Tom's Terror Trove
By: Thomas Barker
Language: en-nz
Categories: Fiction, Drama, Science
Hello, and welcome to Tom's Terror Trove, a podcast currently disgorging The Crawling World, an original dark fantasy/sci fi, full cast audiodrama. I also narrate classics and little-known gems of horror fiction: Mid 19th - early 20th century a speciality.New episodes every Friday, 9am NZ Time.I’m Thomas, a voice-actor (+ an occasional writer and musician), and I’m delighted to have you join me for tonight's episode.If you'd like to buy me a ko-fi, I have a page for that!ko-fi.com/tuomasva
Episodes
"Unseen - Unfeared" by Francis Stevens
Jan 10, 2026He stooped to laugh again, and his mirth was yellow-toothed -- menacing.
“Have no fear!” he reiterated, and with that stretched his hand toward the wall, there came a click and we were in black, impenetrable darkness.
A rumination on the nature of evil, and the ability to see things FROM BEYOND, courtesy of a groundbreaking writer of dark fantasy. This story was first published in 1919.
Narrated and produced by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and production costs, I'd be en...
Duration: 00:49:18Wolf, Panther, Lion; who are they really? An enquiry into the beasts of Limbus Company's Dark Forest
Jan 06, 2026Limbus Company begins with Dante (our clock-headed manager-protagonist) beset by three sinister individuals known as Wolf, Panther and Lion. These characters have parallels in the Inferno, by Dante Alighieri.
In this episode, I draw upon some scholarship, a coupla wikis and my own general knowledge to pull together some additional information about the beasts, and what they mean, beyond what we are shown in the narrative thus far.
Plus I have a go at dubbing said interlopers!
References:
https://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/
https://worldofdante.iath.virginia.edu...
The Sinners of Limbus Company (In Their Own Words) | A Tom's Terror Trove NYE Special
Dec 31, 2025To round out Season Two of TTT (though, seriously - I'm on hiatus right now!), and to say thank you to everyone who's tuned in during 2025, I've put together a little sampler of sinners.
Features excerpts from:
Moby DickDon QuixoteThe MetamorphosisThe OdysseyThe StrangerDemianWuthering HeightsA little out of my usual subject matter, but we'll resume our regular programming next month.
See you in 2026! Take care. It's a scary world out there.
Narrated and produced by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help...
Duration: 00:14:19"Wild@Heart" by Michael Botur
Dec 23, 2025Tom's Terror Trove is still technically on a little Summer break, but that doesn't mean I don't have a few pressies to hand out before the end of the year!
Short story by Michael Botur
Two lovers with not long left to live put aside a portion of paradise, creating their own country while the planet rots -- though of course, holding onto nature isn't easy. In fact, managing wildlife becomes life-or-death difficult...
Michael Botur is an award-winning Auckland/Northland writer of horror and 'dirty realism' screenplays and fiction.
www.m...
Duration: 00:37:43"The Mysterious Mr Montague" by Jane Percival | From the Land of the Long White Cloud
Nov 15, 2025"I never eat pork. It's not that I'm vegetarian, or Jewish or Muslim, it's all to do with something that happened in the 70's, when I was fifteen years old."
So begins a tale of innocence lost, buckets of blood, and the lengths someone might go to in order that they might... sustain a life.
A gruesome tale from New Zealand.
Story featured with kind permission from the author: Jane Percival (https://heni-irihapeti.com/)
Narrated and produced by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of...
Duration: 00:46:34"The Whisperer in Darkness" by H. P. Lovecraft | A Tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
Nov 08, 2025In the late 1920's, folklorist and assistant professor at Miskatonic University Albert N. Wilmarth investigates the ominous events that occured in the wake of the historic Vermont Floods.
His ill-advised delving, and correspondance with the recluse Henry Akely, will lead to a series of cosmically horrifying revelations.
Turn your lights down low, put your headphones on, and tune in to the penultimate episode of Tom's Terror Trove Season 2.
Narrated and produced by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and production costs...
