I've been listening to BBC Radio drama for more than 40 years and I have to say that these productions are as good as anything they have done. I hope that these productions will be here for years and years.
Having served in six different ships during my Navy career, i take great delight in these "sea & ships" tales. This one held my attention to the point i could not concentrate on the wee aluminum fishing boat i am getting ready to launch. Oh, i will not include any upper berths in my tiny vessel. No reason to tempt the cold, dead things that float around every watercraft of every nation. John, the Master Chief.
Excellent! What's so great about these Bitesized Audio Classics is that the narrator does such a great job with all the different character voices, I forget I'm listening to an audio book (as opposed to a dramatised version) and just get completely caught up in the story. Brilliant! Keep them coming please!
Hello Simon, This was a very scary story for me. I was listening in my dark bedroom but when the supernatural slippery, slimy phantom first attacked the stateroom passenger I upped, put on the light, and listened to the end in my sitting room! Your narration and descriptions of horror captures the eerie atmosphere as no other storyteller. Thank you so much as always. Xxx
The Upper Berth is included in an anthology given to me thirty-five years ago by my favorite aunt with whom I share a love for spooky stories. She would have enjoyed your narration as much as I do.
My grandmother must have had the same book! I remember reading this as a child and having nightmares afterwards. If I recall correctly, there was also a story in it about a ghostly, disembodied hand haunting a nursery. I must track it down and scare myself all over again.
@@harrysecombegroupie I think you are looking for Narrative of the ghost of a hand by Sheridan Le Fanu. I think it can also be found on this channel if I remember correctly
I read this story as a teen and it got to me. I was already afraid of being on a ship on the ocean, but this tale enforced that fear. Excellent narrator! Making me very glad I live on a mountain in the desert!
Yes indeed, there's something about being in the confined space of a cabin which adds to the spookiness... Thanks for listening, and for your kind comments!
From what little you have written I see you are skilled at composition, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary. Your writing skills exceed those of maybe sixty percent of the graduating class of Harvard University. Congratulations.
A very big thank you for this channel and your excellent narration. Your stories kept me and my friends entertained on Christmas eve with the lights out, a few alcoholic beverages, with our only source of light being my widescreen TV that continually played a video of a crackling fireplace. Very atmospheric 😎
One of my favourite ghost stories. I love the wry tone and the evocation of a genuine sense of horror. This story is impeccable from start to finish, and perfectly narrated. Thanks!
The descriptions are very useful in choosing the stories. Great job on the narration. Now that I'm done with the accolades, time to enjoy the story while I workout.❤️❤️
How did I miss this? I had to whack that darn bell again. This is one of my all time favorites. Brisbane is brought to life just as I imagined him by your narration. Thank you so much.
I love this!! Funny witty and spooky. Perfect combination and perfect narration. Listening for third time. Wish a short film would be made of it. ❤️ thank you
In 1965 when i was 12 yrs old i was given a book of ghost stories,this was one of them and it was my favorite story. It was sooo spooky it kept me awake at night!!...lol..Haven't read or heard of it since then until now and it sounds just as spooky now as it did when i first read it.Great story but thought it was written by a different author.Thanks for the upload,and now i'll DL it so i don't have to wait another 55 yrs til i can hear it again!!
*Doctored* his broken arm...I grew up hearing of this being *doctored* & that being *doctored* ...glad to hear it in this story ...an old phrase & 30 & 5 = 35...luv it
Bitesized Audio Classics Haha! It was only that you announced the posting earlier so I kept checking back to see if it was available yet. It surprised me, too! 🤗
Been looking for something like this- good traditional well read ghost stories. Perfect listening for a dull dark day with lashing rain and howling gales.... Subscribed, thank you.
My second listen....no less thrilling, no less chilling. Your amazing ability to instill an ever increasing sense of anxiety, then fear, then terror into the character's mind as the supernatural events unfold is excrutiatingly perfect! I'm pretty sure that my eyes were wide & unblinking during the horrific scene with the captain. My heart rate & respiration are returning to within normal range, I'm not sure about my blood pressure. Stories such as this should come with a warning and a few words of advice for the listeners to equip ourselves with a calming drink on the table next to the chair, a handkerchief for mopping our fevered brows and maybe to make sure there's someone else in the house to be ready to sprint to our aid in case of unfettered shrieking, wildly flailing arms and staggering about the room in abject terror. Thank you Simon. I do not need to do any cardiovascular exercises today-listening to this story has had the same effect. 😁😊❤
listening to your voice is like curling up by the fire with a large glass of the best red wine and my favourite book...congrats on your amazing subs... I am glad I was there early on to celebrate your amazing popularity Gx
@@BitesizedAudio You are very welcome, call me Giselle, did you find any witchy short stories for appease me ? haha - Id love to hear Dracula in bitsized chunks one day ;) Take care Gx
Thank you Giselle. (And I'm Simon.) I can't promise that just yet unfortunately, although it's my hope to start introducing some longer stories later this year, and I haven't forgotten your request. In the meantime, I'm preparing a Bram Stoker short story to record soon... I hope that may appease you a little?
