The Second Passenger by Basil Copper
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- Опубліковано 11 січ 2024
- Basil Copper, born on February 5, 1924, in London, and passing away on April 3, 2013, was an English writer who initially pursued a career in journalism and newspaper editing before transitioning to full-time authorship in 1970. Beyond his literary pursuits, Copper cultivated diverse interests, including swimming, gardening, travel, sailing, and collecting historic films. Notably, he established the Tunbridge Wells Vintage Film Society and actively participated in esteemed film organizations in London. Basil Copper spent a significant portion of his life in Sevenoaks, Kent, and he was survived by his wife Annie, with whom he entered matrimony in 1960.
Basil Copper's literary journey embarked with his inaugural short story, "The Curse," published at the age of 14. His professionally published debut, "The Spider," emerged in the Fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories in 1964. Venturing into novels, Copper made his mark with the Mike Faraday series, beginning with "The Dark Mirror" in 1966. Widely recognized for his series of Solar Pons stories, paying homage to Sherlock Holmes, Copper's association with editor August Derleth resulted in publications through Arkham House. Among his notable works are "Necropolis" (1980), a crossover between Victorian Gothic and detective fiction, and "The Great White Space" (1975), a novel influenced by Edgar Allan Poe and Lovecraft. Copper's macabre tales, including "The Academy of Pain" and "Beyond the Reef," underscored his mastery in horror fiction. His significant contributions earned him a Locus Award nomination in 1981, and in 2009, "Basil Copper: A Life in Books," a biographical work, received the British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction. Basil Copper's literary impact endures, resonating through the realms of horror and detective fiction.
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These stories just wouldn't be the same without your chat at the end. Always makes me think I've popped round to see and old friend. That's what your podcast is to me. An old friend.
I am very happy you feel that
I agree...that's exactly how I feel
Yay! First to listen on this cold, windy, yet sunny, PNW 2024 January day. My blessed friend has brought Putnam & Williams High Tea items for a belated Holiday treat! What a lovely delight! Friends & listening wonders! Thank you!
Ditto every poetic word..here in rural pnw.. knees covered with wool throw..cup o tea cupping in our hands..settling in for a gr8 yarn on the RR.
❤
@@lesliewheeler4785 💯🪭‼️
🖤👻 & 🛌💤🌀 &🕵🏻♂️ 📖🗣️🪭
Stay cozy & warm! Open your cabinet doors to warm the pipes & let the faucets drip… these arctic winds have us on our toes, using tissues to blow our nose, & ready to curl up & listen very, very close!
Cheers Tony’s fellow PNW listener. 📪📫📬
Hey neighbor. PNW here. Isn’t this the best?! Tony reading… Great stuff for the weather we love. Best to you.
PNW, me too😊
I'm in the PNW too! These stories are great for the bone-chilling weather we're having.
It is -28 C and blowing snow here at my cabin in the forests of Montana U.S.~~THANK YOU Tony, for being here for me to discover. Your Podcast keeps me company through the long nights. Hello to all the dogs!
Wow, you guys must be getting the north wind sweeping down the east edge of the mountains. I'm as far north but a couple states to your east and we've barely hit a minus 10 yet. Usually we've already gotten a week's worth of 30 below or better by now.
Anyway, I concur. I'm happy to sit down to some nice easy listening stories after work during a cold snap.
You guys keep warm and best of luck on those rotten icy roads, fellow northerner.
That is cold! But how romantic that sounds
Montana's a beautiful state. Greetings from a friendly neighbour up in Canada. Stay warm!
I simply can't get enough of Mr Walkers stories! They're like a port in the storm for me. An oasis in my world...
Happy to help
@@ClassicGhost Honestly, you help more folks like me than you may realize. Please, keep up the great work! You're a treasure!
Hi Tony,
Thank you.
It's great to hear your voice, especially when I'm stressing.
Anxiety has me in it's grip, and I must deal with it alone.
The upside is that I just adopted a 10 week old ginger kitten.
She's gorgeous and needed a home.
Please excuse my blether.
But hey...?
