Adelgitha; or, The Fruits of a Single Error
| Dramatic Reading|
Matthew Lewis (1775 - 1818)
Running Time:02:02:37 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
The second original tragedy written by Gothic writer Matthew Lewis, Adelgitha; or, The Fruits of a Single Error is a markedly more serious affair than his melodramatic output, dealing as it does with a fallen woman who is mercilessly blackmailed by a ruthless tyrant when she spurns his advances. Set in Otranto during the High Middle Ages, and featuring fictionalized depictions of historical rulers Robert Guiscard (of the Normans) and Michael Ducas (of Byzantium), Adelgitha is an archetypal Gothic drama that, while not especially refined or meritorious in terms of quality, still manages to thrill in that deliciously overwrought way that Lewis knew how to sell. Sit down with it during a stormy night, turn off the lights, and prepare yourself for a few hours of treachery, murder, madness and despair!
Cast:
Michael Ducas, Emperor of Byzantium: Tomas Peter
Robert Guiscard, Prince of Apulia: Larry Wilson
Lothair, a Norman knight: ToddHW
Alciphron, a Grecian nobleman: Sam Monsen
Dercetus, a Grecian nobleman: TJ Burns
Rainulf, an officer of Guiscard: Son of the Exiles
Julian, an officer of Guiscard: Alan Mapstone
Adelgitha, Princess of Apulia: Leanne Yau
Imma, Princess of Byzantium: Devorah Allen
The Abbess of St. Hilda: Sandra Schmit
Claudia, an Italian lady: Sonia
Chorus: Roger Melin
Female Peasants: Eva Davis & April
Auriol, or The Elixir of Life
William Harrison Ainsworth (1805 - 1882)
Read by Sonia
Running Time:05:16:58 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
If you stumble upon the elixir of life, which provides you with eternal life, youth and health, then it's rather a bad idea to spoil this great gift by signing a pact with the devil on top of it to receive great financial fortune as well. Auriol Darcy, the protagonist of our story, has in fact made this mistake, but soon finds out that the price to pay is much too high to bear. And getting out of a pact with the devil is never easy.
William Harrison Ainsworth's novel is divided into three parts and the final part provides quite a surprise twist ending, which will not be revealed here. The surrealistic plot and setting and especially the psychological elements give this novel quite a modern touch, considering it's been written as early as 1844. The colorful characterization of some shady people from the lower classes of society lend a humouristic touch to the story which provides a nice contrast to the otherwise gloomy gothic atmosphere of the main plot.
Black Magic: a Tale of the Rise and Fall of the Antichrist
Marjorie Bowen (1885 - 1952)
Read by Cynthia Brooks
Running Time:10:37:13 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Witches, spells, ghosts, pacts with the Devil, occult rituals, love triangles, popes and the Anti-Christ are some of the ingredients of this chilling early horror work (set in the middle-ages) by Marjorie Bowen that some consider to be the ultimate Gothic Novel. With enough suspenseful plot twists and turns to keep most listeners on edge guessing till the very end.
The Blood of the Vampire
Florence Marryat (1837 - 1899)
Read by Multiple Readers
Running Time:08:52:21 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
The Blood of the Vampire is a Gothic novel, often compared to Bram Stoker's Dracula and Le Fanu's Camilla. Harriet is a vampire who kills accidentally. She enters a European convent and tries to integrate into society, Victorian and strait-laced. The novel deals with eugenics, race and class and has been praised for its different view of vampires, as suffering from a medical ailment rather than a supernatural phenomenon.
The Bright Messenger
Algernon Blackwood (1869 - 1951)
Read by Mark Nelson
Running Time:14:50:55 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Julian LeVallon, born and raised alone in the Jura Mountains, is referred to psychiatrist Dr. Edward Fillery for care in London. But is LeVallon merely a schizophrenic with a secondary personality, "N.H." (non-human), or is he really an Elemental Being, a "bright messenger" who brings, perhaps, a new age of human evolution? And if so, is the human race ready for a major step forward?
Carmilla
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 - 1873)
Read by Louise J. Belle
Running Time:04:38:41 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Carmilla is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, originally published as a serial in the London-based literary magazine The Dark Blue. It is one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) by 26 years. The story is narrated by a young woman who falls under the spell of the mysterious Carmilla. The story is often anthologized and has been adapted many times in film, theatre, radio, and television.