@@BitesizedAudio haha You never need apologize Simon, Im just a very demanding witch! I did recall that I came across a few short stories that might have appealed to you, then promptly got distracted and forget now where I saw them, might have even been Bram Stoker, so Im suitably appeased ) thank you as always for keeping me company when I work. Gx
@@BitesizedAudio Hi Simon, I have just listened to your wonderful recording of "The Uppet Berth". You have an excellent tone for these recordings which I can only describe as vocal velvet. I am a huge fan of ghost stories from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Do you do request's? By the way as an Irishman you did a fine job on the Doctor's accent in this story. We also have great ghost story writers from the Emerald Isle. Obviously Bram Stoker is famous for "Dracula" but his short stories "The Judge's House" and "The Squaw" are great especially the former. Will you do any John Sheridan Le Fanu ghost stories?He is like Stoker one of the great Irish Gothic writers. M.R. James the great ghost story writer believed Le Fanu was the master of the genre. Do you have any plans to record "The Phantom Coach", "The White Raven"(written by Stoker's brother in law), "Man Size in Marble"(written by Edith Nesbit more famous for writing the children's classic "The Railway Children.) Anything by M.R.James would be great. What can be better than listening to ghost stories on Winter evening's in a comfortable armchair in front of a warm welcoming fire which the latter also provides the only light? Absolute Bliss.
I was hooked on this one from the beginning. I especially love the narrator. Sooo easy to listen to! My only complaint about this story is the unsatisfactory and, in my opinion, incomplete ending. Who or what WAS it??? LOL! All the same, I thoroughly enjoyed listening while I took a break from my work. Thank you, as always. 👍💞
Even better the second time ! Great story and read equally Ps: Am glad to see you have gone past 50000 subscribers and am proud to have joined you around 3k . Please keep up your excellent work ! Jens/PARISCRIBE.
Oh man, been loving these stories, but I was definitely not expecting @ 8:23 Sniggingson Van Pickyns. I had to stop and replay that name several times lol!
I recognized that title as a story I had read many years ago. Couldn't quite remember all the details and I'm glad I didn't, so I could experience that creepiness anew.
You are a brilliant narrator..what a fantastic gem I've found. Thank you so much. A respite from daily fury triggered by this incompetent and corrupt government!😊
I have just found your wonderful channel today and on the strength of what I have listened to, I have subscribed. The story was captivating as was the narration. I feel some “binge-listening” coming on; thanks so much for such engaging entertainment. Greetings from Rebecca in Melbourne, Australia
Creepy cool. I stayed in a haunted hotel room in california...for 2 nights! The manager reserved me the room when she spoke to me on the phone a month before the event. Because she "could tell by your voice you could handle it." Had no clue it had a ghost until the morning after my late arrival. It's A FANTASTIC STORY.. and it is in my book I'm writing on my thousands of psychic and spiritual experiences over 40 years. IT WAS BRILLIANT NOT KNOWING ABOUT THIS GHOST BEFORE I SLEPT IN THE ROOM... WE MAY THINK WE WOULD RUN OUT SCREAMING... BUT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE NOT. It's hands down one of top 3 favorite psychic experiences. Hope to publish my book this year. In the 80s I self-published The National New Age Yellow Pages, 2 editions. The spirit life has incredibly enriched MY 3D life... And these ghost stories are WONDERFUL, CREEPY, GOOSEBUMPY CHILLING. Thank you thank you thank you ❣️
Btw, I looked up what Whist is and it's a card game similar to poker. They say Bridge but I think more like poker. Wow, that's some scary story! You had me on the edge of my seat!
A great story, i have always wondered why it has never been made for the screen. It would be a great addition to the modern remakes of classic stories being made by the BBC
Yes indeed. I did read somewhere that Mark Gatiss has said this story is at the top of his list if the BBC ever ask him to do a non-M. R. James classic adaptation. Personally, I think The Phantom Coach and The Sand-walker would also adapt very well. I think we need a whole series to be commissioned, every other Christmas isn't enough!
An author I'm not familiar with but thoroughly enjoyed the tale. Exceptionally well read by someone who really does know how to read audibly. Thank you for this upload and as a recent subscriber, I look forward to many more good reads.
Haha! That’s a bold man! So great to go into the upper berth at night just after you hear someone moan there! He’s 100% hero material. Excellent story, thank you kindly for sharing it.
A story that I’ve loved for decades, but does the porthole only open if the room is occupied? If it opens with no one in the room, there is still the danger of flooding and a rougher time getting in to deal with it.
Simon Stanhope should also read The News and The Shipping Forecast. What we have to put up with these days with announcers speaking some retarded form of English (dis and dat and free or four man nah mean). A great voice and to be honest I'd listen to Simon reading a menu he's that good.
