Mystery & Thriller Audiobooks

Stories Exploring the Fear of Death

"That moment in time will come. It will be the end of this life and one of three things will happen. Nothing, Heaven or Hell. Somehow, for most people, the odds don’t look so good on laying back in Paradise for eternity. And we may be there alone or with people we never really liked or―or most probably, we don’t really have any coherent idea at all. Just the fear that the end is nigh.Our literary friends including Edgar Allan Poe, Leo Tolstoy, Mary Shelley and others probably mean well but their job here is to tackle fear head on and we may well end up not getting the answer we first thought of. 1 - Stories Exploring the Fear of Death - An Introduction2 - The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe3 - The Coffin Maker by Alexander Pushkin4 - The Cobweb by Saki5 - Diary of a Lunatic by Leo Tolstoy6 - Cool Air by H P Lovecraft7 - The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley8 - The Sphinx by Edgar Allan Poe9 - The Dream by O Henry10 - The Looking Glass by Anton Chekhov11 - The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe"

Alexander Pushkin, Anton Chekhov, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Leo Tolstoy, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, O Henry, Saki (Author), Bill Wallis, Patrick Barlow, William Dufris (Narrator)

Audiobook

Stories About Curses

"All words have a value, they have a truth. Even misinforming us is part of their job. But they are only words, sticks and stones etc etc.But in this volume our authors explore the use of curses. These strings of words might seem harmless enough if you don’t believe they can have any ill effect. Little by little, though, sometimes they do. Our brains connect curse with that action, that happening and now we might be seeing them as cause and effect. Perhaps that curse really does have some power, some potency, and if that is so maybe that curse is malevolent and its true purpose is not to wish us good. 1 - Stories about Curses - An Introduction2 - The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy3 - The Arm of Mrs Egan by W F Harvey4 - The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling5 - The Monkey's Paw by W W Jacobs6 - The Brute by Joseph Conrad7 - Lost in a Pyramid (or the Mummy's Curse) by Louisa May Alcott writing as A M Bernard8 - The Ash Tree by M R James.wav9 - The Shadows on the Wall by Mary E Wilkins Freeman10 - The Spectre Bridegroom by William Hunt11 - The Mass for the Dead by Edith Nesbit12 - The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin13 - Casting the Runes by M R James"

Edith Nesbit, Joseph Conrad, Louisa Baldwin, Louisa May Alcott, M.R. James, Mary E Wilkins Freeman, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, W F Harvey, W W Jacobs, William Hunt (Author), Richard Mitchley, Robbie McNab, Robert Maskell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Stories of Dark Powers

"Some very few amongst are a little different. They look the same, possibly act the same but, somehow, we might suspect that they are a little out of tune, a little off. Their difference is that they have dark powers. Powers for the greedy benefit of themselves and not you or I. In these stories our authors have them doing some quite unconscionable actions that disturb and menace those around them and of course you and I. 1 - Stories of Dark Powers - An Introduction2 - The Testament of Magdalen Blair - Part 1 by Aleister Crowley3 - The Testament of Magdalen Blair - Part 2 by Aleister Crowley4 - Lost Hearts by M R James5 - When I Was a Witch by Charlotte Perkins Gilman6 - Young Magic by Helen Simpson7 - Clairvoyance by D K Broster8 - The Operation by Violet Hunt9 - Foreordained by Anthony Hope10 - The Death Hound by Violet Mary Firth writng as Dion Fortune"

Aleister Crowley, Anthony Hope, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, D.K. Broster, Dion Fortune, Helen Simpson, M.R. James, Violet Hunt (Author), Lisa Bowerman, Marie-Pierre, Mark Rice-Oxley (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gothic Revenge Stories Not by Edgar Allan Poe

"In this series we listen to short stories that are NOT by perhaps the most well-known author of this type. But the many other rich talents in the volume may have treated the subject matter a little differently, or were perhaps just overlooked in the stampede to applaud the winner, but these authors are of equal merit. Each of their works is laden with talent, has purpose, and is rich and textured in this gloried niche of literature.1 - Gothic Revenge Stories Not by Edgar Allan Poe - An Introduction2 - The Music on the Hill by Saki3 - The Romance of Certain Old Clothes by Henry James4 - The Ash Tree by M R James5 - The Squaw by Bram Stoker6 - The Spectre Bridegroom by William Hunt7 - Captain Rogers by W W Jacobs8 - The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon9 - The Middle Toe of the Right Foot by Ambrose Bierce10 - The Beast With Five Fingers by W F Harvey11 - The Man in the Bottle by Gustav Meyrink12 - The Iron Shroud by William Mudford13 - The Miniature by J Y Ackerman"

