The Well Told Tale
Episodes
The Shadow Over Innsmouth - Part 2 (of 3)
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to the mysterious and decaying town of Innsmouth. Our narrator has spied town drunkard, Zadok Allen, and has heard that the old...
The Shadow Over Innsmouth - Part 1 (of 3)
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we start a new Tale from one of our favourite writers, H. P. Lovecraft. 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' was the only novella publishe...
Alice Through the Looking Glass - Part 4 (of 4)
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We return for the final part of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. Alice has almost made it to the last row of the Looking Glass Land ches...
Alice Through the Looking Glass - Part 3 (of 4)
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to Alice trying to navigate her way through Looking Glass Land. After successfully dealing with Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Alic...
Alice Through the Looking Glass - Part 2 (of 4)
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we continue with Alice's journey through the Looking Glass Land, where everything is backwards, or opposite, or just plain odd. The ...
Alice Through the Looking Glass - Part 1 (of 4)
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we begin a new Tale in a familiar world - we return with Alice to Wonderland in 'Through The Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll. A...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 10 (of 10)
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have the dramatic final part of "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Dorian's conscience has been starting to prick at him, bu...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 9 (of 10)
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Dorian committed an act he cannot come back from - he murdered Basil in cold blood after showing him his portrait, the true face of his dep...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 8 (of 10)
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Dorian locked away his portrait from prying eyes, and we learned of his indulgences over the years. Free from the visible signs of his de...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 7 (of 10)
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dorian is getting crueller by the day, and with every transgression depicting itself in the painted face of his portrait, Dorian has decided to store ...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 6 (of 10)
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week was a watershed moment for the innocence of Dorian's youth. His idealised love for Sybil Vane ended in terrible circumstances and now, ...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 5 (of 10)
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to Victorian London's seedy theatrical world to learn more about the relationship between Dorian Gray and young actress Sybi...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 4 (of 10)
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dorian has been enjoying living life away from its sheltered beginning. Following Lord Henry's teachings, he has been going regularly to the th...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 3 (of 10)
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we saw the completion of Basil's portrait of Dorian Gray. Lord Henry Wotton has taken the impressionable youth under his wing, much to...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 2 (of 10)
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last time, we met Lord Henry Wotton, a hedonistic aristocrat, and his friend Basil Hallward, an artist who is infatuated with his muse, Dorian Gray. ...
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Part 1 (of 10)
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We start the New Year with a new Tale from one of the English language's greatest writers, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde....
Where Love Is, God Is
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This Christmas week, we have a charming story from one of the world's greatest writers, Leo Tolstoy, called 'Where Love Is, God Is'. ...
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate our 100th episode, we asked our high tier Patrons to choose a poem, and they have selected Samuel Taylor Coleridge's masterwork &quo...
The Monkey's Paw
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a classic short story from W. W. Jacobs, the gothic horror classic "The Monkey's Paw." After its publication in 19...
The Sandman - Part 2 (of 2)
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we learned of the horrific backstory of our protagonist Nathaniel. Scarred by the death of his father in what would appear to be an accid...
The Sandman - Part 1 (of 2)
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we bring you the start of the dark fairy tale, "The Sandman," by E. T. A. Hoffman, written originally in German in 1816. The ori...
The Vampyre
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, still in the Halloween spirit, we bring you what is widely regarded as the first modern vampire Tale, a short story called 'The Vampyr...
The Pit and the Pendulum
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We return, this Halloween week, to the twisted imagination of one of our favourite writers here at The Well Told Tale, Edgar Allan Poe. Unlike many ...
Just So Stories - Elephant, Kangaroo & Armadillo
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we again bring you three Tales in one - three of Rudyard Kipling's 'Just So' stories. Kipling used to tell these fanciful or...
Beauty and the Beast
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, our story is another classic fairy tale, 'Beauty and the Beast'. Although it has taken inspiration from much older stories, like th...
The Colour Out of Space - Part 2 (of 2)
28 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we learned of the horrors that befell the Gardner farm after a meteorite landed near its well, emitting a strange colour that defied descri...
The Colour Out of Space - Part 1 (of 2)
21 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we journey once again into the nightmarish world of H. P. Lovecraft with his sci-fi work from 1927, "The Colour Out Of Space". ...
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Part 6 (of 6)
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have the finale of 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' by H. G. Wells. Moreau is dead, killed by his own creations, who appear to be ...
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Part 5 (of 6)
07 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have the penultimate part of Edward Prendick's nightmare on the island of Dr Moreau. Last week he was treated to a horrifying exp...
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Part 4 (of 6)
30 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our protagonist, Edward Prendick, has escaped the clutches of Dr. Moreau and his assistant Montgomery and is on the run. Not only does he have the m...
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Part 3 (of 6)
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we left our protagonist, Prendick, on the Island of Dr. Moreau. Having met the eponymous doctor, Prendick finds he has no choice but to t...
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Part 2 (of 6)
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we left our protagonist, Edward Prendick, adrift on the ocean once more. Having been rescued from a shipwreck by unusual medical man Mont...
The Island of Dr. Moreau - Part 1 (of 6)
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to one of our favourite writers here at The Well Told Tale, the grandfather of science fiction, H. G. Wells, and his classic, &ap...
The Little Mermaid
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a classic fairy tale from master of the genre Hans Christian Andersen, 'The Little Mermaid'. This is, of course, a very...
Solomon Kane: Skulls in the Stars
24 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's Tale introduces us to another of Robert E. Howard's foundational epic fantasy characters, Solomon Kane. This is still a world ...
