Play Audiobook Sample
Widdershins: The First Book of Ghost Stories Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 43 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
At first blush, Widdershins is a conventional haunted house story involving an unsuccessful writer, who moves into an empty house in hope that isolation will help his failing creativity. His sensitivity and imagination are enhanced by his seclusion, but his art, his only friend, and his sanity are all destroyed in the process …
The story can be read as narrating the gradual possession of the protagonist by a mysterious and possessive feminine spirit, or as a realistic description of a psychotic outbreak culminating in catatonia and murder, told from the psychotic subject’s point of view. The precise description of the slow disintegration of the protagonist’s mind is terrifying in either case.
Included are:
“The Beckoning Fair One” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Phantas” read by Paul Boehmer
“Rooum” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Benlian” read by Paul Boehmer
“The Accident” read by Gabrielle de Cuir
“The Lost Thyrsus” read by Rosalyn Landor
“Hic Jacet” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“The Cigarette Case” read by Paul Boehmer
Download and start listening now!
“There is some hair-raising stuff in Widdershins…There is great literary excellence in this book, besides satisfaction for the mere seeker after thrills”
— A. M. Burrage, author of Some Ghost Stories
Quotes
-
“A landmark book in the history of supernatural fiction.”
— E. F. Bleiler, editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature -
“[Onion’s] books have a lasting attraction for a reader who enjoys using his brains and his imagination.”
— Clemence Dane, novelist and playwright, praise for the author -
“[A] book of fine creepy stories.”
— J. B. Priestley, novelist and playwright
Widdershins Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About Oliver Onions
George Oliver Onions (1873–1961), who published under the name Oliver Onions, was a British writer of short stories and over forty novels. He wrote in a variety of genres but is perhaps best remembered for his ghost stories, notably the highly regarded collection Widdershins and the widely anthologized novella The Beckoning Fair One. He was married to the novelist Berta Ruck. Originally trained as a commercial artist, he worked as a designer of posters and books and as a magazine illustrator during the Boer War. Encouraged by the American writer Gelett Burgess, Onions began writing fiction.
About the Narrators
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Gabrielle de Cuir, award-winning narrator, has narrated over three hundred titles and specializes in fantasy, humor, and titles requiring extensive foreign language and accent skills. She was a cowinner of the Audie Award for best narration in 2011 and a three-time finalist for the Audie and has garnered six AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her “velvet touch” as an actor’s director has earned her a special place in the audiobook world as the foremost producer for bestselling authors and celebrities.
Rosalyn Landor is an English-born television, theater, and multiple-award-winning audiobook narrator. Her television credits include Love in a Cold Climate, Rumpole of the Bailey, Sherlock Holmes, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has won numerous Audie awards and AudioFile magazine Earphones awards.
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.