Fogs of November

Misty November has arrived, and who knows what’s lurking in its fogs… Nobody can know all the gems hiding in our catalog, but our flashlights light up 10 of them.

November starts with All Saints and All Souls Day. Listen to our Poems and Prose for the Departed to remember your loved ones.

More remembrance – of the end of World War I – is done all over the Commonwealth on November 11. Arthur G. West gives a first hand account of the “Great War” in his autobiographic Diary of a Dead Officer.

What happens after we die is only one of the questions that philosophers try to answer. Why not see what one of their greatest – Bertrand Russell – sees as The Problems of Philosophy?

Lets hope the dead can all rest in peace, and do not come back to haunt the living. Ghosts are known – and feared – all over the world. Lafcadio Hearn spent years in Japan collecting and translating local ghost stories. His Kwaidan is his best know collection.

Therese Raquin and her lover surely did not believe in her husband’s return when they decided to murder him. But then, why can’t they live happily ever after? Find out all about it in Emile Zola’s famous novel.

Men really are good at holding grudges. In Elizabeth Gaskell’s short novel, The Grey Woman is hunted by her husband because she found out about his dirty secret. Will he succeed to kill her or can she escape?

Admittedly, not all women are saints either… William H. Ainsworth tells about the Lancashire Witches of the 17th century. Part of the story is true, part of it is not. But where to draw the line?

If this has failed to placate the men around here, I suggest an enormous party on November 19 – International Men’s Day! Only the best for you – and something to strive for: 33 short biographical sketches of Famous Men of Our Times written by John H. Haaren.

With the guys busy with self-improvement, we can go back into the dark. But beware – here be the vampire! Listen to our brand new dramatic reading of Dracula by Bram Stoker.

We have kept the best for last: The unquestioned master of the horror genre: Edgar Allan Poe. His best known works are collected in the second volume of the Raven edition of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Are you sure you know them all?

Enjoy – and keep your flashlight handy!