audiobook

Stories of Intellect

by Rebecca Harding Davis, Thomas De Quincey, Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton, Edgar Allan Poe, Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford

EN·~5 hours

Chapters

Description

A curious narrator is drawn into a tale of a London lodging that locals swear is haunted. A philosopher friend recounts a brief, unsettling stay with his wife, describing an inexplicable terror that drove them away and a stoic caretaker who spoke of the house's lingering spirits. The story hints at a death in the old woman's bed, a devilish whisper that fuels the mystery.

Intrigued, the narrator tracks down the property’s owner, a solitary gentleman named Mr. J——, who offers the house for a night on one condition: the visitor must uncover the source of the disturbances. The arrangement promises a blend of rational investigation and uncanny phenomena, inviting listeners to feel the chill of unseen forces while the mind seeks explanations. As the night approaches, tension builds, setting the stage for a suspenseful exploration of fear, perception, and the thin line between imagination and reality.

Collections

Browse all

📖

Short Stories

4494 titles

🇬🇧

British Literature

9842 titles

Details

Language

Duration

~5 hours (308K characters)

Series

Little Classics, Volume 2 (of 18)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)

Release date

2020-03-24

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

Source

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61668

Subjects

Fiction Short stories PN

About the authors

Rebecca Harding Davis

1831–1910

Best known for the haunting 1861 story "Life in the Iron-Mills," this American writer helped bring working-class life and social injustice into serious fiction. She also worked as a journalist and became an early, important voice in literary realism.

View all books

Thomas De Quincey

1785–1859

Best known for Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, this English essayist turned personal experience into vivid, unsettling literature. His work blends autobiography, criticism, and dreamlike reflection in a way that still feels startlingly modern.

View all books

Charles Dickens

1812–1870

A master of unforgettable characters and sharp social observation, this Victorian storyteller turned childhood hardship and bustling city life into some of the most beloved novels in English. His books mix humor, suspense, and compassion in a way that still feels vivid today.

View all books

Nathaniel Hawthorne

1804–1864

Best known for The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, this classic American writer turned guilt, secrecy, and moral conflict into unforgettable fiction. His stories draw on Puritan New England, but they still feel sharp and haunting today.

View all books

Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton

1803–1873

Best remembered for wildly popular Victorian novels and a gift for unforgettable phrases, this English writer moved easily between literary fame and public life. He wrote historical romances, occult tales, social novels, and plays, leaving behind a body of work that was huge even by 19th-century standards.

View all books

Edgar Allan Poe

1809–1849

A master of mystery and the macabre, this American writer helped shape both modern horror and detective fiction. His poems and stories, including "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," still feel eerie, sharp, and surprisingly modern.

View all books

Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford

1835–1921

A pioneering American writer of Gothic fiction, poetry, and early detective stories, she built a career that lasted more than sixty years. Her work is known for its rich atmosphere, emotional intensity, and unusually bold women characters.

View all books