Arthur Machen was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella "The Great God Pan" (1890; 1894) has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror (Stephen King has called it "Maybe the best [horror story] in the English language"). He is also well known for his leading role in creating the legend of the Angels of Mons. He also was a translater, he translated from Italian;The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova by Giacomo Casanova, 2 of the five Volumes are in this listing.
Ornaments in Jade
Read by Chuck Williamson
Running Time:01:40:18 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Horror & Supernatural Fiction
Ornaments in Jade is a collection of short narrative experiments from Arthur Machen, with ten dreamlike tales that are equal parts enigmatic, sumptuous, and phantasmagoric.
1 - The Rose Garden
2 - The Turanians
3 - The Idealist
4 - Witchcraft
5 - The Ceremony
6 - Psychology
7 - Torture
8 - Midsummer
9 - Nature
10 - The Holy Things
Strange Roads & With the Gods in Spring
Arthur Machen and Vincent Starrett
Read by Ben Tucker
Running Time:00:56:46 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Essays & Short Works
The centerpieces of this collection are two essays by Arthur Machen, Strange Roads and With the Gods in Spring. Both use images of journeys through the countryside to evoke a sense of place and an innate spiritualism found in nature. In addition to these two essays, taken from a stand-alone chapbook publication are two thematically similar poems by Machen that evoke folk legends of his native Wales. The collection is kicked off by an insightful appraisal of Machen's literary career and his place in the pantheon of great authors of late Victorian period literature by Vincent Starlett.
1 - I. Arthur Machen: A Novelist of Ecstasy & Sin
2 - II. The Remembrance of the Bard
3 - III. The Praise of Myfanwy
4 - IV. Strange Roads
5 - V. With the Gods in Spring
The Angels of Mons
Read by R. S. Steinberg
Running Time:1:06:14 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Myths, Legends & Fairy Tales
The Angels of Mons is a popular legend about a group of angels who supposedly protected members of the British army in the Battle of Mons at the outset of World War I. The story is fictitious, developed through a combination of a patriotic short story by Arthur Machen, rumours, mass hysteria and urban legend, claimed visions after the battle and also possibly deliberately seeded propaganda.
1 - Introduction
2 - The Bowmen; The Soldiers' Rest; The Monstrance
3 - The Dazzling Light; The Bowmen and Other Noble Ghosts; Postscrip
The Great God Pan
Read by Ethan Rampton
Running Time:1:59:35 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Horror & Supernatural Fiction
"The Great God Pan" is a novella written by Arthur Machen. A version of the story was published in the magazine Whirlwind in 1890, and Machen revised and extended it for its book publication (together with another story, "The Inmost Light") in 1894. On publication it was widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its decadent style and sexual content, although it has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror. Machen’s story was only one of many at the time to focus on Pan as a useful symbol for the power of nature and paganism. The title was taken from the poem "A Musical Instrument" published in 1862 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in which the first line of every stanza ends "... the great god Pan."
1 - The Experiment
2 - Mr. Clarke's Memoirs
3 - The City of Resurrections
4 - The Discovery in Paul Street
5 - The Letter of Advice
6 - The Suicides
7 - The Encounter in Soho
8 - The Fragments
The Great Return
Read by Ben Tucker
Running Time:01:16:16 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Fantastic Fiction
The small Welsh town of Llantrisant has experienced something unusual... Something wonderful... Something even miraculous. It only lasted a few days but has left an indelible mark on the village and the villagers. Just what is this event? Join master of the mystical Arthur Machen on a lyrical and entrancing journey to discover for yourself the secret of the Great Return.
1 - I. The Rumour of the Marvelous
2 - II. Odours of Paradise
3 - III. A Secret in a Secret Place
4 - IV. The Ringing of the Bell
5 - V. The Rose of Fire
6 - VI. Olwen's Dream
7 - VII. The Mass of the Sangraal
The Hill of Dreams
Read by Mark Nelson
Running Time:07:06:01 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Horror & Supernatural Fiction
The novel recounts the life of a young man, Lucian Taylor, focusing on his dreamy childhood in rural Wales, in a town based on Caerleon. The Hill of Dreams of the title is an old Roman fort where Lucian has strange sensual visions, including ones of the town in the time of Roman Britain. Later it describes Lucian's attempts to make a living as an author in London, enduring poverty and suffering in the pursuit of art. Generally thought to be Machen's greatest work, it was little noticed on its publication in 1907 save in a glowing review by Alfred Douglas. It was actually written between 1895 and 1897 and has elements of the style of the decadent and aesthetic movement of the period, seen through Machen's own mystical preoccupations.
