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Witching Hour Tales
Приєднався 9 сер 2006
A selection of tales to listen to at night. Preferably in the dark or by a fireside with a glass of something.
Tales of ghosts, horror, murder most foul and the darkness of the human spirit. From the subtly chilling, to the darkly humorous and the truly blood curdling.
In addition to the classics of M.R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu and their peers, I shall also endeavour to highlight some hidden gems of the ghostly and macabre from my vast literary collection.
Thank you for listening. If you enjoy what you hear, please subscribe and comment. Everyone is welcome.
Tales of ghosts, horror, murder most foul and the darkness of the human spirit. From the subtly chilling, to the darkly humorous and the truly blood curdling.
In addition to the classics of M.R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu and their peers, I shall also endeavour to highlight some hidden gems of the ghostly and macabre from my vast literary collection.
Thank you for listening. If you enjoy what you hear, please subscribe and comment. Everyone is welcome.
Three Shall Meet - Frederick Cowles
Three Shall Meet by Frederick Cowles.
Frederick Cowles (1900 - 1948) regrettably remains one of Britain's more sorely underrated writers of ghostly and macabre short fiction. Sometimes compared with the work of M.R. James, Cowles usually enlivened his tales with overt gruesomeness to craft some enjoyably lurid yarns.
Three Shall Meet appeared in the posthumously published volume Fear Walks The Night and is a suitably grim and bloody tale which I'm sure followers of my channel will enjoy.
If you enjoy this story, please take a moment to like, comment and subscribe.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
Frederick Cowles (1900 - 1948) regrettably remains one of Britain's more sorely underrated writers of ghostly and macabre short fiction. Sometimes compared with the work of M.R. James, Cowles usually enlivened his tales with overt gruesomeness to craft some enjoyably lurid yarns.
Three Shall Meet appeared in the posthumously published volume Fear Walks The Night and is a suitably grim and bloody tale which I'm sure followers of my channel will enjoy.
If you enjoy this story, please take a moment to like, comment and subscribe.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
Переглядів: 191
Відео
Christmas Ghosts - Charles Dickens
Переглядів 18910 місяців тому
In the field of great English storytellers, the great Charles Dickens surely requires no introduction? His timeless novella A Christmas Carol (1843) arguably popularised the tradition of the festive ghost story. Christmas Ghosts originally appeared in article form in the 1850 publication The Christmas Tree. Here Dickens explores the Victorian Christmas tradition of the fireside ghost story and ...
The Nameless Horror Of Berkeley Square - Aidan Chambers
Переглядів 176Рік тому
The Nameless Horror Of Berkeley Square by Aidan Chambers. Aidan Chambers (1934 - ) is an acclaimed, multi award winning author of fiction for children and young adults. Among his many published works are several volumes of short supernatural tales based upon allegedly true historical accounts of hauntings and the uncanny. I hope you enjoy my reading of this story. If so please take the time to ...
Brickett Bottom - Amyas Northcote
Переглядів 5252 роки тому
Brickett Bottom by Amyas Northcote. Amyas Northcote (1864 - 1923) was a British aristocrat who also dabbled in the writing of ghostly and supernatural tales, clearly influenced by M. R. James. Northcote's stories would be gathered in a collection entitled In Ghostly Company, his only published work. I hope that you enjoy my reading of this subtly chilling and mysterious tale. Please like, comme...
The Story Of A Disappearance And An Appearance - M. R. James - A Ghost Story For Christmas
Переглядів 7082 роки тому
The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance by M. R. James. Montague Rhodes James (1862 - 1936), in addition to his esteemed life as a scholar and antiquarian, is today widely considered to be perhaps the finest writer of ghost stories Britain has ever produced. The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance was first published in the magazine Cambridge Review in 1913 and later appeared in t...
The Travelling Grave - L. P. Hartley
Переглядів 1,2 тис.3 роки тому
The Travelling Grave by L. P. Hartley. Leslie Poles Hartley CBE (1895 - 1972) was a successful and acclaimed British writer of both novels and short fiction. Today he is perhaps best known for his novels such as The Go-Between and The Hireling, both of which were adapted for the cinema screen. However, Hartley would also demonstrate a considerable flair for short tales of gothic horror and the ...
