It is 1763, and the Seven Year's War with France has just ended. Captain Francis Fletcher and his loyal crew are wanted for piracy, and marooned on a mysterious unchartered island. Before being captured by the British navy, Fletcher unknowingly discovers something hidden on the island, which turns out to be secret biblical gold. Fletcher is ordered to retrieve the gold in order to earn his pardon, but he must sail alongside his old friend-turned-foe, Captain Percy Talbot, who stole away fr...

William James Wintle (1861-1920) was a Welsh writer who distinguished himself as a versatile writer before becoming an Oblate for the Abbey of Caldey Island in Pembrokeshire, Wales. There he wrote a collection of supernatural horror stories specifically for the enjoyment of eight boys who attended there. Wintle wrote that the stories were originally told on Sunday nights while "crouching over a wood fire on a wind-swept island off the Western shore".'The Spectre Spiders' is the sto...

William James Wintle (1861-1920) was already an established writer before he became an Oblate for the Abbey of Caldey Island in Wales. It was there that he wrote his famous ghost stories, intended for the entertainment of eight boys who attended the abbey. In the forward of this collection, Wintle states that the stories were originally told on Sunday nights while "crouching over a wood fire on a wind-swept island off the Western shore".'The Red Rosary' is the story of Dr. Wells, a...

William James Wintle (1861-1920) was a Welsh writer who established himself as an author before becoming an Oblate for the Abbey of Caldey Island in Wales. It was there that he wrote a series of horror stories for the enjoyment of eight boys who attended the abbey.Wintle noted that the stories were originally told on Sunday nights while "crouching over a wood fire on a wind-swept island off the Western shore".'The Black Cat' tells the story of a man who hates cats and finds...

John Davys Beresford (1873-1947) was an English writer, now remembered for his early science fiction and short stories in the horror story and ghost story genres."The Hidden Beast" is a strange and evocative tale of superstition, supernatural forces and suspense. Could the rumours about a strange beast, imprisoned and tortured in the lonely house in the woods where the weird man lives really be true?

A. J. Alan's delicious narrative of a strange adventure on a cold winter night in Norfolk. The narrator is spending a night in an unfamiliar bungalow on the Norfolk Broads. He hears the sound of a car outside, and on investigation finds a young woman whose vehicle has broken down. Attempts to fix the car fail, but they flag down a milk lorry which offers the lady a lift to Norwich, while the broken car is wheeled into the narrator's garage for the night.After the two have set off i...

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863 - 1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian 'Golden Age' of the short story.'The Lighthouse on Shivering Sand' is the macabre tale of a new man arriving to work as assistant keeper at a remote lighthouse. After the boat that brought him and the month's rations has departed, he discovers that on...

A thrilling murder mystery. When the narrator bumps into an old friend of his at Olympia, who has recently remarried, he is invited to dinner at Chislehurst to meet the new wife. When they arrive however, it appears that the lady has gone to visit her mother in Worthing, and due to problems with the motor car, she will not return until the next day.The two men enjoy a good dinner, with whisky afterward, and the host also takes three aspirin for his cold.The narrator catches the las...

John Davys Beresford (1873 – 1947) was an English writer, now remembered for his early science fiction and short stories in the horror story and ghost story genres."Reparation" is a strange short story. Angus, a young engineer returning to England from Cape Town, is offered a first class passage by an ailing acquaintance on the pretext that he needs a secretary during the voyage. Once they set sail it becomes clear that there is in fact no secretarial work to be done and he is puzz...

The narrator receives a mysterious envelope in the post containing a single theatre ticket for that evening. There is no note or return address, and he has no idea who could have sent it. When he attends the performance, in the third act a mysterious lady takes the seat next to him and asks him to come with her to see her brother George after the performance. They are whisked away by car to a sinister upper floor apartment in Jermyn Street, where the affair becomes more and more enigmatic....

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian golden age of the short story.In 'The Secret of the Strong Room', three young men of unimpeachable character are planning to commit the perfect heist on the safe of the Illysium Theatre. But they have planned without the greater cunning of the theatre's ...

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian golden age of the short story.'The Man in the Fur Coat' is a fast-paced adventure in which a young journalist on the verge of destitution is picked out of the crowd by a well-dressed stranger in a fur coat. The wealthy man has a very strange proposition ...