The Tell Tale Heart and Other Creepy Classics by Edgar Allan Poe.My rating: 3 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐.
Duration: 5 hrs 32 mins.
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Creepy Classics featuring stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Guy de Maupassant, H.G Wells, and Jack London.
Audible Summary: " An anthology of chilling, classic horror stories, including "The Tale-Tell Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe; "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving; "The Hand", "Was it a Dream?", and "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant; "The Red Room" by H.G. Wells; "Moon-Face" by Jack London; "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
This creepy collection showcases classic horror stories from some of the genre's most vaunted authors. The stories are:
Chapter 1: The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. An eerie tale of betrayal and breakdown - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 2: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Gloriously ghastly - ⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 3: The Hand by Guy de Maupassant. One of the most chilling, despite its brevity - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 4: Moon-face by Jack London. Murderous intent, but the use of the dog ruins it for me - ⭐⭐
Chapter 5: The Horla by Guy de Maupassant. A simple but spine-tingling tale of the protagonist's descent into madness, written by a man who would be institutionalised shortly after its publication - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 6: The Red Room by H.G. Wells. A classic ghost story which builds the tension throughout - ⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 7: Was it a Dream? by Guy de Maupassant. A brooding tale of lost love and despair - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 8: The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe. A visceral account of one man's torment - ⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 9: The Yellow wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The haunting story of a woman's growing madness and hysteria - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Chapter 10: The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. An ominous tale charting the downfall of the Usher family, under the most horrifying circumstances - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
This collection was narrated by Nancy Peterson, B J Harrison, Tim Jackson, and Cindy Kay.
My favourite stories were The Hand and The Horla by Guy de Maupassant, both narrated by B J Harrison. Harrison's clipped RP accent is perfect for horror, harking back to the creeping dread of some true classics. I will certainly keep an ear out for his other work. I also very much enjoyed the stories read by Tim Jackson, especially Poe's 'The Telltale Heart'. The deep timbre of his voice suited the dark, atmospheric tale. I'd love to hear him narrate a vampire story - either horror or PNR - as he has the kind of voice that can send shivers down your spine. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper was also haunting and very well read by Nancy Peterson.
Each of the narrators did well with these creepy stories, and it was a good collection to help get me into the mood for Halloween. I'd recommend it to those looking for a short anthology of classic tales to curl up with in the dark, especially at this time of year, when the eerie and unnatural lurks close beneath the surface...
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