Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Smell of the SOULS

  Priyanshu Sinha

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  Some scents linger far beyond the body… straight into the soul. 
  In the narrow bylanes of an old town, the air carries an unusual fragrance—sweet, musky, ancient. It comes from a small, forgotten shop, where an old man sells attar that no one remembers buying... but everyone who smells it, changes. 
  When Prashant, a mild-mannered government employee, follows the strange scent one evening, he disappears without a trace—only to return five days later, strangely quiet, eyes hollow, and mind blank. What begins as a curious case of memory loss turns into a slow spiral into terror as his family notices the subtle shifts: the way mirrors fog around him, how dogs growl in his presence, and how the scent of attar never leaves his skin. 
  As dreams bleed into waking life and whispers echo in locked rooms, one question hangs in the air like perfume: 
  What did Prashant inhale that night… and what part of him never came back? 
  A haunting blend of psychological dread and supernatural mystery, Smell of Souls will make you question what's real, what's remembered, and what's left behind.

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  The Masque of the Red Death

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  Title: The Masque of the Red Death 
  Author: Edgar Allan Poe 
  Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
  Original Publication: 1842 
  Public Domain: Yes 
  Series Placement: Number 24 in the Timeless Terrors series 
  Description: 
  The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe is a chilling, gothic tale of inevitability, mortality, and the inescapable reach of death. Set within the opulent yet isolated halls of Prince Prospero’s abbey, the story follows a decadent masquerade intended to shut out the horrors of a deadly plague. Poe’s vivid imagery and symbolic architecture of the castle build a suffocating atmosphere of dread, culminating in an unforgettable confrontation with the ultimate horror. 
  Narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures the story’s tense rhythm, eerie symbolism, and grim inevitability, blending gothic atmosphere with psychological terror. While the text is in the public domain, this narration is an original work and copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. 
  This audiobook is part of Timeless Terrors, a series dedicated to resurrecting classic horror — works from masters of the macabre, retold in haunting new performances for a modern audience. 
  Listeners should be prepared to confront the haunting specter of death itself, the oppressive splendor of the masked court, and the stark reminder that no walls, wealth, or revelry can hold back the end.

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  Top 10 Short Stories The - Men...

  James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Arnold...

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  Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart.  A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. 
   
  In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?  
   
  The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme.  Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. 
   
  Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made.  If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. 
   
  A decade of catastrophic worldwide war.  Empires in tectonic collision, a society heaving under the yoke, tired of sacrifice, ready for revolution.  In literature ideas were explored and detailed revealing a world and people that seem so long ago but also very near. 
   
  1 - The Top 10 - The 1910's - The Men - An Introduction 
  2 - The Dead - Part 1 by James Joyce 
  3 - The Dead - Part 2 by James Joyce 
  4 - In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka 
  5 - The Interlopers by Saki the pseudonym for H H Munro 
  6 - Odour of Chrysanthemums by D H Lawrence 
  7 - The Revolutionist by Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev 
  8 - Casting the Runes by M R James 
  9 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No 1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson 
  10 - Hands by Sherwood Anderson 
  11 - The Matador of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett 
  12 - August Heat by W F Harvey

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  Beyond the Door

  Philip K. Dick

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  "Beyond the Door" is a short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in the January 1954 issue of *Fantastic Universe*. The narrative centers on Larry Thomas, who purchases a German-made cuckoo clock for his wife, Doris, reminiscent of one her mother owned. Doris becomes enamored with the clock, believing the cuckoo favors her while disliking Larry. Unbeknownst to Larry, Doris is involved with Bob Chambers, an antique enthusiast. One day, Larry unexpectedly discovers Doris and Bob together at their home, leading him to expel them both but retain the clock, asserting his ownership. In the ensuing solitude, Larry becomes fixated on the clock, particularly irritated by the cuckoo's inconsistent appearances. His frustration culminates in a confrontation where, upon threatening the clock with a hammer, the cuckoo emerges, striking him in the eye. This causes Larry to fall and break his neck, resulting in his death. While a doctor rules the death accidental, Bob suspects there might be more to the story. 
  This tale delves into themes of jealousy, infidelity, and the uncanny, illustrating how an ordinary object can become central to human emotions and relationships. Dick's narrative invites readers to ponder the boundaries between the animate and inanimate, as well as the unforeseen consequences of personal actions.