The Castle of Otranto
Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
Read by Great Plains
Running Time:3:58:07 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. It is generally held to be the first gothic novel, initiating a literary genre which would become extremely popular in the later 18th century and early 19th century. Thus, Castle, and Walpole by extension is arguably the forerunner to such authors as Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker, Daphne du Maurier, and Stephen King.
The Castle Spectre
| Dramatic Reading|
Matthew Lewis (1775 - 1818)
Running Time:03:21:54 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Written by Gothic writer Matthew Lewis, whose novel The Monk is one of the most enduring Gothic works from the eighteenth century, The Castle Spectre is one of Lewis' earliest forays into drama, and a strong indication of his talents as a controversial and frightening entertainer. Set in medieval Conway, Wales, the play is filled with every delicious Gothic trope imaginable: a menacing castle, a villainous nobleman hiding terrible secrets, a virginal damsel in distress, an heroic lover trying to save her, several comedic supporting characters, and, yes, the presence of a ghost. Popular when it was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1797, The Castle Spectre is an irresistible confection that deftly mixes light farce and romance with dark tragedy, keeping you on the edge of your seat right up to the final epilogue
Cast List:
Osmond: Nemo
Reginald: David Olson
Percy: Tomas Peter
Father Philip: Son of the Exiles
Motley: ToddHW
Kenric: Patrick Saville
Saib: Sandra Schmit
Hassan: KHand
Muley: Kieren Metts
Alaric: RecordingPerson
Allan: Craig Franklin
Edric: Eva Davis
Harold: Tony Addison
Chorus: Alan Mapstone
Angela: Leanne Yau
Alice: Sonia
Evelina: Kalynda
Narrator: Chuck Williamson
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne
Ann Radcliffe (1764 - 1823)
Read by Lauren Randall
Running Time:04:22:32 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Ann Radcliffe is the founder of the gothic novel. This novel is no exception. The wicked baron murdered the good earl's father twelve years before the novel began. Only twelve years later, free from his mother's wishes, can the earl seek revenge. Meanwhile, Mary, the earl's beautiful sister is falling in love with a peasant. Yet her brother was abducted by the baron and he wants to marry her. She may have to wed him in order to secure his return. We see Mary's conflict along with a description of her brother's captivity. This book has everything: murder, revenge, battles, damsels in distress, aristocrats, captives, secrets, and, most of all, love. It is a love story in every sense: the love to the Scottish highlands in which it is set, the family love that binds almost above all else, and of course the love between men and women. This short work would later influence Radcliffe's other works. Radcliffe had an influence on Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and many others who wrote popular gothic novels.
The City of Dreadful Night and Other Poems
James Thomson (1834 - 1882)
Read by M.Lylith
Running Time:03:33:40 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
While primarily known for being pessimistic, the poetry of James Thomson (1834-1882) is also beautiful and psychologically complex. This 1903 edition, varying as it does in selection from the edition of the same name published during his lifetime, provides a representative look at what has come to be known as his best works. The title poem is a horror-laced journey through depths that are surface level supernatural and at their heart an exploration of depression and atheist existential crisis. Subsequent works turn personal struggles (such as chronic insomnia) into pure art and praise poets that have gone before.
Dracula
Bram Stoker (1847 - 1912)
Read by Kara Shallenberg
Running Time:15:58:53 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.
The Dunwich Horror
H. P. Lovecraft (1890 - 1937)
Read by Mark Nelson
Running Time:01:55:30 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
In a rundown farmhouse near isolated, rural Dunwich, a bizarre family conjures and nurtures an evil entity from another realm, with the purpose of destroying the world and delivering it to ancient gods to rule, and only an aged university librarian can stop them. The Dunwich Horror was first published in 1929 in Weird Tales.
Fifty-one Tales
Lord Dunsany (1878 - 1957)
Read by:Rosslyn Carlyle
Running Time:02:15:35 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
A multitude of very short stories populated with things that lurk in the dark corners of human imagination. Wonderfully crafted and sometimes ending with an unexpected outcome, these stories are well rooted in mythology and speak of things beyond the thin veil of reality.
