Short Stories audiobooks

The Sad Story of a Vampire

By: Count Eric Stanislaus Stenbock

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 21 minutes

Abridged: No

Count Eric Stenislaus Stenbock (1860-1895) was an aristocrat of German-Estonian origin who lived in England. He wrote weird, macabre fantasy fiction and was a favorite of H. P. Lovecraft. He was well known for his eccentric lifestyle, keeping snakes, salamanders, and toads in his bedroom, and owned a bear, a reindeer, and a fox. He had a... Read more

The Vampire Maid

By: Hume Nisbet

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 15 minutes

Abridged: No

James Hume Nisbet (1849 - 1923) was born in Scotland but travelled extensively in Australia before returning to his native country. He became a writer in middle-age and wrote prolifically, mainly mystery and adventure fiction. "The Vampire Maid" is a classic vampire story about a traveller who takes lodgings with an apparently kind landlady and... Read more

Ghosts, Werewolves and Vampires

By: Various Authors

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 25 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

A terrifying collection of classic Victorian short stories about ghosts, werewolves and vampires.

1. The Wolf Book by Henry Chapman Mercer
2. Number Ninety by B. M. Croker
3. Ken’s Mystery by Julian Hawthorne
4. The Piano Next Door by Elia W. Peattie
5. The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains by Frederick Marryat
6. The Horla by Guy de... Read more

Will

By: Vincent O'Sullivan

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 16 minutes

Abridged: No

Vincent O'Sullivan (1868-1940), born in New York to an Irish American family, moved as a child to London. As a young man, he soon became well recognised as the master of decadent and macabre fiction.

'Will' is the macabre tale of a man who is in the process of poisoning his wife using the most deadly, untraceable and secret poison ever... Read more

The Trade Wind

By: Morgan Robertson

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 37 minutes

Abridged: No

Morgan Andrew Robertson (1861-1915) was a popular American author of short stories and novels who claimed to have been the inventor of the periscope.

'The Trade Wind' is the strange and unsettling story of a ship where all the crew are mysteriously struck blind after a night of drinking rum in the tropics...a condition called moon blindness, for... Read more

Dracula's Guest

By: Bram Stoker

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 30 minutes

Abridged: No

Bram (Abraham) Stoker (1847-1912) was born in Dublin. As a sickly child, he spent much of his childhood bedridden, amused by his mother's stories of horror, folklore and real life, including grisly tales of the 1832 cholera epidemic in Sligo. Gradually his health improved, and from the age of seven he went to school, followed by university at... Read more

Count Magnus

By: M. R. James

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 33 minutes

Abridged: No

Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), who wrote as M. R. James, was an English author, medieval scholar, and provost of King's College, Cambridge, and of Eton College. He is best known for his outstanding ghost stories. James reinvented the ghost story for the modern audience by moving away from Gothic elements and using realistic contemporary... Read more

The Last Trump

By: Hugh Walpole

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 38 minutes

Abridged: No

Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole (1884-1941) was a New Zealand-born English novelist famous for his skill at scene setting and vivid plots. He was a best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s and remains popular to this day.

'The Last Trump' is an engaging and tense story about a man who believes he has calculated the exact date and time of the end of... Read more

The Ghost Club

By: John Kendrick Bangs

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 39 minutes

Abridged: No

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was an American author, editor and satirist. 'The Ghost Club' is a lighthearted ghost story told by a prisoner who has been found guilty of burglary and the theft of a set of ornate silver teaspoons. His improbable story of how he came to be in possession of the spoons is extraordinary and charmingly engaging. Read more

Fantastic Tales

By: Various Authors

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 22 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

A spine-chilling collection of fantastical and enchanting classic short stories.

'The Wolf Book' by Henry Chapman Mercer
'Absolute Zero' by Morgan Robertson
'An Uncommon View of It' by W. C. Morrow
'The Baumoff Explosive' by William Hope Hodgson
'Absolute Evil' by Julian Hawthorne
'The Dolls' Castle' by Henry Chapman Mercer
... Read more

The Grinding of the Mills

By: Morgan Robertson

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 39 minutes

Abridged: No

Morgan Andrew Robertson (1861-1915) was a popular American author of short stories and novels who claimed to have been the inventor of the periscope.

