The Thing in the Upper Room | Arthur Morrison | A Bitesized Audio Production
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- An unnamed horror lurks in the empty room on the top floor of an otherwise perfectly normal lodging house in Paris; no-one really seems to know what gave the room its evil reputation. But to Attwater, a young and impoverished English artist, the low rent seems worth the risk...
A new, original recording of a classic public domain text, read and performed by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
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Arthur Morrison (1863-1945) was a journalist and author who made his name with realistic portrayals of English working class life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, typified by his most famous novel, 'A Child of the Jago' (1896). In addition, he composed numerous short stories for periodical publication between 1891 and 1913, with themes ranging from horror and the supernatural to detective tales. In the latter genre he created two of the most popular contemporary "rivals of Sherlock Holmes", Martin Hewitt and Horace Dorrington, both of whom featured in The Strand Magazine between 1894 and 1897. Morrison was also a collector of Japanese artwork, publishing a noted book and several articles on the subject. On his death his collection of Japanese paintings, prints and ceramics was left to the British Museum, his son Guy having pre-deceased him.
'The Thing in the Upper Room' first appeared in the May 1910 edition of 'The Story-teller', a popular British periodical magazine.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2019 and 2021.
"Or a snatch of song!" Tell me this writer isn't poetic! Arthur Morrison puts today's authors to shame! Look at how brilliantly written these stories are!
I listened to this right before going to bed and now I can't fall asleep.
Sorry to hear that! Yes, perhaps not the best bedtime listening, this one. I hope you managed to get to sleep in the end...
@@BitesizedAudio Thank you!!!! Eventually... Great reading as always. Cheers from your Argentine fan.
A very well written story. I had not heard of it before.
Your reading is excellent, as always.
Glad you enjoyed it!
An absolutely hideous (in a very good way!) story. And, as always, impeccably read!
We count you as a part of our little family - Lulu the doggy, Nacho Kitty, Broom Hilda the spider and me. We are always anticipating a visit from our own very talented cousin Simon from across the pond! (There’s a vacant upper room if you should choose to stay overnight!)🙀
You're a bit of a storyteller yourself! Is Broom Hilda a free-range house spider or a pet tarantula like Miss Scarlett, my Chilean Rose tarantula? 🌹🕷
H. Calvert, Broom Hilda lives outside on a rose bush next to my front window. At first I thought she was a Golden Orb Weaver. Not the case, however, her beautiful web is an orb. I love her and speak to her every day. I have another spider who lives in my kitchen underneath the window. I like her a lot, but haven’t named her. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t know her breed; she’s just a small brown spider. She sometimes hides in a tiny teapot on the window sill, so I just refer to her as my teapot spider. Where did you get Miss Scarlet and what does she eat? How big is she?
Thanks Rachel, glad you enjoyed it! And delighted to learn about your and H. Calvert's pets, both familiar and exotic! What an entertaining and educational comments thread. And a very kind offer re your upper room, thank you!
Bitesized Audio Classics, 🐶😺🕷🐭
@@rattyrachel4316
Sounds like she lives in a Brown Betty teapot, so. . .Betty! I've had Scarlett about ten years now, & she was a birthday gift from my younger sister. She was purchased in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, while we were there visiting our stepmother. For only $60 I got her one foot cubed plastic tarantulaterrium (with secure lid), a dish for water, a low little cave, some substrate made from coconut shavings, & my big brown girl. Her hair gives her a pinkish sheen, thus her name (partly inspired by both Charlotte's Web & by Gone With the Wind). She is about the size of my outspread hand, when her legs are stretched out. She is very gentle. She's had numerous chances to give me a good chomp, when I've accidentally startled her while changing her water, etc. She'll lunge forward, but then reach out a leg & just lightly touch one of my fingers. They can taste through their feet, so she seems to think, "Hmm, that's my caregiver" & then she backs down. She will only eat crickets. I've tried mealworms with her, but she was raised on crickets so she just touches anything else & then pulls up all her legs in horror: "Ewwww, bugs!" She's a dainty miss! Since childhood, when I had a big rubber spider on a suction cup, I always dreamt of having a tarantula (I was an animal-mad girl). So she's a dream-come-true for me. Thanks for being a spider friend! 🕷🕸
Simon, my dear, you amaze me. I opine that you are British, yet you read this and have parlance in French with aplomb and class. I just love it. What a treat. You are a brilliant narrator. Tip of the hat, but as I am female, a curtsy.
