The Classic Tales Podcast Library

• Episode 136 "The Cricket on the Hearth" Part 1 of 3 by Charles Dickens
Tackleton was a toymaker who hated children. And if a Cricket was ever heard tittering near his hearth, he'd crush it, and relish the jam on the heel of his boot. But for some gentler hearts,the Cricket is a prophet that nudges their minds to brighter days. Charles Dickens, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 135, The Duplicity of Hargraves, by O. Henry
Major Talbot is a bona fide Southern gentleman. The trivial matters of today can't hold a candle to the grand old times when the Southern gentleman was the true American aristocrat. When a young actor by the name of Hargraves becomes familiar with the aged Major, Hargraves wants to learn more than how to make a mint julep. He has a duplicitous agenda of his own. O. Henry, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 134, A Diamond As Big As The Ritz, Pt2 of 2, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Love comes to John and Kismine in the Hidden Valley of the Diamonds. They spend the long, lazy summer vowing never to part. Yet, how far will Kismine's father go to keep this valley of immeasurable wealth a secret? The answer will shake the earth. F. Scott Fitzgerald, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 133, A Diamond As Big As The Ritz, Pt1 of 2, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Percy Washington says that his dad is the richest man in the world. His preparatory schoolmate, John, squints with a skeptical eye. Percy says his dad has a diamond as big as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Well, that seems like a good fantasy. But what happens when John finds out that Percy is telling the truth? F. Scott Fitzgerald, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 132, "Olalla" Part 2 of 2, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Haunting screams in the night herald the existence of something evil. The cries cannot be of a beast, but was there ever man or woman born who could create such a torrent of screaming infamy? Perhaps the daughter, Olalla, will explain all. Of course, she may also turn out to be the screaming demoniac. Robert Louis Stevenson, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 131, "Olalla" Part 1 of 2, by Robert Louis Stevenson
There is something wrong about the Spanish residencia on the hill. Some disregard it as only a house with a mad woman with her two children. Others claim that unspeakable things happen at night, when the house is in the shadows. When a wounded war hero takes refuge in this forbidding home, he slowly realizes that degenerate people tend to fraternize with degenerate spirits. Robert Louis Stevenson, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 130, "Oh Whistle, And I'll Come To You, My Lad" by M.R. James
Superstitions around Suffolk hold that one who whistles on the seashore kindles the wind. But Professor Parkins discovers that some whistles summon more than empty atmosphere. M.R. James, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 129, Lot No.249, Part 2 of 2, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Layers of evidence reveal to Abercrombie Smith that Bellingham must be at the bottom of the strange attacks. But in the method and manner of these outrages he finds something he cannot believe. Finally, he sees the red eyes of the demoniac in the dead of night, and his worst fears are realized. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 128, Lot No.249, Part 1 of 2, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Unexplained events are happening at Oxford these days. Several students have been attacked at night by some strange form of wild animal. It can scale walls with cat-like agility. Its arms are as thin and as strong as steel bands. And there is one student who conducts midnight studies in his room with certain Egyptian artifacts. The most significant of which is a 6'7" tall mummy. Arthur Conan Doyle, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 127, Feathertop by Nathaniel Hawthorne
It is widely known that Mother Rigby is one of the most powerful witches in New England. And when she constructs a make shift scarecrow to frighten the crows away, she is struck with an uncommon idea. Why not give this pumpkin headed creation life? Nathaniel Hawthorne, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 126, The Man Who Disliked Cats by P.G. Wodehouse
Jean Priaulx, an aspiring artist, dislikes cats. That may be an understatement. He can't stand them. Their existence is noxious to him. Why? Because he holds one of them responsible for destroying his life. How can an innocent animal devastate the life of would-be French master?

• Episode 125, A Case of Identity, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes hears the distressing tale of Miss Mary Sutherland. It seems that something unexpected and mysterious has happened to her fiancee, Hosmar Angel. Is it a simple case of cold feet? Holmes finds something far more diabolical, lurking deep beneath the surface. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 124, The Unexpected, by Jack London
Edith was a respectable maid in England, living a life that is well oiled and extremely predictable. But when she goes to the States, marriage, trail blazing, prospecting, and even murder each leave their mark on her well-mannered life. So, what happens when she is faced with The Unexpected?

• Episode 123, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Eight of Eight
Death haunts Victor Frankenstein during every waking hour. He vows revenge on the creature he has formed. But when he meets the daemon face to face, he feels it only just to hear the creature's strange tale.

