Unpleasant Dreams

As the holidays return, so does one of our favorite traditions—Cassandra Harold’s evocative reading of A Christmas Carol. Dickens’ ghostly tale of reckoning, regret, and redemption takes on a particularly eerie tone in this retelling. A familiar story, re-aired for the season, and perfect for listening with your family and friends by flickering candlelight or by a holiday fire. Enjoy this super si...

After a brief hiatus, Unpleasant Dreams returns with a chilling classic from the early 20th century. This week, Cassandra Harold narrates E.F. Benson’s “The Room in the Tower,” a haunting tale first published in 1912 that explores the terrifying power of dreams—and what happens when they begin to bleed into reality. As always, Cassandra’s evocative narration brings this eerie story to life in a wa...

This week we revisit "A Midnight Visitor" by John Kendrick Bangs . One night, a stressed and overworked man is overcome with fear after a ghostly encounter in his home. Bangs was an American author and the creator of the Bangsian fantasy genre, where the use of the afterlife is the main setting in which its characters, act and interact. The short story was published in 1894 as part of the antholog...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold is back narrating the eerie story, The Haunted Orchard . What better way to celebrate spring than a haunted orchard! Written by Richard Le Gallienne, the story touches on themes like memory, loss, and the invisible bond between the living and the dead. With a series of vivid and emotional moments, Le Gallienne tells a tale that draws you in and make...

Due to Cassandra Harold not being spared from the nasty cold in the household, we are re-airing the short horror story "The Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce. A man finds himself haunted by an unseen, malevolent force. Will he overcome it, will it drive him mad, or worse? "The Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce was originally published 1893 and is in the Public Domain. Thanks for listening and please s...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold concludes her narration of the novella The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. We thank our listener again for the wonderful suggestion of this story. If you have a short story (that's in the public domain) that you would like Cassandra to perform, please let us know by contacting Jim Harold HERE. Please tell your friends about the show! The Beckon...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold continues narrating the novella The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. In her introduction this week, Cassandra gives us a mini lesson on "Free Indirect Discourse" and how it is used in this story. Stay tuned next week for the conclusion of the story and please tell your friends about the show! The Beckoning Fair One was first published in 1911 an...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold begins narrating the novella The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions. First published in 1911, The Beckoning Fair One is a classic psychological horror novella about a writer, Paul Oleron, who moves into an old, abandoned house to work on his novel. This week Cassandra shares with us the first four chapters to set up the story. Thanks to a fan of th...

On this episode of Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra entertains us with the short story The Shadows on the Wall by Mary E. Wilkens Freeman, published in 1903 and in the public domain. The Shadows on the Wall is a chilling tale of grief, guilt, and supernatural vengeance. After the sudden death of Henry Glynn, his sisters and surviving brother gather in the family home, only to be haunted by an ominous...

Cassandra Harold is back on Unpleasant Dreams this week narrating the short story "The Dead Valley" by Ralph Adams Cram. Cram's reputation as a writer stems solely from six stories published in Black Spirits and White: A Book of Ghost Stories. "The Dead Valley" is his most well-known and frequently reprinted tale, which H.P. Lovecraft later praised for its masterful use of atmosphere and descripti...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold is on vocal rest—doctor’s orders—so we’re revisiting her first Unpleasant Dreams reading from 2023: The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs. This chilling tale is one of Jim Harold’s favorite short stories, and its haunting moral remains timeless—be careful what you wish for. Originally published in Harper’s Monthly in 1902, The Monkey’s Paw is now in the p...

In this chilling episode of Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra brings to life Thurnley Abbey, a masterful ghost story by Perceval Landon. First published in 1908 and in the public domain, this unsettling tale follows a skeptical traveler who dismisses superstitions—until he finds himself spending the night in a cursed abbey with a horrifying secret. Thanks for listening and please share the show! -- Jim...

In this spine-chilling episode of Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold takes on the eerie tale Caterpillars by E.F. Benson, first published in 1912 and is in the public domain. A short story that twists the innocence of nature into something far more sinister. For Cassandra, this episode is a particularly unsettling one, as she has a deep fear of bugs—making the creeping horror of this story all th...

