Winter Spirits

Have you ever curled up to listen when someone told you a story? The story is never quite the same after you've heard someone else read it... The rises and falls in the tale may seem different. Your visualization of the characters may change. The tale may come to life for you in a way you never could have imagined.

As an audio collection of ghostly tales, Winter Spirits provides a truly unique experience. Not only does it offer tales like Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat," and Mark Twain's "A Ghost Story," and W.W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw," but it also includes John Kendrick Bangs's "The Water Ghost of Harrowsby Hall," Poe's "The Oval Portrait," Washington Irving's "The Adventure of German Students," and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Doctor Heidegger's Experiment." Even if you are familiar with the authors, you may not have had a chance to listen to these particular stories.

What a Difference the Voice Makes...

Readers on these tapes include: Tom Casaletto, Sandra Burr, Leanor Reizon, Jim Bond, Roger Dressler, and Michael Page. With different readers for each story, the tales take on a unique flavor. Some stories just need a different voice... When the narrator is a woman, the story seems more real if a woman reads it, particularly in tales like "The Old Nurse's Tale," by Mrs. Gaskell, and "Madam Crowl's Ghost."

It's Not Just About Ghosts...

If you've ever read these stories, you know that many of these tales are fun. But, there are also some lessons to be learned, as well.

In "The Monkey Paw," the old adage proves true: "Be careful what you wish for... It might just come true." While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story, "Selecting a Ghost," is in some ways rather humorous, it too deals with a desire that once somewhat fulfilled leads to at least inconvenience (being robbed). Other tales provide insight into how to outsmart a ghost, or how to deal with a ghost that is too large or too wet. And, in Oscar Wilde's famous "Canterville Ghost," there's the sad tales of a ghost who's doomed haunt the place until the innocence of a child can free him. These are views into human nature as much as they are stories about ghostly visitors. These 16 tales are well-worth a listen.