Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

Henry St. Clair Whitehead (1882-1932) was an American clergyman, teacher and a writer of horror fiction and fantasy, best known for his creepy tales of magic and voodoo. 'Passing of a God' is a voodoo story set in the West Indies which tells of an American who presents himself at the hospital in Port au Prince with a huge tumour in his abdomen. The surgeon there agrees to operate...but discovers there is something very peculiar and sinister about the tumour....

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is generally considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. The Bet is the story of a banker and a lawyer who embark on an insane bet. The banker bets the lawyer two million roubles that he cannot endure 15 years of incarceration. The lawyer agrees and the terms of the imprisonment are set. But during the 15 years each of the characters undergoes various changes and the outcome of the bet is an extraordinary twist in the tale.

In The Story of a Piebald Horse, a stranger appears at the cattle branding one day, and in an unfortunate incident he is accidentally killed. His piebald horse, saddle, and other posessions are kept by one of the ranchers until the stranger can be identified and his family contacted. In the hope that some traveller will recognize the stranger's horse, he ties it up beside the local inn. After a time, a group of herders passing through do recognize the horse... and they tell a most extraordinary tale....

When Richard Hannay returns to London after an action-packed life in Rhodesia, he finds life unbearably dull. He is on the point of leaving the city in search of adventures, when mystery and intrigue turns up at his door in the shape of Franklin Scudder, Hannay’s neighbour, who turns out to be a spy trying to escape the clutches of a shady international organisation, bent on sparking a European war. When Scudder is mysteriously murdered and all the evidence seems to point to Hannay himself, he escapes to Scotland, bearing Scudder’s cryptic coded notebook, which he struggles to decipher.

As the invention of the automobile enabled quicker travel and enhanced the lives of the early motorists, it also gave new impetus to a generation of story writers. Automobiles were unusual, unfamiliar beasts. They combined speed and danger with an uncanny ability to break down at unexpected moments, catapulting the unhappy traveller into new adventures, or thusting mystery strangers onto the inhabitants of remote houses.

The descendents of the deceased horse dealer have fallen on hard times and are being evicted from the family stud farm. The three brothers and one sister are sitting around the breakfast table, discussing what each of them will do in the face of their sudden destitution. Only the horse dealer's daughter, Mabel, remains silent. She has made up her mind what to do...but will not communicate with the others. A visit from Jack Ferguson, the local doctor shifts the focus to this character.

John Buchan (1875-1940) was a Scottish writer, barrister, and member of Parliament and later become Baron Tweedsmuir and governor-general of Canada. While he was most famous for adventure stories, such as 'The Thirty-Nine Steps', he was also popular for his supernatural stories, of which 'The Far Islands' is a prime example. The young boy, Colin, throughout his isolated childhood on the western coast of Scotland, has dreams of a strange path out to sea which leads into a mysterious sea fog.

Over 50 great classic short stories, each around 20 minutes in length - perfect for short journeys, bedtime listening and those moments in between.... 'The Khitmatgar' by B. M. Croker, 'The Mummy of Thompson Pratt' by Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne, 'The Ghost at the Blue Dragon' by William J. Wintle, 'A Tropical Horror' by William Hope Hodgson, 'Miracles' by Barry Pain, 'The Dust That Was Barren' by P. C. Wren, 'His Unconquerable Enemy' by W. C. Morrow, 'A Tiger’s Skin' by W. W. Jacobs....

On 28 May, 1828, a boy of around 16 appeared in the Bavarian city of Nuremburg holding a letter in his hand. The lad was unable to speak, apart from three odd phrases which he repeated parrot-like, one of which was: "Want to be a soldier, as father was." The letter, addressed to the captain of the local infantry regiment, told a bizarre story. It appeared that the boy had been kept shut up in isolation in the dark for his entire life, had never learned to speak and knew nothing of the world.

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction and a close associate of D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. 'The Journey to Bruges' is a beautiful and perceptive description of a journey from Britain to Belgium by train and boat.

Fifty short stories by women writers who broke the mould.

A selection of ghost stories which make your blood run cold.

Vernon Lee was the pseudonym of Violet Paget (1856-1935), a British writer most famous for her supernatural short stories. She was a leading figure in the aesthetic movement. 'Marsyas in Flanders' is a strange tale of an ancient carving of the crucified Christ - minus its arms and cross - which washes up in the 12th century on a beach in Flanders.

Max Carrados is called in to investigate a mysterious ghost which haunts an empty flat in Massingham Mansions in London. Every night gaslights are seen in the apartment, even though the gas has been disconnected. Also water runs in the bath every night, even though the water supply has been turned off. Carrados quickly realises that the detectives on the case are barking up the wrong tree....

Seven contrasting short stories, all set at Christmastime: 'Mr. Huffam' by Hugh Walpole, 'A Strange Christmas Game' by J. H. Riddell, 'The Christmas Tree and the Wedding' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 'The Snow' by Hugh Walpole, 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry, 'The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 'The Cop and the Anthem' by O. Henry.

A superb collection of classic short stories showcasing the variety, depth and imagination of great Victorian writers.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937), who wrote as H. P. Lovecraft, was an American author who achieved posthumous acclaim for his outstanding and influential works of horror fiction. Dagon is the story of a shipwrecked sailor who comes face to face with an ancient and terrible sea-god, Dagon. So horrifying is his ordeal that he spends the rest of his life trying to escape the awful clutches of Dagon. In the end there is only one way out.

A wonderful collection of great classic love stories for the incurable romantic in all of us. "The Scrupulous Father" by George Gissing, "The Marquise" by George Sand, "Her Lover" by Maxim Gorky, "A Long-Ago Affair" by John Galsworthy, "A Dill Pickle" by Katherine Mansfield, "Portrait of a Lady" by Jerome K. Jerome, "The Pig and Whistle" by George Gissing, "A Race for a Bride" by H. K. Hales, "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The Girl Who Was Tired of Love" by Leonard Merrick...

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer of science fiction stories and novels and is frequently credited as being the father of science fiction. 'The Star' is the story of a shooting star which is discovered hurtling towards our solar system. It is on a collision course with Neptune. When the celestial crash occurs, the two planets combine into a gigantic burning star which is being drawn rapidly and irresistibly towards our sun. But on what trajectory? Will it hit any other planets on its way?

James Hume Nisbet (1849 - 1923) was born in Scotland but travelled extensively in Australia before returning to his native country. He became a writer in middle-age and wrote prolifically, mainly mystery and adventure fiction. The Vampire Maid is a classic vampire story about a traveller who takes lodgings with an apparently kind landlady and her pale invalid daughter, who instantly casts a spell upon him.