Agatha Christie Festival Spring Gathering on 11 April 2026. Join Mark and Gray as the…
Commentary for Murder at the Gallop, Agatha Christie’s Marple [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:35
To mark (Aldridge) the occasion of Mark Aldridge’s latest book being available in PAPERBACK for the first time, Gray and Mark sit down to watch and natter through Murder at the Gallop (1963), the second of four 1960s fil…
Introducing Westmapod! Our new Agatha Christie podcast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:44
Hello Swingers, we have a new Agatha Christie podcast over on another feed we wanted to tell you about! But don't worry, The Swinging Christies isn't going anywhere. Go search WESTMAPOD in your podcatcher of choice and m…
Agatha Christie: Work In Progress [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:08
Mark and Gray are reunited to discuss the working titles of Agatha Christie’s Swinging works - novels, plays and short stories to boot! Recorded in a very special location this is a fun rundown and a valuable glimpse int…
Agatha Christie in Devon at the Burgh Island Hotel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:17
Gray and Mark take the sea tractor over the crashing waves to the magnificent Burgh Island Hotel in Devon. Cut off from the mainland, they discuss Agatha Christie’s Devonshire locations and references in the Swinging wor…
Climate Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:30
New year, new us…new world? Since before the 1960s, scientists have been warning at the negative human impact on the world around us, but it’s a topic that really hit the headlines in the Swinging era. Interestingly, it’…
Christmas 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:44
Mark and Gray aka Donner and Blitzen are here with the now-annual Swinging Christies Christmas extravaganza! This time the discussion is about the ITV Agatha Christie’s Poirot David Suchet adaptations of The Mystery of t…
Echoes of the Disappearance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:44
Gray and Mark are sunning themselves in Puerto de la Cruz for Tenerife’s International Agatha Christie Festival! In the 1920s, Agatha came to this beautiful island to get away from it all, but even later, in the 1960s, t…
Hallowe’en 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:51
Mwahahaha! It’s the now-traditional The Swinging Christies x Hallowe’en extravaganza, and this year Mark and Gray are talking about the recent film adaptation of Hallowe’en Party, A Haunting in Venice (2023). What do we…