https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/ en-uk ℗ & © Richard Crowest, Corvidae Ltd An occasional series of readings of ghost stories by a writer now better known for his social satire. Introduced and read by Richard Crowest The author fervently wishes his listeners a few uncomfortable moments... Richard Crowest An occasional series of readings of ghost stories by a writer now better known for his social satire. Introduced and read by Richard Crowest Richard Crowest clovis@corvidae.co.uk False Something has come in to the house. Come in out of the rain... Richard Crowest Something has come in to the house. Come in out of the rain... https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/01naboth.mp3 Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:45:00 GMT 39:06 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading “Surely this is the strangest manner of song ever yet heard on the earth, this melody from the brain of the dead...” Richard Crowest "Surely this is the strangest manner of song ever yet heard on the earth, this melody from the brain of the dead..." https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/02andthedeadspake.mp3 Fri, 25 May 2012 10:45:00 GMT 44:35 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading It is not only the dead who haunt the living. Richard Crowest It is not only the dead who haunt the living. https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/03thecat.mp3 Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:25:00 GMT 34:34 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading "I can't go back now. I wouldn't if I could; not a step would I retrace…" Richard Crowest "I can't go back now. I wouldn't if I could; not a step would I retrace…" https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/04themanwhowenttoofar.mp3 Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT 56:27 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading Recorded in front of an audience at E F Benson’s home, Lamb House in Rye. Richard Crowest Recorded in front of an audience at E F Benson’s home, Lamb House in Rye. https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/05negotiumperambulans-live.mp3 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT 40:05 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading, Hallowe'en “One of the things invisible, of the dark powers, leaped into light, and I saw it with my eyes…” Richard Crowest “One of the things invisible, of the dark powers, leaped into light, and I saw it with my eyes…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/06negotiumperambulans.mp3 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT 38:23 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading, Hallowe'en “I knew I was not alone in the room. There was something there, something silent as yet, and as yet invisible. But it was there.” Richard Crowest “I knew I was not alone in the room. There was something there, something silent as yet, and as yet invisible. But it was there.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/07theotherbed.mp3 Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:00:00 GMT 27:53 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading “I think that before I opened the pill-box I expected something of the sort which I found in it.” Richard Crowest “I think that before I opened the pill-box I expected something of the sort which I found in it.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/08caterpillars.mp3 Wed, 29 May 2013 14:15:00 GMT 22:43 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading “A dream hasn’t anything real about it, has it? It doesn’t mean anything?” Richard Crowest “A dream hasn’t anything real about it, has it? It doesn’t mean anything?” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/09theface.mp3 Tue, 8 Oct 2013 11:40:00 GMT 34:25 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading “The thing seemed scarcely human at all; it was a monster from which he had delivered himself...” Richard Crowest “The thing seemed scarcely human at all; it was a monster from which he had delivered himself...” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/10atthefarmhouse.mp3 Wed, 30 Oct 2013 11:10:00 GMT 41:08 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading “In the paralysis of that fear I tried to scream, but not a sound could I utter.” Richard Crowest “In the paralysis of that fear I tried to scream, but not a sound could I utter.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/11betweenthelights.mp3 Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:37:00 GMT 29:32 Benson, horror, ghost, fear, short story, reading “Jack will show you your room. I have given you… the room in the tower…” Richard Crowest “Jack will show you your room. I have given you… the room in the tower…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/12theroominthetower.mp3 Fri, 1 Aug 2014 08:40:00 GMT 35:08 Benson, horror, ghost, vampire, fear, short story, reading “A-pen-ara curses any who desecrates or meddles with her bones…” Richard Crowest “A-pen-ara curses any who desecrates or meddles with her bones…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/13monkeys.mp3 Sat, 31 Oct 2015 16:30:00 GMT 37:52 Benson, horror, Egypt, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Just room for one inside, sir…” Richard Crowest “Just room for one inside, sir…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/14thebusconductor.mp3 Mon, 31 Oct 2016 19:55:00 GMT 21:22 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “The only live thing that lurked here was that monstrous, mysterious creature of evil.” Richard Crowest “The only live thing that lurked here was that monstrous, mysterious creature of evil.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/15andnobirdsings.mp3 Sat, 24 Dec 2016 23:25:00 GMT 32:24 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Find it and have it buried, and then I shall be free from its dreadful presence.” Richard Crowest “Find it and have it buried, and then I shall be free from its dreadful presence.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/16spinach.mp3 Tue, 31 Oct 2017 01:00:00 GMT 39:49 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Soft as the fall of a single snow-flake, fear settled on his heart…” Richard Crowest “Soft as the fall of a single snow-flake, fear settled on his heart…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/17thedance.mp3 Tue, 31 Oct 2017 22:00:00 GMT 31:08 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “At that moment the memory of the séance the evening before, about which up till now I had somehow felt distrustful and suspicious, passed into the realm of sober fact…” Richard Crowest “At that moment the memory of the séance the evening before, about which up till now I had somehow felt distrustful and suspicious, passed into the realm of sober fact…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/18machaon2.mp3 Sun, 24 Dec 2017 20:15:00 GMT 36:24 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “An odd uneasiness came over me, for I had been so certain that the house was uninhabited.” Richard Crowest “An odd uneasiness came over me, for I had been so certain that the house was uninhabited.