Thank you Patricia. I am indeed British... I can't claim to be fluent in French, though I studied it a school and I think some of it stuck...
One of my favorite narrators - you bring every story to life, a wonderful talent.
Thank you kindly! Best wishes to you
Not a berth, not a bunk, but a room and within it a top talent! Deep and abiding joy, as always, cher Simon. Deep and abiding joy. ❤
Thanks Bob! Quite a dark one, this...
@@BitesizedAudio Yes, dark. But I don't mind dark. You always offer us a range and this fits into the spectrum. And you had me when he took of his clothes and climbed beneath the sheets. ❤
You could read me anything with that perfect voice. So brilliantly read everytime. Kudos
I totally agree!
Very kind of you to say so, thank you!
You are a brilliant narrator sir! I salute thee
I forgot to thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you Sir Simon Stanhope for reading such a brilliant short story! You made my evening so enjoyable! I'm sending many cups of tea across the pond w/ a few fruit tarts and scones!
Why, thank you sugarfalls1! I am partial to a scone (with jam and cream of course), and tea is a drink I'd find it difficult to do without!
@@BitesizedAudio Me too, honey! Me too!!! Oh, and cream and jam! You're making me hungry! Here's to tea and scones! Heavy on the cream!!
@@sugarfalls1 Yes, when you say"cream", of what type of cream are you speaking? Clotted cream, heavy cream, cream cheese?
@@gaylereid8264 The kind of cream Simon would put on his scone.
Simon Stanhope Is The Finest Narrator On The Entire Internet......His Voice Reminds Me Of The Great Edward Everett Horton 📽
Another beautifully-read horror story. Thanks for the reading, Simon!
You're most welcome. Thanks for listening!
You really do read beautifully! Thank you for this story.
I've been trying to learn from your reading style and clear enunciation. We livestreamed properly for the first time this morning, and boy am I sloppy and mumbly. It's so much harder than you'd think - so thank you again. Simon A+, Hannah, D-, "must try harder"
Thanks for your kind words Hannah! What were you livestreaming? I'm sure I'd be extremely stumbly and bumbly in such a situation, I'm very glad of the technology which allows me to edit out my mistakes!
That’s a bad deal when you wake up like that.
Thank you for sharing this one. Very good.
Indeed: quite the hangover...
What an incredible gift you give us with your stories! So many wonderful hours of stories. Sincerest thanks and best wishes to you.
You're most welcome. Thank you for listening, and for your lovely comment!
Morning everyone 😊 I woke to a nice surprise,let me get my morning cuppa,so I can relax and listen..Thank you💐💐
I don't fancy that room, but as always, I'm glad I made room for your presentations! Thank you. : - ) >
Very good! Thanks kirpalani-griffin
Nobody writes like this anymore - how eloquent!! "A shadow hung over the door, which stood black in the depth of its arched recess!" "Which stood"....I don't even think writers even know how to USE "which" as a preposition! I don't think most people know how to use "which" as a preposition!
... it's a relative pronoun.
@@paulinefoster6932 oh ok! lol See, I didn't even know what it was!! lol
We, English majors, would know how, but I daresay that my writing is not near this well done, nor this eloquent. I need to study the greats.
@@patriciajrs46 Yes, my older sister has a Ph.D. in English if you can believe that! lol We're American but she actually taught for a summer in Oxford of all things! That was awhile ago! But she's a great writer. I go to her whenever I need advice or critiquing of my writing. She's really good at using the right phrasing. Sometimes that's the whole essence of writing - how to write something that really puts it so nicely together. Most people can build a solid structure, but good writers know how to put a bow on the whole thing and tie it up nice & pretty!
Yes... Thank you!
Thank you once again.
Story okay; narrator excellent.
Ending still brings me up short despite i should know it after a few repeated listenings😂😮bite-sized is so enjoyable
Another wonderful and perfect performance . I could listen to you all night. Cheers from New Jersey
Appreciated Pat, thanks for your support!
Your narration is excellent. Bravo!!
Thanks Basil, appreciated!
