Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

"The Outsider" is one of Lovecraft's earliest and creepiest stories. A man exists alone in a mysterious dark castle, with no memory of how or why he is there. One day he decides to climb the highest tower in the hope of seeing the sky...and in doing so briefly learns the terrible, ghastly, unbearable truth....

Charlotte Riddell (1832-1906), who wrote as Mrs J. H. Riddel, was one of the most popular and influential writers of the Victorian period. 'A Strange Christmas Game' is a brilliantly constructed ghost story with a strange twist at the end.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937), who wrote as H. P. Lovecraft, was an American author of horror fiction who achieved posthumous fame as one of the most influential writers of his day. "The Terrible Old Man" is the gruesome story of three robbers who set out to steal from a mysterious and reclusive retired sea captain who has a circle of strange stones in his garden and conducts even stranger rituals in his house.

Poe's mysterious tale of two feuding families. On the night when the young Metzengerstein is suspected of burning his rival's stables, a strange uncanny horse is rescued from the flames. He recognizes the stallion as the one depicted in an ancient tapestry in his castle and believes it also to relate to an old prophecy regarding the two houses. He adopts the horse as his own and becomes obsessed with it.

A fascinating collection of short stories by some of the greatest Victorian female writers. This anthology covers every theme from spirits and the occult to love and sexuality to sentimentality and romance to social observation and critique. 'The Operation' by Violet Hunt, 'Satan's Circus' by Eleanor Smith, 'A Dream of Wild Bees' by Olive Schreiner, 'A Dill Pickle' by Katherine Mansfield, 'Squirrel in a Cage' by E. M. Delafield, 'Afterward' by Edith Wharton, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman....

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was one of the most versatile and accomplished writers of his day, as well as being a prominent art critic, painter, philanthropist and social commentator. His writings included academic essays, travel guides, poetry, manuals, treatises, letters...and one enchanting fairy tale: The King of the Golden River. The story tells of three brothers, two of them greedy and dishonest, the third and youngest a kind hearted and trustworthy lad.

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874 - 1922) was a polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. 'The Voyage of the James Caird' is the story of Shackleton's 1916 failed attempt at a crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea via the pole. The expedition turned to disaster when Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed. The crew escaped by camping on the sea ice until it disintegrated, then by launching the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island.

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....

Eight brilliant short stories from the best female short story writer of her age. Katherine Mansfield's wit, pathos and descriptive genius combine in this collection to take the listener from a wry smile one minute to the verge of tears the next.

Stacy Aumonier was a British writer, best known for his outstanding short stories. Nobel Prize-winner John Galsworthy described Aumonier as "one of the best short story writers of all time" and predicted that he would "outlive all the writers of his day." Aumonier wrote over 85 short stories in his lifetime. He has been described as the "British Maupassant" owing to his captivating plots and his ability to create complex characters with just a few lines of carefully selected prose.

We all know what happened in the Arabian nights. The King's plan to put his wife to death in the morning was always foiled by her telling an exciting but unfinished story the night before the execution... until finally after 1001 nights, he agreed not to have her killed. But at this point the traditional story ends. In this tale, Poe conjurs up an amusing and macabre scenario for what happened on the thousand and second night.

Kipling’s classic tale taken from the Just So Stories. When all the other animals become tame, the cat is reluctant to give up his independence. He devises a clever scheme to gain a seat by the fire and a saucer of cream without having to submit to man.

"The Door in the Wall" is the strange supernatural tale of a young boy who finds a door in a wall which leads to a beautiful magical garden full of wonderful people, animals and flowers. The rest of his life is spent searching for the door and the magical world again...but the door reveals itself again only at the most inconvenient moments, when he cannot spare the time to go through it. Until one night, finally, he finds the door again and goes back through....

A beautiful collection of some of the finest Chinese fairy tales ever told. Incorporating magic, wicked witches, strange adventures and mysterious spirits. Enchanting! Stories include: "The Magic Pillow"; "The Stone Monkey"; "Stealing Peaches"; "The Painted Skin"; "The Wonderful Pear Tree"; "The Country of Gentlemen"; "Learning Magic"; "Theft of a Duck"; "Living for Ever"; "Football on a Lake"; "The Flower Fairies"; "The Talking Bird"; "The Peach Blossom Fountain"; "The Lute Girl’s Lament".

Twenty hours of the very best of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories.

A creepy collection of the very best Gothic tales from the masters of suspense, horror, supernatural and occult fiction. 1.The Room in the Tower by E. F. Benson 2. Afterward by Edith Wharton 3.The Green Light by Barry Pain 4. Fingers of a Hand by H. D. Everett 5. The Squaw by Bram Stoker 6. The Dancing Partner by Jerome K. Jerome 7. Lost in a Pyramid by Louisa M. Alcott 8. The Girl who was Tired of Love by Leonard Merrick 9. The Parasite by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 10. The House with the Brick Kiln by E. F.

Edred and Elfrieda Arden belong to an ancient noble family which has fallen on hard times. Orphaned and living with their aunt who takes in lodgers at the seaside, life is dull and frustrating. But when Edred suddenly inherits the title of Lord Arden - and a medieval ruined castle to go with it, the adventures are only just starting. The children discover a magic spell through which they meet the Mouldiwarp - a white mole who is also the emblem of the Ardens.

In March 1873 Great Britain was rocked by the forgery case of the century, perpetrated against no less than the Bank of England. Four criminal brains took on the entire financial system... and would have got away with it too, had it not been for one tiny detail.

A rich and varied collection of classic short stories by British writers: 'Quality' by John Galsworthy, 'The Mark on the Wall' by Virginia Woolf, 'The Horse Dealer’s Daughter' by D. H. Lawrence, 'The Ticking of the Clock' by Louisa Baldwin, 'The Fiddler of the Reels' by Thomas Hardy, 'The Return' by R. Murray Gilchrist, 'Kew Gardens' by Virginia Woolf, 'Seashore Macabre' by Hugh Walpole, 'Satan’s Circus' by Eleanor Smith, 'The Coffin Merchant' by Richard Middleton....

1. "The Mysterious Card" by Cleveland Moffett 2. "The Card Unveiled" by Cleveland Moffett 3. "The Problem of the Five Marks" by Melville Davisson Post 4. "A Terribly Strange Bed" by Wilkie Collins 5. "The Gold Bug" by Edgar Allan Poe 6. "Who Killed Charlie Winpole" by Ernest Bramah 7. "The Comedy at Fountain Cottage" by Ernest Bramah 8. "The Secret of the Smoked Spectacles" by William Le Queux 9. "The Hair" by A. J. Alan 10. "The Haunted Dolls’ House" by M. R. James, and many more....