Seventeen years after its CBS premiere, Harper’s Island remains a bloody pick for Halloween viewing. Created by Ari Schlossberg, the 2009 limited series packs a complete murder mystery into 13 episodes, giving viewers time to know its wedding guests before cutting them down. Its blend of horror and mystery makes every death do double duty: another gruesome scare, and another reason to reconsider who might be responsible.

Focusing on a group of people isolated on an island, it’s immediately reminiscent of one of the mystery genre’s most famous works, the novel, <em>And Then There Were None</em>, by Agatha Christie, which pioneered what a terrifying experience getting stuck on an island with a killer could be. This book became a prolific manual for the genre after its release in 1939, perfectly portraying the elements necessary for a great mystery (though, noticeably, it skimped on horror). This is common for any attempt at genre fusion, as often creators put more emphasis on one aspect of their creation while neglecting the other. Not Harper’s Island, though. This series, with its inventive mystery, ominous scares, and seemingly endless amounts of visceral bloodshed, shows the best parts of the mystery and horror genres and uses both to create a horrifying story.

‘Harper’s Island’ Is the Perfect Place for Terror

Before Harper’s Island mastered this fusion, Christie was the unrivaled expert at how to make mysteries terrifying. This legendary writer is known for her nail-biting stories, setting herself apart by exploring new depths of the genre that similar writers at the time didn’t dare to. While “whodunits” (stories where the core mystery is a secret killer’s identity) have always existed, Christie made the threat terrifying by trapping her characters together and turning their suspicions against one another.

ALeave immediately. I don’t need to understand a threat to respect it.
BStay quiet and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it.
CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again.
DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I’d rather know what I’m dealing with.
ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.