This has made me very hungry indeed...... {2:24am}.....wish I had some Welsh rarebit on toast with Worcestershire sauce ...think I might have to go and get something to eat. Crumpets and marmite is all I have...but tomorrow will buy some cheese and Worcestershire sauce...As a kid, I thought it contained rabbit. ''Welsh rabbit''...Luckily not the case :)
Lol my parents are English so I've heard of Welsh Rarebit and my dad always called it Welsh Rabbit so I think I thought the same thing so what does Welsh Rarebit contain? P.S there's nothing wrong with marmite on crumpets with lashings of butter but my mum always bought promite and we live in Australia. I think we were considered odd with the stuff mum would put in my lunchbox for school 😁
@@rachweatherilll69 Cheese melted on toast with Worcestershire sauce...but mum used to make a cheesy scrambled egg mix that she called Welsh rarebit... the sauce is the crucial bit...STILL HUNGRY...That melted Cheddar tang is what I am craving.... It is strange how seeing or hearing about a certain food can kick off an urge for it....Reading a book on 19th century market traders, the hot soup sellers made me have to go and heat uno a bowl of tomato soup...and even as a child food mentioned in stories {particularly savoury food} could make me hungry..... Not heard of 'Promite', but Vegemite definitely... slightly different from marmite..Hope the Fires in Australia are easing a bit.. :)
Thanks for that. I think they must be because it's not all over the news anymore. I will have to try the Welsh Rarebit. Strange name, I thought there must be some rare done steak in it somewhere haha. Promite is very similar to marmite, not harsh like vegemite. I only spread a minimal amount of vegemite on buttered toast and I think that's where tourists coming here go wrong. They plaster it on and make themselves sick lol. Have you tried the cheesy cheeseburgers from Hungry Jack's (Burger King where you are I think) they're yum lol especially the Rodeo Cheeseburger. Geez, now I'm hungry. My boyfriend's cooking tea tonight, I wish he'd hurry up, chicken stir fry with hokkien noodles. Get in ma Belly!! Regards, Rach. 😁
@@rachweatherilll69 Lol! nearly breakfast time here 7:39am.... Too early for cheeseburgers....But chicken stir fry sounds LUSH...I am still hungry for that toasted cheese... Worcester sauce is on the shopping list today for sure! Enjoy your tea...Glad the fires are easing...They aren't on the news here either like they were...but what a disaster for affected Communities. I googled ''Welsh rarebit and it was first called ''Welsh rabbit '' in 1725 {but never contained our long eared furries} The 'rarebit' is a corruption of 'rabbit'.... Words are fascinating... Marmite/Vegemite I agree needs to be spread very thinly.... too much is unendurable... Things like peanut butter and honey can be generously used, but marmite/vegemite...too much of it becomes unpleasant.
Very beautifully read, I do have to admit to a giggle at how many ladies "take you to bed of a night" myself being one ( chronic pain sufferer) A little piece of trivia for everyone, on UA-cam is a Sherlock Holmes television series from the 50's I believe, with actor Leslie Howard as Holmes and as Watson, H. Marion Crawford, this authors grandson. Talent obviously runs in the family. Again thank you for the company in bed lol
Thank you Tracy. Yes indeed, I used to have a DVD box set of that series, probably still have it somewhere. There are some enjoyable episodes although the quality varies - however, I think Howard Marion Crawford is excellent as Watson. (I believe it was Leslie's son Ronald who played a rather youthful Holmes.) This is my first opportunity to thank you for your support as a channel member, I truly appreciate it. All best wishes to you
@@BitesizedAudio your most welcome, yes I love the series, I've been a huge conan doyle fan since a very early age, also poe is another of my favourite authors, I think Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone take some beating as Holmes and Watson but I love the chemistry between Howard and Crawford. Another piece of trivia for you, Howard Marion Crawford is the only actor to play both Holmes and Watson as he played Holmes in radio theater. A great pleasure meeting you, thank you for the time you take to produce some very fine work.
Always delightful to hear from another Conan Doyle fan! He was my first introduction to this era and genre of literature when I discovered Sherlock Holmes at about aged 10 or so. I too am very fond of Rathbone and Bruce, they were the first Holmes and Watson I saw on screen and remain hard to beat as you say, though I feel they are let down by the scripts sometimes (especially Bruce, who I think is unfairly maligned for his performances, which was more nuanced than many people give him credit for, and his contribution to the whole depiction of Holmes and Watson on screen is very significant... but that's a whole other debate). My other personal favourite Watsons would include Crawford, as mentioned above, plus Colin Blakely and David Burke more recently. I can offer up some more trivia which I think as a fellow Sherlockian you may find interesting... Howard Marion Crawford is actually one of five actors (that I'm aware of) who played both Holmes and Watson. The others are: Reginald Owen, perhaps best remembered as Admiral Boom in Mary Poppins, in two different Hollywood movies in the early 1930s; Carleton Hobbes (British radio in the 40s/50s); Patrick Macnee (in unrelated TV movies between the 70s and 90s... IMHO he was poor as Watson and even worse as Holmes) and, perhaps most surprisingly, Jeremy Brett - who played Watson on stage in Los Angeles opposite (would you believe) Charlton Heston as Holmes in the early 1980s, only a couple of years before he took the lead role on television. It must be a very interesting acting experience to get to explore both roles. Lovely to meet you too, thank you again for your kind comments, all best wishes, Simon
@@BitesizedAudio lol I think this would be a debate we could carry on for a long time, we might actually implode UA-cam. My first dip into this genre was a lady author named Mrs Oliphant, (I don't know if you have ever read any of her work?) With a set of stories called "stories of the seen and unseen" my favourite being, Old lady Mary, which lead me on to Bernard Capes, Rhoda Broughton and within this journey found Poe and Doyle, I'm still finding authors from the 1900's supernatural/horror stories now, although I will say a lot of later authors like dickens and E.F.Benson "reworked" some of the afore mentioned authors stories, I guess plagiarism wasn't a word used much lol. It has been great chatting your ear off, I'm afraid it's a subject that I'm passionate about. A pleasure. Tracy
How do you get black haired people , with blue eyes from Ireland? I thought mostly all Irish people had red hair., and green eyes. I am not dishing on Irish people. I am, at least, some part Irish. I just got confused about that. Thanks.
