Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

'The Grinding of the Mills' is the bizarre tale of two men born at the same moment in the same hospital but from very different backgrounds. It appears that key future events in their lives are predetermined by the timing and location of their birth...although given their different characters and circumstances, they respond in very different ways to similar challenges. When the men meet, their relationship takes a dramatic turn. At their first meeting, one saves the life of the other. Later on, events cause one to resolve to murder the other.

A spine-chilling collection of fantastical and enchanting classic short stories. 'The Wolf Book' by Henry Chapman Mercer; 'Absolute Zero' by Morgan Robertson; 'An Uncommon View of It' by W. C. Morrow; 'The Baumoff Explosive' by William Hope Hodgson; 'Absolute Evil' by Julian Hawthorne; 'The Dolls' Castle' by Henry Chapman Mercer; 'The Legend' by Edith Wharton; 'A Tropical Horror' by William Hope Hodgson; 'Castle Valley' by Henry Chapman Mercer; 'Passing of a God' by Henry S. Whitehead.

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was a popular American author, editor and satirist. 'The Speck on the Lens' is the story of an oculist who is approached by an unusual character holding a strange tin box. He introduces himself as the inventor of a special telescopic device with very unusual properties...but it is accessible only to someone with a very unique type of eye. The oculist, he says, has this kind of eye. The doctor puts the device to his eye and is astounded by what he sees. But then he perceives a strange speck on the lens...and things take a weird turn....

Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole (1884-1941) was a New Zealand-born English novelist famous for his skill at scene setting and vivid plots. He was a best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s and remains popular to this day. 'The Last Trump' is an engaging and tense story about a man who believes he has calculated the exact date and time of the end of the world. It will occur at 11:45 pm on January 20, 1929.

Morgan Andrew Robertson (1861-1915) was a popular American author of short stories and novels who claimed to have been the inventor of the periscope. 'The Trade Wind' is the strange and unsettling story of a ship where all the crew are mysteriously struck blind after a night of drinking rum in the tropics...a condition called moon blindness, for which there is no available cure.

Lady Bessie Kyffin-Taylor was an English writer famous for her outstanding supernatural stories, which were published in a single volume in 1920, just two years before her death. The Twins is one of Kyffin-Taylor's most famous novelettes. It tells the bizarre tale of identical twin brothers. One brother is hell-bent on evil and constantly contrives to ensure his twin is blamed for his ill-doing.

Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) was an American short story writer, archeologist, artifact collector, tile maker, and designer of an extraordinary castle in Pennsylvania called Fonthill. 'Castle Valley' tells the strange supernatural tale of an artist who gazes into an old crystal and sees a vision of a beautiful Gothic castle, with which he gradually becomes obsessed.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930. 'The Legend' is the story of a mysterious stranger who has been brought into hospital after being found collapsed in a park. As the man is destitute and in need of recuperation, Dr. Bob Wade takes an interest in the man and offers to take him home until he is well again.

Julian Hawthorne (1846-1934) was an American writer and journalist, the son of novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne and Sophia Peabody. He wrote numerous short stories, mystery/detective fiction, essays, travel books, biographies and histories. Absolute Evil is an extraordinary werewolf story. A young spinster goes on an adventurous summer vacation on a remote island which is rumoured to be haunted. The island is inhabited only by an old woman and a small child. Or so they think....

Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile maker and writer of extraordinary supernatural stories. The Wolf Book is the story of a professor who spends the summer travelling in Hungary and Romania in search of rare manuscripts. At the monastery at Jollok, he learns that the library was plundered a hundred years earlier by a sinister nobleman who was rumoured to be a werewolf.

Over 50 great classic short stories, each around 20 minutes in length - perfect for short journeys, bedtime listening and those moments in between.... 'The Khitmatgar' by B. M. Croker, 'The Mummy of Thompson Pratt' by Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne, 'The Ghost at the Blue Dragon' by William J. Wintle, 'A Tropical Horror' by William Hope Hodgson, 'Miracles' by Barry Pain, 'The Dust That Was Barren' by P. C. Wren, 'His Unconquerable Enemy' by W. C. Morrow, 'A Tiger’s Skin' by W. W. Jacobs....

Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) was, amongst other things, an eccentric archaologist, historian, architect, antiquarian collector and author of Gothic horror stories very much after the fashion of M. R. James. 'The Dolls' Castle' is the creepy story of a haunted house with a sinister past which uses old, rotting dolls to lure unwary children away from their parents.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American novelist, Dark Romantic, and prolific short story writer. 'The Adventure of the German Student' is a ghost story set during the French Revolution. A young German student who is depressed and lonely has a recurrent dream about a beautiful female face. He begins to obsess over the features day and night. Then one evening as he is walking home through the Place de Grève, where the guillotine stands....

A sumptuous collection of over 60 short stories by some of the world's greatest writers. 'The Hoop' by Fedor Sologub, 'The Last Leaf' by O. Henry, 'The Man Who Hated Aspidistras' by W. F. Harvey, 'The Conjurer' by Richard Middleton, 'The End of a Show' by Barry Pain, 'The Devil of the Marsh' by H. B. Marriott-Watson, 'The First of April' by A. J. Alan, 'The Everlasting Club' by Arthur Gray, 'The Apple Tree' by Katherine Mansfield.

A spectacular collection of outstanding half-hour short stories...perfect for commuters or bedtime listening. 'The Whistle' by Hugh Walpole, 'The Well' by W. W. Jacobs, 'The Scrupulous Father' by George Gissing, 'The Debt' by Edith Wharton, 'The Problem of the Five Marks' by Melville Davisson Post, 'The Purple Wig' by G. K. Chesterton, 'Pickman's Model' by H. P. Lovecraft, 'Humplebee' by Geroge Gissing.

William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work including horror, fantastic fiction, and science fiction stories. 'The Baumoff Explosive' (sometimes known as 'Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani') was first published in 1919. This story is one of Hodgson's most powerful and disturbing and is especially relevant to modern times because of its themes of blasphemy, religious mania, obsession with the crucifixion of Jesus, and suicide bombing.

William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was an English author of horror, fantastic fiction, and science fiction. Hodgson used his experiences at sea to lend authentic detail to his short horror stories, many of which are set on the ocean. He became one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. He died in World War I at age 40. 'A Tropical Horror' is the vivid story of a ship which is attacked by a hideous sea serpent.

Lettice Galbraith is as mysterious as the stories she wrote. She appeared on the literary scene in 1893 with a rash of short stories and one novel, published another story four years later, and then disappeared without a trace. Yet despite the brevity of her presence on the literary stage, her supernatural stories have remained popular to this day. 'The Ghost in the Chair' tells the story of a strange shareholders' meeting at a troubled mining company.

Morgan Andrew Robertson (1861-1915) was a popular American author of short stories and novels who claimed to have been the inventor of the periscope. 'Absolute Zero' is a strange supernatural story about two marine artists who are friends and who work in adjoining studios. The younger of the two has been working on a strange painting for some time. It shows an odd scene onboard a ship.

William Chambers Morrow (1854-1923) was an American author famed for his short stories of horror and suspense. 'An Uncommon View of It' is the story of a man who has discovered that his wife is having an affair with his best friend. He decides that one thing is clear...he must have his revenge. He will kill them both and then commit suicide. But what will he do exactly? Will he use a revolver or poison? As he sits down to plan his revenge in detail, he develops a plan of action which is really quite extraordinary!