A weekly podcast that reads out ghost stories, horror stories, and weird tales every week. Classic stories from the pens of the masters Occasionally, we feature living authors, but the majority are dead. Some perhaps are undead. We go from cosy Edwardian ghost stories (E. F. Benson, Walter De La Mare) to Victorian supernatural mysteries (M. R. James, Elizabeth Gaskell, Bram Stoker, and Charles Dickens) to 20th-century Weird Tales (Robert Aickman, Fritz Lieber, Clark Ashton-Smith, and H. P. L ...
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Are you easily confused by terms like cultural appropriation, cisgender, toxic masculinity, twunk, queer, black girl magic, and woke? Or maybe you’re tired of explaining terms like these and you need a community that gets you! Welcome to Minority Korner, where we take an introspective look at the world. through an intersectional lens. Join James: a queer, political, comedian, self proclaimed, sexy blerd (that’s Black Nerd) and each week he's joined in the Korner by another fabulous minority ...
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The unseen creature whose ravenous fangs dog your every step as your footfalls echo down the midnight alleyway. — A long, icy shadow looming over you, making the hairs on your neck rise and your breath turn to ragged puffs of mist. — Unearthly howls that pierce the night, pulling you from the comfort of sleep with feverish, heart-pounding dread. — Welcome to Tales to Terrify, a weekly horror fiction podcast that gets under your skin, lays eggs and hatches writhing baby horrors nursed on your ...
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** Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks ** Host David Barr Kirtley, author of the book Save Me Plz and Other Stories, talks geek culture with guests such as Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Richard Dawkins, Simon Pegg, Bill Nye, Margaret Atwood, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy has appeared on recommended podcast lists from NPR, The Guardian, Wired, The A.V. Club, BBC America, CBC Radio, WVXU, io9, Omni, The St ...
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Seen from a passing stagecoach, you might think that Gylingden Hall is not the sort of place where the dead rest easily. The chimneys are cold, the gallery echoes with no human tread, and the great trees that line the avenue whisper of old wrongs and buried fury. In the shadow of the ruined chapel and beneath the rot-black timbers of the house, som…
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597. Matthew Kressel, author of Histories Within Us and Space Trucker Jess
1:29:40
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1:29:40Matthew Kressel joins us to discuss his short story collection Histories Within Us and his new novel Space Trucker Jess. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy David Barr Kirtley
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Welcome to episode 702. This week , we meet a young Scottish woman who inherits the duty of tending to an old stone shelter… and the ancient thing that dwells within. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 [Trigger] F. W. Weatherstone’s The Bothy in the Field as read by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker: 00:02:48 TRIGGER WARNINGS The Bothy in the Field contains sc…
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The Confession of Charles Linkworth by E F Benson
1:10:30
1:10:30
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1:10:30A man waits in silence. The law has spoken, the doctors have done their work. But something does not rest. In the quiet rooms and corridors of the prison, a sound is heard—faint, deliberate, and not easily explained. What follows is noted calmly, professionally. Still, it leaves a mark. *The Confession of Charles Linkworth* was first published in 1…
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In the Members Only podcast episode of the Classic Ghost Stories podcast for July 2025, I spent a lot of time apologising for being late in delivering the Members Only episode to you this month. I then talk about my Uncanny Mirror project, which I'm sure many of you will find very interesting. I then talk a bit about our holiday in Scotland. I read…
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The Friends of the Friends by Henry James
1:33:53
1:33:53
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1:33:53What do we see in others that we cannot admit in ourselves? In Henry James's haunting tale, a woman recounts her fascination with two people who have each witnessed a ghost. She delays their meeting for years, caught between longing and fear, until it is too late. Names are withheld, but emotions are not. Beneath the surface of polite society, some…
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Tales to Terrify 701 Derek Alan Jones, Nick Badot & Victoria Brun
56:50
56:50
