Best Fritz Charles Podcasts (2025)

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The Doll's Ghost by F. Marion Crawford 1:08:02

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7d ago1:08:02

1:08:02

A dollmaker works late into the evening to repair a broken doll. Outside, London's fog presses against the windows. Inside, in the dim workshop light, something moves among the shelves—something that shouldn't move at all. "The Doll's Ghost" first appeared in The Undesired Princess collection (1897), later included in Wandering Ghosts (1911). F. Ma…

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The Whistling Room by William Hope Hodgson 1:13:09

14d ago1:13:09

1:13:09

In Ireland, a newly purchased castle unsettles its American owner. He is wealthy, engaged to a local woman, and certain that jealous countrymen mean him harm. What truly threatens the household is a particular room that fills at night with a dangerous, sustained whistling that rises and falls like breath. Doors quiver; servants keep away. Carnacki …

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A Haunted House by Charles Dickens 1:40:10

21d ago1:40:10

1:40:10

A neglected Georgian house, shutters still, poplars trees surround it, whispering. Downstairs is a row of servant bells to call servants. One has a mysterious name and is reputed to ring when no one is there. Rumour speaks of a hooded figure and an owl; the corridors mutter with sounds of pipes, disconnected wires, and something harder to dismiss. …

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Hawley Bank Foundry by L T C Rolt 1:28:59

28d ago1:28:59

1:28:59

Beneath the soot and iron of England’s industrial heart, a foundry lies silent. Its furnaces once roared for empire, but the men are gone, the machinery rusted, the sand floor undisturbed. When war comes and the living return to wake it, something else stirs too—something that remembers. In the stillness of metal and dust, the past is waiting to be…

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The Dunwich Horror by H P Lovecraft 2:00:37

1M ago2:00:37

2:00:37

A remote New England village. Dark rumours swirl among its lonely hills. Whispers of strange rites, of a family line touched by shadows, haunt the woods and starlit nights. Something stirs where the old stones lie, and the boundary between the known and the unseen begins to thin. In my Halloween tradition, the tale chosen is “The Dunwich Horror”—a …

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Twilight by Marjorie Bowen 43:04

1M ago43:04

43:04

Twilight opens in a garden where beauty wears a mask to protect it from the years, and twilight brings regrets and confessions. A young courtier stumbles upon a Duchess at dusk—painted, jewelled, and demanding. She wants him to be her father confessor, but what does Lucrezia Borgia want to confess and why does he run away? My first video podcast on…

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Halloween Dark Ale by Tony Walker 32:55

1M ago32:55

32:55

A northern lad takes a cheap room above a Wapping pub in ’87, where the Thames presses at the windows like weather. He wants to be a journalist not a barman, but he needs the money... He learns. that the cellar has secrets and that the beer is popular. Especially the Thames Halloween Dark Ale. I've made this members only story for November availabl…

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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce 55:20

1M ago55:20

55:20

A man stands on a railway bridge. Orders pass along the line; the river says nothing. A watch ticks, a breath stalls, and time begins to misbehave. Memory intrudes, desire bargains, and the world narrows to rope, water, distance. No fanfare; only procedure—and a mind trying to outrun it. Follow the story to its far edge. First published in 1890; co…

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Phantom Silhouette by Joy Burnett 43:59

2M ago43:59

43:59

A lonely farmhouse stands in a hollow of the hills—its windows dark, its doors long locked, and a story clinging to it that no one in the valley will tell aloud. When a sceptical visitor decides to spend the night within, he discovers that silence itself can harbour memory, and that the past, once woken, does not easily return to sleep. Phantom Sil…

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Bad Company be Walter de la Mare 52:30

2M ago52:30

52:30

In a dim Underground carriage, a weary traveller meets a stranger whose silent presence unsettles more deeply than words can tell. Walter de la Mare’s Bad Company is a tale where dread arises not from what happens, but from what might. Bad Company was first published in Walter de la Mare’s final collection, A Beginning and Other Stories (1955). Wal…

