Showing titles in Anthologies & Short Stories

A doctor desires to attempt something that has never been done before, to hypnotize someone as they die. He does. And, frightful consequences ensue.

The generational feud of two royal families comes to a climax, when the last surviving blood member of one family dies in a fire set by the sole survivor of the other and immediately returns as a demonic horse to seek his revenge.

Trapped within the Moskoe-Strom - the immense whirlpool of the Maelstrom - after a fierce storm at sea, three brothers struggle to escape before the spinning whirlpool grinds their ship on the rocks covering the ocean floor below.

There is a river that flows through the misty landscape of imagination, seeping up through the rocky earth high in the Appalachian Mountains. It winds southward through the foothills and the piedmont: It tumbles past the fall line, widens and deepens, and then meanders across the coastal plain until it finally reaches the gulf of Mexico.And all along its length the great river inspires stories to tease listeners into wonder, or send a shiver down their spines.

The narrator in this story vows revenge upon a man named Fortunato. He takes advantage of Fortunato's ego and lures him down into the recesses of an underground vault to taste a rare wine, a cask of Amontillado.

The eyes of a panther, or the mind of a terrified woman. Which is more powerful? Ambrose Bierce leaves you wondering and thinking in this powerful short story.

Taken together, the works of H. P. Lovecraft create a terrific world of elder gods, ancient aliens, and cosmic horror. This new original collection of Lovecraft's earliest stories lays the foundation for that world and prefigures many of his later infamous tales.

Some pictures tell a story, and a certain old print acquired by a collector proves to have a very dark tale to relate, and in a most uncanny fashion. A classic tale from the master of the English ghost story M. R. James. Originally written to read by the fireside to the members of the Chit Chat Club of Cambridge, this story was first published in James's first collection The Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904. This telling comes with a short afterword which provides some notes and commentary on the text.

Reader Stephen Critchelow has spent a lifetime collecting and reading works like these and, with carefully chosen music, brings a strong sense of atmosphere to this recording. "Rats" provides a great listening experience for dark autumn evenings.

Up until recently, Freeman has been known primarily as a "feminist" writer, for her classic stories like "A New England Nun", and "The Revolt of Mother". However, she also wrote many well crafted supernatural stories which have only recently begun to attract appreciative critical attention. These stories combine pragmatism and supernaturalism and are very much in the tradition of an "Americanized" Gothic.

A medieval legend about an evil curse, a love triangle, and a dreadful tragedy. Harald and Alfred are love rivals for the hand of the beautiful Ysault. While Ysault favours the noble Harald, she does not know that Harald is under a terrible curse, inherited from his wicked grandfather.

The region is being ravaged by a vicious werewolf which carries off livestock and children, but mysteriously only on nights when Harald is away from the castle. Alfred notices this strange coincidence and determines to take advantage of the insight to beat his love rival.

Reader Stephen Critchelow has spent a lifetime collecting and reading works like these and, with carefully chosen music, brings a strong sense of atmosphere to this recording. "The Mezzotint" provides a great listening experience for dark autumn evenings.

"Afterward" is a psychological ghost story of the Victorian era. This is no modern horror tale, but one that was very popular at a time when a shiver and some things to think about were what was expected of the horror genre. Wharton's beautiful prose, as read by professional actor Sara Morsey, will delight and thrill. Sit back and enjoy!

Why do you suppose some combat veterans give up the sport of hunting? Is it because they gain empathy with the hunted, or hunting a prey less cunning than they has lost its allure. Richard Connell, in this short story “The Most Dangerous Game” takes us where the hunter becomes the hunted. This hunter is not being hunted by a beast less cunning or calculating than he is, like a lion or a tiger. No, this hunter is a master at his craft, crueler and only slightly better armed than he is.

Are vampires a bloodthirsty menace to mankind? Or simply misunderstood creatures struggling to survive? After hearing these seven stories, you'll be able to decide for yourself. From the horrifying to the humorous, some of today's finest authors share stories about one of mankind's oldest imagined evils, the vampire. From F. Paul Wilson's title story to Esther Friesner's comic tale of rival teens trying to best one another, these stories bring vampires to (un)life, in all their majesty and terror.

This unique collection of lesser-known tales and poems from a master of the macabre demonstrates Poe's literary range. From the title story, which examines the behavior of an old man walking through Baltimore, to the beautiful poetry in "The Sleeper" and "Annabel Lee," these often hard-to-find works are superbly narrated by Ralph Cosham. Also included in the collection is "MS. Found in a Bottle" (one of Poe's first major works), the account of a man who boards the Flying Dutchman; "Eleonora," a tale of a vow of love; "The Oval Portrait," in which a young artist literally captures the life force of his new bride; "Berenice," about a premature burial - with a particularly unnerving effect; "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," about a macabre experiment in hypnotism; and "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" and "The Man That Was Used Up," 2 stories that demonstrate Poe's humor.

An unamed narrator marries Morella, a woman who delves into mysticism. As a result of her experimentations her soul can never die, but her physical form continues to deteriorate. She spends her time in bed and teaches her husband the black arts. Realizing her curse, her husband, the narrator, becomes frightened and wishes for his wife's death and eternal peace. She dies in childbirth but her soul passes into the new baby....

"Masque of the Red Death", a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe, follows Prince Prospero's attempts to avoid a dangerous plague known as the Red Death by hiding in his abbey. He, along with many other wealthy nobles, has a masquerade ball within seven rooms of his abbey, each decorated with a different color. In the midst of their revelry, a mysterious figure enters and makes his way through each of the rooms.

Leo Dershowitz gave up hope of artistic glory long ago. A mediocre painter at best, he relies on the generosity of women to pay the bills. One day, Leo stumbles across a grisly means of inspiration and - in a flash - his fate changes forever. Before long, nothing can stop Leo from creating masterpieces, but at what cost?

Skeletons and corpses rise from their fitful sleep and share a haunting message from beyond the grave.