The Yew Tree - Shamus Frazer
Переглядів 6063 роки тому
The Yew Tree by Shamus Frazer. Shamus Frazer (1912 - 1966) began his literary career whilst still studying at Oxford University. Frazer's early novels Acorned Hog (1933) and Porcelain People (1934), received favourable critical notices, including comparisons with Evelyn Waugh, with whom Frazer shared a publisher. Despite these promising beginnings, his work would soon slide into relative obscur...
Narrative Of A Ghost Of A Hand - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
Переглядів 6723 роки тому
Narrative Of A Ghost Of A Hand by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 - 1873) was born in Dublin into a family of longstanding literary connections. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Le Fanu would blossom into a fine writer in his own right. While he would work across a number of genre's, it is undoubtedly his stories of ghosts and the macabre which have cemented his lasting posthumous...
Brighton Ghosts - Frank Usher
Переглядів 7993 роки тому
Brighton Ghosts by Frank Usher. "Frank Usher" was one of several pen names of the prolific Leicestershire author Charles Franklin (1909 - 1976). While most of Franklin's output consisted of mystery and spy stories, he also wrote a number of historically focused tales of ghosts and the macabre under his Frank Usher pseudonym. These would appear in the John Canning edited anthologies 50 Great Gho...
The Kill - Peter Fleming
Переглядів 1 тис.3 роки тому
The Kill by Peter Fleming. Peter Fleming (1907 - 1971) was the older brother of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. While arguably overshadowed by the lasting cinematic and cultural legacy of his younger siblings famous literary creation, Peter Fleming would lead a varied and remarkable life in his own right. A soldier, traveller and journalist, Fleming also found time for a varied literary career ...
Blackberries - Roger Clarke
Переглядів 3973 роки тому
Blackberries by Roger Clarke. Roger Clarke (born 1963) is perhaps best known in his capacity as a film-writer for both The Independent and Sight & Sound. Growing up in an allegedly haunted house spurred a passion for the supernatural and while still a teenager, Clarke's short horror fiction was being published in both the Pan Books Of Horror and Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories series'. Bla...
A School Story - M. R. James.
Переглядів 9713 роки тому
A School Story by M R. James. Montague Rhodes James (1862 - 1936), in addition to his esteemed life as a scholar and antiquarian, is today widely considered to be perhaps the finest writer of ghost stories Britain has ever produced. A School Story was first published in 1911 as part of the collection More Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary. Given that Eton played such a pivotal role in both James' c...
The Portobello Road - Muriel Spark
Переглядів 2,6 тис.3 роки тому
The Portobello Road by Muriel Spark. Dame Muriel Spark (1918 - 2006) was amongst the most successful and acclaimed female writers and poets of the twentieth century. Her notable works including The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, The Mandelbaum Gate and Memento Mori. First published in 1957, The Portobello Road is an offbeat and engaging tale of ghostly revenge, rather atypical in that it is narrate...
Dickon The Devil - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Переглядів 2 тис.3 роки тому
Dickon The Devil by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 - 1873) was born in Dublin into a family of longstanding literary connections. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Le Fanu would blossom into a fine writer in his own right. While he would work across a number of genre's, it is undoubtedly his stories of ghosts and the macabre which have cemented his lasting posthumous legacy...
Sawney Bean - Captain Charles Johnson
Переглядів 5503 роки тому
Alexander "Sawney" Bean was said to be the patriarch of a feral, incestuous family clan in 16th century Scotland during the reign of James VI. According to legend, Bean's clan waylaid, robbed, murdered and cannibalised in excess of a thousand unfortunate travellers over the course of some 25 years. The hellish brood were eventually captured and executed. The legend of Sawney Bean has provided i...
The Flowering Of The Strange Orchid - H. G. Wells.
Переглядів 5143 роки тому
The Flowering Of The Strange Orchid - H. G. Wells.