'The Grinding of the Mills' is the bizarre tale of two men born at the same moment in the same hospital but from very different backgrounds. It appears that key future events in their lives are... Read more

The Speck on the Lens

By: John Kendrick Bangs

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 19 minutes

Abridged: No

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) was a popular American author, editor and satirist. 'The Speck on the Lens' is the story of an occulist who is approached by an unusual character holding a strange tin box. He introduces himself as the inventor of a special telescopic device with very unusual properties...but it is accessible only to someone with... Read more

My Enemy and Myself

By: Vincent O'Sullivan

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Vincent O'Sullivan (1868-1940), born in New York to an Irish-American family, moved as a child to London. As a young man, he soon became well recognised as the master of decadent and macabre fiction.

"My Enemy and Myself" is a superbly sinister and gory tale of insanity, a love triangle, revenge, murder and supernatural retribution. Read more

The Twins

By: Bessie Kyffin-Taylor

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 1 hour 23 minutes

Abridged: No

Lady Bessie Kyffin-Taylor was an English writer famous for her outstanding supernatural stories, which were published in a single volume in 1920, just two years before her death.

The Twins is one of Kyffin-Taylor's most famous novelettes. It tells the bizarre tale of identical twin brothers. One brother is hell-bent on evil and constantly... Read more

The Black Dog

By: Stephen Crane

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was a prolific American poet, novelist, and short story writer. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.

'The Black Dog' is a supernatural tale of a group of travellers who seek shelter in a remote cabin where an old man lies dying. They hear from the man's nephew of a... Read more

Changelings, Evil Twins and Doppelgangers

By: Various Authors

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 15 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

One of the most enduring themes in great literature is the eternal struggle between good and evil - often embodied in such devices as the werewolf, the doppelganger and the evil twin.

This anthology presents a selection of the greatest short stories whose tension and drama revolves around the conflict of good and evil.

'The Grinding of the... Read more

Twenty-Minute Stories

By: Various Authors

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 20 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

Over 50 great classic short stories, each around 20 minutes in length - perfect for short journeys, bedtime listening and those moments in between....

'The Khitmatgar' by B. M. Croker
'The Mummy of Thompson Pratt' by Charles John Cutcliffe Hyne
'The Ghost at the Blue Dragon' by William J. Wintle
'A Tropical Horror' by William Hope... Read more

A Tropical Horror

By: William Hope Hodgson

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 25 minutes

Abridged: No

William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was an English author of horror, fantastic fiction, and science fiction. Hodgson used his experiences at sea to lend authentic detail to his short horror stories, many of which are set on the ocean. He became one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. He died in World War I at age 40.

'A... Read more

The Wolf Book

By: Henry Chapman Mercer

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 1 hour 13 minutes

Abridged: No

Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile maker and writer of extraordinary supernatural stories.

The Wolf Book is the story of a professor who spends the summer travelling in Hungary and Romania in search of rare manuscripts. At the monastery at Jollok, he learns that the library was plundered a... Read more

An Uncommon View of it

By: W. C. Morrow

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 28 minutes

Abridged: No

William Chambers Morrow (1854-1923) was an American author famed for his short stories of horror and suspense.

'An Uncommon View of It' is the story of a man who has discovered that his wife is having an affair with his best friend. He decides that one thing is clear...he must have his revenge. He will kill them both and then commit suicide.

But... Read more

Absolute Zero

By: Morgan Robertson

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 39 minutes

Abridged: No

Morgan Andrew Robertson (1861-1915) was a popular American author of short stories and novels who claimed to have been the inventor of the periscope.

'Absolute Zero' is a strange supernatural story about two marine artists who are friends and who work in adjoining studios. The younger of the two has been working on a strange painting for some... Read more

Thirty-Minute Stories

By: Various Authors

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 20 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

A spectacular collection of outstanding half-hour short stories...perfect for commuters or bedtime listening.

'The Whistle' by Hugh Walpole
'The Well' by W. W. Jacobs
'The Scrupulous Father' by George Gissing
'The Debt' by Edith Wharton
'The Problem of the Five Marks' by Melville Davisson Post
'The Purple Wig' by G. K.... Read more

Soundbites

By: Various Authors

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 14 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

A sumptuous collection of over 60 short stories by some of the world's greatest writers.

'The Hoop' by Fedor Sologub
'The Last Leaf' by O. Henry
'The Man Who Hated Aspidistras' by W. F. Harvey
'The Conjurer' by Richard Middleton
'The End of a Show' by Barry Pain
'The Devil of the Marsh' by H. B. Marriott-Watson
'The First of... Read more

The Legend

By: Edith Wharton

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930.

'The Legend' is the story of a mysterious stranger who has been brought into hospital after being found collapsed in a park. As the man is destitute and in need of... Read more