• Episode 122, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Seven of Eight
Death haunts Victor Frankenstein during every waking hour. He vows revenge on the creature he has formed. But when he meets the daemon face to face, he feels it only just to hear the creature's strange tale.

• Episode 121, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Six of Eight
Death haunts Victor Frankenstein during every waking hour. He vows revenge on the creature he has formed. But when he meets the daemon face to face, he feels it only just to hear the creature's strange tale.

• Episode 120, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Five of Eight
Death haunts Victor Frankenstein during every waking hour. He vows revenge on the creature he has formed. But when he meets the daemon face to face, he feels it only just to hear the creature's strange tale.

• Episode 119, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Four of Eight
Death haunts Victor Frankenstein during every waking hour. He vows revenge on the creature he has formed. But when he meets the daemon face to face, he feels it only just to hear the creature's strange tale.

• Episode 118, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Three of Eight
Victor Frankenstein, scientist and surgeon, after creating his monster has suffered a nervous attack. When he regains his senses after three months of illness, he learns that the cry of "Murder!" is sounded at home. But this is a sound that he will hear again, and again. Frankenstein, the unabridged mini-series, continues on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 117, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part Two of Eight
In the thunderous hills above Ingolstadt, a creature is formed. It is a being so horrible in aspect that its own creator turns away in disgust. The whirlwind of consequence begins for the ambitious and brilliant giver of life. Frankenstein, the unabridged mini-series, continues on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 116, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Part One of Eight
In the frozen wastes north of Russia, a lone seaward vessel seeks the elusive Northwest Passage. Suddenly they sight a dog sled with a gargantuan figure in the shape of a man, driving the dogs northward to sure oblivion. The following day, they find another sled. This sled is filled with a European near death, and when asked what he is chasing, he simply replies, "to seek one who fled from me." Frankenstein, the unabridged mini-series, today on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 114 and 115, The Bottle Imp, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Would you pay fifty dollars for a bottle filled with a devil? What if the devil had to grant your every wish? Keawe, a sometime sailor from Hawaii, takes the risk, even though he learns that if the bottle remains in his possession at the time of his death, he will lose his soul. Find out how dear dreams can be, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 112 and 113, Imprisoned with the Pharaohs, by H.P. Lovecraft
Legends abound in the land of Egypt. Legends of mysterious ancient powers that sleep beneath the man made monuments of death, known as the pyramids. When the great escape artist Harry Houdini visits the land of the Pharaohs, he is forced to perform an escape from terrors unknown to those who breathe the earthly air.

• Episode 111, Battle of the Witchdoctors and other tales, by H. Rider Haggard and others
Two witchdoctors battle for tribal supremacy in the middle of the throes of a lightening storm. Also, three harrowing tales from real adventurers, each in turn wrestling alligators, chased by gargantuan spiders, and ravaged by lions. It's exotic adventure at it's best - today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 110, The Country of the Blind, Part Two of Two by H.G. Wells
In the Country of Blind Men, the one-eyed man is king. Nunez acquires his kingdom of sight, such as it is, and our story is concluded.

• Episode 109, The Country of the Blind, Part One of Two by H.G. Wells
In the wild wastes of Ecuador's Andes, tales have been whispered of a fabled Country of Blind Men. It is a place that has been cut off from the rest of the world for centuries, and all the inhabitants are indeed blind. When Nunez, the explorer, narrowly escapes death and discovers this village, he discovers how much truth is hidden in the proverb: In the Country of the Blind, the One Eyed Man Is King. H.G. Wells, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 108, The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Father Hooper was a mild voiced parson with a loving, gentle disposition. And when his parishioners; see him coming to chapel with a mysterious black veil draped over his face, this simple curiosity raises a multitude of questions. And the one furthermost on everybody's mind is: What is Father Hooper hiding? Find out, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 107, The Blue Hotel, Part Two of Two by Stephen Crane
Part Two of Stephen Crane's The Blue Hotel

• Episode 106, The Blue Hotel, Part One of Two by Stephen Crane
Who is responsible for a murder? Is it always the man with the blood on his hands? Stephen Crane spins a tale of 5 strangers who twine their fates inevitably together after one night in the Blue Hotel.