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/19ataleofanemptyhouse.mp3 Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:50:00 GMT 29:56 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Then the sense of nightmare began, for his two companions, gripping him tightly, pulled him along towards it, and he struggled with them knowing there was something terrible within.” Richard Crowest “Then the sense of nightmare began, for his two companions, gripping him tightly, pulled him along towards it, and he struggled with them knowing there was something terrible within.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/20thesanctuary.mp3 Tue, 2 Jul 2019 14:00:00 GMT 49:44 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “In the shadows in the corner of my room there sits something more substantial than a shadow.” Richard Crowest “In the shadows in the corner of my room there sits something more substantial than a shadow.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/21thethinginthehall.mp3 Thu, 31 Oct 2019 16:45:00 GMT 29:53 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Every guest on his arrival in the house is told that the long gallery must not be entered after nightfall on any pretext whatever.” Richard Crowest “Every guest on his arrival in the house is told that the long gallery must not be entered after nightfall on any pretext whatever.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/22howfeardepartedfromthelonggallery.mp3 Tue, 24 Dec 2019 16:50:00 GMT 37:12 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “I tell you that vampirism is by no means extinct now. An outbreak of it certainly occurred in India a year or two ago.” Richard Crowest “I tell you that vampirism is by no means extinct now. An outbreak of it certainly occurred in India a year or two ago.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/23mrsamworth.mp3 Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:00:00 GMT 36:39 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “I am sure that no phantom of the dead that die not could have evoked so unnerving a terror.” Richard Crowest “I am sure that no phantom of the dead that die not could have evoked so unnerving a terror.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/24thetemple.mp3 Sat, 20 Jun 2020 18:40:00 GMT 39:55 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Then suddenly I saw something black move in the dimness in front of me, and against the grey foam rose up first the head, then the shoulders, and finally the whole figure of a woman…” Richard Crowest “Then suddenly I saw something black move in the dimness in front of me, and against the grey foam rose up first the head, then the shoulders, and finally the whole figure of a woman…” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/25gavonseve.mp3 Sat, 31 Oct 2020 14:50:00 GMT 27:52 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “I could not stir, I could not speak. I could only strain my ears for the inaudible and my eyes for the unseen, while the cold wind from the very valley of the shadow of death streamed over me.” (Note: this story features a suicide.) Richard Crowest “I could not stir, I could not speak. I could only strain my ears for the inaudible and my eyes for the unseen, while the cold wind from the very valley of the shadow of death streamed over me.” (Note: this story features a suicide.) https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/26inthetube.mp3 Thu, 24 Dec 2020 18:10:00 GMT 35:00 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “All was not well with the house: in some strange manner the shadow that had come between her closed eyes and the sun as she sat on the garden-bench had entered, and was establishing itself more firmly day by day.” Richard Crowest “All was not well with the house: in some strange manner the shadow that had come between her closed eyes and the sun as she sat on the garden-bench had entered, and was establishing itself more firmly day by day.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/27theshutteredroom.mp3 Sun, 04 Apr 2021 15:05:00 GMT 32:45 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “At that moment I saw the face of Fear; my mouth went dry, and I heard my heart leaping and cracking in my throat.” Richard Crowest “At that moment I saw the face of Fear; my mouth went dry, and I heard my heart leaping and cracking in my throat.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/28thehousewiththebrick-kiln.mp3 Sun, 20 Jun 2021 20:00:00 GMT 28:23 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “Terror, that was slowly becoming a little more definite, terror of some dark and violent deed that was momently drawing nearer to me held me in its vice.” Richard Crowest “Terror, that was slowly becoming a little more definite, terror of some dark and violent deed that was momently drawing nearer to me held me in its vice.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/29outsidethedoor.mp3 Sun, 31 Oct 2021 15:15:00 GMT 19:52 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “I went to sleep at once, and from dreamlessness awoke suddenly to a consciousness of terror and imminent peril.” Richard Crowest “I went to sleep at once, and from dreamlessness awoke suddenly to a consciousness of terror and imminent peril.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/30theflintknife.mp3 Fri, 24 Dec 2021 17:50:00 GMT 28:47 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “With a sudden sinking of his heart, he heard behind him the step which he thought he had silenced for ever.” Richard Crowest “With a sudden sinking of his heart, he heard behind him the step which he thought he had silenced for ever.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/31thestep.mp3 Fri, 24 Jun 2022 20:00:00 GMT 34:53 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “I woke again with the sense that there was something creeping up to the house, like the fog that was now thick outside my window, and seeking admittance.” Richard Crowest “I woke again with the sense that there was something creeping up to the house, like the fog that was now thick outside my window, and seeking admittance.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/32jameslamp.mp3 Sun, 30 Oct 2022 16:00:00 GMT 33:16 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook “I'm delighted to announce a new series of ghost story readings from E F Benson and other authors. Search YouTube for Ghost Stories read by Richard Crowest.” Richard Crowest “I'm delighted to announce a new series of ghost story readings from E F Benson and other authors. Search YouTube for Ghost Stories read by Richard Crowest.” https://corvidae.co.uk/benson/32ytanno.mp3 Sat, 24 Dec 2022 19:15:00 GMT 0:10 Benson, horror, gothic, fear, short story, reading, audiobook