Duration: 03:16:28"The Dark" by Arch Oboler | Hallowe'en Special | Lights Out
Nov 01, 2025Two unsuspecting ambulance attendants get far, FAR more than they bargained for, in this disgusting story from 1938.
Running from 1934 to 1947, Lights Out was an old-time radio program devoted to stories of horror and the supernatural. Created by Wyllis Cooper, later in the run it was helmed by the brilliant (and eccentric) Arch Oboler.
I was spoilt for choice in picking an episode to recreate (it came down to this one and Chicken Heart).
Unlike usual episodes of Tom's Terror Trove, this Hallowe'en special makes use of a full palette of foley sound effects.<...
"The Brain-Eaters" by Frank Belknap Long | Dark Corners of the Earth
Oct 25, 2025We are once again adrift on dark and inhospitable waters this week, as, arriving hot on the heels of ferocious storms in New Zealand, Tom's Terror Trove is proud to present this newly-recorded version of The Brain-Eaters, from 1932.
The title gives perhaps a scintilla of a clue as to the contents of the story.
Good gross-out pulpweirdfiction stuff.
Eat up!
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and production costs, I'd be enormously grateful.
https://ko-fi.com...
"The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson | A Precursor to the Mythos
Oct 16, 2025Tonight, Tom's Terror Trove returns to one of the most original minds in Weird Fiction, the pioneering William Hope Hodgson. The Voice in the Night concerns a lonely ship in the middle of the Pacific, and a grotesque interlocutor with a horrifying story to tell.
B O D Y H O R R O R
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and production costs, I'd be enormously grateful.
https://ko-fi.com/ttt
Queries, comments? Write to me at...
Duration: 00:42:27"Mr Justice Harbottle" by J. S. Le Fanu | Last Gasp of the Gothic
Oct 09, 2025A tale of debauchery, depravity, and pestiferous perukes!
E F Benson (whose "The Thing in the Hall" I recorded in May 2024) said of Le Fanu, that his “best work is of the first rank, while as a 'flesh-creeper' he is unrivalled. No one else has so sure a touch in mixing the mysterious atmosphere in which horror darkly breeds".
I think that is certainly true of tonight’s story. There are some grotesquely comical elements to it, fitting for a narrative that takes place in the 18th century. I can see almost all of these characters comi...
Double Feature 2: The Three Marked Pennies, by Mary Elizabeth Counselman & Cats of Ulthar, by H. P. Lovecraft | Creepy Cozy
Oct 02, 2025Antithetical in life, in death I can make these authors share equal billing, muhahahaha!
Ahem. Tonight, Tom's Terror Trove is proud to present a story of a sadistic contest that grips a quiet southern town, PLUS a quickie about the mysterious (and potentially sinister, if wronged) ways of felines.
Listen, if you care - I mean, dare!
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and music licensing, I'd be enormously grateful.
https://ko-fi.com/ttt
Queries, comments...
Duration: 00:35:54"The Lovely House" by Shirley Jackson | Existential Dread | Last Gasp of the Gothic
Sep 25, 2025Renowned author of mystery and gothic horror Shirley Jackson weaves a dreamlike tale of doublings, echoes, and (in the words of ST Joshi) "exemplifies the 'quiet weird tale' at its pinnacle".
Published in 1950, the story follows Margaret who visits her friend Carla's country estate for the holidays. Will she ever leave? Has she always been there?
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and music licensing, I'd be enormously grateful.
https://ko-fi.com/ttt
Queries, comments? Write to me...
Duration: 01:03:27"The Human Chair" by Edogawa Ranpo | Monogatari Macabre
Sep 18, 2025We return to the Land of the Rising Sun this week, for a tale in which no overt harm is ever done, nor threatened. Yet this might (by certain metrics) be one of the grossest stories I've had the distinct pleasure to record.
An eminent writer receives an unsolicited manuscript, in which is contained a perverse narrative confession written by a disturbed chairmaker.
Transgressions ahoy.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and music licensing, I'd be enormously grateful.
...