Truly a forgotten gem. Brilliant narration. I wonder if Jack the Ripper ever rented a room like that 💀
That could explain the mystery... Thanks Scott
Hi Simon! Thanks for another great story read to us in your unique voice & style. How is your audible project going? Looking forward to your debut on there 😊 meanwhile I know I speak for others when I say how much appreciate you on this free platform!
Hi Felene, the ghost story anthology is coming together, thank you for asking! Although, I actually made my Audible debut a little while ago, with a collection of Conan Doyle stories last year, and a new recording of Charles Dickens' 'Hunted Down' - if you'd like to check it out, it's available at this link: www.audible.com/pd/Hunted-Down-Audiobook/B091DCJFF9
More recently I've done a couple of individual Victorian ghost stories, just to get to grips with the submission process... and it all went smoothly, so I'm now focussing on the compilation. I'm almost there with the final list and running order, and hope to have the final product ready for late summer/early autumn, in time for the ghost story season! I'll post an update on the Community tab when I have more details and dates etc. Thanks for your support Felene, it's much appreciated
Even the title is scary - the "thing"!
Interesting first acquaintance with Morrison's skill at something other than 'Rivals of Sherlock Holmes' stories - it reminded me at one point of a famous Ambrose Bierce story - but turned out much sadder.
Most enjoyable and (for me in Australia) well timed! Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Jackalina
This one really leaves you on a cliffhanger! So good.
THAT WAS BRILLIANT!😮
Thank you for your lovely videos
You're most welcome Sarah. Thank you for listening and taking the time to comment, much appreciated.
Simply wonderful in every way! Thank you from Texas
Just amazing as usual
Sir as always I am in awe , The time you spend in research isn't wasted . Yet again thanks to you m, another perfect Sunday evening for which I thank you RNK
Thanks Bob. I do enjoy the research part very much, and it's always a particular pleasure to uncover stories which have been unjustly neglected such as this one, I'm surprised it's not better known. Glad to know you're all caught up, more stories coming soon...
Creepy good!
I am listening while sitting under the stars on a rooftop … Scary!! … Well done as usual!
Thanks Missy!
I was so into this story and then the last line absolutely deflated me-what a let down, it pissed me off
Despite the bummer ending for me, I like this narrator
Please release this on audible someday! ❤️
I'm glad to let you know, it's already on Audible! You'll find it as part of my first Audible ghost story collection, here: www.audible.com/pd/A-Selection-of-Victorian-and-Edwardian-Ghost-Stories-Audiobook/B09HVBB7BH (this link should take you to Audible.com, depending where you're based you may get redirected)
Unfortunately the chapters aren't titled (not my decision, I asked them to do it, but it seems to be standard with Audible not to do that) but 'The Thing in the Upper Room' is chapter 10 in that compilation.
Funnily enough I'm currently in the middle of pulling together a second compilation for Audible, aiming to have it on there by Christmas.
@@BitesizedAudio Yay! Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to your future releases! ❤
This narrator's voice sounds like Mr. Peabody from the cartoon. Takes me back to being a kid.
This is a great story and it would not have been as good if it had been entitled: 'A Nothing Under a Lower Place'. Brilliantly narrated as ever. Thank you, I'm asleep now.
Sleep well, don't have nightmares!
Thank you so very very much, please, who is the amazing narrator.
Appreciate your kind words Marisa, the narrator is me... my name is Simon Stanhope, I'm an actor and voice artist. Thanks for listening!
If you saw a demon's face every time you looked in a mirror, would you see the demon's face covered in shaving foam when you shave?
Very cool thanks
Thanks for listening DEES NUTS, welcome to the channel!
It would be excellent if Netflix made a series of these short horror stories ❤
Just posting as sometimes-always to say thanks for the great work.
Appreciated, thank you John
Very well read, thank you
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for listening
Different kind of story. Really enjoyed it. What I would enjoy more is if you could post a little more. It so far between your posts. I check and recheck.... and recheck.......... and
Thank you Nonatie. I am doing my best to post weekly at the moment, but it's just me working on the channel, researching, recording and editing, and I'm juggling other work, family life, etc., so sometimes it does slip a few days. I just wish there were more hours in the day (or that I could afford to spend more time on it than I do!) I've lots of stories on my list still to record so stay tuned.
That was very disturbing. indeed
Si, si, muy bueno.