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Cushi by Christopher Woodforde 44:52

2M ago44:52

44:52

# Cushi - Teaser Script In the chalk hills of Hertfordshire lies Rooksgate Green, where tradition runs deeper than any rector's authority. Here, the sexton Cushi Holloway has his own peculiar ways—with hymn numbers, with cats, with the rituals of the churchyard. When the Reverend David Evans arrives from Cardiff, he sees only quaint village customs…

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Hand in Glove by Elizabeth Bowen 54:19

2M ago54:19

54:19

In a fading Irish house, two sisters live with their reclusive aunt. Outwardly clever, even charming, they are burdened by secrecy, shabby finery, and a restless need to keep appearances intact. What follows is a tale of genteel decay, of objects that carry more weight than they should, and of a past that refuses to stay silent. “Hand in Glove” fir…

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Et Sempiternum Pereant by Charles Williams 1:02:50

3M ago1:02:50

1:02:50

Et in Sempiternum Pereant by Charles Williams Lord Arglay, retired Chief Justice and seeker of forgotten knowledge, sets out for a quiet scholarly errand in the English countryside—only to find the landscape subtly warped, time grown strangely dense, and a chimney smoking where no fire burns. Drawn by a narrow path to a door that seems to wait for …

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The Hollow Man by Thomas Burke 54:13

3M ago54:13

54:13

A man walks the London streets, thin as a shadow, his eyes open but unseeing. He has no destination, yet something leads him — as if by an unseen hand — to a quiet room where the ordinary will no longer hold. What follows is not terror in the usual sense, but a slow unravelling, as if the familiar fabric of life has been touched by something that s…

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A Visitor from Down Under by L. P. Hartley 1:03:44

3M ago1:03:44

1:03:44

On a wet and foggy evening in post-war London, a man arrives at a modest hotel carrying the calm assurance of wealth and distance. But something else arrives that night too—quietly, without fuss, with a newspaper clipping and a request for a room. In the lounge, the sounds of unseen children drift through the walls. In his sleep, the man dreams of …

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Old Man's Beard by H. Russell Wakefield 1:05:36

3M ago1:05:36

1:05:36

At Brinton-on-Sea, the summer passed in gentle rhythms. Mariella and her young fiancé read side by side on the beach, swam together in the quiet sea, while her parents looked on from their chairs. Nothing seemed amiss. But something was. She said nothing, yet her smiles grew thinner, her sleep unsettled. Her eyes lingered too long on nothing at all…

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The Little Ghost by Hugh Walpole 1:00:28

3M ago1:00:28

1:00:28

In an old house by the Glebeshire coast, silence lingers more heavily than the sound of the sea. Its walls hold an atmosphere of watchfulness, as though the house itself remembers lives once lived within it. To a grieving visitor, it offers not terror but something stranger, something that cannot easily be explained. “The Little Ghost” by Hugh Walp…

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The Victim by May Sinclair 1:15:48

4M ago1:15:48

1:15:48

Steven Acroyd is a jealous man—jealous, and prone to sudden, violent anger. He works in a remote country house under the quiet rule of an elderly master, brooding, watching, waiting. One night, he listens at a window and hears something about his fiancée that pushes him too far. He does something terrible, then tries to get away with it. Some ghost…

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The Monolith by Tony Walker 40:59

4M ago40:59

40:59

A narrowboat moors in Eastwick, a village cut off by time and road. Among its postcards and memories stands an ancient stone — and in every image, a shadow that should not be there. When George Middleton takes his own photograph, the shadow moves closer. This is one of my own stories — and this time, I’m out to scare you. Let’s see if I manage to. …

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The True Story of Anthony Ffryar by Arthur Gray 46:46

4M ago46:46

46:46

A scholar remains behind as pestilence silences the college. The gates are locked, the chapel dim, and a single window glows with the light of something unfinished. In the stillness of old stone, a man pursues his solitary work—methodical, precise, and unknowable. What follows is not a tale of horror in the usual sense, but something quieter, older…

