This ghost story recounts in vivid detail the experiences of a man's stay in a 'haunted' villa, terrorized by strange and hideous apparitions.

The Bagman's Story is an uncharacteristically happy story taken from 'The Pickwick Papers'. Dealing with themes of marriage and having an overall positive tone, this tale is uplifting and gentle, with a reassuring and welcome direction.

A gifted young Polish violinist from Krakow, Andrea is bound for America when he is swept overboard by a storm. When the Widdington sisters discover the handsome stranger on the beach below their house, they nurse him back to health. However, the presence of the musically talented young man disrupts the peaceful lives of Ursula and Janet and the co...

An old soldier visiting the Whites gives Mr White a monkey's paw, fabled to grant three wishes to three different men, but warns of the misery it can bring on the lives of those who use it.

This truly perturbing story starts from harmless enough beginnings to give a blow-by-blow account of a terrifying encounter between one young man and and the cause of his many nightmares thenceforth. A bell-ringer climbs up to remove a muffler from a bell, so that practice can resume. However, his partner is called off on urgent business, and our h...

A tale by Hardy, master of human tragedy, about a girl's sacrifice for her long-engagement and her doomed love for a visiting soldier.

A young man's suicide doesn't put paid to a young lady's ideas of going to a dance, despite the derision of her chaperone, who suspects that she is, at least in part, to blame. On the journey, a great breeze whips up in the ladies' carriage, and the young lady suffers a mishap, and auditory hallucinations...what is happening, and can it be explaine...

Lispeth is an Indian girl, orphaned when her Christian-convert parents succumb to Cholera. Taken on as a chaplain's wife's servant/companion, Lispeth grows into a handsome young lady. One day whilst out on a walk, she rescues an unconscious young Englishman, who she determines will be her future husband. However, racial prejudices and caste systems...

A well-crafted piece of writing about schadenfreude - sheer pleasure, in this case, at seeing someone 'get his comeuppance' - with an element of slapstick. Lieutenant Golightly is a young officer in the British Army in India who prides himself on "looking like 'an Officer and a Gentleman'" and it is clear he puts a little too much emphasis on his a...

This shady tale takes a listener into the unhappy marriage life of Mr. and Mrs. Bodman, holidaying in snowier climes. Whilst each may have their motives, which party may find that they are driven to the edge and are staring into the abyss? An atmospheric thriller, this story examines two people with extreme personalities who unfortunately do not co...

This truly spooky story leaves a listener chilled and unsure which characters to pity. An abusive and cruel husband wears down his wife to the degree that she never argues or complains but lives an existence of quiet misery. When circumstances change drastically, the man's servants start to hear her voice when he cannot - is he going insane or is s...

Oliver Goldsmith's "Adventures of a Strolling Player" explores the fickleness of fame. This rollicking, exuberant tale flows effortlessly from the pen of the great 18th century master storyteller and from the lips of T. P. McKenna, whose Irish brogue suits the story perfectly. It is the uproarious story of a travelling player who likes to embellish...

A very clever story which will keep you guessing right up until the twist in the tale. Dame Muriel Spark's talent for crime fiction abounds here and her hitherto undiscovered detective has surprises and answers in store for sleuthing listeners.

Two unexpected tales written and read by the bestselling author of 'The Uncommon Reader', 'Untold Stories' and 'The History Boys'. In 'The Greening of Mrs. Donaldson', Mrs. Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory a...

As part of the popular Vintage Beeb range, this is a reissue of the classic 1970s vinyl LP. First published by BBC Records & Cassettes in 1972, it features 14 stories written and read by Johnny Morris, who became enduringly popular in the TV series Animal Magic. Based on the residents of a zoo, the stories include: Charlie and Gladys the Warthog...

An angry mother plots retribution against the driver who injured her daughter. A compelling look at the frustration endured in response to the various foibles and failings of any legal system, our protagonist vows to take matters into her own hands, though soon realizes that events are spiraling out of her control, and that she is powerless to stop...

In this story of romance, marriage and travel, Adam, a 41-year-old journalist, is making a trip to Israel with his new wife Elsee. His marriage to his first wife, Elaine, ended in a divorce which meant he sadly sees very little of his three children. When he was alone and looking for love, Adam was encouraged by friends to give up the dream of find...

While tending to his broken-down car, Hobby, a failing writer, is mistaken by a wealthy tourist couple for a guide to the homes of movie stars. Hobby takes their money and attempts to visit the homes of some minor celebrities he is acquainted with, but the couple demand to be taken to the home of Shirley Temple. Hilarity and damn lies inevitably en...

Fun In An Artists Studio is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Pat Hobby series, written during his later years as a writer. Pat Hobby, a down-and-out Hollywood screenwriter, is bemused when a Romanian Princess takes an interest in him and asks him to pose for a painting. This funny, slightly tragic tale is both heartwarming and funny at the same time.

A major figure in the early development of the science fiction genre, Page has been closely compared to H.G. Wells, even said to have presaged many of Wells' major works with his own. The Clock That Went Backward sees our heroes on a journey through time and space - a concept that has since inspired movie adaptations as diverse as 'Bill and Ted's E...

Our narrator begins this story by explaining how, in his opinion, spirituality has ruined many more promising careers than drink, gambling or the alluring smiles of women. He then goes on to tell the tale of Mo Lisky, who held an assured position for a long time but became handicapped through a private feud. One afternoon, Elle Raboots, an acquaint...