@@h.calvert3165 According to Dan Bradley, a Yrinity College geneticist, there is no Spanish DNA in anyone Irish, in his studies and records, and thus it's truly a myth.
Hello all. Love these! I listened to one last week about family curse when ailing old man urges son not to marry. Can anyone help with name as missed end. Thank You
Hello Annette! That sounds like 'The Warder of the Door' by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace ua-cam.com/video/hy2TDwgZ7Do/v-deo.html Thanks for listening!
So glad to know you enjoy them! My website is simonstanhope.co.uk if you want to see pictures of me! (the link is on the About page of the channel but I think it may not be visible on all platforms)
I believe the pinnacle of human species was achieved 1900 thru 1970 Trains, ships ,gothic architecture and mechanical tech all worked along side age old traditional ways . Airplanes and horses where simultaneously in commercial use . Steam engines and sails , gas engines and diesel with electric lights . Travel was much more interesting and no digital I.d. I suppose the ghosts all drew a line in the sand as to where they want to haunt. A Victorian mansion is much better than the projects , however more murders happen in the projects!!! Ok , enuff , maybe I get a T bucket v8 roadster and listen while driving. Thanks
I've been listening to BBC Radio drama for more than 40 years and I have to say that these productions are as good as anything they have done. I hope that these productions will be here for years and years.
What a lovely comment, thank you so much!
"The Upper Berth"(1885) is a short horror story masterpiece! This is one of the best and most scariest short horror stories of all time for sure!
Having served in six different ships during my Navy career, i take great delight in these "sea & ships" tales. This one held my attention to the point i could not concentrate on the wee aluminum fishing boat i am getting ready to launch. Oh, i will not include any upper berths in my tiny vessel. No reason to tempt the cold, dead things that float around every watercraft of every nation. John, the Master Chief.
You were born to narrate. Excellent. Thanks.
Kind of you to say! Thank you
Bitesized is the best of all audio-book recordings. Perfect diction, perfect enunciation and phrasing. Thank you so much.
Extremely kind of you to say so, thank you Richard! Glad to know you enjoy the stories.
Please keep posting. We need Simon's stories.
Excellent! What's so great about these Bitesized Audio Classics is that the narrator does such a great job with all the different character voices, I forget I'm listening to an audio book (as opposed to a dramatised version) and just get completely caught up in the story. Brilliant! Keep them coming please!
I've been looking for audio classics forever!! From the comments it's worth checking out. Does Bitesized have a variety of audios?
@@donnaschug6497 A great variety of stories from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Definitely worth checking these out!
Thanks you, Susan
Hello Simon, This was a very scary story for me. I was listening in my dark bedroom but when the supernatural slippery, slimy phantom first attacked the stateroom passenger I upped, put on the light, and listened to the end in my sitting room! Your narration and descriptions of horror captures the eerie atmosphere as no other storyteller. Thank you so much as always. Xxx
I retold this story to the class when I was in elementary school. I earned an icy stare from the teacher.
The Upper Berth is included in an anthology given to me thirty-five years ago by my favorite aunt with whom I share a love for spooky stories. She would have enjoyed your narration as much as I do.
Thanks Vincent, appreciated. It is a great story, one of my personal favourites of the genre
My grandmother must have had the same book! I remember reading this as a child and having nightmares afterwards. If I recall correctly, there was also a story in it about a ghostly, disembodied hand haunting a nursery. I must track it down and scare myself all over again.
@@harrysecombegroupie I think you are looking for Narrative of the ghost of a hand by Sheridan Le Fanu. I think it can also be found on this channel if I remember correctly
@@kimlauwers1981 That sounds familiar! Thank you so much!
@@harrysecombegroupie
I had it in Tales to Tremble By. You can get it second-hand on eBay. It also had The Hand by Guy de Maupassant. 😱
"Don't be fiddling about with ghosts and things." Excellent advice.
aesopstortoise If you sup with the devil you need a long spoon
Once, I played the fiddle with a goat. 🐐
@@jarrodbarker5050 I hope the goat didn’t mind 😆
Whoops I'm in trouble so...
I read this story as a teen and it got to me. I was already afraid of being on a ship on the ocean, but this tale enforced that fear. Excellent narrator! Making me very glad I live on a mountain in the desert!
Yes indeed, there's something about being in the confined space of a cabin which adds to the spookiness... Thanks for listening, and for your kind comments!
An extraordinary tale written, narrated and rendered by true gentlemen. Thank you.
Please excuse my english, its not my first language
Your English is excellent
Your English is superb. 👏😄
From what little you have written I see you are skilled at composition, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary. Your writing skills exceed those of maybe sixty percent of the graduating class of Harvard University. Congratulations.