Your Ginger will tend to you, like no other..Tony's voice builds good 👍 😉 vibes inside.. his narrative skills are thrilling.
❤
You're never alone! Animals make the best of friends, and you have your spooky family here who care about you!❤️
@lesliewheeler4785
Thank you for your kind reply, it is *truly* appreciated.. ❤️
@lunablue745 Thanks so much.
Kind words mean *so* much.
Love this spooky group.
❤️
@@Story-Voracious66 💛Me too!
Enjoying the Narrations and the Bletherings!!❤
I often walked in the dark of the City, with the little Tyke Jasper!!
In the Spring and Summer,
I walk without Shoes on,,,❤
It's rather Funny when People point it Out, Kindly
~ telling me that I am not Wearing Shoes!!😂❤
“You tried to get into the locked drawer today, didn’t you?” I always know I’m in for a treat.
For real! What’s in that drawer??
@@franktheexpertstrenchclub9025 that’s an entire story in itself 🤫
Some people don't like the winter and the dark but I think it should be our time to slow down and rest as the earth is doing. A good time to really indulge in hygge. If you haven't heard of the concept of Hygge you should look it up. It's from the Danes and the Norse. They know a thing or two about how to spend the cold dark afternoons. Over by me, we have gotten 9 inches of snow in the last ~24 hours. More due tomorrow night.
Thats a lot of snow
Thanks!
thank you so much
I'm spo excited, I've never been this early ❤❤😂
This saw an outstanding story, and the reading was done very well 👏. Thanks for sharing your art.
Good to hear that your dogs are well.
Perfect timing i just made a thermos of coffee. Please do the 50 ghost stories 😅😅
Recovering from a operation.So listening more at moment.Helps me sleep.Thanks tony.
I love Zizek! Actually, I dated a professor who got me a tshirt that says, “I ❤ Zizek!” He is such a goofy dude. This was wonderful, but what a bonehead, aye? He’d have probably not been hanged with his injuries and clear evidence of a struggle, and perhaps the ghost would have been less vengeful if he would have felt that the justice system had tried and acquitted him.
Also, I take total responsibility for encouraging you to chat with us at the end! ❤ I’d be so sad if you didn’t. And I love walking around at night. I live both in Minneapolis and way out in the middle of nowhere and it’s the best, both places. It is a bit harder to be comfortable in winter here though when we get such intense blizzards and so far below zero (Fahrenheit, of course, so well below freezing, in fact, it rarely goes above 32* F in winter around here). I still brave the cold though, and I see so many cool animals. Actually, I just was in Florida and saw some armadillos and alligators during my nightly walks!
i just interviewed Todd Thyberg from Minneapolis ! As a detective I do not chat , as a ghost I do generally
I live in Minneapolis now but I grew up in Florida.
Love your rambles!
Thank you! They come naturally as you might have guessed.
I had a second listen today Tony,
and got a lot out of your "blether ".
Perfect timing, it struck so many chords.
I went on to listen to my favourite Fairport Convention and Steeeye Span, trying to keep myself grounded, ( this is an enemy I'd almost forgotten, then it rears its totality irrational head).
So more than just thanks for the story, and wishing you all the best on your next everything.
The best musings make me take notes and - as another commenter said - inspire my own musings. Here are some notes ‘n quotes…
**
Tony Walker’s musings after The Second Passenger ghost story by Basil Copper.
“And that’s what we all do, don’t we? We write - very often - about our memories of our youths. We don’t write about the world as it is; we write about the world as we remember it, as we are historical creatures, traveling through time …or does time travel through us?… Mm. That’s a deep one, but certainly …when we write things, we are not outside the process of history. That sounds very profound, but actually doesn’t really mean very much, so… Just means we get old, don’t we? And then we get older. That’s all it means, but it sounds like something at a literary festival.“
“This mysterious other“ for whom we buy all the books we never read.
“I think by talking.“ “Many of you love this stuff - it’s your fault, you see?“
😅😅😅
On “the dark there“: “You’re drenched in darkness - it’s like a blanket around you.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “To thee all seasons shall be sweet.“
Coleridge wrote “Frost at Midnight” from which this line appears.