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  The Snowstorm - Author of War &...

  Leo Tolstoy

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  Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 in the Russian province of Tula to a wealthy noble family. As a child, he had private tutors but he showed little interest in any formal education. When he went to the University of Kazan in 1843 to study oriental languages and law, he left without completing his courses.  Life now was relaxed and idle but with some writing also taking place.  Gambling debts forced an abrupt change of path and he joined the army to fight in the Crimean War.  He was commended for his bravery and promoted but was appalled at the brutality and loss of life.  He recorded these and other earlier experiences in his diaries which formed the basis of several of his works. 
   
  In 1852 ‘Childhood’ was published to immediate success and was followed by ‘Boyhood’ and ‘Youth’. 
   
  His experience in the army and the horrors he witnessed resulted in ‘The Cossacks’ in 1862 and the trilogy ‘Sevastopol Tales’. After the war he travelled around Europe, visiting London and Paris and meeting such luminaries as Victor Hugo and Charles Darwin.  
   
  It was now that Tolstoy began his masterpiece, ‘War and Peace’. Published in 1869 it was an epic work that changed literature. He quickly followed this with ‘Anna Karenina’.  
   
  These successes made Tolstoy rich and helped him accomplish many of his dreams but also brought problems as he grappled with his faith and the lot of the oppressed poor. These revolutionary views became so popular that the authorities now kept him under surveillance.  
   
  He led a life of asceticism and vegetarianism and put his socialist ideals into practice by establishing numerous schools for the poor and food programmes. He also believed in giving away his wealth, which caused much discord with his wife.  
   
  His writing continued to bring forth classics such as ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ and many brilliant and incisive short stories such as ‘How Much Land Does A Man Need’.  
   
  In 1901 Tolstoy was excommunicated from the Church and controversially deselected for the Nobel Prize for Literature. 
   
  Whilst undertaking a pilgrimage by train in October 1910 with his daughter Aleksandra he caught pneumonia in the nearby town of Astapovo.  Leo Tolstoy died on November 9th, 1910, he was 82. 
   
  In this much acclaimed short story Tolstoy’s characters are engulfed by a huge snowstorm which descends upon them and puts the successful conclusion of their journey into perilous doubt.

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  A Scene from the Ghetto of...

  Rainer Maria Rilke

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  René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke was born into a troubled marriage on the 4th December 1875 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  His mother, having previously lost a baby girl, would dress the young boy up in girl’s clothing.   
  Later his father dispatched him to a military academy at age 10 but after a miserable 5 years the young Rilke left due to illness and instead entered first Prague and then Munich and finally Berlin university to study art history, philosophy and literature. 
  His initial forays into literature was in poetry.  His intense, mystical and lyrical style was much admired and over time inspired many in succeeding generations.    
  His short prose collection ‘Stories of God’, written in an impassioned burst over several nights was published in 1900 and offers a beguiling view of much of Rilke’s influences and outlook.  
  The following year he married the pioneering sculptor and artist Clara Westhoff.  The union produced one child, a daughter Ruth.   
  He lived in Paris for most of the Century’s first decade where he mixed with many great minds of the time.  Although he continued to write he also worked as a secretary to the sculptor, Rodin.   
  It was only after they settled in Switzerland in 1919 that his writing output was in full flow.  Here he wrote profusely in both German and French, which included much on his previous travels, his left-wing sympathies, his religious and existential thoughts, all part of a unique and consummate style. 
  From 1923 on, Rilke increasingly struggled with his health which was now in constant decline and often spent time rehabilitating at a sanatorium.   
  Rainer Maria Rilke died of leukaemia on the 29th December 1926 in Montreux, Switzerland.  He was 51.

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