Showing results by author "Barry Pain" in All Categories

The short story is considered to be one of the most challenging genres because of the need for compact plotlines and the ability to conjure up atmosphere and character in a few sentences and to engage the reader instantly. This collection presents 66 of the greatest examples of the genre - many of them well known, some hidden literary treasures, all of them exquisite examples of the short story at its finest.

Fifty of the greatest classic horror stories ever written: 1. "The Beast with Five Fingers" by W. F. Harvey 2. "The Well" by W. W. Jacobs 3. "The Nightmare Room" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 4. "The End of a Show" by Barry Pain 5. "Bagnell Terrace" by E. F. Benson 6. "Fingers of a Hand" by H. D. Everett 7. "The Interruption" by W. W. Jacobs 8. "Gavon’s Eve" by E. F. Benson 9. "The Ring of Thoth" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 10. "Moon’s Gibbet" by Egerton Castle 11. "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Eliza was the first volume of the Eliza Stories by Barry Pain (1864-1928). It was published in 1900 and was the first of these stories that appeared in cheap editions and were sold on railway bookstalls. The stories were hugely popular and made Pain's name. Although the book is titled Eliza, it is her husband who is its comic hero.

A pompous and pooterish city clerk with social pretensions relates anecdotes of suburban life in Edwardian England, as he and his patient and long-suffering wife, Eliza, deal with various crises and contretemps—including the vexed question of visiting cards; a malfunctioning music player; the mistreatment of the narrator’s hat; a mushroom (or toadstool) in the front garden; and the ongoing struggle to balance the household accounts …

bibliophile's collection of wide ranging and masterful short stories, embracing both the subtle and the macabre, the whimsical and the downright frightful. Fifty captivating short stories which will keep listeners glued to their headsets.

A gripping collection of over 50 of the greatest short stories written by great British writers. 1."The Missing Years" by Barry Pain, 2. "His Brother's Keeper" by W. W. Jacobs, 3. "A Madman's Manuscript" by Charles Dickens, 4. "The House of Cobwebs" by Barry Pain, 5. "Old Fags" by Stacy Aumonier, 6. "A Long-Ago Affair" by John Galsworthy, 7. "August Heat" by W. F. Harvey, 8. "The Dabblers" by W. F. Harvey, 9. "Rose Rose" by Barry Pain

Barry Pain was noted for his humorous tales of “Eliza” and her husband, but his tales of the weird and supernatural are equally noteworthy. This volume, More Tales in the Dark, contains eight of them.  

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. The Tree of Death is a haunting story with something of a fairy tale character to it....but a fairy tale that turns into a gruesome horror story as the narrative unfolds. A wealthy young man falls in love with a young girl in his village, but she does not return his love.

The Giraffe Problem tells the story of an evening at the Problem Club, a secret society of gentlemen in London who meet once a month in a private room above a restaurant, where one of the waiters is the admirable Leonard. Every month Leonard sets the members a problem or challenge. The one who is able to complete the feat successfully wins that month's share of the membership fees.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. "The Missing Years" is the haunting tale of Sylvia Hetheril, who goes out to post letters one day and fails to return. All enquiries and advertisements fail to trace her, and eventually her family are forced to abandon the search.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his outstanding mystery and horror stories, often with a strange twist at the end. "A Considerable Murder" is the odd tale of a retired gentleman and his daughter who are suddenly imposed upon by an old, sick and highly cantankerous man...a former friend of their father and grandfather, who had helped them out in earlier years.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his outstanding ghost and horror stories. 'The Grey Cat' is a supernatural story about a very peculiar and sinister cat which follows an explorer home from Central Africa to London. It bears an uncanny resemblance to an old carved jade statuette of a cat which the man purchased before his departure...the one which the antiquarian dealer had tried to buy back from him hours later for double the price paid....

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. This Is All tells the story of Alexander Wyatt, who has a morbid fear of dying. Unfortunately Wyatt is ill with a heart condition, which, in combination with his paranoid anxiety and depression, threatens to become life threatening. His doctor prescribes a strict regime of early nights and no caffeine.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer. The End of a Show is a poignant tale of a quack showman and seller of dubious stomach pills who carries out what he believes to be his first-ever act of kindness - an act which horrifies and saddens in equal measure.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. "The Magnet" is the uncanny story of a very unusual copycat mass murderer.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. Rose Rose is a hauntingly beautiful ghost story about an artist and his exquisite if somewhat unreliable model, Miss Rose Rose, who is sitting for his great painting of Aphrodite. Miss Rose Rose, on this occasion, is not as unreliable as expected....

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his ghost and horror stories. "Miracles" is the tale of two extraordinarily talented men, Best and Bliss, who develop a way of communicating nonverbally and use it for a career on the stage as mind readers. But when a bereaved mother asks them to try to contact her dead son, things take on a highly unexpected twist.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer. The Green Light is an iconic horror story describing graphically the rapid decline into psychosis of a man who has murdered his wife.

Six creepy horror stories of sinister, murderous and ghostly cats. 'The White Cat' by Hugh Walpole; 'The Cat' by E. F. Benson; 'The Cats of Ulthar' by H. P. Lovecraft; 'The Black Cat' by William James Wintle; 'The Grey Cat' by Barry Pain; 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe.

Six fascinating tales of the mysterious doings of secret societies and gentlemen's clubs. A Foggy Evening by A. J. Alan The Giraffe Problem by Barry Pain The Suicide Club by Robert Louis Stevenson The Dream by A. J. Alan The Inconsiderate Waiter by J. M. Barrie The 19 Club by A. J. Alan.