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56:50Welcome to episode 701. We have three tales for you this week. First, a boy learns the importance of respecting old traditions. Then, we sample an exclusive menu with the most exotic of flavours. And finally, a woman chosen for ritual sacrifice holds her people’s future in her hands. COMING UP Good Evening: Submissions: 00:01:06 Derek Alan Jones’ A…
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Enjoy this special preview of the podcast, Sightings. Home invasions are many families’ worst nightmares. But what happens when the invaders are from another world altogether? Step into the shoes of one rural family as their peaceful night devolves into a terrifying encounter. Will they run? Will they hide? Or will they stand their ground and fight…
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Tales to Terrify 700 Philip Madden & Mary Elizabeth Braddon
39:27
39:27
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39:27Welcome to episode 700. We have two tales for you this week. First, a pastor seeks to avenge his murdered family with the help of an unlikely ally. Then, a young artist learns the deadly cost of heartbreak. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 Philip Madden’s The Pastor as read by Curtis Michael Holland: 00:03:01 [TRIGGER] Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s The …
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596. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert Review
1:46:26
1:46:26
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1:46:26Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Rajan Khanna join us to discuss God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, the fourth book in the Dune series. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy David Barr Kirtley
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The Tapestried Chamber by Sir Walter Scott
1:09:02
1:09:02
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1:09:02General Browne, a soldier hardened by war and governed by reason, accepts an invitation to the castle of his old school-friend, Lord Woodville. The place has only lately been inherited and is undergoing tasteful restoration, its mediaeval past slowly yielding to Georgian elegance. But not all traces of the past have been swept away. One chamber rem…
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Tales to Terrify 699 Tabitha Lord, Bryan Carrigan & Avra Margariti
48:22
48:22
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48:22Welcome to episode 699 We have three tales for you, about a modern-day Frankenstein’s monster, a horny teen who gets more than just a hookup, and a young woman trapped inside her house by a mysterious guest. COMING UP Good Evening: Submissions are open: 00:01:06 [Trigger] Tabitha Lord’s Monster as read by Amanda Stribling: 00:03:37 Bryan Carrigan’s…
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The Squire's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell
1:15:07
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1:15:07In the year 1795, in the secluded Derbyshire town of Barford, a stranger settles into the old White House. He renovates it handsomely, pays every bill on time, and quickly wins the friendship of the local squire and his daughter. Among the hunting gentry, he seems to fit right in. But this is a story of the hunting gentry—and the secrets they don’t…
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Tales to Terrify 698 Daniel Stride & Rachel Bolton (Stoker)
55:12
55:12
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55:12Welcome to episode 698 and happy StokerCon! We have two tales for you this week. First, a strange child develops a special bond with the hermit in his garden. Then, a woman goes to extreme lengths to leave her abusive husband. COMING UP Good Evening: StokerCon 2025: 00:01:06 Daniel Stride’s The One Who Saw Too Much as read by Jesse Holt: 00:04:09 […
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The Roll-Call of the Reef by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
1:00:21
1:00:21
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1:00:21A gale howls in from the sea as a traveller takes shelter with a smallholder on the Cornish coast. Above the hearth hang two relics: an old cavalry trumpet and a weathered drum, bound together with a brass-lettered lock. No one knows the word that opens it. As the fire burns low, the smallholder begins to tell a tale—half history, half haunting—of …
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595. The Business of Science Fiction (with Tom Gerencer)
1:11:47
1:11:47
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1:11:47Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Business of Science Fiction by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy David Barr Kirtley
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Welcome to episode 697. We have one tale for you this week, about a woman torn between who she feels she should be and true beast that lurks within her. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 [Trigger] A. A. Nour’s Lonely Skin as read by Erin Grassie: 00:03:09 TRIGGER WARNINGS Lonely Skin contains scenes of Animal Death. PERTINENT LINKS Support us on Pat…