The Crawling World. Episode 9: The Swamp and the Storm
Sep 16, 2025As secrets and lies threaten to break apart the pilgrimage during their trek through the treacherous mire of The Grey Grease, a danger they thought they had escaped emerges from the clouds. Can Huw deploy what little magic he possesses to protect the group?
Part 9 of a multi-part series.
Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Roadhttps://andrewwinson.com/Thomas Barker as Athamas
www.thomasva.comJesse D. Hill as Longarm
defunktknight@gmail.comEmily Morse-Lee as Wide-Eye
@TheRealGChu.bsky.socialMelissa Carrington as Split-Heel
@melissac-va.bsky.socialVirtue as Hears-Whispers
X: @VirtueVestigialMatthew T. Patton as Brack<... Duration: 00:15:32
"The Unspeakable Betrothal" by Robert Bloch | A Tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
Sep 04, 2025What if the otherworldly entities of the Cthulhu Mythos aren’t truly evil or malevolent, what if they are simply alien in the most profound sense of the word?
This story from 1949 about a dreamy young woman named Avis Long, maintains an almost romantic, sensuous quality (at least - I think so!), right up until its horrifying conclusion.
Listen out for the breaking into reality of creatures from Yuggoth and elsewhere.
Pleasant dreams.
Er - screams.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to chip in...
Duration: 00:42:50"The Vanderlark" by Margaret St. Clair | In Space, No One Can...
Aug 28, 2025Deep space. Two jumpy chancers. And the aching, endless hunger of the void.
The Vanderlark was published in 1952, and written by prolific speculative fiction author Margaret St. Clair. It's the first 'pure' sci fi story for TTT. Rejoice!
The name may stem from the Vrykolakas, a vampire of sorts from Greek folklore. You'll see why.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to buy me a ko-fi, I have a page for that!
ko-fi.com/tuomasva
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch...
"Lazarus" by Leonid Andreyev | Existential Dread
Aug 21, 2025Published in 1906, this lush, vivid and grim story paints a picture of the post-resurrection life of Lazarus not as a miracle to be celebrated, but an abomination to be abhorred.
The author, Leonid Andreyev, lived from 1871 to 1919, and the rich vein of Expressionism that runs through his novels, plays and short stories proved highly influential. Authors such as H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, who read Andreyev in translation in the 1920's, spoke favourably of his work.
Hold on to your hats, dear listeners, 'cause this one is B L E A K.
Na...
Duration: 01:02:31Tom's Terror Trove Trailer
Aug 15, 2025Hello, and welcome to Tom's Terror Trove, a podcast currently disgorging The Crawling World, an original dark fantasy/sci fi, full cast audiodrama. I also narrate classics and little-known gems of horror fiction: Mid 19th - early 20th century a speciality.
New episodes every Friday, 9am NZ Time.
I’m Thomas, a voice-actor (+ an occasional writer and musician), and I’m delighted to have you join me for tonight's episode.
If you'd like to buy me a ko-fi, I have a page for that!
ko-fi.com/tuomasva
Quer...
Duration: 00:01:23"Pickman's Model" by H. P. Lovecraft | Dark Corners of the Earth
Aug 14, 2025The madness and monstrosity lay in the figures in the foreground—for Pickman’s morbid art was preëminently one of daemoniac portraiture.
In this classic short story by H. P. Lovecraft, the narrator, Thurber, describes his encounter with the reclusive painter of the story's title, and comes to a dreadful conclusion about the inspiration behind his creations.
"Pickman's Model" was written in September 1926 and first published in the October 1927 issue of Weird Tales.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
If you'd like to buy me a ko-fi, I have a page for that...
Duration: 00:43:54"Out of the Deep" by Walter de la Mare | Last Gasp of the Gothic
Aug 07, 2025Walter John de la Mare (25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was a prolific writer of fiction, and a crafter of finely tuned psychological horror. Lumping this particular story in with the 'gothic' subgenre is a little crude, but it shares a fair some features with The Turn of the Screw, so if you enjoyed my reading of that legendary novella, you'll likely appreciate this. Then again, I don't think Henry James had much of a sense of humour. De la Mare on the other hand...
