100+ Tourists Trapped On Grounds Of Agatha Christie’s Former Home, Spurring Jokes

 A group of tourists got the true Agatha Christie experience when they were trapped on the grounds of the late British mystery writer’s holiday home during a tour.

More than 100 people were trapped for several hours in Greenway, Christie’s former home in the British countryside after a tree fell during a storm and blocked the single-access road leading to it. All visitors were uninjured, but they couldn’t help but notice that their situation would have been the perfect premise for one of the author’s murder mysteries.

Visiting tourist Caroline Heaven contacted local news outlet Devon Live, CNN reported, to alert them of the situation. This prompted Britain’s National Trust, the organization managing the historic property, to release a statement confirming that all “visitors, staff and volunteers still at Greenway [are] unable to leave,” and that the organization was “doing everything” to make their extended stay comfortable. 

Activities included drinking tea and playing lawn games with the staff, Heaven told the outlet. “They are doing a great job, they are giving us free teas and things. It’s a bit bleak,” she said.

Several social media users compared the situation to Christie’s famed novel “And Then There Were None.” The murder mystery focuses on ten strangers who visit a remote mansion off the Devon coast and start getting killed off one by one. 

One social media user shared a link to the article with a caption that said, “99, 98, 97, 96, 94 (grisly), 93.”

 

Another person jokingly advised the stranded tourists to “implement a buddy system immediately.”

“If I am ever trapped in Agatha Christie’s house for several hours I am so walking around holding a tea cup and saucer asking people where they were and what they were doing, and shooting them suspicious looks as they answer,” a third person wrote. 

All visitors were able to make it home safely once the road blockage was cleared. The author’s former home was then shut down temporarily because of storm damage. 

Christie is one of the most highly respected and best-known murder mystery authors. Her novel “And Then There Were None” is one of the top-selling books of all time, with approximately 100 million copies sold. She died in 1976.