Tom's Terror Trove

We return to the Land of the Rising Sun this week, for a tale in which no overt harm is ever done, nor threatened. Yet this might (by certain metrics) be one of the grossest stories I've had the distinct pleasure to record.

An eminent writer receives an unsolicited manuscript, in which is contained a perverse narrative confession written by a disturbed chairmaker.

Transgressions ahoy.

Narrated by Thomas Barker

If you'd like t...

As secrets and lies threaten to break apart the pilgrimage during their trek through the treacherous mire of The Grey Grease, a danger they thought they had escaped emerges from the clouds. Can Huw deploy what little magic he possesses to protect the group?

Part 9 of a multi-part series.

• Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road
  https://andrewwinson.com/
• Thomas Barker as Athamas
  www.thomasva.com
• Jesse D. Hill as Longarm
  defunkt...

What if the otherworldly entities of the Cthulhu Mythos aren’t truly evil or malevolent, what if they are simply alien in the most profound sense of the word?

This story from 1949 about a dreamy young woman named Avis Long, maintains an almost romantic, sensuous quality (at least - I think so!), right up until its horrifying conclusion.

Listen out for the breaking into reality of creatures from Yuggoth and elsewhere.

Pleasan...

Deep space. Two jumpy chancers. And the aching, endless hunger of the void.

The Vanderlark was published in 1952, and written by prolific speculative fiction author Margaret St. Clair. It's the first 'pure' sci fi story for TTT. Rejoice!

The name may stem from the Vrykolakas, a vampire of sorts from Greek folklore. You'll see why.

Narrated by Thomas Barker

If you'd like to buy me a ko-fi, I have a page for that...

Published in 1906, this lush, vivid and grim story paints a picture of the post-resurrection life of Lazarus not as a miracle to be celebrated, but an abomination to be abhorred.

The author, Leonid Andreyev, lived from 1871 to 1919, and the rich vein of Expressionism that runs through his novels, plays and short stories proved highly influential. Authors such as H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, who read Andreyev in translation ...

Hello, and welcome to Tom's Terror Trove, a podcast currently disgorging The Crawling World, an original dark fantasy/sci fi, full cast audiodrama. I also narrate classics and little-known gems of horror fiction: Mid 19th - early 20th century a speciality.

New episodes every Friday, 9am NZ Time.

I’m Thomas, a voice-actor (+ an occasional writer and musician), and I’m delighted to have you join me for tonight's epi...

The madness and monstrosity lay in the figures in the foreground—for Pickman’s morbid art was preëminently one of daemoniac portraiture.

In this classic short story by H. P. Lovecraft, the narrator, Thurber, describes his encounter with the reclusive painter of the story's title, and comes to a dreadful conclusion about the inspiration behind his creations.

"Pickman's Model" was written in September 1926 and first...

Walter John de la Mare (25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was a prolific writer of fiction, and a crafter of finely tuned psychological horror. Lumping this particular story in with the 'gothic' subgenre is a little crude, but it shares a fair some features with The Turn of the Screw, so if you enjoyed my reading of that legendary novella, you'll likely appreciate this. Then again, I don't think Henry James had much...

Wes, Lithee and Garm contend with a monstrous interloper, as the pilgrims near the end of their journey through the mountain.

Their troubles are far from over, as they now face the vast, fetid swampland of The Grey Grease.

Part 8 of a multi-part series.

• Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road
  https://andrewwinson.com/
• Thomas Barker as Athamas
  www.thomasva.com
• Jesse D. Hill as Longarm
  defunktknight@gmail.com
• Emily Morse-Lee as W...

In this story: RATS!

Seeking solitude in which to study mathematics for his upcoming tripos (it's a Cambridge university thing), a fresh-faced undergraduate takes lodgings at an ill-omened country house. Could this possibly end well?

No. No it could not.

Narrated by Thomas Barker

Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com

Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU9gAlZeexHnFHASayT0nG...

Have you ever been out in the cold, yearning for the warmth of a crackling fire, and the company of kind humans?

Well, tonight's double-feature will satisfy that unnatural yearning, as both tales concern the subject of companionship, although each with wildly different, and terrifying results...

Narrated by Thomas Barker

Queries, comments? Write to me at: tuomasva@outlook.com

Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtub...

The descent continues. Through fire, into ice. The deep, dark hell of frozen shades recount their heinous acts to our narrator and his spectral guide.

The kaleidoscopic imagery and boundless, morbid imagination of Dante Alighieri is fully on display in this new translation, with each soul given their own distinct voice and characterisation by the narrator.

Abandon all hope, but enjoy the ride!

Narrated by Thomas Barker

Queries, comment...

Another temporary shift. Away from the pilgrims and their murky problems, to a lighter sphere, at least at first glance. A place of grand palaces and ancient lineages. The roots of nobility are buried deep in this plane, but long rotted, and fit only for kindling. How, and when, will all these stories converge? The echoes are increasing.

Part 7 of a multi-part series.

Cast

• Steven Courtney as A Sibyl
  Stevencourtneyvo.carrd.co
• Ga...

The group makes its way through the tunnels underneath the mountain, towards the marshes of the Grey Grease. Wes and Lithee are isolated from the main group, and encounter strange phenomena. Garm goes to investigate. Huw, Ra and Asher share a story.

Part 6 of a multi-part series.

Cast

• Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road
  https://andrewwinson.com/
• Thomas Barker as Athamas
• Jesse D. Hill as Longarm
  defunktknig...

The pilgrims regroup to assess their situation, given the catastrophe that has befallen them.
Asher begins to assert himself, and faultlines are revealed, but there are moments of bonding too. Will they make for the city and an uncertain future? 

Part 5 of a multi-part, weekly series.

Cast

• Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road
  https://andrewwinson.com/
• Thomas Barker as Athamas
• Jesse D. Hill as Longarm
  d...

We rejoin the pilgrims in the aftermath of an attack by the Child of Iachtanabas. Trapped within the cave they fled to for safety, they set to in order to dig themselves out of trouble, literally. Huw enlists Wes and Lithee to search for the lost sleepers, and Garm entertains (in the loosest possible sense of the word) Ra with an old song.

Part 4 of a multi-part, weekly series.

Cast

• Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the...

Our narrative swerves, temporarily, and we find ourselves under a merciless sun, atop shifting sands, in an unknown time and place. Connections to our main story, the sunken realm and its imperilled pilgrims, will become apparent in due course.

Part 3 of a multi-part, weekly series.

Cast

• Matthew T. Patton as The Lead Excavator
  https://whyp.it/users/36577/mtpatton
• Asha Lear as Digger 1 and 2
  https://www.c...

With no time to further understand the strange world he has been thrust into, the erstwhile sleeper and the small group that accompanies him flee for their lives. In the brief moments of respite during their flight, introductions are made.

Part 2 of a multi-part, weekly series.

Cast

• Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road
  https://andrewwinson.com/
• Thomas Barker as Athamas
• Jesse D. Hill as Longarm
  defunktknight...