One word. Splendid.
Very kind, thank you
As a professional mariner... I was chilled...Thank You!
Beautiful English diction..thank you.
Thanks for listening Snowy Skylar
Now THAT was a ghost story.
A very big thank you for this channel and your excellent narration.
Your stories kept me and my friends entertained on Christmas eve with the lights out, a few alcoholic beverages, with our only source of light being my widescreen TV that continually played a video of a crackling fireplace. Very atmospheric 😎
That's great to hear Tigercat 2099. Thanks to you and your friends for listening, best wishes to you.
One of my favourite ghost stories. I love the wry tone and the evocation of a genuine sense of horror. This story is impeccable from start to finish, and perfectly narrated. Thanks!
Thanks for your feedback Jade, very much appreciated. Yes, this story is certainly amongst my favourites too
You did it!
Elegantly read, as always.
I did! Thanks again for the suggestion, it's a great story
This excellent old school horror story is one of the 50 most scary stories of all time!
I agree
Superb
Thank you!
First class telling of one of my favourite ghost stories. Many thanks
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
I am so glad that you keep reading book-stories with your own quirks added for wonderous delightful, entertainment.
Thank you, Simon.
Great narrations great ghost stories.... greatly appreciated
Very kind comment, thank you
The descriptions are very useful in choosing the stories. Great job on the narration. Now that I'm done with the accolades, time to enjoy the story while I workout.❤️❤️
Great to know they're helpful! Thanks for listening CurlyTech, appreciate your comments
Thank you so much for sharing these fantastic audio stories.
How did I miss this? I had to whack that darn bell again. This is one of my all time favorites. Brisbane is brought to life just as I imagined him by your narration. Thank you so much.
Glad you enjoyed it - it's a great story, one of my personal favourites too
You do an excellent job. I love your voice and your delivery of the story is perfect!
Thank you for your kind feedback, much appreciated
Superbly rendered (and this time I knew the story and it's a personal favourite of mine). Thank you & Happy 2020 all.
Glad to hear that HerrCrankzy, it's one of my favourites too. Appreciate the feedback, thanks again
Beautifully narrated, exquisite, looking forward to listen to more of these audio tales.
Thank you! This is a great favorite of mine.
Excellent - thanks David.
I love this!! Funny witty and spooky. Perfect combination and perfect narration. Listening for third time. Wish a short film would be made of it. ❤️ thank you
I can picture the group sitting there gobsmacked with their mouths wide open, cigar ash falling on the ground when Brisbane finished his story! 👻
Literally listening to every video from oldest to the latest. Utterly wonderful!
In 1965 when i was 12 yrs old i was given a book of ghost stories,this was one of them and it was my favorite story. It was sooo spooky it kept me awake at night!!...lol..Haven't read or heard of it since then until now and it sounds just as spooky now as it did when i first read it.Great story but thought it was written by a different author.Thanks for the upload,and now i'll DL it so i don't have to wait another 55 yrs til i can hear it again!!
*Doctored* his broken arm...I grew up hearing of this being *doctored* & that being *doctored* ...glad to hear it in this story ...an old phrase & 30 & 5 = 35...luv it
Excellent! Thank you! Happy New Year to all.
Thanks Gigi. You win the medal for fastest click and comment on any of my stories so far!
Bitesized Audio Classics Haha! It was only that you announced the posting earlier so I kept checking back to see if it was available yet. It surprised me, too! 🤗
Fantastic choice and rendition!
Been looking for something like this- good traditional well read ghost stories. Perfect listening for a dull dark day with lashing rain and howling gales.... Subscribed, thank you.
Appreciate the feedback, thanks for listening - and subscribing!
First-rate, yet again. I‘ve always heard about this story, and it was great to get to hear it in such a wonderful presentation!
Thanks @alannothnagle, glad you enjoyed it. I do like this story, it's one of my personal favourites of the genre
My second listen....no less thrilling, no less chilling.
Your amazing ability to instill an ever increasing sense of anxiety, then fear, then terror into the character's mind as the supernatural events unfold is excrutiatingly perfect!
I'm pretty sure that my eyes were wide & unblinking during the horrific scene with the captain. My heart rate & respiration are returning to within normal range, I'm not sure about my blood pressure.
Stories such as this should come with a warning and a few words of advice for the listeners to equip ourselves with a calming drink on the table next to the chair, a handkerchief for mopping our fevered brows and maybe to make sure there's someone else in the house to be ready to sprint to our aid in case of unfettered shrieking, wildly flailing arms and staggering about the room in abject terror.
Thank you Simon. I do not need to do any cardiovascular exercises today-listening to this story has had the same effect. 😁😊❤
Wonderful story masterfully narrated! The sad irony of never seeing an iceberg…
I just want to say thank you for the many pleasure able hours I spend listening to you.