Ambrose Bierce, Bram Stoker, Gustav Meyrink, Henry James, J Y Ackerman, M.R. James, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Saki, W F Harvey, W W Jacobs, William Hunt, William Mudford (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Mark Rice-Oxley, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Foundations of Fiction - Psychological Horror

"In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. The mind is perhaps our greatest resource. When our heads are working well, feeling positive, the world seems a much easier place to navigate. But in this volume our authors ponder a different question for us. A horror story of the mind that cleverly opens us up to dread and despair that evil can saunter through, causing agony and mayhem as it takes us into the shadows. 01 - Foundations of Fiction - Psychological Horror - An Introduction2 - The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe3 - The Picture In The House by H P Lovecraft4 - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman5 - The Devil In Manuscript by Nathaniel Hawthorne6 - The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe7 - Was It An Illusion. A Parson's Story by Amelia Edwards8 - The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood9 - The Shadows on the Wall by Mary E Wilkins Freeman10 - The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe11 - Cool Air by H P Lovecraft12 - The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon13 - The Moonlit Road by Ambrose Bierce14 - The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe15 - The Call of Cthulhu by H P Lovecraft"

Algernon Blackwood, Ambrose Bierce, Amelia B. Edwards, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Mary E Wilkins Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Mark Rice-Oxley, Vincent Marzello (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Foundations of Fiction - Paranormal Detective

"In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. A crime is committed and the forces of good and the law go to work on deducing and apprehending a culprit. However, when those detectives have some rather special skills that involve the paranormal, stories become something more. Logic becomes elastic as the forces of good come into contact with malevolent and dark forces that harbour evil and ill-will. However, with the aid of the paranormal, the Occult Detective will be getting to the truth in ways that only they were born too.01 - Foundations of Fiction - Paranormal Detective - An Introduction2 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson3 - Mark of the Beast By Rudyard Kipling4 - The Death Hound by Violet Mary Firth writing as Dion Fortune5 - John Silence, Physician Extraordinary by Algernon Blackwood6 - The Man With No Face by Gertrude Minnie Robins7 - The Dead Hand by L T Meade and Robert Eustace8 - The Moving Finger by Rose Champion de Crespigny9 - Ineligible by Aleister Crowley10 - An Expiation by Arabella Kenealy11 - Green Tea by Sheridan Le Fanu12 - The Story of the Green House, Wallington by Allen Upward13 - The House of the Black Evil by Eric Purves14 - The Story of 'The Spaniards', Hammersmith by Kate and Hesketh Pritchard15 - The Murder in an Omnibus by Harold Begbie"

Aleister Crowley, Algernon Blackwood, Allen Upward, Arabella Kenealy, Eric Purves, Gertrude Minnie Robins, Harold Begbie, Kate and Hesketh Pritchard, L T Meade and Robert Eustace, Rose Champion de Crespigny, Rudyard Kipling, Sheridan Le Fanu, William Hope Hodgson (Author), Mark Rice-Oxley, Robbie McNab, Robert Maskell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Classic Sci-Fi Horror Stories

"Science fiction is in many ways positive, uplifting and a vision of where we are headed. But in this volume our classic authors including Lovecraft, Wells, Hawthorne and others reveal its darker cousin; Horror. Now these malevolent terrors have made up their minds that blending themselves with Science Fiction might make their impact even more awful and frightening for us to bear.1 - Classic Sci-Fi Stories - An Introduction2 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft3 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft4 - The Crystal Egg by H G Wells5 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson6 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson7 - The Operation by Violet Hunt8 - The Blue Laboratory by L T Meade9 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne10 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel Hawthorne11 - Moxon's Master by Ambrose Bierce12 - The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson13 - Cool Air by H P Lovecraft14 - Polaris by H P Lovecraft15 - The Color Out of Space by H P Lovecraft16 - Carnivorine by Lucy Hamilton Hooper17 - The Secret of the Scaffold by Auguste Villiers de I'Ísle-Adam18 - The Rats in the Walls by H P Lovecraft19 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack London20 - Re-Animator - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft21 - Re-Animator - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft"

