Showing results by author "Algernon Blackwood" in All Categories

As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, Halloween approaches. Come, brave listener, pull up a chair, and spend some time with master storyteller Stephen Fry as he tells us some of his favourite ghost stories of all time, in truly terrifying spatial audio. From the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow to the tortured spirits of M.R. James, from Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tale of a doppelganger to Charlotte Riddell’s Open Door that should definitely stay shut, join Stephen as he tells you some truly terrifying tales.

Described by H P Lovecraft as 'the one absolute and unquestioned master of weird atmosphere', Algernon Blackwood (CBE) was the acclaimed and prolific author of numerous ghost stories and horror tales. Throughout his lifetime, he wrote 14 novels, several children's books, a number of plays, and over 200 short stories. This anthology opens with a selection of stories featuring his most influential character, occult detective Dr John Silence.

This Audiobook contains the following works: "The Builder" [Frank L. Packard], "The Man Who Didn't Count" [Frank L. Packard], "Red Petals" [Frederick Merrick White], "The Other Man's Story" [Frederick Merrick White], "The Shebeeners" [Frederick Merrick White], "The Waterwitch" [Frederick Merrick White], "The Brand of the Wild" [G.B Lancaster], "A Fair Smuggler" [George Newnes], "A Castaway of the South" [Gilbert Parker], "As Deep As the Sea" [Gilbert Parker], "The Gift of the Simple King" [Gilbert Parker], "The Treasure of Sacramento" [Nick Guy Boothby].

CONTENTS: 1. The Imp of the Perverse [Poe], 2. The Devil in the Belfry [Poe], 3. The Crawling Chaos [Lovecraft], 4. Aunt Joanna [Sabine Baring-Gould], 5. The Outsider [Lovecraft], 6. The Hound [Lovecraft], 7. The Disinterment [Lovecraft], 8. The Horror At Martin's Beach [Lovecraft], 9. The Tree On The Hill [Lovecraft], 10. The Outgoing of The Tide [John Buchan], 11. The Curse of Yig [Lovecraft], 12. The Haunter Of The Dark [Lovecraft], 13. Berenice [Poe], 14. The Angel Of The Odd [Poe], 15. Black Ram [Baring-Gould], 16. The Cask Of Amontillado [Poe], 17. Dracula's Guest [Bram Stoker].

During a canoe trip on the Danube, two men are forced to stop on an island due to the current. What was supposed to be a peaceful temporary camping experience turns into a disturbing and supernatural ordeal: the willows covering the island seem to move and whisper in the wind, giving the impression of being alive; the presence of hostile and terrifying invisible entities is perceived, casting doubt on every capacity for rational thought.

H.P. Lovecraft considered The Willows to be "the finest supernatural tale in English literature", and its appeal is obvious. In his tale of an adventurous duo who embark on a seemingly innocuous river trip down the Danube, Blackwood personifies the desolate willows to be ominous, alive, and menacing. The river itself brims with human passions, and the elemental winds and heavenly forces all combine to create a sense of a supernatural intelligence orchestrating it all. 

The author once worked as a dairy farmer in Canada, but returned to his home in Kent, near London, and became a broadcaster, journalist, novelist, and short story writer.  He specialized in tales of the supernatural and was described as “Unquestioned master of weird atmosphere,” as he told of incredible adventures. He often used first person narrations, as you will hear … and, very likely feel an abnormal phantom presence. Come along … If you dare!

Anthony Breddle, un aviatore in licenza per malattia, si reca nella casa del fratello maggiore nel Galles. Nelle vicinanze della dimora c'è un'oscura valle misteriosa chiamata la Valle del Capro, in cui si dice che vivano dei mostri. L'intrepido pilota decide di andare a dare un'occhiata di persona. I classici dell’orrore, riediti in chiave moderna e raccontati con musiche e suoni.