Out of the deep features an unwanted inheritance, frequently interrupted sleep, childhood trauma, and something un...
Duration: 01:20:52The Crawling World. Episode 8: Frying Pan, Fire
Aug 01, 2025Wes, Lithee and Garm contend with a monstrous interloper, as the pilgrims near the end of their journey through the mountain.
Their troubles are far from over, as they now face the vast, fetid swampland of The Grey Grease.
Part 8 of a multi-part series.
Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Roadhttps://andrewwinson.com/Thomas Barker as Athamas
www.thomasva.comJesse D. Hill as Longarm
defunktknight@gmail.comEmily Morse-Lee as Wide-Eye
@TheRealGChu.bsky.socialMelissa Carrington as Split-Heel
@melissac-va.bsky.socialVirtue as Hears-Whispers
X: @VirtueVestigialMatthew T. Patton as Villager 1
https://whyp... Duration: 00:13:09
"The Judge's House" by Bram Stoker | Last Gasp of the Gothic
Jul 16, 2025In this story: RATS!
Seeking solitude in which to study mathematics for his upcoming tripos (it's a Cambridge university thing), a fresh-faced undergraduate takes lodgings at an ill-omened country house. Could this possibly end well?
No. No it could not.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
Double Feature! The Outsider, by H. P. Lovecraft & The Landlady, by Roald Dahl | Creepy Cozy
Jul 09, 2025Have you ever been out in the cold, yearning for the warmth of a crackling fire, and the company of kind humans?
Well, tonight's double-feature will satisfy that unnatural yearning, as both tales concern the subject of companionship, although each with wildly different, and terrifying results...
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"Inferno" by Dante Alighieri (translated by A. S. Kline). Part 2 of 2
Jul 02, 2025The descent continues. Through fire, into ice. The deep, dark hell of frozen shades recount their heinous acts to our narrator and his spectral guide.
The kaleidoscopic imagery and boundless, morbid imagination of Dante Alighieri is fully on display in this new translation, with each soul given their own distinct voice and characterisation by the narrator.
Abandon all hope, but enjoy the ride!
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17...
"Inferno" by Dante Alighieri (translated by A. S. Kline). Part 1 of 2
Jun 06, 2025ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
The Crawling World. Episode 7: A Light from the East, A Bell from Below
Mar 08, 2025Another temporary shift. Away from the pilgrims and their murky problems, to a lighter sphere, at least at first glance. A place of grand palaces and ancient lineages. The roots of nobility are buried deep in this plane, but long rotted, and fit only for kindling. How, and when, will all these stories converge? The echoes are increasing.
Part 7 of a multi-part series.
Cast
Steven Courtney as A SibylStevencourtneyvo.carrd.coGabi King as The One-Eyed Servant
https://x.com/gabikingmusicThomas Barker as The General, The RulerMatthew T. Patton as... Duration: 00:16:27
The Crawling World. Episode 6: The Best Way Out, Is Always Through
Feb 14, 2025The group makes its way through the tunnels underneath the mountain, towards the marshes of the Grey Grease. Wes and Lithee are isolated from the main group, and encounter strange phenomena. Garm goes to investigate. Huw, Ra and Asher share a story.
Part 6 of a multi-part series.
Cast
https://andrewwinson.com/Thomas Barker as AthamasJesse D. Hill as Longarm
defunktknight@gmail.comEmily Morse-Lee as Wide-Eye
@TheRealGChu.bsky.socialMelissa Carrington as Split-Heel
@melissac-va.bsky.socialVirtue as Hears-Whispers
X: @VirtueVestigial
Produced and written...
The Crawling World. Episode 5: The Pain of Awakening from Sleep, Through the Mountain, Big Day Tomorrow
Jan 16, 2025The pilgrims regroup to assess their situation, given the catastrophe that has befallen them.
Asher begins to assert himself, and faultlines are revealed, but there are moments of bonding too. Will they make for the city and an uncertain future?