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How Pan Came to Little Ingleton by Margery Lawrence 1:28:09

4M ago1:28:09

1:28:09

One summer Sunday in a quiet English village, something is missing—though no one can quite say what. The air hangs thick with heat, the hedgerows whisper, and down by the river, a tune drifts faintly on the breeze. As the hours pass, unease gathers like storm-clouds, though the sky remains clear. By evening, everything will be just as it was. Almos…

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Rose Rose by Barry Pain 41:14

4M ago41:14

41:14

She was flawless. A model of grace and stillness, prized by every artist who worked with her. But beneath the surface of the painter’s studio—amid the heat, the charcoal dust, and the careful posing—something else lingered. “Rose Rose” by Barry Pain was first published in Stories in Grey (T. Werner Laurie, 1911). It is now in the public domain. Bar…

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The Clock by W F Harvey 47:16

4M ago47:16

47:16

A letter arrives—calm in tone, almost conversational. But beneath its surface, something unsettles. A favour once done, a house long locked, a memory that won’t quite settle. There are impressions that can’t be explained, and a sense—quiet, persistent—that something was not as it should have been. The Clock first appeared in W. F. Harvey’s 1928 col…

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The Lost Ghost (1903) by Mary E Wilkins 1:11:26

5M ago1:11:26

1:11:26

A quiet conversation between two women over tea. A rented house. A memory long buried. In *The Lost Ghost*, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman offers no gothic castles or howling winds—only the hush of a parlour, the rustle of a child’s dress, and a voice repeating the same, simple question. It is not horror that lingers here, but something colder, something …

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Squire Toby's Will by J S Le Fanu 1:38:18

5M ago1:38:18

1:38:18

Seen from a passing stagecoach, you might think that Gylingden Hall is not the sort of place where the dead rest easily. The chimneys are cold, the gallery echoes with no human tread, and the great trees that line the avenue whisper of old wrongs and buried fury. In the shadow of the ruined chapel and beneath the rot-black timbers of the house, som…

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The Confession of Charles Linkworth by E F Benson 1:10:30

5M ago1:10:30

1:10:30

A man waits in silence. The law has spoken, the doctors have done their work. But something does not rest. In the quiet rooms and corridors of the prison, a sound is heard—faint, deliberate, and not easily explained. What follows is noted calmly, professionally. Still, it leaves a mark. *The Confession of Charles Linkworth* was first published in 1…

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Members Only Episode July 2025 45:48

5M ago45:48

45:48

In the Members Only podcast episode of the Classic Ghost Stories podcast for July 2025, I spent a lot of time apologising for being late in delivering the Members Only episode to you this month. I then talk about my Uncanny Mirror project, which I'm sure many of you will find very interesting. I then talk a bit about our holiday in Scotland. I read…

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The Friends of the Friends by Henry James 1:33:53

5M ago1:33:53

1:33:53

What do we see in others that we cannot admit in ourselves? In Henry James's haunting tale, a woman recounts her fascination with two people who have each witnessed a ghost. She delays their meeting for years, caught between longing and fear, until it is too late. Names are withheld, but emotions are not. Beneath the surface of polite society, some…

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The Tapestried Chamber by Sir Walter Scott 1:09:02

6M ago1:09:02

1:09:02

General Browne, a soldier hardened by war and governed by reason, accepts an invitation to the castle of his old school-friend, Lord Woodville. The place has only lately been inherited and is undergoing tasteful restoration, its mediaeval past slowly yielding to Georgian elegance. But not all traces of the past have been swept away. One chamber rem…

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The Squire's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell 1:15:07

6M ago1:15:07

1:15:07

In the year 1795, in the secluded Derbyshire town of Barford, a stranger settles into the old White House. He renovates it handsomely, pays every bill on time, and quickly wins the friendship of the local squire and his daughter. Among the hunting gentry, he seems to fit right in. But this is a story of the hunting gentry—and the secrets they don’t…

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The Roll-Call of the Reef by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch 1:00:21