On this episode of Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra reads the supernatural horror short story, The Body Snatcher by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. William Burke and William Hare gained notoriety for allegedly carrying out at least sixteen "anatomy murders"—murders committed for the purpose of providing fresh cadavers for medical study—over the course of roughly ten months in 1828. Their grues...

This week Cassandra reads H.G. Wells' The Red Room. The narrator of The Red Room is a 28-year-old who doesn't believe in the supernatural. He comes to Lorraine Castle with the intention of spending the night in the Red Room, a place rumored to be haunted. As Cassandra explains it, the story "intertwines the psychological with the supernatural in a delectable way." How do you personally deal with t...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold takes us on a journey through the whimsical and thought-provoking short story, "A Quicksilver Cassandra" by John Kendrick Bangs. Known for his wit and satire, Bangs weaves a tale that blends fantasy with a touch of the absurd, much like the prophetess Cassandra (not our Cassandra!) herself—gifted with the power of prophecy but cursed to have no one...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra reads the eerie ghost story “Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad” by M.R. James. First published in 1904 and now in the public domain, this chilling tale is part of James’ Ghost Stories of an Antiquary collection. The story’s title is inspired by a 1793 poem of the same name by Robert Burns, which Cassandra also reads in this episode. Thanks for list...

This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold brings to life F. Marion Crawford’s eerie tale "The Upper Berth." In this haunting short story, the dark secrets of a haunted cabin aboard a ship unfold, as a man becomes entangled in a chilling mystery that blurs the line between the living and the dead. "The Upper Berth" was published in 1886 and is in the public domain. We hope you enjoy this wee...

In this episode of Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold brings the eerie and unexpected world of Saki (H.H. Munro) to life with a reading of his classic short story, The Open Window. Published in 1914, Saki was known for his sharp wit and dark humor, and crafts a tale of deception and suspense that leaves the listener questioning what’s real. "Romance at short notice was her speciality." The Open W...

A Christmas Carol is perhaps the most loved classic holiday story of all time. Cassandra Harold, once again shares her narration of the full version of Ebenezer Scrooge's tale by Charles Dickens. Did you know that while the phrase "Merry Christmas" first appeared in written form in 1536, it was Charles Dickens who helped popularize its use in Victorian society through A Christmas Carol? Did you kn...

Do you enjoy classic ghost stories—especially those with a festive twist? This week on Unpleasant Dreams, Cassandra Harold has a special treat for you: a reading of Charles Dickens' The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton. You might be thinking, "Wait, didn't Dickens write the iconic Christmas ghost story A Christmas Carol?" That's true! But The Story of the Goblins was published seven years e...

December 5th is Krampusnacht! In honor of this special occasion, we revisit the real story of Krampus in today’s holiday edition of Unpleasant Dreams! Oh, and be sure to be good. You wouldn’t want to upset The Krampus… Find the original article by EM Hilker that this episode is based on HERE Episode originally released in 2021. SOURCES AND FURTHER READING Alchemist., The. “Witch Bells and How to U...

Cassandra Harold engages in some whimsy and nonsense this week on Unpleasant Dreams, reading two poems by Lewis Carroll. "Jabberwocky" was published in 1871 and is considered one of the greatest nonsense poems written in English. The poem has given us the nonsense words and neologisms such as "galumphing" and "chortle". It was included in Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's...

Do you like stories of terror and horror? You are in for a treat this week as Cassandra Harold tells us the short story, "What Was It? A Mystery". Written by Fitz-James O'Brien and first published in Harper's Magazine in 1859. It is in the Public Domain. This story is among the earliest modern tales to include the concept of "invisibility," predating H.G. Wells's 1897 work, "The Invisible Man." En...

Halloween has passed but the spooky stories continue on here on Unpleasant Dreams. Cassandra Harold reads the short story, The Boarded Window, by Ambrose Bierce on this week’s episode. It was written in 1891, and is in the Public Domain. Enjoy! — Jim Harold Media LLC respects writers’ intellectual property. All fictional stories on Unpleasant Dreams are in the U.S. public domain, published before...