Mystery Reads

"Tobin’s Palm" is a story about a young man named Tobin whose love Katie has disappeared. He did everything he could to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Heartbroken, Tobin falls into despair. His friend Jawn shows up and force Tobin to head out into to get some fresh air. But what they stumble upon there is not what Jawn or Tobin had expected. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a short story with a twist ending about two criminals, named Bill and Sam.

Dr. John Watson comes back to London to recover after being heavily injured at war. However, thanks to his scarce pension, Watson cannot afford a decent apartment. One day he serendipitously meets an old friend named Stamford with whom he shares his plight. Stamford introduces Watson to Sherlock Holmes, who is also in a similar situation. After the two men discuss their problems and the obstacles they have been through, Holmes and Watson decide to live together. What was Dr.

One day Krantz comes home to witness his wife being unfaithful to him. In a fit of anger he kills both his wife and her lover, who is also Krantz’s lord. Krantz fears the punishment he will surely receive, so he flees with his three children. His safe haven is the Hartz Mountains. There he meets a beautiful young lady who he marries shortly after. Their marriage however does not go as expected. The bride’s night-outs raise Krantz’s suspicions.

Victor Frankenstein is a young scientist who artificially creates a human being. His expectations are however far from reality as is Creation is so monstrous that it cannot fit into human society. This leads to dreadful consequences as the monster decides to take it revenge his creator. Will Frankenstein manage to control his creature or will he loose everything? "Frankenstein" is Mary Shelley’s best-selling work and is a vivid combination of genres with gothic, philosophical and early science-fiction elements. B. J.

The great detective, Sherlock Holmes, is dying from a highly contagious tropical disease called Tapanuli fever. Dr. Watson is shocked when he hears about his friend’s illness. He travels to examine him, but Holmes refuses his help. Instead, a man called Culverton Smith arrives after being called by Watson. He is not a professional doctor but knows more about the disease than anyone else.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" tells the story of Horne Fisher and the burden he had to carry throughout his whole life. He knew too much about politicians and aristocracy, about corruption and covered crimes. The prime minister of England was a friend of his father, the foreign minister married his sister. Without even intending to, he found out many things about the private life of politicians, which is very different from what is presented to the people. The question is, what is Fisher going to do with all this information? B. J.

Mr. John Smith is a British student of Egyptology who travels to Paris. The main purpose of his trip is to visit the Louvre and research some papyri. Unfortunately, tired from going round the museum, Smith falls asleep in one its the many corners. When he wakes up, he sees an Egyptian-looking man performing a ritual on a mummy. Things get even stranger as the Egyptian man unwraps the mummy, uncovers a beautiful woman and hugs her.

What will happen if you hear the bell of St. Sépulcre? According to the local small town folks, dangers and even death may follow. When a stranger enters the town, he is warned by the locals not to follow a certain path because it could be dangerous. It is believed that a strange and scary woman wanders the woods and terrorises whomever crosses her path. Will the traveler dare to enter the woods? What awaits him there? Find the answers in "The Bell of St. Sépulcre". B. J.

After a passionate affair with Agnes Keith-Wessington, Jack Pansay wearies of her and becomes engaged to Miss Kitty Mannering. However, Wessington refuses to accept the rejection and reappears in Jack’s life, trying to make him reconsider. But to her greatest regret, Pansay continues to respond curtly and brutally. Not so long after, Agnes dies of a broken heart. From this moment on, Jack's life will never be the same again.

One night during his regular rambles, Mérimée stumbles upon a mysterious woman who invites him home to her place. They enter a big, dark but luxuriously furnished room and they spend the whole night having dinner and talking. However things take a turn to the strange when the eery lady starts talking about death and tombs. Mérimée realises that his companion is not an ordinary woman and that he is in danger. Will he get himself out of there alive or will Xélucha drag him with her to the underworld? B. J.

A man named Manton killed his wife and his two children and managed to get away with it. Ten years later he returns to the house where the crime was committed. He is recognized by the locals and he is provoked into a duel which is to be held in the haunted house where Manton killed his family. The locals were aiming to scare Manton away. However, the day after the duel Manton was found dead.

"When the World Was Young" introduces us to a thief named Dave Slotter, who intends to steal from James Ward - a famous and wealthy businessman. However, while Slotter walks through Ward’s property, he encounters a wild barbarian and is forced to fight for his life. Will Slotter escape from the wild man who wants to kill him? Who is the barbarian and what is he doing on Ward’s lands? Will the thief succeed in his plan? "Moon-Face" introduces us to John Claverhouse, a man who is unreasonably despised.

A young traveler is up on a mountain when night falls and he finds shelter with a family that lives nearby. They make friendly conversation and the visitor shares his dreams and goals to achieve great things in life. Their conversation is however interrupted by the sound of rocks falling from the slope. Are they in danger? Find out in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "The Ambitious Guest". B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

Christmas is just around the corner. People are cheery and excited, except for Ebenezer Scrooge for whom Christmas is just another day. Ebenezer is an old, bitter miser who has distanced himself from everyone and leads a lonely life by his own choice. He is greedy and selfish and the most important thing for him is hoarding money. However one night he gets a visit by the ghost of his old business partner Marley who is wandering the Earth shackled by heavy chains and money boxes.

Inspector Lestrade is investigating a series of break-ins in London which have one thing in common: shattered Napoleon busts. After many unsuccessful attempts to solve the case, Lestrade comes to a dead end and is forced to ask Sherlock Holmes for help. The next day another bust has been destroyed, but there has also been a murder. Holmes wants to solve the case as quickly as possible to prevent another crime. He finds out that all the Napoleon busts come from the same mould.

Can people come back from the dead? Can they bring something or someone back from there? If so, can they reach out to people who are still alive? "The Return" and "The Second Generation" are two stories about supernatural occurrences, about people returning from a world, which most of us do not know. Algernon Blackwood sets the readers in a scary and dreadful atmosphere which only the bravest can endure.

Father Brown, an amateur detective, takes up his first case ever. He has to find the infamous criminal Flambeau. The task is however very difficult because Flambeau is a master of disguise and nobody knows what he really looks like. The detective finds out that Flambeau is planning to head out to an international conference in London, most probably intending to steal some religious articles. So Father Brown decides to cross Flambeau’s path. What the detective had not expected is a police inspector from Paris to be crossing his path.

Jerome, George and Harris are three hypochondriacal friends who like to spend time comparing their illnesses, although none of them is ill. One day they decide to go on a vacation by sailing down the Thames river towards Oxford. The three friends prepare a long list of things they will need and even take the dog Montmorency with them. During the journey they visit many different places and fall into various and interesting situations.

The Porte Montmartre is under citizen Bibot’s command and he is determined not to let anybody escape. When he finds out that Scarlet Pimpernel is planning his next rescue mission, he is ready to do whatever it takes to stop the commander of "The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel". Will he manage to do so or will Pimpernel outwit him? Will the Duc and Duchesse de Montreux be saved by Pimpernel or will this mission fail? Find out the answers in the second of eleven short stories, combined in "The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel" from 1919.

Halpin Frayser awakes from a dreamless sleep and the only thing in his mind was the words "Catherine Larue". Frayer feels a shiver down his spine because this was not the first strange thing he had experienced that day. Earlier, he was hunting in the forest but he could feel that something was not quite right. The picture of a haunted forest dripping with blood had come up in his mind. He had seen himself writing a poem with blood. The corpse of his mother had been in front of him.