6M ago1:00:21

1:00:21

A gale howls in from the sea as a traveller takes shelter with a smallholder on the Cornish coast. Above the hearth hang two relics: an old cavalry trumpet and a weathered drum, bound together with a brass-lettered lock. No one knows the word that opens it. As the fire burns low, the smallholder begins to tell a tale—half history, half haunting—of …

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The Symposium of the Gorgon by Clark Ashton Smith 52:09

6M ago52:09

52:09

Clark Ashton Smith's "Symposium of the Gorgon," a masterful blend of satire and fantasy, made its debut in _Fantastic Universe Science Fiction_ in October 1958. Published relatively late in Smith's career, the story showcases his enduring talent for crafting bizarre and imaginative narratives, even as his output had begun to wane. The appearance in…

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The Red Room by H G Wells 1:07:20

6M ago1:07:20

1:07:20

In H.G. Wells's "The Red Room," a young man, confident in his rationality, seeks to debunk the supernatural in a reputedly haunted chamber. He is certain that his experience will be defined by logic and reason. But the air within the castle walls is heavy with unspoken dread, and as the candles dwindle, something shifts. Is it the room itself, or s…

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The Book by Margaret Irwin 1:19:38

6M ago1:19:38

1:19:38

Late one fog-bound night, a man goes in search of a book to help him sleep. He finds a book he doesn’t remember. Did he inherit it? It has no title. No author. It’s written in Latin, in an unknown but legible hand. And once he begins to read it, he can’t stop returning to it each night. He was a happy family man. A little bored, but happy. But what…

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The Withered Heart by G G Pendarves 1:35:09

7M ago1:35:09

1:35:09

Beneath the brooding skies of Braun Fell, the Dewle family grapples with a dark inheritance, and John, a boyhood friend, is urgently summoned to help them navigate their dilemma. A lust for wealth consumes beautiful Jonquil, driving her to urge the use of questionable methods, while her husband, who would do anything to please her, is wary about su…

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Huguenin's Wife by P M Shiel 57:58

7M ago57:58

57:58

What lives after love dies? A man once full of charm and wit writes from a forgotten island—Delos, sacred to Apollo, now silent and desolate. He is bound by invisible chains, haunted by the soul of a wife who once tried to revive a long-dead mystery cult, drawing down ancient gods and transfiguring herself through ritual, art, and something far old…

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Clairvoyance by D K Broster 1:19:40

7M ago1:19:40

1:19:40

What lives inside beautiful, silent things? In a quiet English manor, a collector of rare objects welcomes guests, family, and a child with an unusual gift. The air is calm. The room is bright. But some objects carry more than history. D.K. Broster’s Clairvoyance is not a tale of shadows and creaking floors. It is something more delicate—and more u…

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In The Woods by Amyas Northcote 1:03:19

7M ago1:03:19

1:03:19

What watches us from the trees? A solitary girl begins to wander, again and again, into the woods above her home. At first, they offer calm—shade, silence, the companionship of trees. But as the summer deepens, so does her enchantment. She begins to hear music. She starts to see movement—half-glimpsed figures, never quite there. The woods begin to …

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The Open Door by Margaret Oliphant 2:24:29

7M ago2:24:29

2:24:29

What price, a parent's love? A Scottish family, seeking a quiet life, rents Brentwood House – a grand, Georgian mansion standing in wooded grounds beside a ruined keep and a deep glen – only to find themselves in a terrifying ordeal. As their son plunges further into despair, can they, as a family, keep a hold of reality? Is there a happy solution?…

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Young Billy-Me-Lad by Annie Smith 21:16

7M ago21:16

21:16

What happened down in the cellar? In Andrea Smith's disquieting tale, Peg grapples with her brother Milo's delicate state after a shocking incident. Whispers, unease, and a chilling presence haunt their isolated cottage. Can Peg protect Milo from whatever threatens them, or will a haunting past cast a shadow over them both? 📚 You can now buy my boo…

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Celui-là by Eleanor Scott 1:06:42

