Showing results by narrator "B.J.Harrison" in All Categories

"You won't know till afterward. You won't know till long, long afterward." When Ned and Mary Boyne hear that their new house is haunted, they laugh it off and joke that every good house in the countryside must have a ghost for it to be worth purchasing. They move in and forget all about its supposed supernatural quirks. But when Mary notices a strange change in her husband's behaviour, she begins to suspect a not so friendly ghost is indeed at play.

"Yes, I was a fool, but I was in love, and though I was suffering the greatest misery I had ever known I would not have had it otherwise for all the riches of Barsoom. Such is love, and such are lovers wherever love is known." After the Civil War, Captain John Carter travels to Arizona with his friend, fellow veteran James Powell. When James gets murdered by Native Americans, John hides in a cave and is knocked out by a strange gas. When he wakes up, he is no longer on planet Earth.

Mrs. Pratt mysteriously dies in her sleep after a fight with her husband. He thought that she had tried to poison him. But maybe it was the other way around? After a while Mr. Pratt is found dead as well, with a skull next to his head. Those who believe in ghosts think that Mrs. Pratt finally got her revenge. What do you believe? What happened with Mr. Pratt? If you are courageous enough, find the answer in "The Screaming Skull" by Francis Marion Crawford. B. J.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story about love, selflessness, sacrifices and struggles. Della and James are a young married couple who want to surprise each other with a secret gift for Christmas. Unfortunately, neither of them has much money yet still they each hope they'll manage to buy something in time and that it will be appreciated. "The Last Leaf" tells us the story of poor Johnsy, who is so sick that her days are counted.

Sherlock Holmes is still a student when he receives his very first case. While still in college, he is invited to the house of his good friend, Victor Trevor. There he meets Trevor’s father, who challenges Holmes to analyze him, so that he can test the young detective’s investigative skills. Holmes touches a nerve after mentioning a person with the initials "J.A.". After the shock passes, Trevor’s father tries to hide how terrified he is, but Holmes can still catch the anxiety in his eyes.

"The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion" is a short story by Thomas Hardy that follows the encounter between a young woman and a homesick soldier. The sparks of passion immediately set their souls on fire, but their love is hampered by social conventions and prejudice. In a direct, almost fatalistic way, Thomas Hardy paints a rather gloomy picture of the social conditions of the time, and how often human relationships fell victim to its whims.

"Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by Washington Irving about a man who drinks some liquor then falls asleep for 20 years amidst the hills. Having missed the American Revolution, Rip Van Winke returns home but finds it completely changed. What he notices is really important, as they possess social and political messages that Irving wanted to stress.

Tom Sawyer is an orphaned boy who lives together with his kindhearted aunt Polly. Although his poor aunt takes good care of him, Tom grows up to be rebellious who comes up with a new plan for troublemaking every day. He steals snacks, comes home late, lies to his friends, tricks them into giving him various things and each time he manages to get away with it. But when he falls in love with a girl and tries to win her heart, he gets into even bigger trouble.

Sanger Rainsford and Whitney are two friends, who are on their way for a jaguar hunt in the Amazonian rainforest. The two men discuss how the world consists of predators and prey, and that they are from the first type. While debating, the two men hear gunshots. Rainsford climbs onto the yacht’s rail and accidentally falls overboard. Thankfully, he manages to save himself and swims to an island called Ship-Trap, which is famous for its countless shipwrecks. There he meets General Zaroff and his gigantic servant, Ivan.

"A Chapter in the History of the Tyrone Family" is a Gothic short story by Sheridan Le Fanu focusing on a young woman who marries a Scottish landowner with a dark past. A short story whose haunting and semi-supernatural elements might have influenced Charlotte Bronts "Jane Eyre", Le Fanus tale combines a lot of elements horror, romance, thriller, and drama to create a compelling and sophisticated world from which there is no easy escape.

"The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins is one of the forefathers of detective fiction, cementing the foundations of the genre. At the centre of it lays the theft of a diamond, dating in origin from a religious Indian shrine, which prompts detective Sergeant Cuff to take up the case. It is an absolute page-turner of a story and goes through the accounts of the different characters, winding and meandering from fact to fiction and vice versa.

Peter Pan is a special little boy, dressed in withered leaves, who does not want to grow up. He lives with the fairies far, far away, on the magical island of Neverland. One night, Peter Pan flies into the room of Wendy and her brothers, Michael and John. He sprinkles them with magic pollen and shows them how to ride the wind and fly. The excited children follow him to Neverland, where incredible adventures await them.

Lionel Dacre is a young man who lives in a small house in Paris. Because of his large interest in the occult, Dacre has gathered a huge library of occult literature and many mysterious items. One of these items is a leather funnel next to which the young man sleeps. The strange thing is that in his dreams, Lionel can see exactly how the funnel has been used.

Following the events of the first novel, Tarzan is grieving his beloved Jane, who is about to marry someone else. But he soon finds that there is more love to be had as he sets off to visit France, where he, besides causing some serious problems with Russian blackmailers, encounters several alluring women. But is Tarzan really done with Africa? And Jane? 'The Return of Tarzan' (1913) is the second in a series of twenty-four books about Tarzan, which author Edgar Rice Burroughs worked on until the 1940s.

The major part of the human population lives under the surface of Earth. Humankind has created a Machine which meets all possible needs. Travelling is permitted but people do not feel the need for it. Everybody lives in a separate room and communication is made via messages and videos only. However, not everyone is content with this life. There are rebels like Kuno who want to explore and get out of the limitations set by the Machine. Kuno will try to escape but without success.

Baron Grogzwig lives a life full of pleasure, drinking and hunting with his friends. But when he decides ´ to marry one of his fellow baron’s daughter, his days change drastically. First he has to send his friends away as per his wife’s demands. Then his responsibilities start growing bigger with time as his wife gifts him with twelve children. When the thirteenth child is on the way, baron Grogzwig’s despair and lack of money become unbearable. He decides to end his life.

The story of "The Three Musketeers" continues in "The Man in the Iron Mask" but the plot is even more intricate. D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis return to the scene but this time each of them is fighting for completely different things. D’Artagnan remains in the service of the corrupt King Louis XIV while his "brothers" try to remove him from the throne.

A wife’s indiscretion is answered with cruel estrangement. Yet when the couple meets again six years later in a train car, as two strangers traveling together, the Baron discovers the magnitude of his loss. Guy de Maupassant was a master of the short story, using every literary device and turn of phrase with masterful effect. A Meeting is an elegant tale that explores the consequences of unbridled, and bridled, passion.

The night’s stillness is broken as Dr. Petrie rushes out to care for a dying patient, the subtle machinations of villainy begin their work, and the nefarious Dr. Fu-Manchu again rears his insidious head in London. Arthur Henry Ward (Sax Rohmer) is best known for creating the criminal mastermind Dr. Fu-Manchu. The Wire Jacket contains the first three chapters of the novel The Return of Fu-Manchu, and can be listened to as a stand-alone story.

Bryan Dalyrimple returns to his hometown as a war hero after World War I. But after the ticker tape parades and back-slapping handshakes, he finds himself stuck in a dead-end job with little room for advancement, and frustration begins to mount. He decides to turn to the only option left for him—crime. Originally published in the 1920 short story collection Flappers and Philosophers, Fitzgerald shines a light on the sentiment toward the returning doughboys of World War I, and the dwindling opportunities awaiting them upon their return.