Part 5 of a multi-part, weekly series.
Cast
https://andrewwinson.com/Thomas Barker as AthamasJesse D. Hill as Longarm
defunktknight@gmail.comEmily Morse-Lee as Wide-Eye
@TheRealGChu.bsky.socialMelissa Carrington as Split-Heel
@melissac-va.bsky.socialVirtue as Hears-Whispers
X: @VirtueVestigial
Produced and written b...
The Crawling World. Episode 4: Trapped in the Dark
Jan 07, 2025We rejoin the pilgrims in the aftermath of an attack by the Child of Iachtanabas. Trapped within the cave they fled to for safety, they set to in order to dig themselves out of trouble, literally. Huw enlists Wes and Lithee to search for the lost sleepers, and Garm entertains (in the loosest possible sense of the word) Ra with an old song.
Part 4 of a multi-part, weekly series.
Cast
https://andrewwinson.com/Thomas Barker as AthamasJesse D. Hill as Longarm
defunktknight@gmail.comEmily Morse-Lee as... Duration: 00:07:21
The Crawling World. Episode 3: A Parallel Narrative Unfolds
Dec 31, 2024Our narrative swerves, temporarily, and we find ourselves under a merciless sun, atop shifting sands, in an unknown time and place. Connections to our main story, the sunken realm and its imperilled pilgrims, will become apparent in due course.
Part 3 of a multi-part, weekly series.
Cast
https://whyp.it/users/36577/mtpattonAsha Lear as Digger 1 and 2
https://www.castingcall.club/asha_learSammi Puffer as Assistant
Sammipuffs.bluesky.socialThomas Barker as Guards 1 and 2
Produced and written by Thomas Barker
...
Duration: 00:11:10The Crawling World. Episode 2: When the Spawn of Gods Attack, Further Mysteries Revealed
Dec 24, 2024With no time to further understand the strange world he has been thrust into, the erstwhile sleeper and the small group that accompanies him flee for their lives. In the brief moments of respite during their flight, introductions are made.
Part 2 of a multi-part, weekly series.
Cast
https://andrewwinson.com/Thomas Barker as AthamasJesse D. Hill as Longarm
defunktknight@gmail.comEmily Morse-Lee as Wide-Eye
@TheRealGChu.bsky.socialMelissa Carrington as Split-Heel
@melissac-va.bsky.socialVirtue as Hears-Whispers
X: @VirtueVestigial
Produced and written by...
The Crawling World. Episode 1: Eyes Open, Now
Dec 17, 2024Behold, The Crawling World. A thickly huddled mass. Dark-hued, folded in on itself a thousand, nay ten thousand times over. From your vantage point beyond the veil, you can dimly make out vast oceans, a tumult of mountains honeycomb-riddled with caves, extending you suppose, down into the fused depths.
Into this world is born Athamas. A sleeper, now awakened into a very dangerous reality indeed.
Part 1 of a multi-part, weekly series.
Cast
Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road
https://andrewwinson.com/
Thomas Barker as Athamas
Produced and written by Thomas...
The Crawling World Post-Hallowe'en Update
Nov 07, 2024The initial outline and story bible are coalescing, and we're in the process of recording the first arc of 10 episodes.
I've assembled a wonderful cast for this epic tale:
Hears-Whispers: Vestigial Virtue https://www.twitch.tv/vestigialvirtue
Fork-in-the-Road: Andrew Winson http://http//andrewwinson.com
Split-Heel: Melissa C https://melissacarrington.carrd.co/#resume
Wide-Eyes: TheRealGChu https://www.castingcall.club/therealgchu
Plus a few other characters, music, writing etc - Thomas Barker (that's me!)
There will also a talented troupe of other performers who will recur as one-shot characters and...
The Crawling World. An original dark fantasy audio drama. Coming soon to Bominable Bominations
Oct 18, 2024A weekly serial audio drama, set in a chaotic abyssal plane, presided over by a mad demiurge. Yet, there is room for small sparks of light amidst the darkness.
