Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Anthologies & Short Stories

"The Thing in the Hall", by E.F. Benson, is a rather macabre and strange story - retold by Mike Vendetti - of two friends living in London, one of whom tempts fate by inviting a spirit to visit without limiting what type of spirit he is inviting. As we know, there are "evil" spirits just awaiting a home or a victim.

The great-niece of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Gilman wrote much about the unequal status of women within the institution of marriage. The great-niece of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Gilman wrote much about the unequal status of women within the institution of marriage.

From The King in Yellow, by Robert W. Chambers, and set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, artist Jack Trent lives with his model Sylvia. The story takes place during the Seige of Paris in 1870, ending with the Germans shelling the Latin Quarter, and Trent arriving home to see a child scrawling "Here fell the first shell".

From The King in Yellow, this tale narrated by Mark Alexander begins: "The street is not fashionable, neither is it shabby. It is a pariah among streets - a street without a Quarter. It is generally understood to lie outside the pale of the aristocratic Avenue de l'Observatoire. The students of the Montparnasse Quarter consider it swell and will have none of it. The Latin Quarter, from the Luxembourg, its northern frontier, sneers at its respectability and regards with disfavour the correctly costumed students who haunt it. Few strangers go into it."

"The Profit’s Paradise" is a story from The King in Yellow narrated by Mark Turetsky, a collection of eight dreamlike poems by Robert W Chambers.

From The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, this story is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where a young artist falls in love with a nameless girl. He has no name, so he names her by the street. Rue Barree in English translates to Road Closed. Are there connotations here, or not?

Ambrose Bierce dabbled very often in stories about ghosts. This story starts with a duel, a bet of sorts, to stay in a haunted house, and ends up a tragic joke. People regularly die of fear in Bierce stories, so beware as you listen to this story masterfully told by Markham Anderson.

Failure is often the best path to success. If you don't believe it then you should meet Sir William Phipps who discovered that perseverance would be key to his ultimate success. From a shepherd to one who stood before the king his fictional story will both inspire and amuse. From the mind and pen of Nathaniel Hawthorne

While not being not particularly scary by the standards of today many of the ghost stories of the Victorian Era are very entertaining, and represent escapist literature of the highest quality. In To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt, which first appeared in the 1865 Christmas Edition of All the Year Round, the master novelist presents a lively portrait of the spectre of a murder victim with a desire for vengeance.

W. F. Harvey (1885-1937) was a prolific writer of short tales of the macabre and the strange, best known for the classic horror tale "The Beast With Five Fingers". "The Clock" also sees Harvey exploring the supernatural, with an eerie tale of an unexpected and unwelcome tenant in a deserted house.

Poor, raggedy little girl, meets Fairy Godmother, who transforms her life from rags to riches. This puts her way beyond the reach of her nasty step sisters... But, what does she do to them when she marries the Prince?

Was it a case of a true gentleman in the old west? Or are the charms of a pioneer woman enough to blind the eyes of a love-struck cowpoke? A strong dose of mutual deceit, but only one knew the truth. A classic story that leaves you to determine who was the kinder. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Spot was a good-looking dog and everyone in the Klondike wanted the canine - except the two men that owned him. They tried selling him, they tried leaving him behind, and Spot seemed content to keep them guessing how he was always able to find them. Adventure, humor, and a good dose of owner frustration populate this story from famed writer Jack London.

Conradin, a ten-year-old boy, rebels against his strict guardian when he invents a new religion which idolizes his pet polecat-ferret, Sredni Vashtar. Conradin hides Sredni Vashtar and prays to him in secret. When the guardian begins a search for the boy’s new god, Conradin’s worship is answered with disturbing results.

A fictional story that is positioned in time with the crucifixion of Jesus. While events that would shape culture and thinking were taking place, Ben-Tovit was consumed with a toothache. Would his own health issue prevent him from recognizing history? Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

On the banks of a Nebraska river several boys hear a story that causes them to plan a great adventure for their future. They could never quite get past a plan to find the Enchanted Bluff, but life has a way of stealing dreams from childish minds. A beautiful story of the hope of childhood in a time a few shades less complicated. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

A true story? Embellished? Total fiction? We may not know, but Mark Twain shares a story from the perspective of a man who has had too few friends, and too much time on his hands. Humor throughout. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Katherine Mansfield accomplishes an incredible drama with detailed characterization in "Miss Brill", a story only four pages long, written in the early 1920's. The main character is a lonely spinster, probably an elderly Englishwoman, living in a resort area of France near the seashore, earning enough to support herself by tutoring English children and reading the newspapers to an old invalid whose ability to hear and comprehend are questionable. She sits on a bench at the park and creates fantasy scenarios involving the people around her, enhanced by her eavesdropping skills.

A woman dies and discovers that the afterlife allows her to choose a soul mate for eternity if she felt she was denied one in life. After complaining that her husband never understood her and had many habits that annoyed her, she is introduced to another soul who seems to be her perfect match. Who will she choose? This story touches on ideas of different types of love and how our wants and our needs may be two very different things.

There may be more reason to avoid marrying blue beard than the color of his facial hair. There may be more reason to avoid a certain closet than a simple request. There may be more to this man than meets the eye.