• Episode 105, The Ghost in the Mill, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Storytelling can take a ghostly turn when you are snowed in, in the mountains. And when two good ol' boys have their roistering halted by a mysterious Indian woman, the weird spirit she conjures turns their blood to ice. Harriet Beecher Stowe, today, on the Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 104
The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Part 2 of 2, by Edgar Allan Poe
The facts of the horrible murders are sifted, and reality is shaken by the truths unearthed by C. Auguste Dupin. Edgar Allan Poe, today on the Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 103
The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Part 1 of 2, by Edgar Allan Poe
A mysterious double homicide positively baffles the Parisian police. But after a seemingly fruitless investigation, C. Auguste Dupin discovers the heart of the impossible mystery. The roots of detective fiction are explored by the great Edgar Allan Poe, today on the Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 102
Paul's Case, by Willa Cather
Paul weaves an imaginary world about him, full of flamboyant lies and belligerence. And when the mesh of his web reaches the critical point, he lashes back at the world with shocking audacity. Willa Cather, today, on the Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 101
The Kiss, by Anton Chekhov
A mysterious kiss given in the darkness changes the life of a young Russian officer. Anton Chekhov makes his debut on the Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 100 - Celebrating 100th episode
Murder With Vine and String, by Maupassant, Bierce, and Stevenson
Today we hear from A Madman, A Consumptive, and the Devil's Lexicographer. Guy de Maupassant, who was institutionalized in a mental hospital in his later years, reveals how suspicion can overwhelm to the point of self-destruction in "The Piece of String". Ambrose Bierce, known as the Devil's Lexicographer, tells of a vine-ridden haunted house in "A Vine on a House". And Robert Louis Stevenson, despite his chronic, debilitating tuberculosis, unwraps the story of "Markheim": A man who commits a despicable murder, then has the misfortune of entertaining an unexpected visitor.

• Episode 99
A Scandal in Bohemia, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes receives a client wearing a mask, submitting an insoluble quandary to the great detective. The history of Europe may be changed forever, if Holmes cannot prevent a scandal in Bohemia. Arthur Conan Doyle, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 98
The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg Part 2 of 2, by Mark Twain
Hadleyburg gathers for the biggest, brightest town meeting in history. But by the time the meeting ends, Hadleyburg's incorruptibility turns out to be about as pure as yesterday's dishwater. The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg, concluded, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 97
The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg Part 1 of 2, by Mark Twain
Hadleyburg enjoys the reputation of being an incorruptible town. Every citizen has developed a perfect sense of honesty. But they have the misfortune of offending a certain revengeful man. This man will not be satisfied with a homicide or two. No. He will not rest until he corrupts the entire town. Mark Twain today on The Classic Tales.

• Episode 96
Legeia, by Edgar Allan Poe
In a chamber enshrouded with grotesque and arabesque drapings, death discovers unfathomed powers. Does the mortal coil shuffle off when the body ceases, or does it only cast its ghastly pall when the will to live ceases to dwell inside this earthly tabernacle? Explore the depths with Edgar Allan Poe, today, on The Classic Tales Podcast.

• Episode 95
Jeeves and the Hard Boiled Egg, by P.G. Woodhouse
Can you really make a fortune with a chicken farm? Bertie's pal sure thinks so. And though he's not generously endowed with the gray matter, Jeeves certainly is. And when the need arises for some instant capital, Jeeves know just how to drum it up, simply by shaking the right person's hand.

• Episode 93 and 94
Bartleby, by Herman Milville
The life of a Scrivener can be a dull one. After all, your entire occupation has to do with the handwritten copying of law documents. But when Bartleby arrives, he turns the office upside down with the enigmatic phrase: I prefer not to.

• Episode 92
The Secret Garden, by G.K. Chesterton
Father Brown returns to solve a murder at the residence of the finest detective in all of France: Aristide Valentin.

• Episode 91
Alice in Wonderland, Part Three by Lewis Carrol
Alice meets the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon and participates in a ludicrous courtroom scene, as her adventures in Wonderland are concluded.

• Episode 90
Alice in Wonderland, Part Two by Lewis Carrol
Alice takes advice from a caterpillar, and attends a mad tea party as her adventures in Wonderland continue.

• Episode 89
Alice in Wonderland, Part One by Lewis Carrol
Alice begins her fantastic journey into Wonderland, following an unprecedented White Rabbit with a pocket watch.

• Episode 88
A Slip Under the Microscope, by H.G. Wells
In the throes of a prestigious science academy, the fortunes of many a student hang by a single precarious thread. And unbeknownst to Mr. Hill, his entire career hangs by a simple slip under the microscope.


• Episode 87
The Ice Palace, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sally Carrol is engaged to a Yankee. None of her friends from Tarleton, Georgia can understand it. But, Sally Carrol is convinced that she is truly in love. But when she goes up North in the middle of January, she discovers the cold complexities of securing a comfortable situation.


• Episode 86
The Goblins and the Gravedigger, by Charles Dickens
A surly and morose gravedigger is snatched by a menacing band of goblins on a cold Christmas Eve. Charles Dickens, today on the Classic Tales Podcast.