Initial outline and story bible are coalescing, and I've written the first 5 episodes. They will be short initially, but may grow.
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"Worms of the Earth" by Robert E. Howard | Dark Corners of the Earth
Sep 05, 2024Sword and Sorcery clashes with the Cthulhu Mythos in this thrilling tale of the Pictish king Bran Mak Morn, by Robert E. Howard (a contemporary and correspondant of HP Lovecraft and creator of Conan the Barbarian). In order to bring justice to one of his people, the warrior-king enlists an ancient foe.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"The Shambler from the Stars" by Robert Bloch | A Tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
Aug 26, 2024The first in a sequence of three stories (The Shambler from the Stars, The Haunter of the Dark and The Shadow from the Steeple), this gruesome narrative involves a burgeoning writer who, in the desire for occult knowledge, purchases a forbidding book: De Vermis Mysteriis.
This tome has had quite the afterlife in subsequent fiction, appearing in many other stories by Bloch and Lovecraft, as well as (among many others) the opening title card of the 2004 movie Hellboy.
This is my first reading of a Bloch tale, and I can promise you now, there will be many...
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce | Hometown Horrors
Aug 26, 2024This famous story (regarded by Kurt Vonnegut as the best short story in American literature) describes (in a style that today might be described as Lynchian) a moment in time. A man, condemned, and a dreamlike escape.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
https://ko-fi.com/tuomasva
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"Hell Screen" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa | Monogatari Macabre
Aug 26, 2024Narrated by a (somewhat) impartial court observer, this reworking of a much older tale, concerns the obsessive artistry, and terrible downfall of the painter Yoshihide. First published in 1918 in serial form, the author is considered the father of the Japanese short story, and himself met a tragic end.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
https://ko-fi.com/tuomasva
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"The Mezzotint" by M. R. James | Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Jul 28, 2024It was a seemingly ordinary mezzotint*, unremarkable except for the unusually high price, and the half-missing attribution on the back. Until the changes began. For the curator of a university art museum, a most unexpected, and shocking series of events is about to unfold.
This tale first appeared in James's first collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, in 1904.
*a type of monochrome print
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0...
"The Haunter of the Dark" by H. P Lovecraft | A Tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
Jul 20, 2024Robert Blake is a hunted man, only he does not know it yet.
A young writer with an interest in the occult, Mr Blake becomes fascinated by a distant church, the spire of which he can see from his garrett window. A furtive exploration uncovers an ancient artifact, and seals his fate.
The last written of H. P Lovecraft's stories (apart from a few collaborations), and is part of a sequence of three stories, the first and last of which are written by Robert Bloch (upon whom Blake is loosely based). It was first published...
Ep. 39 Writing 2 Sentence Horror Stories Using a Few Simple Principles
Jul 07, 2024The Bad Idea grows legs! Or perhaps wings...
In which I talk a bit about Inversion, Repetition and Paradox (with examples). Secondly, I read some of my crap attempts at writing short horror stories. Can you do better? I bet you can!
My apologies to Gilbert Gottfried, Groucho Marx, Fox's Animation Domination lineup.
The Philosophy of Horror: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/293103.The_Philosophy_of_Horror
The Great Silence:
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983QJRAS..24..283B/abstract
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
...
"Wailing Well" by M. R. James | A Stable for Nightmares
Jul 03, 2024Warning! Tonal whiplash incoming. This delightful (and delightfully creepy) short story by master of the genre Montague Rhodes James is a sort-of Billy Bunter meets the contents of a Breugel the Elder painting. Hopefully that doesn't give too much away.
First published in 1928, this was a joy to record; you can't beat the old English public-school grotesques.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"Pigeons from Hell" by Robert E. Howard | Hometown Horrors
Jun 21, 2024An ancient evil festers in the heart of a small community, and though the original perpetrators may be gone, traces of their misdeeds linger on. Also, it's never a good idea to stay the night in a seemingly abandoned mansion, even if you are on holiday.
Written in 1934, "Pigeons from Hell" is one of several regional horror stories by Howard set in the Piney Woods of the ArkLaTex region of the Deep South.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube...