The Red Hand
Read by Wanda White
Running Time:01:06:02 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Crime & Mystery Fiction, Fantastic Fiction
Two London gentlemen ponder the evolution of humankind as they investigate a modern-day murder committed with an ancient tool.
1 - The Problem of the Fishhooks
2 - Incident of the Letter
3 - Search for the Vanished Heaven
4 - The Artist of the Pavement
5 - Story of the Treasure House
The Shining Pyramid: The Definitive Edition
Read by Ben Tucker
Running Time:08:23:33 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
For the first time ever, the complete contents of both the 1923 and 1925 editions of The Shining Pyramid are brought together in a single collection. Included are stories and essays that showcase the breath and depth of Arthur Machen's skill as both a storyteller and commentator of modern society. The title story is justly regarded as a classic of folk horror that Machen wrote during the same period that brought us his masterpieces such as "The Great God Pan" and "The White Children". We also get shorter journeys into the uncanny and weird with tales like "Out of the Earth", "The Happy Children", "The Lost Club", and "Drake's Drum". On the non-fiction side, included is "The Secret of the Sangraal", Machen's extensive commentary on the origins and lore surrounding the Holy Grail as well as several other essays detailing Machen's socio-economic beliefs, his thoughts on Christianity vs. Paganism, commentaries on art and other thoughts and musings.
The Terror: A Mystery
Read by Multiple Readers
Running Time:03:57:57 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Crime & Mystery Fiction
In rural England during the time of war, a rash of unsolved murders spawns conspiracy theories, paranoia, and fear as they search for a culprit, an explanation, and an end to the terror.
1 - Chapter I The Coming of the Terror
2 - Chapter II Death in the Village
3 - Chapter III The Doctor's Theory
4 - Chapter IV The Spread of the Terror
5 - Chapter V The Incident of the Unknown Tree
6 - Chapter VI Mr. Remnant's Z Ray
7 - Chapter VII The Case of the Hidden Germans
8 - Chapter VIII What Mr. Merritt Found
9 - Chapter IX The Light on the Water
10 - Chapter X The Child and the Moth
11 - Chapter XI At Treff Loyne Farm
12 - Chapter XII The Letter of Wrath
13 - Chapter XIII The Last Words of Mr. Secretan
14 - Chapter XIV The End of the Terror
The Three Impostors
Read by Tony Oliva
Running Time:6:29:49 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Horror & Supernatural Fiction
Three friends in a large old dilapidated house are laughing. They seem as giddy as an acting troupe at closing night. But their laughter is callous, cruel; you might say, evil. One of them, a young woman described as piquant rather than beautiful with eyes of a shining hazel, carries a neatly wrapped parcel. She says it is for the doctor's museum. It is dripping. Do you want to know why? Then, listen! There's more than one tale told, but what is the truth? My dears, are you sure you want to know?
1 - Introduction
2 - Adventure of the Gold Tiberius
3 - The Encounter of the Pavement
4 - Novel of the Dark Valley; Part 1
5 - Novel of the Dark Valley; Part 2
6 - Adventure of the Missing Brother
7 - Novel of the Black Seal; Part 1
8 - Novel of the Black Seal; Part 2
9 - Novel of the Black Seal; Part 3
10 - Novel of the Black Seal; Part 4
11 - Novel of the Black Seal; Part 5
12 - Incident of the Private Bar
13 - The Decorative Imagination
14 - Novel of the Iron Maid
15 - The Recluse of Bayswater
16 - Novel of the White Powder; Part 1
17 - Novel of the White Powder; Part 2
18 - Strange Occurrence in Clerkenwell
19 - History of the Young Man with Spectacles; Part 1
20 - History of the Young Man with Spectacles; Part 2
21 - Adventure of the Deserted Residence
The White People
Read by Charlie Blakemore
Running Time:1:49:20 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Genre(s): Horror & Supernatural Fiction
Literary critics see Arthur Machen’s works as a significant part of the late Victorian revival of the gothic novel and the decadent movement of the 1890s, bearing direct comparison to the themes found in contemporary works like Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The White People is a highly influential horror story of a young girl’s discovery of ancient magic. It was written in the late 1890s as part of a longer unfinished novel, some sketches from which went into his book Ornaments in Jade. Fans of supernatural fiction often cite this story as a classic in the genre.