Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Anthologies

Mark Twain always had a unique way of sharing stories that never seemed as if they had any real life as a story. Imagine a conversation with Mark and an undertaker. It's possible the undertaker has just spent too much time by himself, maybe the embalming chemicals were a bit too strong, and maybe he really thinks he talks to his 'clients'. This short story will leave you wondering how such a fun story could come from a funeral home. Your view of the song 'Pop Goes the Weasel' may never be the same.

This classic storyteller, Mark Twain, shares the tale of an encounter with a ghost in a newly opened, but previously abandoned, apartment building. Was this ghost a menace or simply mischievous? Humor is most always a companion of a Twain tale and it visits even this story. Memorable and perfectly constructed.

When you find yourself in the company of one who knows very little, but thinks they are an expert you may be comfortable with the storyteller in this delightful short tale from A.A. Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh. In this tale, the storyteller fancies himself an expert gardener. You may leave with other opinions. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

This story existed before the term 'hoarders'. When one believes they are capable of letting go of an article that ties them to an emotional memory, they will come to find solace in the struggles of the narrator letting go of some of his most 'priceless' possessions. A dash of humor can be found in this very relatable storyline from the author of Winnie the Pooh. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Three strikes and you're out! They say a woman is never satisfied. A beautiful young princess asks her suitor to do three impossible things to win her hand. Little does she know that he has help in the form of special animals, and he is able to get through all three unscathed.

This short story by O. Henry depicts the plight of a homeless person, Soapy, living in New York at the turn of the last century. A park bench is fine during the summer, but winter comes and Soapy needs a winter home. God willing to pay the price of philanthropy, Soapy determines to spend the winter months in jail. Now the problem is how to be arrested.

War has always changed men physically and mentally. They go away as healthy physically fit young men; when they come back, if they do they are not the same young man who went away. They may have suffered disabling physical injury in addition to a mental injury that may or may not manifest itself physically, but typically it is there. In World War I they called it shell-shocked, today we call it PTSD. This is a short story by Edna Ferber of a healthy, husky, and slightly arrogant in a nice way young man, and the beautiful girl awaiting his return home.

A short story by Edgar Allen Poe about a mesmerist who puts a man, M. Valdemar, in a hypnotic state at the moment of death. M. Valdimar remains in the state for seven months. When the mesmerist removes M. Valdemar from this state, it resembles opening the door of a freezer that has been unplugged for months, the turkey inside.

Do you believe in ghosts? You might reconsider if you don't after listening to this story of a man haunted by a longtime enemy.

"Abolish Language," said the vizier, "And man will return to primal simplicity and happiness."

Lois, a beautiful 19-year-old young woman travels to Baltimore to meet Harold, her love interest, as they consider a breakup. We never meet Harold; instead, the short story becomes more about Catholicism and the priesthood, as Lois first spends an afternoon with Keith, her 36-year-old brother, a seminarian in a Jesuit monastery. Lois and Keith have not seen one another for 16 years, so it is an extremely interesting reunion.

A brilliant story that forcefully explains the value of perspective. We all will express a view based on what we see, but there may be times when what we see is not what is real. A masterful short story from the mind of Edgar Allan Poe. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

Long before Andy Griffith's "What It Was Was Football" this story follows Concho Curley (also known as Stonewall Kip). Curley found it hard to understand or even describe the new experiences he found in Chicago, especially the Opera. He'd always been a small-town boy and lived most of his life in wide-open spaces. There are plenty of occasions for you to "get your funny-bone busy," as Curley was known to say. Narrated by Glenn Hascall.

"Why the Sea Is Salt" is a fairy tale narrative that explains in fictional form how the sea came to be salty. It all started with a poor farmer with information he did not share. A moral tale for all ages.

"The Hour" by James Bernard Fagan (1873-1923) was published in Poems of the Great War in 1914 on behalf of The Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund. Fagan was an Irish-born actor, poet and playwright.

From The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, this story is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where a young artist falls in love with a nameless girl. He has no name, so he names her by the street. Rue Barree in English translates to Road Closed. Are there connotations here, or not?

Archibald Jordan contentedly resides in his native Islington, a perennial lodger in that neighborhood's many boarding houses. Fastidious in his habits and gently insistent in his demands (but always paying more than the going rate), he confounds his landladies by his habit of never taking up residence for more than a year. Offering no explanations, he leaves each lady mystified and in hope her prize lodger will one day return.

Nathalie, a lovely and determined young lady, plans to marry Mr. Brantain, an unattractive but extremely wealthy man. When an unexpected event occurs involving her brother’s friend, Mr. Harvy, the consequences illustrate the finality of the choice Nathalie makes.

“The Man from the Nose” is a short story from the civilian section of Ambrose Bierce’s In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians. Like the other tales from this collection, “The Man from the Nose” features a protagonist who is in the prime of his life, when a sudden event shatters his hopes and dreams. As with the rest of the Bierce's stories, the questions and characters presented in “The Man from the Nose” will remain on your mind long after you have stopped listening.

This short story by Stephen Crane and narrated by Glenn Hascall portrays a veteran of the Civil War accompanied by his grandson in a grocery store where the veteran admits that yes he was frightened when in battle. The grandson is disappointed that his grandfather would admit he was frightened, but of course the grandson could not - nor can anyone who has not witnessed it - fully appreciate the horror of that field. But later on the grandfather demonstrates that although he feels fear he is a hero.