Ep. 36 Does This Scare You? Classic Horror and Weird Fiction: A Lifelong Love Affair.
Jun 15, 2024What scares you, and why? What scares me?
For this episode, I wanted to do something different to my weekly serialisation, and open up the forum, to have a bit of a wee chat about why we love weird fiction. Who knows, maybe this'll become a 'thing'... Or maybe this was a Very Bad Idea.
Supernatural Horror in Literature https://hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/essays/shil.aspx
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. Part 3 (of 3) | Last Gasp of the Gothic
Jun 07, 2024In our final instalment of this perplexing and perturbing story, (see episode 34 for part two). Things reach a fever pitch at Bly manor with multiple manifestations, disappearances, and a possible breakdown. Of reality, or of sanity? You be the judge.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. Part 2 (of 3) | Last Gasp of the Gothic
May 31, 2024In part two (see episode 33 for part one), tension mounts, apparition encounters increase, and the governess at Bly begins to lose the plot.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
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"The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. Part 1 (of 3) | Last Gasp of the Gothic
May 27, 2024The ceremony of innocence is drowned in this, most ambiguous ghostly novella from 1898 by renowned Anglo-American writer Henry James.
A governess is given charge of two young children in the countryside manor of Bly, only to find (or does she?), that erstwhile inhabitants of the house, and their influence over the children, may linger.
Lock the door, light a candle, and keep watch; for there may be faces peering in at the window.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
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"The Thing in the Hall" by E. F. Benson | A Stable for Nightmares
May 16, 2024If you open the doors of perception too far, who knows what might come knocking? An eminent physician is drawn into a dangerous occult scheme by a longtime colleague, with horrific results.
The Thing in the Hall displays the authors characteristically deft style, with a touch of sly humour, in this alarming yarn from 1912.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
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"The House on the Borderland" by William Hope Hodgson | A Precursor to the Mythos
May 09, 2024A remote house, a decaying journal. Two friends on a holiday in remote Western Ireland uncover a tale of wonders (and terrors), and an unfathomable abyss that will leave them forever changed. This unusual, and poignantly haunting novella from 1908, by one of horror fictions true originals, has been a massive influence on generations of subsequent writers.
Narration and some music by Thomas Barker
"Welcome to HorrorLand" Kevin
MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
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"This House" Kevin MacLeod
(incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative...
"The Hounds of Tindalos" by Frank Belknap Long | A Tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
May 07, 2024Upon rediscovering a drug used centuries ago to expand the consciousness of mystics, eccentric author Halpin Chalmers hopes (along with the aid of certain, esoteric mathematical formulae) to utilise it in an experiment. An experiment in TIME TRAVEL. Unbeknownst to him, his inquiry draws the attention of unwelcome entities, from dark dimensions.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"Dagon" by H. P. Lovecraft | The Mythos Stirs
Apr 22, 2024One of the first stories written by Lovecraft as an adult, the story was inspired in part by a dream he had. "I dreamed that whole hideous crawl, and can yet feel the ooze sucking me down!" he later wrote.
The earliest elements of the Cthulhu Mythos begin to stir in this tale of madness and the churning deeps.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"The House of the Worm" by Mearle Prout
Apr 14, 2024Two friends embark on what was to be an innocent hunting trip, but which soon leads to decay, degredation, and a chilling secret that gnaws at the heart of the world.
This somewhat obscure story, first published in 1933, contains many intriguing parallels and haunting echoes of what was then developing into the Cthulhu mythos, without necessarily being a part of that shared dream-space. A second cousin perhaps, lost, but never entirely forgotten.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"What Was It?" by J. S. Le Fanu
Apr 04, 2024Described by M.R James as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories", Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814 - 1873) created gothic and macabre tales that, more than a century hence, have not lost their power to make the flesh crawl, and those shadows in the corner of the room seem somehow darker.