You, Simon, are too fantastic to describe properly. Again, thank you.
listening to your voice is like curling up by the fire with a large glass of the best red wine and my favourite book...congrats on your amazing subs... I am glad I was there early on to celebrate your amazing popularity Gx
Lovely to hear from you Madwitch, thank you as ever for your support and your very kind comments! I hope you're well and all best wishes for 2020
@@BitesizedAudio You are very welcome, call me Giselle, did you find any witchy short stories for appease me ? haha - Id love to hear Dracula in bitsized chunks one day ;) Take care Gx
Thank you Giselle. (And I'm Simon.) I can't promise that just yet unfortunately, although it's my hope to start introducing some longer stories later this year, and I haven't forgotten your request. In the meantime, I'm preparing a Bram Stoker short story to record soon... I hope that may appease you a little?
@@BitesizedAudio haha You never need apologize Simon, Im just a very demanding witch! I did recall that I came across a few short stories that might have appealed to you, then promptly got distracted and forget now where I saw them, might have even been Bram Stoker, so Im suitably appeased ) thank you as always for keeping me company when I work. Gx
@@BitesizedAudio Hi Simon, I have just listened to your wonderful recording of "The Uppet Berth". You have an excellent tone for these recordings which I can only describe as vocal velvet. I am a huge fan of ghost stories from the Victorian and Edwardian era. Do you do request's? By the way as an Irishman you did a fine job on the Doctor's accent in this story. We also have great ghost story writers from the Emerald Isle. Obviously Bram Stoker is famous for "Dracula" but his short stories "The Judge's House" and "The Squaw" are great especially the former. Will you do any John Sheridan Le Fanu ghost stories?He is like Stoker one of the great Irish Gothic writers. M.R. James the great ghost story writer believed Le Fanu was the master of the genre. Do you have any plans to record "The Phantom Coach", "The White Raven"(written by Stoker's brother in law), "Man Size in Marble"(written by Edith Nesbit more famous for writing the children's classic "The Railway Children.) Anything by M.R.James would be great. What can be better than listening to ghost stories on Winter evening's in a comfortable armchair in front of a warm welcoming fire which the latter also provides the only light? Absolute Bliss.
I was hooked on this one from the beginning. I especially love the narrator. Sooo easy to listen to! My only complaint about this story is the unsatisfactory and, in my opinion, incomplete ending. Who or what WAS it??? LOL! All the same, I thoroughly enjoyed listening while I took a break from my work. Thank you, as always. 👍💞
Even better the second time ! Great story and read equally
Ps: Am glad to see you have gone past 50000 subscribers and am proud to have joined you around 3k .
Please keep up your excellent work !
Jens/PARISCRIBE.
Oh man, been loving these stories, but I was definitely not expecting @ 8:23 Sniggingson Van Pickyns. I had to stop and replay that name several times lol!
It is a great name, isn't it? Thanks LeonieShi
If you liked this story, read The Witch of Prague by F. Marion Crawford. It's engrossing and chilling.
I will. Thank you!🎃
One of my favourite Ghost stories , beautifully narrated.
The radio series, Beyond Midnight did a very good adaptation of this. This is one of the classics of Weird fiction. You have done a great job.
Thanks Thomas, appreciated
wunderbar, !!! Loved it xxx
Thank you😀
Thanks for your support Stella
I recognized that title as a story I had read many years ago. Couldn't quite remember all the details and I'm glad I didn't, so I could experience that creepiness anew.
Thank goodness for ads being back on this channel!
You are a brilliant narrator..what a fantastic gem I've found. Thank you so much. A respite from daily fury triggered by this incompetent and corrupt government!😊
Glad to be of service! Thanks for listening, and for your kind feedback
I have just found your wonderful channel today and on the strength of what I have listened to, I have subscribed. The story was captivating as was the narration. I feel some “binge-listening” coming on; thanks so much for such engaging entertainment.
Greetings from Rebecca in Melbourne, Australia
Welcome to the channel Rebecca! Thanks for subscribing and for your very kind feedback.
Excellent... Thank you!
Creepy cool. I stayed in a haunted hotel room in california...for 2 nights! The manager reserved me the room when she spoke to me on the phone a month before the event. Because she "could tell by your voice you could handle it."
Had no clue it had a ghost until the morning after my late arrival. It's A FANTASTIC STORY.. and it is in my book I'm writing on my thousands of psychic and spiritual experiences over 40 years. IT WAS BRILLIANT NOT KNOWING ABOUT THIS GHOST BEFORE I SLEPT IN THE ROOM... WE MAY THINK WE WOULD RUN OUT SCREAMING... BUT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE NOT.
It's hands down one of top 3 favorite psychic experiences. Hope to publish my book this year.
In the 80s I self-published The National New Age Yellow Pages, 2 editions. The spirit life has incredibly enriched MY 3D life... And these ghost stories are WONDERFUL, CREEPY, GOOSEBUMPY CHILLING. Thank you thank you thank you ❣️
That does sound like an interesting story! I shall look out for your book to find out more... Thanks Marcia
Btw, I looked up what Whist is and it's a card game similar to poker. They say Bridge but I think more like poker. Wow, that's some scary story! You had me on the edge of my seat!
Great narrator!!!!!
Thank you!
Just fantastic reading. Wonderful job Sir!
Thank you for doing this, very grateful.
Excellent story....
I very much enjoyed this story and narration. Thank you much;)
Wonderful
I'm glad the Queen Mary 2 has no portholes that open. Though something awful could come through the balcony door . . .
