Showing results by narrator "Cathy Dobson" in All Categories

On the night before their execution during the French Revolution, twenty-one condemned prisoners and their friends are permitted a last banquet before their trip to the guillotine on the morrow. While they feast and jest on their last night alive, they begin to speculate about the hour of the execution the next day. Only one prisoner, Duprat, is quiet on the subject. His friend Marginy questions him on the subject, and Duprat asserts than he knows the exact time at which he will die on the next day.

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....

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930. 'All Souls' is a creepy Hallowe'en story about a woman who lives with her servants in a remote house in Connecticut. One weekend at the end of October, she has an accident and breaks her ankle...and then follow the most terrifying and mysterious 36 hours of her life.

When the narrator finds a mysterious brass box in a curiosity shop, he is intrigued. It is heavy, round, and shaking it shows that it clearly contains something...but it cannot be opened. He buys the box and takes it home. With some effort, he manages to open it and discovers a plait of mysterious hair. After cleaning and examining the hair, he discards it on a piece of blank cardboard... or so he thinks. But then mysterious and sinister events begin to take place, and he discovers that the hair has terrifying powers, which he sets out to harness. Gripping and perverse!

A grisly collection of despicable crimes told by some of the world's best writers.

Edith Nesbit is best known as the author of children's classics, such as The Railway Children. She was also a renowned author of ghost stories and othertales of terror, the macabre and the supernatural. In this collection of spine-chilling narratives, Nesbit presents us with a truly masterful set of tales of love which reaches out beyond the grave, ghosts, eerie incarnations, evil deeds and uncanny happenings. Perfect bedtime listening.... if you dare!

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) was better known by his pen name, Mark Twain. He is widely recognized as one of America's greatest authors and humorists. A Ghost Story is a classic Twain story. The author skillfully builds up layers of atmosphere and tension as he describes spending the night in a spooky house where chains rattle and terrifying apparitions appear...and then Twain amusingly turns the narrative into humour with a hilarious twist. Brilliant!

The tales tell the stories of children whose disobedience or bad habits lead them to a sticky end. No childhood is complete without characters like Shock-Headed Peter who never cuts his fingernails or combs his hair, or Suck-a-Thumb or Fidgety Philip? The comically gruesome fates which befall the children is partly what makes Struwelpeter so appealing to young listeners.

Frances Browne (1816-1879) was an Irish poet and novelist who is best remembered for her enchanting stories for children, published under the title of Granny's Wonderful Chair. The collection tells the story of Snowflower, a little girl left alone in the world with a magical chair belonging to her absent grandmother, which can take her wherever she wants to go and can tell her marvellous stories.

A wonderful collection of 30 of the greatest detective and mystery stories ever written. Featuring all the great classic sleuths, including Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Max Carrados, Dr. Thorndyke and Madame Rosika Storey. 1. 'Who killed Charlie Winpole?' By Ernest Bramah 2. 'The Blue Cross' by G. K. Chesterton 3. 'The Problem of the Five Marks' by Melville Davisson Post 4. 'The Comedy at Fountain Cottage' by Ernest Bramah 5. 'The Mysterious Card' by Cleveland Moffett 6. 'The Card Unveiled' by Cleveland Moffett

Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a pre-eminent Ukrainian-born story writer. He is particularly famous for those stories which veer in the direction of surrealism and the grotesque. "The Nose" is a classic example of this genre. The story opens with the barber, Ivan Yakovlevitch at breakfast. Things take an odd turn when Yakovlevitch finds a disembodied nose hidden in his bread roll. Yakovlevitch is at pains to rid himself as quickly as he can of the nose, which he recognizes as belonging to one of his clients, Major Kovalev.

A petrifying collection of classic tales of the paranormal, spooky happenings, gruesome deeds and uncanny apparitions. Guaranteed to disturb your dreams and keep you awake all night.

David Caradoc Evans (1878-1945), was a Welsh story writer, novelist and playwright. Evans was brought up in a Welsh-speaking community in Cardiganshire, and although he learned English at school and always wrote in English, his work is soaked in Welsh syntax and vocabulary. Evans left school at 14 and worked throughout Wales in a series of menial jobs before moving to London, where he worked as a draper's apprentice.

The Frog is a variant on the Frog Princess. Three brothers are told by their mother to set specific tasks for their sweethearts to complete, to see whether they will make suitable brides. The youngest lad does not know any girls, but a mystery frog proves amazingly adept at all the trials set her by her future mother-in-law.

The Victorians were obsessed with Egyptology and mummies. It was during the second half of the 19th century that many of the most significant archeological finds were made in Egypt, and stories of the revenge of the mummies on anyone raiding their tombs, stealing their treasures or unwrapping their corpses abounded. This collection brings together the best and scariest short stories of the period, featuring vengeance-seeking mummies, bandaged zombies, pharaonic ghosts and ancient curses.

Edward Frederic Benson (1867-1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist, and short story writer, best known for his evocative and beautifully narrated ghost stories. This collection brings together twenty of his most brilliant works.

A delightful anthology of great works by some of Europe's greatest short story writers....

William Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. Mad Monkton is a bizarre ghost story. It is said that a strain of hereditary madness blights the Monkton family, heirs to the huge domain of Wincot Abbey. Rumours in the neighbourhood are that Alfred, the youngest scion, has inherited this insanity. His odd behaviour certainly points that way. Alfred is engaged to his childhood sweetheart, Ada Elmslie.

Jan Nepomuk Neruda (1834-1891) was born in Prague, Bohemia, the son of a small grocer. After studying philosophy and philology, he worked as a teacher until 1860, when he became a freelance journalist and writer. 'The Vampire' is a strange tale of a group of tourists visiting an idyllic spot outside Constantinople in the company of a charming but oddly sinister Greek artist who seems to be at pains to ensure nobody can look over his shoulder and see what he is sketching.

A spectacular collection of classic ghost stories from some of the masters of spooky fiction. 'On the Brighton Road' by Richard Middleton; 'A Ghost Story' by Mark Twain; 'The Everlasting Club' by Arthur Gray; 'The Snow' by Hugh Walpole; 'Rose Rose' by Barry Pain; 'The Ghost Ship' by Richard Middleton; 'The Bus Conductor' by E. F. Benson; 'The Tarn' by Hugh Walpole; 'The Diary of Mr. Poynter' by M. R. James.