What Was It? (1896) deals with two friends, a quantity of opium, and a hidden horror.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"The Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce
Feb 17, 2024From 1893, this short tale of horror treats, in Bierce's inimitable style, with a sinister creature that is not detectable by mortal means.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Music and Production by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft (Part 6 of 6) / The Writhing Mass
Feb 01, 2024Tekeli-li.. . .
Tekeli-li ... .
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft (Part 5 of 6) / Deeper, Deeper
Oct 25, 2023Signs of life stir in the aeon-dead city. Is something waking up? Or was it never asleep in the first place?
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"Thunder Dreams" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft (Part 4 of 6) / The Old Ones
Oct 16, 2023The history of The Old Ones, their ancient battles, decline and fall, as well as their amorphous servants The Shoggoths, is revealed.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"Shadowlands 3 - Machine" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft (Part 3 of 6) / The Silent City
Sep 17, 2023Dr. Dyer and Danforth begin their descent into the cyclopean ruins. The cryptic murals and alien architecture they uncover begin to reveal troubling secrets about earth's long-distant past.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"This House" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft (Part 2 of 6) / A Terrifying Discovery
Aug 25, 2023Anxious to witness Lake's miraculous findings firsthand (and alarmed at an abrupt radio silence), the rest of the expedition makes out for his Northwestward base. What they uncovered, and subsequent discoveries by Danforth and our narrator - will prove utterly monstrous.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"Echoes of Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
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"At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft (Part 1 of 6) / The Antarctic Expedition
Aug 14, 2023This chilling (in a very literal sense) story details the events of a disastrous expedition to Antarctica in September 1930, and what is found there by a group of explorers led by the narrator, Dr. William Dyer of Miskatonic University.
Let this serve as a warning, to those who would explore and disturb this world's most remote and inhospitable regions...
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"Ice Demon" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Duration: 01:13:03"The Shunned House" by H.P Lovecraft / Dark Corners of the Earth
Jul 20, 2023Something is not right with the Mansion House in Benefit Street. For more than a century it has stood, casting a pall over those who have lived there. It harbours too many deaths, an unwholsome, dirt floor cellar, and an ancient evil from a far-off land.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Music and Production by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nGM17V4hCSzSi
"The Repairer of Reputations" from The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers / A Precursor to the Mythos
Jul 13, 2023The King in Yellow, published 1895
Rise and tremble before the pallid mask! Tonight's episode takes us back into the 19th Century (by way of the then-future of 1920) for a tale of mystery and madness from the enormously influential The King in Yellow. The Repairer of Reputations stars one Hildred Castaigne, heir to a mighty lineage. Are his grand imaginings to be believed? You decide...
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Constance voiced by Annie Hyer
Music and Production by Thomas Barker
Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com
<...
"The Colour out of Space" by H.P Lovecraft / A classic of cosmic horror
Jul 03, 2023A personal favourite of the author, The Colour out of Space is a shivery, self-contained sci-fi/horror set (where else?) in the hills west of the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Written in 1927, in this tale you will encounter eerie lights in the sky, a meteorite that is not of this world, hideous mutation and creeping insanity.
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"Giant Wyrm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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"Gathering Darkness" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under...
"The Dunwich Horror" Part 2 by H.P Lovecraft / A tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
Jun 21, 2023The conclusion of The Dunwich Horror, a tale of monstrous birth and ancient magic set in the decaying backwoods of Massechusetts - a core story of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Ia Yog-Sothoth!
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Production by Thomas Barker
"Shadowlands 1 - Horizon" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Giant Wyrm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Metaphysik" Kevin MacLeod...
"The Dunwich Horror" Part 1 by H.P Lovecraft / A tale of the Cthulhu Mythos
Jun 13, 2023Written in 1928, The Dunwich Horror, a tale of monstrous birth and ancient magic set in the decaying backwoods of Massechusetts, is a core story of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Ia Yog-Sothoth!
Narrated by Thomas Barker
Original Music and Production by Thomas Barker
"Shadowlands 5 - Antechamber" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Shadowlands 4 - Breath" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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...
Duration: 00:51:12