Even the dark is as light to You.
According to Goodreads or Wikipedia, Coleridge also originated the term “suspension of disbelief.“
And finally, a comment reply to @along5925
“Thoughts lead to thoughts and if we’re lucky they lead to dreams.“
**
Hurrah Sheila! Organization is🔑! Hooray for the doggies and the dark. I actually walk my little Loki every night for an hour in the dark listening to this odd gent who does a Ghost stories podcast😁
Me too sometimes, but wind chill at 16 Degrees would crack our little pups toes! 😢
@@evelanpatton oh my goodness, that is cold! Stay safe & warm!🐾💙
Nice surprise ❤
While she was working, my late mother used to get up and go to bed a half-hour early just so she could read. (My late father understood. He was medically retired, but he was a big reader as well. Our inherited house is heavily infested with books, theirs and ours.
I do that too . It’s important to find time to read
🔥wonderful for a chilly evening.
Thank you♡
What a well-written story! And I love the name "Reginald Braintree", especially how it plays into the plot at the end of the story. Thanks Tony! Nicely read as always! I can't believe I never heard of Basil Copper before. I'll have to listen to your other story of his!
I enjoy listening to you think out loud ❤
Others have mixed views :) But thank you
@@ClassicGhost “Others” are free to stop listening at any point in time. 👩🏻🦰
I need to remind myself of that from time to time
Love your vivid narration, "ramblings" also this time around. Thank you, again, Tony.
I thought I was the only one who knew about Elizabeth Hand and Wylding Hall! WHAT an outstanding story. Frightens the life out of me on each re-read.
Thank you Tony! And loved the story tonight as well!
In rural oregon, on a roaring, surging getting high & not yet cresting creek.. let it snow 😅
Tony's narrative provides comic relief.
sounds very atmospheric though . stay dry
Green slime. What an odd theme to stumble onto! 😀
i am going to avoid it in future
Very enjoyable! As always, love your commentary as much as the story, so a great combo. I have also been walking in the dark evenings the last couple of months and enjoyed it so much. Especially the festive lights, they make me feel so relaxed somehow. There, now I am rambling. Thank you!
I love to hear your response to it though. Night walkers!
Oh that was a good one 🥰 Thank you!
Glad you liked it!!
Wonderful. Thank you
Loved your epilogue commentary almost as much as the main story. Greetings and best wishes from Silicon Valley California.
Silicon Valley. You’re my first commentator from there
Loved this story and your narration of it. Also, I'm one of your many fans who throughly enjoy your post-story verbal wanderings. I invariably listen in when retiring for the night and your comments/observations always lead me to musings of my own on any given subject and I drift off. It's very pleasant. So keep the conversation going, my friend.
thank you. Thoughts lead to thoughts and if we’re luckily lead to dreams :)
I love walking around in the dark for all the reasons you mentioned, especially after a thick blanket of snow or on a really hot night. I also love walking around on cloudy, uncrowded days along the water, but on no other days. I think I'm just happiest when I'm brooding if I'm honest.
Nothing wrong with that :)
That was great, I love your telling of these awesome tales!
In rural Oregon, they say, "Black as the inside of a cow"
I have heard that saying but a long time ago now
Steeleye Span? I think I have all of their vinyl albums.
A dark and damp Saturday evening in January 👀 I absolutely love listening to your ghostly stories,. I don't sit in the dark I darent 😲 I have a light on just in case....👍
Some of them are spooky
Thank you Tony! I love, love your commentary after the story. I am one of those who listen to the end. ❤
The best kind !
I always enjoy the stories. Lately, i take a moment to appreciate the cover art as well.
Glad you like them! I enjoy making them
Great story and narration!
Your "you made me do it" and owning up to your actions line made me smile and howl in laughter. I teach something very similar in my classes. I refer people who say that to "Man's Search for Meaning", by Viktor Frankl.
Have a fantastic evening!
You have the best reading voice and your pace is perfect💜💞💜 thank you.