A great story, i have always wondered why it has never been made for the screen. It would be a great addition to the modern remakes of classic stories being made by the BBC
Yes indeed. I did read somewhere that Mark Gatiss has said this story is at the top of his list if the BBC ever ask him to do a non-M. R. James classic adaptation. Personally, I think The Phantom Coach and The Sand-walker would also adapt very well. I think we need a whole series to be commissioned, every other Christmas isn't enough!
The case for Berth control. 😊
🤣
Superb. Thank you!
Ghosts... good reading with a remarkable accent.
Outstanding narration for a horrific sea tale!
Thank you
An author I'm not familiar with but thoroughly enjoyed the tale. Exceptionally well read by someone who really does know how to read audibly. Thank you for this upload and as a recent subscriber, I look forward to many more good reads.
Appreciate your kind comments VeeCee, thanks for listening - and subscribing!
Great story. 👻👻👻👻
Thanks Space Hound - looks like you've been binge-listening recently, appreciate your comments
@@BitesizedAudio Indeed got me though the heatwave, thanks for all your work.
Thank you!
Haha! That’s a bold man! So great to go into the upper berth at night just after you hear someone moan there! He’s 100% hero material.
Excellent story, thank you kindly for sharing it.
There’s a fine line between brave and stupid.
Stanhope is excellent.
Excellent
Wow! Super scary!😱
I believe there was a similar Twilight Zone episode (an hour long one).
Well told.
Thank you
Stanhope is crazy good...😊
A story that I’ve loved for decades, but does the porthole only open if the room is occupied? If it opens with no one in the room, there is still the danger of flooding and a rougher time getting in to deal with it.
Simon Stanhope should also read The News and The Shipping Forecast.
What we have to put up with these days with announcers speaking some retarded form of English (dis and dat and free or four man nah mean).
A great voice and to be honest I'd listen to Simon reading a menu he's that good.
Extremely kind of you to say so, thank you!
That one put the willies me
It was the Welsh rarebit lol
This has made me very hungry indeed...... {2:24am}.....wish I had some Welsh rarebit on toast with Worcestershire sauce ...think I might have to go and get something to eat.
Crumpets and marmite is all I have...but tomorrow will buy some cheese and Worcestershire sauce...As a kid, I thought it contained rabbit. ''Welsh rabbit''...Luckily not the case :)
Lol my parents are English so I've heard of Welsh Rarebit and my dad always called it Welsh Rabbit so I think I thought the same thing so what does Welsh Rarebit contain? P.S there's nothing wrong with marmite on crumpets with lashings of butter but my mum always bought promite and we live in Australia. I think we were considered odd with the stuff mum would put in my lunchbox for school 😁
@@rachweatherilll69 Cheese melted on toast with Worcestershire sauce...but mum used to make a cheesy scrambled egg mix that she called Welsh rarebit... the sauce is the crucial bit...STILL HUNGRY...That melted Cheddar tang is what I am craving....
It is strange how seeing or hearing about a certain food can kick off an urge for it....Reading a book on 19th century market traders, the hot soup sellers made me have to go and heat uno a bowl of tomato soup...and even as a child food mentioned in stories {particularly savoury food} could make me hungry.....
Not heard of 'Promite', but Vegemite definitely... slightly different from marmite..Hope the Fires in Australia are easing a bit.. :)
Thanks for that. I think they must be because it's not all over the news anymore. I will have to try the Welsh Rarebit. Strange name, I thought there must be some rare done steak in it somewhere haha. Promite is very similar to marmite, not harsh like vegemite. I only spread a minimal amount of vegemite on buttered toast and I think that's where tourists coming here go wrong. They plaster it on and make themselves sick lol. Have you tried the cheesy cheeseburgers from Hungry Jack's (Burger King where you are I think) they're yum lol especially the Rodeo Cheeseburger. Geez, now I'm hungry. My boyfriend's cooking tea tonight, I wish he'd hurry up, chicken stir fry with hokkien noodles. Get in ma Belly!! Regards, Rach. 😁
@@rachweatherilll69 Lol! nearly breakfast time here 7:39am.... Too early for cheeseburgers....But chicken stir fry sounds LUSH...I am still hungry for that toasted cheese... Worcester sauce is on the shopping list today for sure!
Enjoy your tea...Glad the fires are easing...They aren't on the news here either like they were...but what a disaster for affected Communities.
I googled ''Welsh rarebit and it was first called ''Welsh rabbit '' in 1725 {but never contained our long eared furries}
The 'rarebit' is a corruption of 'rabbit'.... Words are fascinating...
Marmite/Vegemite I agree needs to be spread very thinly.... too much is unendurable...
Things like peanut butter and honey can be generously used, but marmite/vegemite...too much of it becomes unpleasant.