• Episode 85
A Classic Tales Christmas, by Various Authors
Robert Louis Stevenson tells of "Christmas at Sea, then we have The Christmas Present by Richmal Crompton. Saki puts in his two cents about Christmas presents in "Reginald on Christmas Presents. Robert Frost delivers a "Christmas Chain Letter on Christmas Trees", and Hans Christian Anderson rounds it off with his immortal tale of A Little Match Girl.


• Episode 84
The Nightmare, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Delusions of blood and thunder torment the Lord of the Jungle. Tarzan of the Apes makes his debut on The Classic Tales, heralding his very own podcast.


• Episode 83
Thanksgiving in New York & The Purple Dress by O. Henry
Two tales of Thanksgiving in New York by O. Henry. First, in "Two Gentlemen at Thanksgiving", we hear of a Thanksgiving dinner that shouldn't have been eaten. In "The Purple Dress", we have a dress that shouldn't have been delayed. With O. Henry's gift for twisting plots, and his insight into human nature, this is an episode you'll treasure every year.


• Episode 81 & 82
The Machine Stops, by E.M. Forster
In an age that relies for everything on a central computer, what happens when the machine breaks down? This is Forster's only science fiction story.


• Episode 80
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, by Rudyard Kipling
The pages of The Jungle Book are opened, and a wild mongoose fights tooth and nail with deadly cobras.


• Episode 79
Dracula’s Guest, by Bram Stoker
Today Bram Stoker takes us to his world of vampires, wolves and crypts. Disregarding the warnings of the village folk, a man braves the wild crossroads on Walpurgis Night, the deadliest night of the year.


• Episode 76, 77 & 78
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
There is a man that haunts the streets by night. His name is Mr. Hyde. His visage provokes involuntary torrents of hatred. His voice is huskily whispered, and his deformity lies within.


• Episode 75
The Man Upstairs by P.G. Wodehouse
P.G. Wodehouse gives us a delightful romantic comedy of two struggling artists who fantastically misunderstand each other.


• Episode 73 & 74
The Canterville Ghost, by Oscar Wilde
Can’t you give a medieval ghost a break? The ghost that haunts Canterville Chase has built a marvelous career of midnight hauntings. But when an American family moves in, they simply have no respect for permanent bloodstains, nightmarish chains or ancient legends.


• Episode 72
The Music of Erich Zann, by H.P. Lovecraft
The music of the night. Dracula hears it in his midnight haunts. It moves the Parisian Phantom in his ecstasies below the opera house. And tonight it will mesmerize Eric Zann in his mysterious apartment in the Rue D’auseille.


• Episode 71
Fear and the Graveyard by Guy de Maupassant
Skeletons and corpses rise from their fitful sleep to deliver a chilling message from beyond the grave. Two perspectives on fear by Guy de Maupassant.


• Episode 70
The Dream Woman, Part Two, by Wilkie Collins
Francis Raven marries the woman of his dreams. But when their marriage dissipates into violent animosity, Francis realizes that the woman of his dreams has turned into the Dream Woman.


• Episode 69
The Dream Woman, Part One, by Wilkie Collins
“Wake up! Wake up there! Murder!” A hostler spits out these vehement words while he turbulently sleeps. He is haunted by a phantasm. It is a ghostly woman with a droop in the left eye, long flaxen hair, and a long buckhorn clasp knife.


• Episode 68
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
It’s just a hideously papered room. At least, that’s what everybody else thought. But when a woman suffering from a nervous condition is housed in the room, things begin to surface from the wallpaper- things that seem familiar, but are best left quiet and undisturbed.


• Episode 67
Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bernice has rare beauty and wealth, but is undeniably socially awkward. Her cousin Marjorie does her best to make her into a social vampire. To be a socialite in America in the 1920s, some of the more archaic feminine ideals need to go. Bernice’s luxurious long hair may need to go, too.


• Episode 66
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, and A Horseman in the Sky, by Ambrose Bierce
There is a bridge at Owl Creek that is surrounded by dry and cracking driftwood. Burning the bridge would be the perfect way for a civilian Southerner to strike a blow against the Union Army. But Peyton Farquar doesn’t make it that far, and instead finds a rope around his neck. It’s the “devil’s lexicographer”, Ambrose Bierce, on The Classic Tales Podcast.


• Episode 65
Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest, by P.G. Wodehouse
Jeeves stays his hand. Yes, that’s right. Even though a particularly well-upholstered friend of Aunt Agatha chucks her bleary eyed, milk sot of a son on Bertie for a month, Jeeves refuses to rally to the cause. Of course, if Bertie would simply throw out the offensive tie and hat, things might be smoothed over soon enough. But Bertie, just this once, has decided to be firm.


