Spider Horror

Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) was an American writer, born in Italy and educated in the United States. He also studied at the universities of Cambridge and Heidelberg. He was a prolific writer in many fields, but it was his novels that were most popular, commanding a large following. His stories of the macabre and supernatural are very highly regarded.

Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was born in Dublin, Ireland and is acknowledged as an influential writer in the genre of gothic and supernatural fiction of the 19th century. Many of his short stories were originally published in various magazines. Here are six of them: “The White Cat of Drumgonnial”, “Dickon the Devil”, “The Drunkard's Dream”, “The Secret of the Two Plaster Casts”, “The Vision of Tom Chuff”, and “An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House”.

Arthur Machen (1863-1947) was a Welsh author known for his works of horror and the fantastic. He is recognized as an influence on modern writers of supernatural fiction. Holy Terrors (published in 1946, a year before his death) is a collection of 14 short stories of which nine are very short and are included in this recording. They are: “The Rose Garden”, “Psychology”, “The Soldier's Rest”, “The Cosy Room”, “The Ceremony”, “Holy Things”, “The Turanians”, “The Happy Children”, and “Munitions of War”.

She is humanity's last hope. Sasha lives in a world destroyed by giant spiders - big as semitrucks and venomous enough to kill. What remains of humanity won't last much longer. Not unless someone can save them. This 5,000-word short story the perfect Halloween listen!

Herbert George Wells was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, writing dozens of novels, short stories. He is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is often called a "father of science fiction". Discover H. G. Wells best short stories and science fiction classics.

A classic H. G. Wells short story about two men that wander into a valley of giant spiders.

Ambrose Bierce's collection of short stories of the supernatural and macabre Can Such Things Be? was first published in 1893 and republished in a revised edition in 1910. One of its most notable inclusions is "The Death of Halpin Frayser" a gothic tale of the murder of the fated hero by the reanimated corpse of his beloved mother.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is celebrated for his tales of the macabre and the supernatural. “The Cask of Amontillado” is one of his terrifying tales of premature burial. In it, the narrator, Montresor, has suffered from “insults and injuries” from his “friend” Fortunato and plans to murder him while he is drunk at the carnival by luring him to a wine tasting in the cellars of his palazzo. He chains him to the wall in a niche that he seals up with mortar, thus entombing him alive.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is celebrated for his tales of the macabre and the supernatural. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of his most famous. In it, the narrator tells how, without any motive, but merely because he is obsessed with his eye (“The eye of a vulture”), he murders an old man, and of the consequences when the murdered man's heart seeks revenge.

“The Thing Invisible” is a story featuring Thomas Carnacki, a detective who investigates cases of an occult or supernatural nature. It is one of five tales of Carnacki's ghost hunting exploits that first appeared serially in The Idler magazine in 1910 and were published together with one more as a collection Carnacki the Ghost-Finder in 1913. After a good dinner, Mr. Carnacki relates his experiences of ghost-finding to his limited circle of four friends whom he has summoned to his home in Chelsea.

E. F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic Lucia novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories that were his most popular works. "Naboth's Vineyard" exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales.

M. R. James (1862-1936) was provost of King's College, Cambridge, and Eton College. He was a highly regarded scholar and academic in his time but today is remembered for his ghost stories, which are considered among the finest in the genre. Here is one of them: "The Ash Tree".

M.R. James (1862-1936) was provost of King's College, Cambridge. and Eton College. He was a highly regarded scholar and academic in his time but today is remembered for his ghost stories which are considered among the finest in the genre. Here is one of them: "The Tractate Middoth".

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is renowned for his tales of the macabre and the supernatural. "William Wilson" is the disturbing story of a doppelganger and how he leads the eponymous narrator through a series of experiences that annoy, infuriate, and finally drive him to a violent reaction with a fatal conclusion.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is known for his tales of the macabre and the supernatural. "The Black Cat" is one of his most celebrated. In it the narrator tells of his growing hatred for his pet cat and how in a drunken rage he maims the animal by cutting out one of its eyes. Worse is to follow when, in an episode of alcohol-induced depravity, he kills the cat by hanging it from a tree, with the most horrifying of consequences.

E.F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic "Lucia" novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories which were his most popular works. The Sanctuary exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales, this one being particularly disturbing.

E.F. Benson (1867-1940) is probably best known today for his sparkling, comic "Lucia" novels. In his own day it was his ghost stories which were his most popular works. At the Farmhouse exemplifies Benson's fine literary style and his ability to create the most frightening of supernatural and macabre tales.

E. Nesbit is best known for her children's books such as The Railway Children, the Psammead series, and the stories of the Bastable family. She was also a poet and wrote many works for adults including short stories in the genre of the supernatural and the macabre. "The Head" is one of her most strange and disturbing.

M. R. James (1862-1936) was provost of King's College, Cambridge, and Eton College. He was a highly regarded scholar and academic in his time but today is remembered for his ghost stories, which are considered among the finest in the genre. Here is one of them: "A Warning to the Curious".

M. R. James (1862-1936) was provost of King's College, Cambridge, and Eton College. He was a highly regarded scholar and academic in his time but today is remembered for his ghost stories, which are considered among the finest in the genre. Here is one of them: "Casting the Runes".