Showing results by narrator "B.J.Harrison" in All Categories

Rachel Innes is a rich lady who has been taking care of her niece and nephew since their father died. The three of them decide to rent a house in the country and although everything seems to be alright in the beginning, strange events soon begin to occur. Her niece disappears then reappears a few days later. There is a murder they are involved in. They hear strange noises. Things fall down the stairs in the middle of the night. Will Rachel solve the mysteries and how will their summer end? Find out in "The Circular Staircase". B. J.

"Her arms rested on a table beside her, and her head on her hands; but her face was turned full forward, and her eyes met those of the spectator bewilderingly." One day, a man who has recently enherited his aunt's house, discovers a portait of a woman in the attic. He brings it downstairs and becomes so infatuated by the woman it portrays that he prays she will come to life. By some mysterious power she does, and he learns that the two of them have a daunting history.

Forty-two years old Marlow is drinking with four other Englishmen. They have known each other since the beginning of their working lives. Some of them have other jobs now, but they still gather to recall the good old days. Marlow tells his friends a story of his early life, when he travelled to the East as a young man in search of adventure. He shares his experience and impressions of the different cultures he came across with the four men.

A young woman named Mary Sutherland is engaged and about to marry Hosmer Angel, when he unexpectedly disappears. In her despair and anxiety, Mary decides to ask Sherlock Holmes for his help. This seems to be a simple case for the great detective. After a short exchange of letters with Mary’s stepfather, Mr. Windibank, Sherlock finds out what the truth is.

Abercrombie Smith and Edward Bellingham are neighbors and fellow students at the University of Oxford. Smith is a medical student and athlete, while Bellingham is a specialist of Eastern studies and the owner of many Egyptian artefacts. A series of strange episodes happen after Edward buys a four-thousand-years-old mummy. Smith suspects his fellow student of hiding a dark and threatening secret, and soon discovers what the truth really is.

Three young men are caught by a storm and are offered shelter by a strange man. Something about him is very disturbing and they are about to find out what it is. Their host claims that he has made a pact with the Devil and can't get himself out of the deal. Is he going crazy or he is telling the truth? If it is the truth, can the three visitors help the poor man? Find out in Leroux’s "In Letters of Fire". B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

"... Why, it would really be being unselfish to go away and be happy for a little, because we would come back so much nicer." Lottie and Rose belong to the same London women's club, but they don't know each other very well. They both see the same advertisement for a castle in Italy, which is available for rent for a month. For different reasons, these women want to get away from their husbands for a while and they put out an ad and find two more women in need of vacation. And so, the four vastly different women head to Italy.

Alice is pregnant with her husband Sir Richard Trevlyn’s child. One day, she listens to a conversation between her husband and a visitor through a keyhole. What she hears is shocking enough to make her faint, and when she comes to, her husband is found dead. Years later, the sixteen-year-old Paul applies for a job at the estate, and it becomes clear that there is more to him than meets the eye. What happened to Sir Richard Trevlyn, and who is the mysterious Paul? Louisa May Alcott’s mystery novella from the 19th century, read by B.J.

In "MS. Found in a Bottle", one harrowing event seems to take place after another. Our narrator is a man who has become alienated from others and his country. He steps aboard a cargo ship from Batavia, which crashes into stormy conditions that send most passengers into the water. Surprisingly, the narrator stays on board, only to find himself face to face with a new disaster. During his struggles, he logs his experiences into a journal, which he casts off to sea.

B.J. Harrison reads "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe, which is a story of an unusual mystery that needs to be solved. A sensitive letter has been stolen from the queen's boudoir, and the famous amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin has been called to the rescue. The guilty one is the lover himself, Minister D-. What ensues is a match between the detective and the thief, two equally brilliant minds.

From the books that inspired the new Netflix series "Lupin" with Omar Sy. Arsene Lupin is suddenly and suspiciously willing to share some secrets with Inspector Ganimard which will help the police unveil a murder. But is Lupin helping out of the goodness of his heart or does a large jewel connected to the deceased have anything to do with it? The fifth story in Maurice Leblanc’s collection "The Confessions of Arsene Lupin" about gentleman thief and criminal mastermind, Arsene Lupin.

A small group of friends decide to attend a seance at a local art studio. While some of them are very sceptical about the whole thing, others believe in the medium’s abilities. The group starts a discussion about a new painting of a mythical creature, when a Frenchman joins and claims that he sees a unicorn in it. Shortly after the seance begins, a strange light fills the room and the medium starts speaking in a different voice. The voice is that of a person no longer within the living.

Inspector Lestrade is investigating a series of break-ins in London which have one thing in common: shattered Napoleon busts. After many unsuccessful attempts to solve the case, Lestrade comes to a dead end and is forced to ask Sherlock Holmes for help. The next day another bust has been destroyed, but there has also been a murder. Holmes wants to solve the case as quickly as possible to prevent another crime. He finds out that all the Napoleon busts come from the same mould.

Sometimes self-fulfilling prophecies are not all they seem. Lord Arthur Savile is a young British aristocrat about to get married. Mr. Podgers tells people’s fortunes, and he has bad news for the groom: he will commit murder. Unable to get the thought off his mind, he decides to get it over with before entering into marriage, but things do not go as planned. Hear the darkly humorous short story "Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime" by Oscar Wilde from the late 19th century brought to life by B.J. Harrison. B. J.

Halpin Frayser awakes from a dreamless sleep and the only thing in his mind was the words "Catherine Larue". Frayer feels a shiver down his spine because this was not the first strange thing he had experienced that day. Earlier, he was hunting in the forest but he could feel that something was not quite right. The picture of a haunted forest dripping with blood had come up in his mind. He had seen himself writing a poem with blood. The corpse of his mother had been in front of him.

A man’s beloved woman suddenly dies of pneumonia. He cannot cope with the loss and spends a whole night wandering around the cemetery searching for her. However, what he finds and sees there is far from what he expected. Would you feel fear after reading "Was It A Dream?"? Then it may be interesting for you to find out what the characters in Maupassant’s short story "Fear" have to say about it as well. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

Latimer is convinced that he has a special power. According to him, he can see into the future and he can also read people's mind. Actually everybody’s but one; his brother’s wife Bertha's mind remains closed to him. Although he marries her after his brother’s death, he still cannot manage to read her thoughts. What he realizes however is that Bertha is manipulative and her heart is not pure.

"When the World Was Young" introduces us to a thief named Dave Slotter, who intends to steal from James Ward - a famous and wealthy businessman. However, while Slotter walks through Ward’s property, he encounters a wild barbarian and is forced to fight for his life. Will Slotter escape from the wild man who wants to kill him? Who is the barbarian and what is he doing on Ward’s lands? Will the thief succeed in his plan? "Moon-Face" introduces us to John Claverhouse, a man who is unreasonably despised.

"Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" allows readers to return to the wondrous world of Alice. A sequel to Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," this novel sees Alice visiting a fantastical world once again, this time through a mirror. What she finds on the other side defies logic and turns the world as she knows it upside down.

Composer and music teacher Annette Brougham hears a knock on her ceiling. Ready for a confrontation, she goes up and is surprised to find herself drawn to the mysterious artist Alan Beverley. As their relationship develops, Annette finds herself knocking on the ceiling whenever she wishes to speak with Alan. However, it appears that things are more complex than meets the eye, and Annette is faced with an important decision. The short story "The Man Upstairs" by P. G. Wodehouse is filled with relationship twists and unforeseen turns.