Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories

After the disappearance of celebrated aviator Joyce-Armstrong, a notebook is found which chronicles his perilous journey to the upper reaches of the atmosphere where he discovers strange and wondrous creatures. However, not all the life he finds there is harmless... Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of role playing games in...

Bram Stoker's first published story tells of an artist, torn from his lover and held captive in the palace of a king, forced to create a work of art for him in order to win his freedom at the forthcoming Feast of Beauty. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of role playing games including 'Cthulhu Dark' and 'Co...

Big game hunter Sanger Rainsford is stranded on an island in the Caribbean. There he meets the enigmatic General Zaroff who puts to him a most unusual proposition. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of role playing games including 'Cthulhu Dark' and 'Cosmic Dark' and you can find him on Substack at https://gr...

In "For the Blood is the Life," the narrator is visited in Italy by a friend, a Scandinavian artist, and relates to him the strange tale behind a figure which can apparently be seen lying on top of a small mound on the hillside near his villa. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of role playing games including '...

An artist and his model are disturbed by unsettling dreams and the sight of a strange watchman at the church across from his studio. Soon after they find a mysterious book on the shelves in his library their lives take a tragic turn. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of role playing games including 'Cthulhu Dark' an...

In "The Wood of the Dead" an unnamed narrator describes how, after stopping at a country inn a during a country ramble, he encounters an enigmatic old man. After he learns from he inn-keeper’s daughter of the character's strange history and the connection between him and a nearby grove, he is party to a mysterious event. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music compo...

In 'Man-Size in Marble' two newly-weds rent a country cottage to escape the bustle of the city. At first they are very happy, but before long an ancient superstition regarding their house has strange and terrible repercussions. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of role playing games including 'Cthulhu Dark'...

In "The Signal Man" our narrator relates the details of a chance encounter with a signal-man on a lonely stretch of railway and the tale he is told of a mysterious spectral figure that has repeatedly appeared there. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of the role playing game 'Cthulhu Dark' and you can find...

An unnamed narrator tells of his imprisonment by the Inquisition and the subsequent torture which he undergoes at their hands. Mr Spike's Bedtime Stories theme and incidental music composed by Graham Walmsley. Graham is the creator of the role playing game 'Cthulhu Dark' and you can find him on Substack at https://grahamwalmsley.substack.com/ and Twitter @grahamwalmsley If you are enjo...

"Monkeys" concerns a respected and experimental surgeon who, after accompanying a friend to Egypt, becomes fascinated with a mummified corpse. For him this fascination leads a terrible conclusion. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the role playing game 'Cthulhu Dark' and you can fin...

In an very special episode of the podcast I am joined by Scott Dorward of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias for a reading of Frank Belknap Long's classic mythos tale "The Hounds of Tindalos" The story tells of one Halpin Chalmers who, with the assistance of the narrator, conducts an experiment with a mysterious drug in order to view the depths of time and space. Unfortunately for him...

In The Tapestried Chamber, or The Lady in the Saque we learn of a General Browne, recently returned from America, whose stay at an old friend's stately home results in a most unexpected and unpleasant encounter. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the role playing game 'Cthulhu Dark' and yo...

In the wilds of Alaska, a gold prospector and his companion marvel at a strange light in the sky over a five-peaked mountain. That evening as they make camp, a visitor brings with him a curious and horrifying tale of his experiences in the chasm beneath. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the role pla...

"The Corpse Light" by Dick Donovan (whose real name was J. E. Preston Muddock) tells of a respected and level headed medical man whose journey past a supposedly haunted mill brings him an experience that challenges his sceptical nature. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the role playing gam...

Many thanks to listener C.L. Larsson who requested these two short tales by H.P. Lovecraft. In "What The Moon Brings" an unnamed narrator tells of a moonlight stroll which by turns becomes strange and horrifying in nature. The second tale, "The Thing in the Moonlight," is an extract from a letter written by Lovecraft to Donald Wandrei of a dream wherein a traveller has a ghastl...

Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Ring of Thoth" concerns an academic who, whilst on a research trip to Paris, encounters a singular individual with a very unusual tale to tell.. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the role playing game 'Cthulhu Dark' and you can find him on Twitter @grah...

To mark the second anniversary of my little podcast of classic macabre tales, I've chosen a rather special story by arguably one of the most greatest and most influential authors of the genre. First published in 1904, Montague Rhodes James's "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" tells of a Cambridge professor who visits a seaside town on the east coast of England to imp...

"The Cairn on the Headland" tells of an academic, who along with his companion discovers that an ancient Irish landmark holds a secret that would be best left undisturbed. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the role playing game 'Cthulhu Dark' and you can find him on Twitter @grahamwalmsley If you are...

"The Novel of the White Powder" concerns a young student of the law who after having become exhausted from overwork is prescribed a pick-me-up by the family doctor. However, the medicine he takes seems to provoke a dramatic and concerning change in his behaviour. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast. Graham is the creator of the...

"The Empty House" tells of Jim Shorthouse, who accompanies his aunt to an old house where, a century ago, a servant girl was thrown to her death from a balcony by a jealous stableman. The house has lain unoccupied other than for brief periods ever since. Unoccupied, but perhaps not ... empty. My thanks to Graham Walmsley for the marvellous opening and closing themes he has composed for the podcast...

I am delighted to open the second season of my podcast with this cautionary tale from the compendium "The Private Life of Elder Things" "Devo Nodenti" tells of Peggy Connings, who made a decision over half a lifetime ago which had unforeseen and terrible consequences. My heartfelt thanks go out to the author herself, who has very kindly given me permission to read her wonderful story for you. As w...

A short announcement to introduce the forthcoming new season of my little podcast....

A visitor to the Italian Riviera has a dark foreboding about the villa in which they are staying. Then, that night they experience a most unusual dream - or is it a dream? Opening music for Mr. Spike's Bedtime Stories "The Bag" by Private Hell Productions https://soundcloud.com/privatehellproductions If you are enjoying these tales, please consider leaving a review on the listening platform of you...

Our narrator, an Englishman travelling through Germany from Munich on the last day of April is warned not to return late to his hotel. Despite this, the young man leaves his carriage at a crossroads to head in the direction of a mysterious abandoned village. Opening music for Mr. Spike's Bedtime Stories "The Bag" by Private Hell Productions https://soundcloud.com/privatehellproductions If you...

Our narrator arises the following morning to learn more of the Château d’Ys and its inhabitants Opening music for Mr. Spike's Bedtime Stories "The Bag" by Private Hell Productions https://soundcloud.com/privatehellproductions If you are enjoying these tales, please consider leaving a review on the listening platform of your choice.