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The Symposium of the Gorgon by Clark Ashton Smith
52:09
52:09
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52:09Clark Ashton Smith's "Symposium of the Gorgon," a masterful blend of satire and fantasy, made its debut in _Fantastic Universe Science Fiction_ in October 1958. Published relatively late in Smith's career, the story showcases his enduring talent for crafting bizarre and imaginative narratives, even as his output had begun to wane. The appearance in…
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In H.G. Wells's "The Red Room," a young man, confident in his rationality, seeks to debunk the supernatural in a reputedly haunted chamber. He is certain that his experience will be defined by logic and reason. But the air within the castle walls is heavy with unspoken dread, and as the candles dwindle, something shifts. Is it the room itself, or s…
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Tales to Terrify 696 Derek Alan Jones & Akis Linardos
45:42
45:42
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45:42Welcome to episode 696. We have two tales for you this week: about a man on an empty highway struggling to trust his fading memory, and a woman whose skepticism is tested by her lover’s carnal faith. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 Derek Alan Jones’ Somewhere on US-50, Sometime in the Night as read by Drew Sebesteny: 00:02:36 Akis Linardos’ Baited…
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Late one fog-bound night, a man goes in search of a book to help him sleep. He finds a book he doesn’t remember. Did he inherit it? It has no title. No author. It’s written in Latin, in an unknown but legible hand. And once he begins to read it, he can’t stop returning to it each night. He was a happy family man. A little bored, but happy. But what…
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594. Andor Season 2 Review (with Andrea Kail, Erin Lindsey, Matt London)
1:27:36
1:27:36
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1:27:36Andrea Kail, Erin Lindsey, and Matt London join us to discuss Season 2 of the Disney+ series Andor, a prequel to the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy David Barr Kirtley
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Tales to Terrify 695 Folklore & Fairytale Flash Contest
39:39
39:39
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39:39Welcome to episode 694. This week, we share the winners of our Folklore & Fairytale Flash Fiction contest, about a changeling, the call of the forest, a hunt for the Pied Piper, and an ancient god resurrected. COMING UP Good Evening: Locus Magazine Fundraising: 00:01:06 [Trigger] Runner-Up: Mylo Brehm’s The Cuckoo as read by Georgia Cook: 00:04:42 …
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The Withered Heart by G G Pendarves
1:35:09
1:35:09
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1:35:09Beneath the brooding skies of Braun Fell, the Dewle family grapples with a dark inheritance, and John, a boyhood friend, is urgently summoned to help them navigate their dilemma. A lust for wealth consumes beautiful Jonquil, driving her to urge the use of questionable methods, while her husband, who would do anything to please her, is wary about su…
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593. Roger Zelazny's Writing Advice (with Warren Lapine)
1:09:55
1:09:55
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1:09:55Warren Lapine joins us to discuss editing the book On Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Roger Zelazny. Ad-free episodes are available to our paid supporters over at patreon.com/geeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy David Barr Kirtley
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What lives after love dies? A man once full of charm and wit writes from a forgotten island—Delos, sacred to Apollo, now silent and desolate. He is bound by invisible chains, haunted by the soul of a wife who once tried to revive a long-dead mystery cult, drawing down ancient gods and transfiguring herself through ritual, art, and something far old…
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Welcome to episode 694. We have five bite-sized tales of terror for you this week. About avoidant home renovations, a plan for the zombie apocalypse, a siren’s awakening, an evil fingernail, and a family of squatters defending their home. COMING UP Good Evening: Author Interview Series – Rami Ungar: 00:01:06 A. V. Greene’s Home Maintenance as read …
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What lives inside beautiful, silent things? In a quiet English manor, a collector of rare objects welcomes guests, family, and a child with an unusual gift. The air is calm. The room is bright. But some objects carry more than history. D.K. Broster’s Clairvoyance is not a tale of shadows and creaking floors. It is something more delicate—and more u…
