The ghostly shadow of Agatha Christie emerges in a dimly-lit garden on a mystery-filled night in Torquay, the birthplace of the queen of crime, which is celebrating the 125th anniversary of her birth.

"Do you think it's her?" a young woman asks her neighbour half-jokingly when she spots the hat-wearing silhouette crouched over her typewriter in the glamorously old-fashioned English Riviera town.

Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective she invented, can be seen pacing nearby in Torre Abbey -- one of the Torquay landmarks hosting a legion of Christie fans and experts who enjoy a bit of dress-up.

Wearing a blazer and a straw boater at the garden party, Piers Cardon said he was a "super fan":"I want to get in the atmosphere, to feel the golden age," the 66-year-old retired school teacher said.

Cardon and his fellow faithful have descended on Torquay from around the world for the 10-day festival.

Many of the men wear gaiters and coat tails and the women are in pearl necklaces and satin or lace dresses, gathering in the evenings to dance to piano tunes or drink cocktails in Art Deco hotels. But it is not all about fun, there is also a more academic side to the events.

"I want to develop my knowledge about Agatha Christie," said Cardon, who read his first novel by the queen of crime fiction at the tender age of 10 and has never looked back since.

At one festival workshop, crime writer Martin Edwards talked about how Christie and her contemporaries set the foundations for the modern murder mystery with the legendary "Detective Club" they created.

At another seminar, David Brawn, editorial director at publisher HarperCollins, talked about the difficult ties the author had with her editors, displaying different covers for her books starting with the "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1920).

More European travel attractions: All aboard the Vatican train for the pope's summer castle.