7M ago1:06:42

1:06:42

Who digs in dead ground? A chance encounter on a desolate beach leads Maddox to a discovery that chills the very air. A parchment, a prayer, or perhaps a curse. The local priest knows better than to pry, but Maddox cannot resist the lure of the unknown. On the windswept Breton coast, something awakens. Experience the unsettling tale of "Celui-Là." …

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The Haunted Spinney by Elliott O'Donnell 59:52

7M ago59:52

59:52

Elliott O'Donnell, a prolific author who often blurred the lines between ghost story and alleged fact, invites us into "The Haunted Spinney." First published in 1904, the tale unfolds in a foreboding woodland, following a man's discovery and its haunting aftermath. What ghosts lie hidden beneath the twisted trees? This is a story where truth and im…

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The Child by L A Lewis 54:56

8M ago54:56

54:56

An English traveller, delayed in an unfamiliar village, hears a troubling local legend—one the villagers are reluctant to discuss. Drawn by curiosity into a nearby wood no one dares enter, he finds the past is not so easily buried. What he encounters there resists explanation, hovering uneasily between tragedy and nightmare. L.A. Lewis’s tale unfol…

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The Wishing Well by E F Benson 1:09:58

8M ago1:09:58

1:09:58

E.F. Benson's "The Wishing-Well" was first published in the United Kingdom in the collection Visible and Invisible by Hutchinson & Co. in 1923. This collection, featuring a range of supernatural and uncanny tales, showcases Benson's skill in blending traditional ghost story elements with psychological depth and social commentary. "The Wishing-Well,…

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The Parlour of Futures Lost by Tony Walker 38:38

8M ago38:38

38:38

In a dim parlour by the sea, where the waves sigh like old regrets, Madame Lily Floss lays her tarot cards on green silk and dreams of escape. She longs for a life beyond the shore, beyond her mother’s house, beyond her fate. Then, one evening, a stranger arrives — a man who claims they’ve not yet met… but already remembers everything. One of my ow…

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Through the Gates of the Silver Key by H P Lovecraft and E Hoffman Price 2:15:47

8M ago2:15:47

2:15:47

Is time an endless ocean? Randolph Carter, armed with a silver key, sets sail across its fathomless depths. His quest: the ultimate truth. But the waters are treacherous, and the shores lead to alien worlds and entities beyond human reckoning. And what if once you go, you can't get back? Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is a short story co-writ…

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The House of Horror by Seabury Quinn 1:39:40

8M ago1:39:40

1:39:40

"The House of Horror," despite its pulp sensibilities, clearly resonates with the Poe-esque tradition of detective fiction intertwined with the macabre and the sensation novel. Like Poe's tales, Quinn's story utilises a combination of rational investigation and visceral horror to create a sense of dread and suspense. De Grandin, though more flamboy…

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The Beast With Five Fingers by W F Harvey 1:37:45

8M ago1:37:45

1:37:45

In W.F. Harvey’s The Beast with Five Fingers, we enter the world of Eustace Borlsover, an eccentric gentleman immersed in the study of the natural world and its more unusual phenomena. Set within the quiet gloom of Borlsover Conyers, his ancestral home, the story gradually evolves into a tale of obsession and nightmare. What if part of our very sel…

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The Lady and Death by Vernon Lee 1:15:59

9M ago1:15:59

1:15:59

Can Death be bargained with? In the town of Erlach, whispers of an old legend linger. They speak of Agnes Weberin, a woman known for her piety, her devotion— and her fate. Her husband, Berchthold Weber, was a learned man, a physician whose success in saving lives came at an unspeakable cost. The town murmured of a pact, a debt owed not to man, but …

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The Bishop of Hell by Marjorie Bowen 1:10:04

9M ago1:10:04

1:10:04

Nothing scares an atheist… so they'd have you believe. For Hector Greatorix, intellect, charisma, and a complete lack of faith mean a life lived to the fullest. Freed from his vows, and called by his friends The Bishop of Hell, this scandalous clergyman can drink and debauch right to the end with no fear of the consequences. Certain that damnation …