• Episode 64
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part Six, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Deep mists shroud the final attack of the Baskerville hound. And while Holmes and Watson track down the hellish beast, Sir Henry Baskerville receives a shock that will haunt him all the rest of his days. The Hound of the Baskervilles, concluded, on the Classic Tales Podcast.


• Episode 63
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part Five, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes finally reveals himself, and proclaims who he believes the murderer to be. However, he further states that there exists not a shred of evidence to convict the villain. Holmes’ net tightens, and the fiendish hound claims another victim.


• Episode 62
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part Four, by Arthur Conan Doyle
The mysterious butler, Barrymore, has his secret exposed. The throaty wail of a hell hound terrorizes the moor, causing Sir Henry Baskerville’s very bones to tremble with fear.


• Episode 61
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part Three, by Arthur Conan Doyle
A wild horse struggles for freedom from the merciless Grimpen Mire. Watson and Stapleton stare in horror and wonder as the mire slowly extinguishes the thrashing animal. The gloom and mystery of the moor pervade Watson’s investigations, and nobody is as innocent as they would have us believe.


• Episode 60
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part Two, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Holmes explores three potential threads of the mystery. The journey is exhausted in London, and we venture into the dangerous lands of Dartmoor.


• Episode 59
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Part One, by Arthur Conan Doyle
The spectral hellhound, which dogs the descendants of the Baskerville family, has claimed another victim. The ancient legend, and the modern murderous facts are placed before the great Sherlock Holmes. And one of the greatest adventures put to print begins…


• Episode 58
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Part Two
The Forty Thieves seek the life of Ali Baba. And Morgiana, the slave girl, shows that her worth is greater than gold. The magic carpet ride continues with the conclusion of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.


• Episode 57
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Part One
In the mystical land of Arabia, there is a secreted magic door that opens with the command, “Open, Sesame”. Inside lays the plunder of a century of robbers and mercenaries. And when Ali Baba witnesses 40 thieves open this door with the enchanted words, endless possibilities begin to unwind before him. Take a magic carpet ride with the Arabian Nights.


• Episode 56
The Aunt and Amabel, by E. Nesbit
Visit the roots of Narnia. C.S. Lewis enjoyed the works of E. Nesbit since he was a child. Amabel's journey through a mahogany wardrobe stuck him so vividly, he drew heavily from it in his creation of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Don't miss this episode.


• Episode 55
The Lurking Fear, Part Two by H.P. Lovecraft
The mountains are not safe. No one knows why, and no one knows exactly how, but when the heavens bellow their thunder, human lives are lost. Is it the ghost of an unavenged man? Is it a wolf beast, obeying the primal call of heaven? Our diligent reporter finds out, and the knowledge drives him to delirium.


• Episode 54
The Lurking Fear, Part One by H.P. Lovecraft
The Lurking Fear. The Silent Death. Thunder calls it forth. It moves without detection. It kills without mercy. It terrorizes a mountainside. H.P. Lovecraft weaves a spellbinding tale of terror in the Catskill Mountains.


• Episode 53
The £1,000,000 Bank Note by Mark Twain
What if you had the equivalent of five million dollars in your pocket, but had no way of spending it? Two brothers make a bet, proposing that such a man would either starve or barely scrape by after a month of such living. 27 year old Henry, a shipwrecked, penniless American in London, is the man the brothers choose. For 30 days, he must sink or swim by keeping a £1,000,000 note safe in his pocket.


• Episode 52
The Red Room, by H.G.Wells
The Red Room is haunted. Nobody knows how or why, but one man has lost his life while spending the night in the forbidden chamber. The horrors of the room drove him to madness. So, what will happen when another ambitious young man attempts to enter the room?


• Episode 51
The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
One ounce of darkened blood. This birthmark was the only thing that kept Georgiana from celestial perfection. Her husband, Aylmer, was certain the birthmark would grow stale and insignificant over time. But time, it seems, has a will of its own. And as Aylmer fuels the dark fire within himself, the birthmark gains a scorching power that promises to engulf them both.


• Episode 50
Leave it to Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse
When one of Bertie Wooster’s American chums needs help in getting his hard-nosed uncle to approve of his intended, Jeeves demonstrates his colossal mind power with the equanimity of a true gentleman’s gentleman.