Ambrose Bierce, Auguste Villiers de I'Ísle-Adam, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Jack London, L. T. Meade, Lucy Hamilton Hooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Violet Hunt, William Hope Hodgson (Author), Christopher Ragland, Eve Karpf, Garrick Hogan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Stories of Dark Magic

"A magic trick is always fun tinged with a sense of wonder even when we know how they did it the question is asked again ‘Really, how did they do it?’ But magic in literature has two sides both good and bad, light and dark and in this volume our pen laden authors bring forth tales that disturb and menace as only the creations of Nikolai Gogol, Hanns Heinz Ewers, Arthur Machen, Edith Nesbit and many others possibly can. 1 - Stories of Dark Magic - An Introduction2 - St Johns Eve by Nikolai Gogol3 - Blood - Part 1 by Hanns Heinz Ewers4 - Blood - Part 2 by Hanns Heinz Ewers5 - The Ebony Frame by Edith Nesbit6 - The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling7 - The Screaming Skull by F Marion Crawford8 - A Witch's Den by Helena Blavatsky9 - Witchcraft by Arthur Machen10 - The Mass of Shadows by Anatole France11 - Casting the Runes by M R James12 - Beyond the Pale by H D Everett13 - Warning Whispers by A M Burrage 14 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No 1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson15 - Couching at the Door by D K Broster16 - The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain - Part 1 by Edward Bulwer Lytton17 - The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain - Part 2 by Edward Bulwer Lytton"

A.M. Burrage, Anatole France, Arthur Machen, D.K. Broster, Edith Nesbit, Edward Bulwer Lytton, F Marion Crawford, H D Everett, Hanns Heinz Ewers, Helena Blavatsky, M.R. James, Nikolai Gogol, Rudyard Kipling, William Hope Hodgson (Author), Geoff McGivern, Mark Rice-Oxley, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

Audiobook

13 Unlucky Tales of Edgar Allan Poe

"Edgar Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts on 19th January 1809. His father abandoned his family the following year and within a year his mother had died leaving him an orphan. He was taken in by the Allan family but never formally adopted although he now referred to himself as Edgar Allan Poe. His father alternatively spoiled or chastised him and tension was frequent over gambling debts and monies for his education. His university years to study ancient and modern languages was cut short by lack of money and he enlisted as a private in the army claiming he was 22, it is more probable he was 18. After 2 years he obtained a discharge in order to take up an appointment at the military academy, West Point, where he failed to become an officer.Poe had released his 1st poetry volume in 1827 and after his 3rd turned to prose and placing short stories in several magazines and journals. At age 26 he obtained a licence to marry his cousin. She was a mere 13 but they stayed together until her death from tuberculosis 11 years after.In January 1845 ‘The Raven’ was published and became an instant classic. Thereafter followed the prose works for which he is now so rightly famed as a master of the mysterious and the macabre.Edgar Allan Poe died at the tragically early age of 40 on 7th October 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. Newspapers at the time reported Poe's death as ‘congestion of the brain’ or ‘cerebral inflammation’, common euphemisms for death from disreputable causes such as alcoholism but the actual cause of death remains a mystery.1 - 13 Unlucky Tales of Edgar Allan Poe - An Introduction2 - The Fall of the House of Usher - Part 1 by Edgar Allan Poe3 - The Fall of the House of Usher - Part 2 by Edgar Allan Poe4 - The Facts In The Case of Monsieur Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe5 - Elenora by Edgar Allan Poe6 - Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe7 - The Cask of Amontillardo by Edgar Allan Poe8 - The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe9 - Hop Frog by Edgar Allan Poe10 - William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe11 - The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe12 - The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe13 - The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe14 - The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe15 - The Murders in the Rue Morgue - Part 1 by Edgar Allan Poe16 - The Murders in the Rue Morgue - Part 2 by Edgar Allan Poe"

Edgar Allan Poe (Author), Bill Wallis, Eric Meyers, William Dufris (Narrator)