1 - The assignation. Charon. The death of Pan
2 - The sphinx at Giza. The hen. Wind and fog
3 - The raft-builders. The workman. The guest
4 - Death and Odysseus. Death and the orange. The prayer of the flower
5 - Time and the tradesman. The little city. The un-pasturable fields
6 - The worm and the angel. The song-less country. The latest thing
7 - The demagogue and the demi-monde. The giant poppy. Roses
8 - A mistaken identity. The true history of the hare and the tortoise. Alone the immortals
9 - A moral little tale. The return of song. Spring In town
10 - How the enemy came to Thlunrana. A losing game. Taking up Piccadilly
11 - The man with the golden ear-rings. The dream of King Karna-Vootra. The storm
12 - After the fire. The city. The food of Death
13 - The lonely idol. The sphinx in Thebes (Massachusetts). The reward
14 - The trouble in Leafy Green Street. The mist. Furrow-maker
15 - Lobster salad. The return of the exiles. Nature and time
16 - The song of the blackbird. The messengers. The three tall sons
17 - Compromise. What we have come to. The tomb of Pan
Edward Randolph's Portrait and Other Tales
Various Authors
Read by Multiple Readers
Running Time:2:19:49 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
1-The Wood Of The Dead - Algernon Blackwood
2 - The Night-Doings at Deadman's - Ambrose Bierce
3 - Shadow - A Parable - Edgar Allen Poe
4 - Kerfol - Edith Wharton
5 - In The Dark - Ronal Kayser
6 - The Last Revel in Printz Hall - Charles M. Skinner
7 - Edward Randolph's Portrait - Charles M. Skinner
8 - The Headless Skeleton of Swamptown - Charles M. Skinner
9 - Werewolves of Detroit - Charles M. Skinner
The Flight of the Shadow
George MacDonald (1824 - 1905)
Read by Multiple Readers
Running Time:06:32:07 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
A fantastical story of personal growth and a warning against the dangers of keeping secrets. This novel by George MacDonald is a deceptively easy read aimed to be accessible to teens, but the ideas will remain in your mind long afterwards. Beautifully written in the style of Gothic Novels of the nineteenth century, a story about relationships and redemption, secrets and confessions and an inspiring example of how to live in the light.
Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 - 1851)
Read by John Van Stan
Running Time:10:00:53 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
This is a classic (gothic) horror story, and one of the earliest examples of science fiction. The main characters are Dr. Frankenstein and his creation, the daemon. Shelley called the scientist a "pale student of unhallowed arts" and his creation a "hideous phantasm of a man." This story is not only delightfully frightful, but arguably represents one of the clearest criticisms of science during a time when, like the daemon, it was leaving its own infancy and, like Dr. Frankenstein, testing its ethical boundaries. As Shelley said, "Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world. His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handiwork, horror-stricken."
The Goddess: A Demon
Richard Marsh (1857 - 1915)
Read by Multiple Readers
Running Time:06:12:21 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
After a night of drinking and gambling, John Ferguson has a terrifying dream of his neighbor being violently torn to shreds by an unknown attacker. When he wakes up, he sees a strange and bloodied woman climbing through his window, suffering from amnesia. These strange occurrences are brought to a chilling climax when, the next day, Ferguson learns that his dream came true, and his neighbor was indeed brutally murdered during the night! With suspicion mounting against the mysterious woman, Ferguson sets out to uncover her true identity and find the vicious killer in the process.
Originally serialized in the Manchester Weekly Times and Salford Weekly News in twelve installments, The Goddess is another vivid example of Richard Marsh's gripping Gothic style, combining elements of crime, romance, and the supernatural while commenting explicitly on many issues of its time, including imperialism, the fin de siècle, and the New Woman.
Hieroglyphic Tales
Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
Read by Barbara Baker
Running Time:01:21:07 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Surreal and satirical, these stories by the eighteenth century man of letters, Whig politician, art historian and antiquarian are '"...mere whimsical trifles, written chiefly for private entertainment, and for private amusement... an attempt to vary the stale and beaten class of stories and novels, which, though works of invention, are almost always devoid of imagination.
Horror Stories
Ada Buisson (1839 - 1866)
Read by Newgatenovelist
Running Time:02:12:31 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Ada Buisson was a Victorian novelist and short story author. This collection includes her three horror stories, all of which were published in the journal Belgravia in 1867-1869.
The House of Mystery
Richard Marsh (1857 - 1915)
Read by Jim Locke
Running Time:10:24:15 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
The House of Mystery is based upon the complicated plot involving two women who look exactly alike, one rich and one poor, and so mistaken identities bring about comic and tragic madness. - Our Audiobooks are Complete and Unabridged (unless otherwise indicated)
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