• Episode 49
Heart of Darkness, Part Three, by Joseph Conrad
The horror. The horror." These are the final words uttered in this world by the enigmatic Mr. Kurtz. And while Marlow mulls over the myriad paths these words cut into his heart, he is lead to a final interview with Kurtz’ Intended. She is the only mourner Kurtz ever had. So, how is Marlow to tell her that her embodiment of perfection was actually the Heart of Darkness?


• Episode 48
Heart of Darkness, Part Two, by Joseph Conrad
The voyage begins, and whispers of the mysterious Mr. Kurtz trickle into Marlow’s ear. Cannibals join the crew with tattooed faces, patterned heads and rotten hippo-meat. White mist gathers round us as we journey further into the Heart of Darkness.


• Episode 47
Heart of Darkness, Part One, by Joseph Conrad
A weary pilgrimage amongst hints for nightmares.” This is how Marlow describes his journey into the Belgian Congo. And while Europeans go mad, corporations turn tyrannous, and the legend of a great ivory hunter is dangled before him, Marlow observes everything with a keen eye, as we journey with him, into The Heart of Darkness.


• Episode 46
The Blue Cross by G.K. Chesterton
Valentin, the greatest detective in the world, travels to London on the trail of the most elusive of villains. But a strange trail of clues leads Valentin through London and out into the country. It isn’t until the meandering journey’s end that the short, moon faced Father Brown sets Valentin back on his feet.


• Episode 45
The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
Two student anatomists purchase the remains of humanity in the small hours of the morning. The shadowy men who bring the bodies seldom speak, and the suspicions of the students are never spoken aloud. Until one morning, when the drapery is lifted from the face of a new acquisition and one student recognizes it as the face of a dear friend, alive and well only yesterday.


• Episode 44
To Build A Fire by Jack London
A man with no name follows a wandering path into the frozen Klondike. And here, deep in the heart of God’s country, he is forced to pit his will, mind and spirit against the forces of Mother Nature, herself. Adventure as only Jack London can write it.


• Episode 43
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
A bird of good omen is murdered. A skeletal ship is sighted moving against the wind and tide. The figure of Death along with a singular, gruesome companion man the fiendish craft. As they draw closer, it becomes evident that the two play at dice for the soul of the Ancient Mariner. The result is nothing short of cataclysmic.


• Episode 41 & 42
The Offshore Pirate, by F.Scott Fitzgerald
Ardita Farnam, flapper and demimondaine, has a feisty will and a fiery tongue. But when 7 hulking musicians seize her yacht while her rich uncle goes ashore, she soon discovers the limits of her persuasive powers, and a battle of wits begins. Ardita is taken by the pirates to an unchartered island, teeming with enchantment. But as Ardita and Carlisle grow closer to each other, a revenue boat is hot on their trail.


• Episode 40
Berenice by Edgar Allan Poe
A monomaniac observes the gradual degeneration of his cousin, Berenice. And when the servant delivers the message of her death, the maniac goes into a trance-like reverie. When he finally comes to himself, his clothes are steeped with blood and gore.


• Episode 39
The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
A highwayman promises to return for his love, Bess, once he's acquired the gold he requires. But when the redcoats come, and set a trap for him, Bess warns her lover in a manner never to be forgotten.


• Episode 37 & 38
The Man Who Would Be King - by Rudyard Kipling
Through the scorching sands of India, two loafing vagabonds follow a map scratched onto a scrap of paper. They have but little education between them. But their rusty brains have concocted a plan: to find a land to conquer, and there be crowned king. A country conquered. A King proclaimed. And pride leads our two vagabonds to rise and fall in a violent cataclysm. The Man Who Would Be King, concluded.


• Episode 36
The Horla by Guy de Maupassant
An invisible alien parasite latches on to a French Nobleman. The more he fights against his foe, the stronger its influence over him. Is it insanity? Or is it the Horla?


• Episode 35
The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
A mysterious island, shrouded in fear, evil, and darkness. Here the amoral General Zaroff hunts. And what, you ask, is the most dangerous game? It is the manner and substance of his nightly killings.


• Episode 34
The Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A battered felt hat, the crop of a Christmas goose, and the jewel of the Countess of Morcar. Only Sherlock Holmes can untangle the mystery of a stolen jewel on one end, and a tallow stained felt hat on the other.


• Episode 33
A Christmas Carol - Part Three by Charles Dickens
The conclusion of the Dickens' classic.