Audiobook

13 Unlucky Tales of H P Lovecraft

"Howard Phillips Lovecraft is among the greatest American masters of fantasy and the supernatural. Born in 1890, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, his health was uncertain from childhood and he led a sheltered early life. His semi-invalidism enabled him to read omnivorously, and as a shy imaginative child he began to invent what would in his adult life become a whole macabre fantastic world of his own, peopled by creatures out of his own weird imagination. As an adult he was retiring, almost a recluse. Tall, thin and pale, but with bright alert eyes, he was much given to wandering his native city in the dark hours of the night, and he became a devoted student of its antiquities. Although he began to write early he had nothing published until he was in his twenties. He set many of his stories around the imaginary town of Arkham, and invented an entire mythology of his own, its core being the demoniac cult of Cthulhu, based on the lore or legend that the world was at one time inhabited by another race who, in practising black magic, lost their foothold or were expelled, yet live on outside, ever ready to take possession of this earth again.Since his early death in 1937 his stories have continued to attract attention and praise from an ever-growing audience.1 - 13 Unlucky Tales of H P Lovecraft - An Introduction2 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft3 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft4 - The Thing On the Doorstep by H P Lovecraft5 - The Rats in the Walls by H P Lovecraft6 - The Cats of Ulthar by H P Lovecraft7 - Cool Air by H P Lovecraft8 - The Color Out of Space by H P Lovecraft9 - The Moon Bog by H P Lovecraft10 - The Horror at Red Hook by H P Lovecraft11 - The Lurking Fear by H P Lovecraft12 - The Picture In The House by H P Lovecraft13 - The Music of Erich Zann by H P Lovecraft14 - Pickman's Model by H P Lovecraft15 - Herbert West - Reanimator - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft16 - Herbert West - Reanimator - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft"

H.P. Lovecraft (Author), David Healy, Garrick Hogan, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Foundations of Fiction - Gothic Horror

"In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. The mere placing of these two words together creates a picture and a feeling that dark times are coming. Something evil, perhaps unfathomable, will be launched upon us by an author’s imagination that is sure to bring consequences that may only unsettle but equally may go much, much further than anyone, at first, imagined. 01 - Foundations of Fiction - Gothic Horror - An Introduction2 - The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe3 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens4 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving5 - Olalla by Robert Louis Stevenson6 - The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin7 - The Dream by Mary Shelley8 - Green Tea by Sheridan Le Fanu9 - The Lifted Veil by George Eliot10 - Count Magnus by M R James11 - The Sand-Man by E T A Hoffman12 - The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton13 - Thurnley Abbey by Perceval Landon14 - The Yellow Sign by Robert W Chambers15 - The Three Sisters by W W Jacobs16 - Vampirismus or Aurelia by E T A Hoffman17 - The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe18 - A Diagnosis of Death by Ambrose Bierce19 - Wake Not the Dead by Ernst Raupach"

Alexander Pushkin, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Dickens, E T A Hoffman, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernst Raupach, George Eliot, Gertrude Atherton, M.R. James, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Perceval Landon, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert W Chambers, Sheridan Le Fanu, W W Jacobs, Washington Irving (Author), Eric Meyers, Mark Rice-Oxley, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Foundations of Fiction - The Murder Mystery

"In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving. Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues. The Whodunit is one of the great themes of literary fiction. We all believe that given the right clue at the right time we can deduce and logically unmask the killer. Unfortunately, our authors are not the most helpful of co-workers in this regard. With their more than liberal use of plot twists, red herrings and McGuffins they merrily ensure that the only one who really knows is them and them alone until it is time to reveal who really did the deed, and how.01 - Foundations of Fiction - Murder Mystery - An Introduction2 - The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe3 - Markheim by Robert Louis Stevenson4 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack London5 - The Trial for Murder by Charles Dickens6 - A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell7 - Better Dead by J M Barrie8 - The Cone by H G Wells9 - The Hounds of Fate by Saki10 - The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railroad by Baroness Emmuska Orczy11 - The Moonlit Road by Ambrose Bierce12 - The Corpse Light by J E Preston Muddock writing as Dick Donovan13 - A Thing That Glistened by Frank R Stockton14 - Nightmare in Yellow by Fredric Brown15 - Was It An Illusion. A Parson's Story by Amelia Edwards16 - A Twin Identity by Edith Stewart Drewery17 - In A Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa18 - The Snow by Hugh Walpole19 - August Heat by W F Harvey20 - Allelulia by T F Powys21 - Juggernaut by D K Broster22 - The Bundle of Letters by Móritz Jókai23 - The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe"

Ambrose Bierce, Amelia B. Edwards, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Charles Dickens, D.K. Broster, Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Stewart Drewery, Frank R Stockton, Fredric Brown, H.G. Wells, Hugh Walpole, J. M. Barrie, Jack London, Móritz Jókai, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Saki, Susan Glaspell, T F Powys, W F Harvey (Author), Christopher Ragland, David Shaw-Parker, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

Audiobook