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What watches us from the trees? A solitary girl begins to wander, again and again, into the woods above her home. At first, they offer calm—shade, silence, the companionship of trees. But as the summer deepens, so does her enchantment. She begins to hear music. She starts to see movement—half-glimpsed figures, never quite there. The woods begin to …
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What price, a parent's love? A Scottish family, seeking a quiet life, rents Brentwood House – a grand, Georgian mansion standing in wooded grounds beside a ruined keep and a deep glen – only to find themselves in a terrifying ordeal. As their son plunges further into despair, can they, as a family, keep a hold of reality? Is there a happy solution?…
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Welcome to episode 693. We have one tale for you this week, about a jaded man burdened with a terrible responsibility who seeks solace in a new friend. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 [Trigger] Matt Hollingsworth’s The Sin Eater’s Chrysalis as read by Rish Outfield: 00:03:16 TRIGGER WARNINGS The Sin Eater’s Chrysalis contains scenes of Animal Deat…
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592. The Best of Greg Egan Part 1 Review (with Anthony Ha)
2:24:07
2:24:07
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2:24:07Anthony Ha joins us to discuss the first eight stories in the book The Best of Greg Egan, part of the SF Masterworks series of science fiction classics. Stories discussed: "Learning to Be Me" (20:42), "Axiomatic" (44:03), "Appropriate Love" (50:10), "Into Darkness" (1:00:30), "Unstable Orbits in the Space of Lies" (1:14:47), "Closer" (1:26:42), "Ch…
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What happened down in the cellar? In Andrea Smith's disquieting tale, Peg grapples with her brother Milo's delicate state after a shocking incident. Whispers, unease, and a chilling presence haunt their isolated cottage. Can Peg protect Milo from whatever threatens them, or will a haunting past cast a shadow over them both? 📚 You can now buy my boo…
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Who digs in dead ground? A chance encounter on a desolate beach leads Maddox to a discovery that chills the very air. A parchment, a prayer, or perhaps a curse. The local priest knows better than to pry, but Maddox cannot resist the lure of the unknown. On the windswept Breton coast, something awakens. Experience the unsettling tale of "Celui-Là." …
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Welcome to episode 692. We one tale for you this week, about a man who enlists the help of a broken doll to help find his missing daughter. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 F. Marion Crawford’s The Doll’s Ghost as read by Douglas Gwilym: 00:03:24 PERTINENT LINKS Support us on Patreon! Spread the darkness. Shop Tales to Terrify Merch Original Score …
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Elliott O'Donnell, a prolific author who often blurred the lines between ghost story and alleged fact, invites us into "The Haunted Spinney." First published in 1904, the tale unfolds in a foreboding woodland, following a man's discovery and its haunting aftermath. What ghosts lie hidden beneath the twisted trees? This is a story where truth and im…
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Tales to Terrify 691 Sammy Krouse & Dan Rafter
50:32
50:32
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50:32Welcome to episode 691. We have two tales for you this week. First, a lawyer tries to help a man craft a wish that won’t backfire. Then, a woman decides to help her neighbour… for not entirely selfless reasons. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 Sammy Krouse’s Golden Lamp Contracting and Litigation Services as read by Anthony Babington: 00:03:06 Dan …
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591. Harlan Ellison's Greatest Hits Part 3 Review (with Tom Gerencer)
2:39:59
2:39:59
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2:39:59Tom Gerencer joins us to discuss the book The Top of the Volcano: The Award-Winning Stories of Harlan Ellison, which contains 11 stories not included in Harlan Ellison’s Greatest Hits. Stories discussed: "A Boy and His Dog" (1:39), "The Region Between" (37:12), "Basilisk" (48:29), "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longi…
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An English traveller, delayed in an unfamiliar village, hears a troubling local legend—one the villagers are reluctant to discuss. Drawn by curiosity into a nearby wood no one dares enter, he finds the past is not so easily buried. What he encounters there resists explanation, hovering uneasily between tragedy and nightmare. L.A. Lewis’s tale unfol…
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E.F. Benson's "The Wishing-Well" was first published in the United Kingdom in the collection Visible and Invisible by Hutchinson & Co. in 1923. This collection, featuring a range of supernatural and uncanny tales, showcases Benson's skill in blending traditional ghost story elements with psychological depth and social commentary. "The Wishing-Well,…
