Showing results by narrator "Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki" in All Categories

Algernon Blackwood, a journalist and broadcast narrator, was one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. The title story, "The Touch of Pan", explores the lingering presence of myth in everyday life. In "The Glamour of the Snow", Blackwood winds a tale about a man's infatuation with a supernatural winter beauty. In "The Attic", the ghost of an usurer haunts the old Chateaux and, on the anniversary of a young boy's death, the boy's cat brings the family together. "The Willows" follows two campers who are on a canoe trip down the Danube.

Best known for his masterpiece of horror, Dracula, Bram Stoker wrote a number of other novels and many short stories, all with supernatural themes or filled with a physical terror reminiscent of Poe. The title story, "Dracula's Guest", was originally part of the great novel but was excised and published separately. The accompanying stories, such as "The Squaw", "The Judge's House", and "The Burial of the Rats", are classic tales of the macabre in their own right.

At first blush, Widdershins is a conventional haunted house story involving an unsuccessful writer who moves into an empty house in hope that isolation will help his failing creativity. His sensitivity and imagination are enhanced by his seclusion, but his art, his only friend, and his sanity are all destroyed in the process. It can be interpreted as narrating the gradual possession of the protagonist by a mysterious, possessive feminine spirit, or as a realistic description of a psychotic outbreak culminating in catatonia and murder, told from the psychotic subject’s view.

Guy de Maupassant was a master of the short-story genre, producing more than 300 during his lifetime. These concise stories contain twists and shocking turns, and range from the fantastic and supernatural, with characters descending into madness....

Originally published pseudonymously in 1893, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets follows the tragic tale of Maggie and her life in the harsh streets and tenements of the New York City Bowery district. Initially rejected by publishers for being viewed as too brutal and accurate in its descriptions of poverty and female sexuality, Stephen Crane published the work at his own expense. In Maggie's struggle to find love, acceptance, and economic security, Crane creates a portrait which mirrors the struggle of all the women of America at the end of the 19th century.

Psychologist Loche Newirth becomes hunted when he sees a painting that opens a window onto the afterlife. An ancient order of men seeking to control the art pursue him across the world, through centuries, into madness, and beyond. The first part of Michael B. Koep's the Newirth Mythology The Invasion of Heaven is mystery, adventure, myth, betrayal, murder, and madness. Loche Newirth wonders if it was his fall: The 50-foot drop from the rocky cliff to the icy water below. Is this why he has been hallucinating?

In the spring of 1338, young William of Leaves knows only of remedies, herbs, and his mother’s kindness. When he is forced to watch as she is dragged to a witch’s pyre by a mob led by the bishop of London, the mysterious immortal apothecary Albion Ravistelle promises the boy a chance at vengeance. In the summer of 1972, Helen Storm is a stoned groupie on the Sunset Strip with a very special condition: She is immortal. When her life intersects with a famous guitar player, she is introduced to her future as a deadly and remorseless assassin.

Michael B. Koep’s final installment in the Newirth Mythology trilogy brings a psychologist face to face with his greatest fear: madness. On the other side of the world, a professor of mythology struggles to interpret a sudden shift in the historical timeline, the mysterious discovery of the ruins of an ancient city, and the anomalous nature of Loche’s writing.

Skyboat Media presents Give the People What They Want and Other Stories of Sharp Wit, Cunning Women, and Wild Magic, an original collection of short stories from Alex Bledsoe.

Orlando is the extraordinary biography of a young nobleman in the court of Elizabeth I who transforms into a woman and lives for over three centuries. In his youth, Orlando is a passionate lover and poet. He dotes on the Queen, serves King James faithfully, falls deeply in love with a Russian princess, and becomes an ambassador to Constantinople, but at his heart all Orlando ever wants to be is a great writer (and living at the same time as Marlowe, Donne, and Shakespeare, this is no easy thing). But while living in Constantinople, one evening Orlando is transformed into woman.

A realm at war. The star dragons struggle under the oppression of an unseen foe—a creature of terrible power, who seeks to shape all of space-time into a web of subjugation and death. The Dream Mountain, source of knowledge and life to the dragons, is held by the enemy; and yet, hope burns in the dragons’ hearts.

A new era is dawning for the Court of Light and the Court of Dark. Queen Aurora will soon be married to King Jarvok, and for the first time in history, Dark and Light Fae will be united. Except Aurora is also concealing a secret from everyone—she is with child. Not everyone is pleased with the upcoming nuptials. Queen Aurora’s closest advisors have long held that Virtues and Power Angels are sacrosanct, and her bishops view her upcoming marriage as an abomination.

Once, peace between the Court of Dark and Light seemed possible. A treaty was signed, a new balance was agreed upon. But now it all may go up in flames. Queen Aurora and King Jarvok are refusing to end their battle. And with neither willing to surrender, their kingdoms are on the edge of destruction. Until a ghost from the past intervenes.

The war between the Court of Dark and Light waged for far too long. But at long last, each side has set their elemental magick and weapons down, and the Treaty of Bodhicitta is signed. The rules are clear. Never again will the Fae spill their own blood, and human worship must be equal to both courts. But while Queen Aurora and King Jarvok were playing their war games, the outside world has moved on from polytheism to monotheism. Now, the humans understand worship, equals power and wealth.

Aurora, Queen of the Light Fae, is a former Virtue angel sent to earth to nurture the planet in preparation for humanity. Jarvok, King of the Dark Fae, was once a nameless foot soldier from the Power Brigade angels cast down to earth to fight against the demon horde.

One child holds the key to the survival of the Fae and humanity. But with King Jarvok a shadow of his former self, Asa has chosen to disobey him and disguise herself as a member of the Court of Light to find answers. Together, she, Indiga, Dora, and the Familiars undertake a perilous mission to rescue the Little One who can lead them to the prophecy child. Yet, even if they save him, they still have many powerful enemies who will do anything to prevent the prophecy child from being found and fulfilling their destiny.

There are those who once believed that the Courts of Light and Dark could finally be united. But now a new Queen has taken the throne, and the Court of Light has descended into darkness and turmoil. Broken-hearted and devastated, King Jarvok can no longer ignore his centuries-old suspicions. While he looks towards the shadows, his second-in-command Asa is determined to focus on the light. In doing so, they both realize there are secrets among them that some will die to keep.