The House With The Brick-Kiln - E.F. Benson
Переглядів 5 тис.3 роки тому
The House With The Brick-Kiln - E.F. Benson
The Haunted Village - Sydney J. Bounds
Переглядів 1,8 тис.3 роки тому
The Haunted Village - Sydney J. Bounds
The Crab Spider - Erckmann & Chatrian.
Переглядів 7323 роки тому
The Crab Spider - Erckmann & Chatrian.
The Haunted Inheritance - E. Nesbit.
Переглядів 3,9 тис.3 роки тому
The Haunted Inheritance - E. Nesbit.
The Vampire Of Croglin Grange - Augustus Hare
Переглядів 7714 роки тому
The Vampire Of Croglin Grange - Augustus Hare
Burrage would be delighted with this narration. Many thanks.
How I loved this. Thank you very much for posting it. --------------- I have an inherited neurological condition, semi related to Parkinsons. My life is now spent on my back, on a cheap mattress, with my knees and back both propped up by a big pile of pillows & blankets. I can see a PC screen, on a table near my bed. My right hand rests on my stomach. It holds a PC mouse. Which I can manipulate quite well. From this situation, thanks to people who give their time to post wonderful things on UA-cam, there is so much I can do. I can roam the earth, learning about plants and animals that died out 250 million years ago, or listen to fantastic and fantastical stories. I'm not complaining about my circumstance. I am SO lucky that I live in this age, and that there are people, who I've never met and never will, who enrich my life hugely.
Sorry but the adenoidal narration was very disturbing
Brilliant reading!!! Bravo 😊
Thank you!
im so happy tour back!!!
Hell yes, tha man is back! That's synchronicity for ya, was just hoping you n' your's are well. Cheers from the States'n a belated Merry Christmas, and very, very Happy New Years!
I'm good, thank you. There is plenty of new content on the way, too. Happy New Year!
@@jacksmith1983 smAwesome (something a cartoon creator I knew always said, not sarcasm) can't wait! Cheers
Three did meet 😮
They certainly did
Saw this pop up and almost couldn't believe my eyes! It's my own Christmas miracle 🎄⛄ I hope you're doing well and having lovely holidays.
Thank you 😊 💓 Hope you enjoy listening. I'm doing well, thank you. Enjoying the break from work. Presently relaxing with a generously poured Baileys and watching the classic Scrooge from 1951 starring Alistair Sim. I've no doubt the cheese. pate and crackers will put in an appearance later. Hope you're having a good Christmas too. 😊🎄
Happy Dickensian Christmas
A pleasant surprise!
An odd tale. Much of the story felt like a Patricia Highsmith type exploration of a dysfunctional mother/son relationship.........and then a big supernatural bogey man jumps into the narrative.
The conclusion came out of left field and took me by surprise, too, when I first read this story.
Stopped listening. Long intrusive adverts, shame.
you can skip them.
Hey, your voice is absolutely charming. Please keep recording videos, I find them very soothing. 😊
L P Hartley was brought up just a five minute walk from where I was. They lived in Fletton Tower, Peterborough. Amazing old mansion.
Somehow I missed this upload, so I’ve turned the bell on for your channel, making it one of a dozen. Thanks so much, WH
I have zero memory of subscribing to this channel, but I'm glad I did at some point. This was an excellent rendition of a great old school ghost story that I've never heard before.
Thank you very much I enjoy listening to a good story before bed or sometimes just to relax for a bit.
When BBC Radio was brilliant for audio plays I remember listening to 50 Berkeley square,with the 2 sailors mentioned. A really good well written play,and if you haven’t heard it download it from UA-cam. Thank you for giving me a lot of enjoyable listening. My favourite one though is the engelmayer puppets,thank you again
oh oh! silly girl! i would not trust anyone, even a smily old lady s face, or maybe they can trick me too? brrrr scary
Favorite M.R. James...The Hex
It's a shame the sound quality is so bad. Good voice.
The regional accent of the reader is wrong - for this kind of story. It should be read by someone like Alec Guinness.