"The Willows" is a novella by English author Algernon Blackwood, originally published as part of his 1907 collection The Listener and Other Stories. It is one of Blackwood's best known works and has been influential on a number of later writers. Horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. "The Willows" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

Uno de sus relatos, "Los sauces" (1908), se considera una de las mejores historias sobrenaturales jamás escritas. Su obra es citada como una de las principales influencias de H. P. Lovecraft; de hecho, su célebre relato "La llamada de Cthulhu" se inicia con una cita de Blackwood.  

Today we have ghosts that haunted our ancestors, as well as our own modern revenants, and there appears to be no earthly use trying to banish or exorcise them by such a simple strategy as refusing to believe in them. Since man knows that whether or not he has seen a ghost, presently he will become one, and thus he has become fascinated with the subject. Therefore he creates ghosts, not merely in his own image, but according to his dreams of power.

An excellent collection of creepy ghost stories from some of the most notable names of early horror fiction, including: “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood, “The Shadows On The Wall” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, “The Messenger” by Robert W.Chambers, “Lazarus” by Leonid Andreyev, “The Beast With Five Fingers” by W.F. Harvey, “The Mass Of Shadows” by Anatole France, “What Was It” by Fitz-James O’brien, “The Middle Toe Of The Right Foot” by Ambrose Bierce, “The Shell Of Sense” by Olivia Howard Dunbar, and more!

On a small isolated island in a large Canadian lake a man tries to settle down to study in an old solitary house. After a few days of perfect relaxation and study, he suddenly becomes aware that he’s not alone and that there is something unseen and terrifying in his chosen bedroom.

Algernon Blackwood, a journalist and broadcast narrator, was one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. The title story, "The Touch of Pan", explores the lingering presence of myth in everyday life. In "The Glamour of the Snow", Blackwood winds a tale about a man's infatuation with a supernatural winter beauty. In "The Attic", the ghost of an usurer haunts the old Chateaux and, on the anniversary of a young boy's death, the boy's cat brings the family together. "The Willows" follows two campers who are on a canoe trip down the Danube.

When the driver refused to deliver Shorthouse to the door of the rundown mansion because he was afraid, Shorthouse realised the secret-shrouded contract he was carrying was the centre of a very strange mission. His boss had demanded secrecy and warned him of the danger involved with the visit he was to make. Now he was stuck here, miles from the nearest help with night approaching. 

Mysteries come in all sorts, and this collection of seven short stories reflects that, from hidden temples beneath the sea, to worlds discovered through a microscope. Murderers, ghosts and demons can also be found in this collection. The stories included are: "The Temple", "To Prove an Alibi", "The Diamond Lens", "The Adventure of the Red Circle", "An Episode in a Lodging House", "How Siva Spoke", and "The Nail." 

This classic collection of macabre tales, one of 10 such anthologies by Algernon Blackwood, was first published in 1916. It includes, "The Empty House", "A Haunted Island", "A Case of Eavesdropping", "Keeping His Promise", "With Intent to Steal", "The Wood of the Dead", "Smith: An Episode in a Lodging-House", "A Suspicious Gift", "The Strange Adventures of a Private Secretary in New York", and "Skeleton Lake: An Episode in Camp". 

A researcher goes on an expedition to find "The Tablets of the Gods" which have plagued his dreams since his boyhood. He finds them, and the horrible truth of humanity's true purpose in the universe. This story, The Man Who Found Out is an example to me of pure cosmic horror in that the horror comes totally from knowledge which is (in-story) so terrible that it forever blights the minds of anyone who discovers it.

Perhaps Blackwood's most celebrated story, The Willows was influenced heavily by his own trips down the Danube River. It tells the story of two campers who pick the wrong place to sleep for the night, a place where another dimension impinges on our own. H.P. Lovecraft considered this the finest supernatural tale in English literature.

A woman tells her story of an encounter with a ghost in a deserted old lodging house in the middle of London years ago. She was told that a woman had been murdered there before she agreed as a "psychical researcher" to spend a night in the old building. Her expectations are challenged in this psychological ghost story. Algernon Blackwood wrote over 200 ghost stories as well as being a novelist, playwright, and a writer of nonfiction and children’s stories. His ghost stories fall into what is usually called weird fiction.