Very beautifully read, I do have to admit to a giggle at how many ladies "take you to bed of a night" myself being one ( chronic pain sufferer)
A little piece of trivia for everyone, on UA-cam is a Sherlock Holmes television series from the 50's I believe, with actor Leslie Howard as Holmes and as Watson, H. Marion Crawford, this authors grandson. Talent obviously runs in the family. Again thank you for the company in bed lol
Thank you Tracy. Yes indeed, I used to have a DVD box set of that series, probably still have it somewhere. There are some enjoyable episodes although the quality varies - however, I think Howard Marion Crawford is excellent as Watson. (I believe it was Leslie's son Ronald who played a rather youthful Holmes.) This is my first opportunity to thank you for your support as a channel member, I truly appreciate it. All best wishes to you
@@BitesizedAudio your most welcome, yes I love the series, I've been a huge conan doyle fan since a very early age, also poe is another of my favourite authors, I think Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone take some beating as Holmes and Watson but I love the chemistry between Howard and Crawford. Another piece of trivia for you, Howard Marion Crawford is the only actor to play both Holmes and Watson as he played Holmes in radio theater. A great pleasure meeting you, thank you for the time you take to produce some very fine work.
Always delightful to hear from another Conan Doyle fan! He was my first introduction to this era and genre of literature when I discovered Sherlock Holmes at about aged 10 or so. I too am very fond of Rathbone and Bruce, they were the first Holmes and Watson I saw on screen and remain hard to beat as you say, though I feel they are let down by the scripts sometimes (especially Bruce, who I think is unfairly maligned for his performances, which was more nuanced than many people give him credit for, and his contribution to the whole depiction of Holmes and Watson on screen is very significant... but that's a whole other debate). My other personal favourite Watsons would include Crawford, as mentioned above, plus Colin Blakely and David Burke more recently. I can offer up some more trivia which I think as a fellow Sherlockian you may find interesting... Howard Marion Crawford is actually one of five actors (that I'm aware of) who played both Holmes and Watson. The others are: Reginald Owen, perhaps best remembered as Admiral Boom in Mary Poppins, in two different Hollywood movies in the early 1930s; Carleton Hobbes (British radio in the 40s/50s); Patrick Macnee (in unrelated TV movies between the 70s and 90s... IMHO he was poor as Watson and even worse as Holmes) and, perhaps most surprisingly, Jeremy Brett - who played Watson on stage in Los Angeles opposite (would you believe) Charlton Heston as Holmes in the early 1980s, only a couple of years before he took the lead role on television. It must be a very interesting acting experience to get to explore both roles. Lovely to meet you too, thank you again for your kind comments, all best wishes, Simon
@@BitesizedAudio lol I think this would be a debate we could carry on for a long time, we might actually implode UA-cam. My first dip into this genre was a lady author named Mrs Oliphant, (I don't know if you have ever read any of her work?) With a set of stories called "stories of the seen and unseen" my favourite being, Old lady Mary, which lead me on to Bernard Capes, Rhoda Broughton and within this journey found Poe and Doyle, I'm still finding authors from the 1900's supernatural/horror stories now, although I will say a lot of later authors like dickens and E.F.Benson "reworked" some of the afore mentioned authors stories, I guess plagiarism wasn't a word used much lol. It has been great chatting your ear off, I'm afraid it's a subject that I'm passionate about. A pleasure. Tracy
How do you get black haired people , with blue eyes from Ireland? I thought mostly all Irish people had red hair., and green eyes.
I am not dishing on Irish people. I am, at least, some part Irish. I just got confused about that. Thanks.
They are "Black Irish", the descendents of survivors from the Spanish Armada who washed up on the shore of Ireland in 1588. ☘
@@h.calvert3165 Wow! That's fascinating! I'll have to read up some more on them. Thank you.
@@h.calvert3165 According to Dan Bradley, a Yrinity College geneticist, there is no Spanish DNA in anyone Irish, in his studies and records, and thus it's truly a myth.
Creepy, brrr.x
Hello all. Love these! I listened to one last week about family curse when ailing old man urges son not to marry. Can anyone help with name as missed end. Thank
You
Hello Annette! That sounds like 'The Warder of the Door' by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
ua-cam.com/video/hy2TDwgZ7Do/v-deo.html
Thanks for listening!
Bitesized Audio Classics thank you!! Totally addicted to your readings. Where can we see you?! Highly personal I know but face to voice would be fab x
So glad to know you enjoy them! My website is simonstanhope.co.uk if you want to see pictures of me! (the link is on the About page of the channel but I think it may not be visible on all platforms)
Bitesized Audio Classics thank you! You have most wonderful voice. Thank you for all the narrations x
I believe the pinnacle of human species was achieved 1900 thru 1970
Trains, ships ,gothic architecture and mechanical tech all worked along side age old traditional ways . Airplanes and horses where simultaneously in commercial use . Steam engines and sails , gas engines and diesel with electric lights . Travel was much more interesting and no digital I.d.
I suppose the ghosts all drew a line in the sand as to where they want to haunt. A Victorian mansion is much better than the projects , however more murders happen in the projects!!!
Ok , enuff , maybe I get a T bucket v8 roadster and listen while driving.
Thanks
I'm looking for an old book of horror short stories that include, among others:
- The Upper Berth
- The Pipe Smoker
Can anyone help me?
😮
I don't think it's a ghost but rather a siren (male, neither sexualised nor musical)
The Kamchatka??
Good ending
AS THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND ALWAYS COVERING ME 🙏,,I SHALL FEAR NO EVIL.
INTERESTING MAKE BELIEVE STORY I DID ENJOY THOW 😉
fuck sake was forced to listen to this for class
Oooh 🙄
The fact
Indeed...