Thank you for saying that ! I read more slowly than i used to due to helpful feedback and comments
❤ Thank you so Much Again!!
Gratefully Appreciated,❤
~ Now,,, I must Listen!!
From Carlisle,😊
Andréa and Jasper. ...XxX...❤
Ps, This was absolutely Awesome 😎👍👍
Your Narration is Perfect!!❤
I love this story ❤
Good selection, which I enjoyed. Hope you have a good time at your "do"; are you speaking or just having a good time? Stay well.
Yay! Great story … Happy New Year to you all!
Green slime in two stories is a coincidence. Another coincidence is that a cult classic science fiction horror film is titled "The Green Slime". Its lively theme is running through my head right now.
It’s a nasty substance
Hey there! Lovely presentation. Do check out AFTERWARDS, THE DARK by Basil Copper, a good anthology. And thanks for mentioning WYLDING HALL. Pretty good folk horror, though slow.
Horrible story. Enjoyed it!
I read The Janissarries of Emilion about 40 years ago and have never forgotten it. I look forward to your recording!
I'm cataloging those of your podcasts I've listened to on LibraryThing. You, of course, are listed as "Narrator".
An expat listening on an overcast morning in S Florida.
I didn’t know they had those there :)
Argh, that buddy green slime!
You never disappoint with your delivery Tony, do you think you could perhaps do some poetry readings on your channel in the future, I'd love to hear your inflections on the likes of Thomas Lovell Beddoes "the boding dreams". Either way, your output is very much needed and appreciated, best wishes from County Durham
You know i did a classic
poetry channel ? if you go to the bottom of m youtube channel front page you should find a link
@@ClassicGhost ah, terrific, thank you for pointing me in the right direction, I've a lot to catch up on 👍
Did you have a chance to see anything of local historical interest while in Derby for the ghost story festival? I've always been quite interested in blue john ("Derbyshire spar").
I have a couple of Solar Pons books, but the author's name on them is August Derleth.
That might be my mistake
You read the story very well, as you always do. The story itself, however, didn't appeal to me. Both the main characters were quite odious, but it might have resolved itself into a nice Greek revenge drama if not for one thing. The revenge was much too swift. Nemesis gets there, but she takes her time.
I have mixed feelings about this story because I feel sorry for Braintree.
Rather sorry that the dogs didnt interrupt.
I banned them. I let them in usually for the commentary. I think they slept through it.
@@ClassicGhost I really like hearing them. But its probably easier to record when they are asleep.
They could add sound effects to The Hound of the Baskervilles.
I’ve just recorded that. We might have got a bit of snoring
@@ClassicGhost In the 1990's, there was a privately owned classical radio station owned by an older married couple and their dogs could be heard barking during the broadcasts! They played such a rich selection and their love story was so sweet: he bought the original radio signal as a young man out of his love of radio technology. She began to work there as a college girl and they got together and got married. They borrowed from her brother, a doctor, in order to buy more bandwidth because they had complaints that their signal was crackling. Well, decades later, still together, he had a new hobby of motorcycles and she was Midwestern patronly in appearance. They became retirement age and the world had changed to the extent that their signal was bought for over $380 million dollars 😁! True story!
Is it spelled Clark or clerk?
clerk hit pronounced in British English as clark
I'm a huge ghost story fan, in general, but felt this one was so masculine in approach, it didn't resonate at all. Themes of lifelong animosity, thoughts of revenge and toleration of situations and people one dislikes intensely, are so alien to me. Undeniably these exist and were described well, but I just kept thinking 'what's the point?'.
HiFi you say...
Whatcha into? Whatcha got?
Myself, Marantz SR880mkII receiver ($35 at car swap meet)
Pinnacle P6.2 bookshelf speakers (free)
Onkyo DV-SP500 (Goodwill $10?)
That's how to do a hifi system. I remember going round the charity shops.
That's some great artwork! Sets the tone; I love how 'Clerk' is said like "Cl(a)rk"! 🚂🎫🛤️🧳
It’s weird isn’t it? Derby is Darby and altitude is oltitude or so my mother told me