• Episode 32
A Christmas Carol - Part Two by Charles Dickens
Scrooge continues his journey of reclamation in Part Two


• Episode 31
A Christmas Carol - Part One by Charles Dickens
The first installment of three, chronicling Dickens’ classic tale of Christmas. Ebeneezer Scrooge runs a tight shop with a tight fist and a sharp tongue. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley. Marley relates that in order for Scrooge’s soul to be reclaimed, he must be haunted by three spirits. The first of the three appear, and Scrooge’s reclamation begins.


• Episode 30
The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf by O. Henry
A poor young couple demonstrates the meaning of love and self-sacrifice in the Christmas Classic, The Gift of the Magi. Also included is the Last Leaf. This tale follows a young woman artist who is stricken with pneumonia. She watches the leafy vine opposite her window with hollow eyes, and she determines to stay alive until the last leaf falls. O. Henry, always a master with the surprise ending, delivers two fine tales of his beloved New York City.


• Episode 29
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Benjamin Button inexplicably ages backwards. The problems that inevitably arise are often frustrating, sometimes humorous, and occasionally terrifying. It is a curious case you won’t want to miss.


• Episode 28
The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Complete and unabridged, and read with meticulous care, Miles Standish and John Alden both seek the hand of the fair Priscilla. See the Mayflower abandon the first settlers, as it returns to England. Feel the heated vision of the Indians, perpetually keeping their watch in the dark forest. Love and adventure collide in one of Longfellow’s most famous works.


• Episode 27
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Caleveras County by Mark Twain
Leonidas W. Smiley would bet on anything. Horse races, dog fights, cat fights, chicken fights all were fair game to the gambling nature of Smiley. But he meets his match when a stranger comes into town, and puts his champion jumping frog to the test.


• Episode 26
Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
How long would you walk, if the Devil sauntered up to you of an evening, and journeyed alongside of you? Young Goodman Brown is led by the Devil to a midnight ritual, where fire, blood and water change his opinions of the nature of humanity.


• Episode 25
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
The complete and unabridged tale of Ichabod Crane and his ill fated visit to Sleepy Hollow. Half of the charm of the tale is Irving’s beautiful prose, as he describes the glorious New England countryside. But, of course, there are chills galore when the Headless Horseman appears.


• Episode 24
The Hand by Guy de Maupassant
A withered, shriveled, severed human hand is kept chained in a corner. The “owner” of this morbid trophy always keeps three loaded revolvers in the same room. Nothing seems too suspicious until the Hand is mysteriously reclaimed.


• Episode 23
The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling
When a carousing Englishman disgraces the consecrated effigy of Hanuman, a leprous “Silver Man” marks him with a hideous curse. The ensuing night brings new terrors to the house of the doomed man.


• Episode 22
The Vampyre, Part Two by John Polidori
After a bizarre and tragic accident, Aubrey returns to London. But when a shattering truth comes to light, Aubrey realizes that an oath can bring a man to his knees more brutally than any physical pain.


• Episode 21
The Vampyre, Part One by John Polidori
Young, impressionable Aubrey is fascinated by the enigmatic Lord Ruthven, and accompanies him on a tour to Europe. But Aubrey develops a growing distaste for Lord Ruthven’s sinister and grotesque conduct.


• Episode 20
The Captain of the Pole Star, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Word goes among the crew of the Pole Star, that the Captain is haunted by demons. And after the days turn into weeks in the frigid Arctic Ocean, stories begin to circulate of ghosts and midnight hauntings.


• Episode 19
Selections from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
Two monologues from Hamlet. First, Polonius counsels his son, Laertes, as he goes away to school. Second, the famous “To be, or not to be” speech in which Hamlet ponders why his conscience is keeping him from acting on the prickling of his destiny.


• Episode 18
The Devil and Tom Walker, Hurst of Hurstcote, by Washington Irving and E. Nesbit
Washington Irving paints an effulgent portrait of the New England countryside, while Tom Walker walks with the Devil. Would you dare to bargain with the Devil for your soul? In “Hurst of Hurstcote”, a young man is so stricken by the passing of his wife that his sanity begins to stray. And, as madness spreads its paralyzing influence over him, he unearths a shocking conclusion.


• Episode 17
Three stories from Oscar Wilde (The Model Millionaire, The Happy Prince, The Sphinx Without A Secret)
In The Model Millionaire, the destiny of a young, ambitious, brilliant pauper changes with an act of his misplaced generosity. The Happy Prince is one of Oscar Wilde’s renowned fairy tales. From his vantage point, high above the city, the statue of The Happy Prince gives of himself in a way most astonishing. In The Sphinx Without a Secret, we learn of an enigmatic woman who hold a secret so close, no suitor can win her.