I hope you keep posting... its ok taking a break you know .. life intrudes at times LoL ... but don't stop ok? I really enjoy your narrating style and unique stories.. just keep posting and you will be successful in this endeavor .. you have a great voice for this.. it just takes time.. you'll see.
Beautifully read. A very frightening story. Thank you.
Another great story. Just wanted to say, hoping you are well, haven’t seen any stories from you, and you definitely upload some of the best ghost and horror stories that I know I’m not the only one who hadn’t heard, and I’m sure I’m not the only one missing your great narrations. But more importantly, just hope you are doing well and in health. Cheers
I concur. :)
Wow.
This is some good narration - you could go professional and should start sending out job applications.
Truly enjoyed this, Black berries, and the Kill. If possible can you read some more by those authors? Best always
Pleased you enjoyed them. I'll do my best to cover more by said writers at some point.
Perfect he sealed his own doom by just NEEDING to tell of his unexpected inheritance - (guessing here) lovely! Great story.
Yes he'd at least be safe until the next full moon if he could have just contained himself and kept his mouth shut.
Came for Horner
An intriguing tale. Thank you.
Love your narrating style-very listenable. Thanks for this!
Thank you for your kind words and support. Glad you're enjoying the stories.
Suspenseful!
Yes it's a subtly creepy one.
Really love your voice and the way you read!
Thank you, that's really kind and encouraging. Lots more yet to come this year.
strange and resonant.
Thanks for interpreting and posting this lesser-known James classic. I always thought it was exceptionally creepy, almost surreal. The ghastly Punch and Judy image only adds to the horror
Glad you enjoyed it. I was around 13-14 years old when I first read James' collected tales. I must confess I didn't really "get" the ending the first time I read this one. It's definitely grown on me though with subsequent readings and I agree it's underrated. I love the Christmas setting, the almost Dickensian quality it has with the comical Mr Bowman and, of course, the Punch and Judy dream sequence is truly nightmarish.
Thanks for interpreting this lesser-known James classic. I have always thought it was exceptionally creepy, almost surreal. The image you posted of Punch and Judy only adds to the horror
What a great story! Needle is so natural and a free spirit, so to speak. You do a fine reading.
Needle is a real free spirit and there is always a coercive and domineering undercurrent around George. A very well realised and engaging story, narrated from a very unique perspective. Pleased you enjoyed it Carol xx
I loved the lines about "Whatever happens, they can't kill me" which had to be abandoned during the war. Such dark humour!
Thank you Carol. Indeed, there is definitely a pronounced undercurrent of dark humour to this tale.
Superb! Hartley is so insidiously creepy...
Agree completely Carlos. Never is it better exemplified than in this story. It actually starts out fairly light and darkly comic, but a menace gradually descends on proceedings. Masterful.
They dont all have to be terrifying. 🌞
Definitely not Peter. It's nice to cover something more light and playful occasionally.
I saw this picture on the cover of a compilation of ghost/horror stories in the early 1980's. Does anybody know what the book was called ?
Hi Jerry. It is from an anthology called A Taste Of Fear, edited by Hugh Lamb.
You have a wonderful knack for finding unique, truly scary stories, and interpreting them with an engaging, but subtle style. Most of the offerings on other channels are recycled horror stories, overplayed and overdone. I look forward to your next posting.
Thank you very much for your kind words and support. I could easily do what other channels do and cover nothing but M. R. James, Le Fanu, Lovecraft, etc, but I do like to mix up the established favourites with forgotten gems. There's plenty more in the pipeline anyway, so watch this space.
Your old voice is not comin' from an old throat now is it? Don? Hadn't heard this story before - action horror! Good 'un.
Old voice? I hope not! I'm 38 next month, although some days I feel much older. This is a story that would definitely adapt well to film or television.
Ooh, loved it ! The cottage gave me the shivers......more than the tree! Thank you 💛💜💚💙
@@hilaryeales1268 glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind words and support xx
I love trees, but this one gave me Tim Burton vibes.
Really well read, enjoyed listening to it very much.
Thank you Julie x