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Tales to Terrify 690 Thony Mintz & S. W. Pisciotta
49:02
49:02
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49:02Welcome to episode 690. We have two tales for you this week. First, a very special book requires the talents of a very special book repairman. Then, a man finds himself on the trail of his missing son… or so he thinks. COMING UP Good Evening: This is Horror Awards Nomination: 00:01:06 Thony Mintz’s Grim Prognosis as read by Colin Duncan: 00:03:35 S…
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The Parlour of Futures Lost by Tony Walker
38:38
38:38
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38:38In a dim parlour by the sea, where the waves sigh like old regrets, Madame Lily Floss lays her tarot cards on green silk and dreams of escape. She longs for a life beyond the shore, beyond her mother’s house, beyond her fate. Then, one evening, a stranger arrives — a man who claims they’ve not yet met… but already remembers everything. One of my ow…
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Through the Gates of the Silver Key by H P Lovecraft and E Hoffman Price
2:15:47
2:15:47
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2:15:47Is time an endless ocean? Randolph Carter, armed with a silver key, sets sail across its fathomless depths. His quest: the ultimate truth. But the waters are treacherous, and the shores lead to alien worlds and entities beyond human reckoning. And what if once you go, you can't get back? Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is a short story co-writ…
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Tales to Terrify 689 Warren Benedetto, Derek Alan Jones & Samir Sirk Morató
58:10
58:10
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58:10Welcome to episode 689. We have three tales for you this week, about a baby in the womb who realizes she’s not alone, how a warm fire and a cup of tea can make almost anything palatable, and a lost child in need of a helping hand. COMING UP Good Evening: [HOUSEKEEPING]: 00:01:06 Warren Benedetto’s Before as read by S. H. Cooper: 00:02:36 Derek Alan…
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The House of Horror by Seabury Quinn
1:39:40
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1:39:40"The House of Horror," despite its pulp sensibilities, clearly resonates with the Poe-esque tradition of detective fiction intertwined with the macabre and the sensation novel. Like Poe's tales, Quinn's story utilises a combination of rational investigation and visceral horror to create a sense of dread and suspense. De Grandin, though more flamboy…
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590. The Best of Larry Niven Part 1 Review (with Mercurio D. Rivera)
1:49:40
1:49:40
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1:49:40Mercurio D. Rivera joins us to discuss the first nine stories in the book The Best of Larry Niven, edited by Jonathan Strahan. Stories discussed: "Becalmed in Hell" (5:10), "Bordered in Black" (17:54), "Neutron Star" (26:35), "The Soft Weapon" (38:16), "The Jigsaw Man" (56:27), "The Deadlier Weapon" (1:02:55), "All the Myriad Ways" (1:08:16), "Not …
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Welcome to episode 688. We have one tale for you this week, about a company with ancient roots who serves some very thirsty clients. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 Jason Sabbagh’s The Last Fare to Essex as read by Graeme Dunlop: 00:02:40 PERTINENT LINKS Support us on Patreon! Spread the darkness. Shop Tales to Terrify Merch Graeme Dunlop | Podcas…
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The Beast With Five Fingers by W F Harvey
1:37:45
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1:37:45In W.F. Harvey’s The Beast with Five Fingers, we enter the world of Eustace Borlsover, an eccentric gentleman immersed in the study of the natural world and its more unusual phenomena. Set within the quiet gloom of Borlsover Conyers, his ancestral home, the story gradually evolves into a tale of obsession and nightmare. What if part of our very sel…
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Tales to Terrify 687 Kathleen Palm & Hall Jameson
46:49
46:49
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46:49Welcome to episode 687 and the final week of Women in Horror Month. We have two tales for you this week, about forgotten dreams that refuse to die and two sisters’ desperate fight to survive in the face of a deadly outbreak. COMING UP Good Evening: 00:01:06 WiHM featuring Mariah Darling: 00:01:23 Kathleen Palm’s Rotted Dreams as read by Nancy Bober…
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Can Death be bargained with? In the town of Erlach, whispers of an old legend linger. They speak of Agnes Weberin, a woman known for her piety, her devotion— and her fate. Her husband, Berchthold Weber, was a learned man, a physician whose success in saving lives came at an unspeakable cost. The town murmured of a pact, a debt owed not to man, but …
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