• Episode 16
The Eyes, by Edith Wharton
A story of how individual destiny can be shaped and formed by mentors and friends. Culwin is a modern villain, whose crimes arise from his holding his tongue at crucial moments, so that events further entangle themselves.


• Episode 15
Tobin’s Palm and The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry
In the first tale, we follow two workmen on an intriguing journey to Coney Island, where the heartsick and disgruntled Tobin, has his palm read. Who knew that palmistry could be so unpredictable? Secondly, a tale of kidnapping gone awry. A little boy, self proclaimed “Red Chief”, is taken from his home, and has so much fun he never wants to go back, much to the chagrin of the kidnappers.


• Episode 14
The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley
An ancient alchemist drags out his weary life in search of the elixir of immortality. But, when his vengeful assistant quaffs the mixture, he discovers that the effects of the draft if immortality may never wear off. Mary Shelley explores the concept of immortality, following a character that never ages through a ponderous and thought provoking life.


• Episode 13
The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
It was the eye. The dull, sightless, vulture’s eye that shredded his final nerve. But the murder was done so carefully, so perfectly, that only one thing could reveal the whereabouts of the body. B.J. Harrison gives a masterful reading of the famous murder that wouldn’t keep quiet. This podcast episode also includes two poems from Edgar Allan Poe: “Eldorado”, and “Annabel Lee”.


• Episode 12
The Ambitious Guest by Nathaniel Hawthorne
A vicious tempest is raging on a New England mountainside. A young traveler sojourns through the sea of wind and snow, finding refuge in a cottage, cozily nestled in the notch of a hill. The traveler burns with a determination to make his name known to the world. But that will all have to wait until the storm subsides...


• Episode 11
The Baron of Grogswig, by Charles Dickens
The Baron of Grogswig abandons his riotous ways of carousal and gaiety, and settles down only to discover that simple domesticity is not the peaceful life he had envisioned. But, just when the Baron feels he can’t take it any more, an unexpected visitor changes everything. This tale is taken as an excerpt from the novel “Nicholas Nickelby”.


• Episode 10
The Red Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle
Why would anyone pay a man handsomely to sit alone in an empty room and hand-copy the Encyclopedia Britannica? Is it really because of his unusually fiery red hair? Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are at it again in one of their most puzzling adventures.


• Episode 09
The Magic Shop, by H.G. Wells
Simple magic tricks are what a little boy is looking for when he drags his father into a quaint, old shop. The proprietor seems to be a master of illusion – a genius at slight of hand. But, as the son becomes mesmerized, the father feels an icy hand grip his heart.


• Episode 08
The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
“I was sick, sick unto death with that long agony,” begins one of the most famous tales from the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. Through the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition, we follow the straying mind of an unnamed prisoner in his quest for hope in a world of darkness and despair. This episode skyrocketed The Classic Tales Podcast to #3 on iTunes’ Top 100 Podcasts chart.


• Episode 07
The Lost Phoebe by Theodore Dreiser
Tormented to distraction by the death of his true love, an old man embarks on a quixotic quest to find her. A tale that is tragic yet tender, Theodore Dreiser demonstrates the power of a love that bridges the gap between life and death.


• Episode 06
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
When Sergeant Morris brings a mummified monkey’s paw to the White family, they are skeptical of his tales of its supernatural powers. But, a careless wish gives them a bitter taste of the foul relics’ ironic magic in the form of their worst nightmare.


• Episode 05
Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Perfume or poison? A young Italian student takes rooms overlooking the most glorious flower garden the world has ever known. But, when he falls in love with the mysterious Eve who tends to the garden, he learns that this Paradise is anything but a Garden of Eden.


• Episode 04
Barbara of the House of Grebe, Part Two by Thomas Hardy
Lord Uplandtowers, after biding his time for several years, finally has his terrifying revenge on the shallow but pitiful Barbara.


• Episode 03
Barbara of the House of Grebe, Part One by Thomas Hardy
Barbara, a young and impetuous heiress, rejects the stern Lord Uplandtowers to elope with a poor but handsome man, Edmund Willowes. When Barbara’s parents send Edmund to Europe, they hope to change him into a more suitable match for their daughter. But after disaster strikes, Edmund returns in a way nobody could have imagined.


• Episode 02
The Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are visited by a beautiful young woman with a face like a hunted animal. Two years ago, a low whistle in the night preceded her sister’s premature and inexplicable death. Last night the whistle sounded again...


• Episode 01
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
The bloody-minded Montresor leads the pompous Fortunato deep into the catacombs, seeking the famed Amontillado wine. Revenge and suspense commingle to produce a delightfully sinister conclusion that is one of the most memorable of all time.

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