A favourite of mine from you. Thank you Simon. Disagreeable manifestations ... what a turn of phrase 👻 enough to put me off the upper room
Glad you enjoyed it Annette. Lovely to hear from you, I hope you're well?
@@BitesizedAudio all good thank you. Always much much better though when I see something new from you 😃 hope all’s well with you too
Ah, yes, the old I KNOW EVERYONE ELSE FLEES IN HORROR BUT I WILL BE OK HERE.
Interesting story (not one I've heard of) - and an interesting idea also.
Yes, it's quite unlike most ghost stories of the era, quite modern in its tone and feel I think. Thanks for listening
Who else puts these stories on loop 😃
It boggles my mind how people refuse to listen to intuition. This is the second story today I've heard where, if empathy/intuition had been heeded, disaster would have been averted. Yes, they are just stories. But in life, is it not the same?
Frustrating.
I feel the moral of this tale is that as soon as the reputation of a haunting involves a murder-suicide *in any way*, call in an exorcist.
This one is so sad :(
A new recording? I mean, I'll take it. Obviously, I'll take it. But why a new recording?? Here's a completely selfish request: please do some Walter de la Mare (any, but preferably ghost stories - 'Crewe'?) or M.R. James (any that aren't done by Michael Horden & therefore already on UA-cam...). Love your videos.
Thanks Dr Wolftickets. I've been occasionally remastering and/or re-editing some of my earlier recordings, but you're right in this case it's a new recording. The reason is that this is one of the stories I'm considering for a collection of Victorian ghost stories which I'm planning to publish as an audiobook later this year; the previous recording was done with a very different set-up, mic and software to the studio set-up I have now, so I've redone it so that the recording sounds consistent with the rest of the compilation (side-by-side listening the contrast would have been very obvious).
Regarding your requests, I'm always happy to take requests (and very often they're on my list already!). I've done a few M. R. James so far, most recently 'Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance' (which I think is one that the inimitable Michael Hordern didn't do?) and will certainly do more in the future. As for Walter de la Mare, he's an author I'd love to cover but unfortunately the vast majority of his work is still under copyright and I can't read it for this channel without permission from his estate. He and H. Russell Wakefield are at the top of my list of "authors I'd like to read but currently can't", and at some point I may approach their estates for permission but at the moment I have such a backlog of public domain material that I've not followed it up. Having said that, it's possible that some of his earliest stories (pre-1925) are out of copyright now, in which case I'd be glad to include them on my list for the future. Thanks so much for your comments, I'm glad to know you enjoy the stories!
@@BitesizedAudio Fantastic. I look forward to it.
Didnt you already do this one?
Yes indeed, it was one of my earliest ones, however I recently re-recorded it as part of another project so thought I'd share the new version as the recording quality etc is much better. I'm working on lots of new stories too though, rest assured!
That was a neat bit of writing wasn't it. I'm not sure when it was written, but it seemed to be a bit more modern than its fellows on the channel. The monster in the room indeed, for haven't we all seen it from time to time.
Thanks William. Yes, I agree it does have quite a modern feel about it, although it actually dates from the Edwardian era... the first publication that I've been able to ascertain was in May 1910 in the British periodical 'The Story-teller'.
@@BitesizedAudio I looked him up, after writing that, and he certainly must have made good use of the library. Aside from his own wits, it doesn't appear that he had a whole lot of help getting established.
@@williamfawkes8379 Dang. That's rather sad. Pity, some good writers get missed, and passed over for publisher's high prices and personal opinions.
@@patriciajrs46 I'll give you a bit more details, its not sad, he was born in the slums, and managed to get a job as a journalist. From there, he managed to publish a number of books that showed a light into the darker side of life in London. I was being vague in my comments before, because Simon always seems to know so much about the authors, but I didn't want you to get the wrong impression from my clumsy earlier comment. I was surprised that this author managed to succeed despite being born into the wrong class. Maybe that is why his style seems more modern as well, he isn't as burdened by traditional the educational biases of his time.
💙🎙📚💙
👍🎬😲
1870-1970 pinnacle of human species.
19o8-1938 sweet spot
Thanks forvall the recomendations but no more please
I don't quite understand... what recommendations are you referring to?
@@BitesizedAudio It appears that well meaning folk are writing to recomen8d episodes of CBS RMT. . Its ok though
These old stories are so predictable