Showing results by narrator "MIke Vendetti" in All Categories

A very short story by Ambrose Bierce, that as Bierce is so prone to do ends with quite a surprise.

Barred from life and death alike, she waited - waited for the key that could unlock the sinister talisman that held her prisoner of eternity. Taken from The King in Yellow, often referred to in "True Detective" this is one creepy short story.

Grief. An emotion we all experience at one time or another, but there is no grief greater then the loss of a loved one. In this short poem by William Hope Hodgson, the narrator is alone with his grief and the realization that what had been will never be again.

Robert Hugh Benson, a Catholic priest wrote this short story of the taking the life of a songbird, and the vision that accompanied it.

A Christmas Present, a gift from an aunt to a niece, Narrated by Mike Vendetti. And we always thought it was a guy thing.

William Hope Hodgson began his working career as a seaman, where he learned to fear and hate the sea. This short story takes place in the laboratory of a scientist who is in contact by one-way wireless telegraph with an unnamed friend who is on a ship trapped in a terrible storm. The sea becomes an evil thing, and the entity is determined to destroy the living, and the ship they came on. But before death comes to those aboard the doomed vessel, it brings out the very worst in the passengers.

A beautiful woman imagines she is married below her station. In an effort to make her happy, her husband brings home an invitation to a ball attended by the upper crust of Paris society. To his chagrin, she is only disappointed, and explains she has nothing to wear to the ball. The husband sacrifices his savings to buy her a dress. She has no jewelry, but she has a wealthy friend who will lend her a beautiful accoutrement to accompany the beautiful dress.

A traveler takes refuge in a château where he finds he is surrounded by fine paintings. Unable to sleep he takes refuge in a book. He moves the candelabrum to shed better light upon the book, but when he does so he discovers in the corner of the room and amazingly lifelike painting of a young woman. It is so real, and he is first so startled that he must close his eyes to gather his wits. After contemplating this painting for nearly an hour he discovers a catalog that describes the painting.

Imagine if you will, a South Sea island with no trees, only grass. The natives haven't ventured into the grass since a dead woman was discovered there and it was apparent that she died of snakebite. But there are no snakes, and the only mark on her not unlike the bite of a very small child. Now imagine that upon visiting the only non-native inhabitant you see sitting upon a shelf an amazingly lifelike foot high carving of a beautiful Polynesian woman and you cannot believe how lifelike it is until you discover that it is...

Can you tolerate the suspense? When a kid commits a crime in Pittsburgh, the trouble is just beginning. That's because teenage criminals end up doing time in the River County Reform Camp for Boys. Rehabilitation isn't what the manipulative colonel running the military-style boot camp has in mind for some. He sees his chance to control a lethal and fearless force - teen criminals.

Sarah used to take a short cut home after school through a railroad tunnel. Unfortunately, on October 31, 1902, Sarah never made it home. Her mangled body was discovered on the railroad tracks the next morning in the tunnel where she walked home from school every day.

One night when the Count was reading a book on ghosts, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye that frightened the willies out of him. It was a black cat with blazing red eyes. The Count brushed it off as just his mind playing tricks on him. The cat leaped from the window sill onto the ground, and headed to the front door of the castle....

Narrated by Mike Vendetti, this is the original version of Hensel and Gretel published by the Brothers Grimm. Probably not suitable for the polite and sensitive child under 12. A really wicked stepmother convinces the children's father to lead the children out into the woods far enough so they wouldn't be able to return home, but they do return one time to the chagrin of the stepmother. The next time they are taken to the woods they are not able to return home but do stumble upon a little house constructed of cake and confectionery which they immediately begin to consume.

Did you ever wonder at the lonely life the bird in a cuckoo clock has to lead--that it might possibly love and hate just as easily as a real animal of flesh and blood? Philip Dick used that idea for this brief fantasy tale. We're sure that after reading it you'll give cuckoo clocks more respect.

In the 1920s, life in the South was far different from life in the North, as Sally Carol Happer finds out when she travels north, toward St. Paul, Minnesota, to visit her fiancé and attend the annual Ice Festival. Talk about a clash of cultures! There may not be enough money in the cold and not-so-hospitable North to keep Sally Carol there.

Mild mannered Catholic priest Fr. Brown solves another mysterious mystery. How did the dead man get into the garden of Aristide Valentin, Chief of the Paris Police. There was no way in and no way out other than past a well guarded door. Also you may ask how did he end up dead, and who killed him. There are plenty of suspects, but Fr. Brown sorts it all out without relying on the confessional, therefore remaining true to his vows.

It's the 1920s, and Bernice, a teenager, visits her cousin, also a teenager, but far more wise in the ways of the world. It's summer, with dances at the country club, and Bernice is a bit of a burden to her cousin Marjorie, until Marjorie shares a few secrets with Bernice. With Bernice as the belle of the ball, Marjorie takes a few steps of her own.

The Lady or the Tiger, which will it be? The unanswerable question, but certainly something to think about. And going even further, did the princess regret her decision later? Originally published in 1882, in The Century magazine by Frank R Stockton, this short story has become an allegorical expression for an unsolvable problem.

The fear of being buried alive was alive and well in the 19th century. It is said that Poe himself harbored this fear. An excellent audiobook to accompany a nighttime visit to a lonely graveyard.

Jerry Conway is old, sick, heartbroken, and nearly used up when the old car comes back into his life, hungry for vengeance. With Jerry's help, Midnight Blues tracks down the men responsible for the death of his wife. But what does Midnight Blues and his lost love's angry spirit have in store for him, the man who failed to protect her?