The Canterville Ghost - Part 2 (of 2)
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we went to Canterville Chase where the Otis family have settled after moving to the English countryside from America. They were warned ab...
The Canterville Ghost - Part 1 (of 2)
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This charming Tale is from one of the finest and funniest writers of all time, Oscar Wilde. "The Canterville Ghost" was Wilde's first p...
The Tell Tale Heart
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to one of our favourites, master of horror Edgar Allan Poe, and one of his most famous works, "The Tell Tale Heart." ...
Just So Stories - Camel, Whale & Rhinoceros
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we bring you three Tales in one - three of Rudyard Kipling's 'Just So' stories. Kipling used to tell these fanciful origin s...
Dracula's Guest
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we present a Tale unusual in that it forms part of a more famous story, that of Bram Stoker's gothic masterpiece, 'Dracula'. ...
Conan: The Scarlet Citadel - Part 2 (of 2)
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week found Conan, King of Aquilonia, stripped of all his powers and imprisoned by the evil wizard Tsotha-lanti. A host of horrors await him in...
Conan: The Scarlet Citadel - Part 1 (of 2)
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to the Hyborian Age for another Conan Tale, 'The Scarlet Citadel'. This takes place later in Conan's chronology,...
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Part 6 (of 6)
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we reach the finale of "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom." Who did kill Julius? Will he save the park? And will he ever reconci...
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Part 5 (of 6)
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this penultimate episode, our narrator Julius really is 'down and out'. He's become obsessed with stopping Deborah taking over the...
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Part 4 (of 6)
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Following the events of last week's episode, our narrator, Julius, is at an all time low. His attempt to sabotage Deborah's adjustments to...
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Part 3 (of 6)
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to the strange future world of "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom." Julius, our narrator, still doesn't know who k...
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Part 2 (of 6)
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we started a new Tale, entering a new world where death is no more, and people can live as long as they choose. Our narrator, Julius, has...
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - Part 1 (of 6)
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Here at The Well Told Tale, we seek to share the best of sci-fi, fantasy and speculative fiction. For the past year we have focussed exclusively on ...
The Velveteen Rabbit
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's Tale is the charming fantasy 'The Velveteen Rabbit' by Margery Williams. Beginning on a Christmas morning in the early 20...
The Dunwich Horror - Part 2 (of 2)
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We return to Dunwich for Part 2 of Lovecraft's "The Dunwich Horror" Last time, we were introduced to the Whateley family in the isolate...
The Dunwich Horror - Part 1 (of 2)
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to the Cthulhu mythos. H. P Lovecraft's seminal creation has been featured in a fair few episodes of The Well Told Tale an...
The Disintegration Machine
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's tale is a sci-fi short story from legendary Sherlock Holmes creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes was not his only bombastic hero...
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Part 2 (of 2)
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to Sleepy Hollow for Part 2 of Washington Irving's beloved gothic Tale. We have met the cast of characters - school master...
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Part 1 (of 2)
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate Halloween, we return to the work of Washington Irving with his gothic horror classic "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Published...
Conan: Gods of the North
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We return with another short story from the Hyborian age.If you'd like to support The Well Told Tale, please visit us on Patreon: https://www.pat...
The Book of Beasts
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Tale is a charming story by E. Nesbit. She is perhaps best known for "The Railway Children" and her more fantastical novels s...
Sinbad the Sailor - Part 2 (of 2)
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of our reading of Sinbad the Sailor, we hear his retelling of his last four voyages. He's already faced being lost at sea (twi...
Sinbad the Sailor - Part 1 (of 2)
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This time, we return to the Thousand and One Nights to hear the Tale of Sinbad the Sailor, and his Seven Voyages. Interestingly, it wasn't in the...
The Devoted Friend
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Tale is a whimsical short story from renowned Victorian writer, Oscar Wilde. Best known for his plays, Wilde did write a number of short ...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Part 5 (of 5)
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The final part of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Dorothy has accidentally succeeded in slaying the Wicked Witch and her comp...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Part 4 (of 5)
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Part Four of our reading of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Our intrepid crew have finally made it to the Emerald City and ...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Part 3 (of 5)
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Part Three of our reading of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Dorothy and the Scarecrow have been joined by the Tin Woodman ...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Part 2 (of 5)
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In our last episode, Dorothy was given the Wicked Witch of the East's silver shoes and embarked on the long journey to reach the Wizard of Oz in ...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Part 1 (of 5)
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Our new Tale is the "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum. Thanks to the classic movie, it's a story most people are familiar, but there ...
Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 (of 2)
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The second part Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "Rappaccini's Daughter." Our protagonist, Giovanni, is falling in love with Bea...
Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 (of 2)
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have the first part of a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Rappaccini's Daughter." Hawthorne is probably best known fo...
The Invisible Man - Part 6 (of 6)
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The final part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man, Griffin, has been relaying his extraordinary tale ...
The Invisible Man - Part 5 (of 6)
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The fifth part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. We now know that the Invisible Man is called Griffin. He has taken ...
The Invisible Man - Part 4 (of 6)
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The fourth part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. We last saw Thomas Marvel, the Invisible Man's unwilling accomp...
The Invisible Man - Part 3 (of 6)
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The third part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man has been discovered for what he is, and he was forced...
The Invisible Man - Part 2 (of 6)
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of our reading of 'The Invisible Man' by H. G. Wells. The Invisible Man has arrived in the village of Iping and taken a room...
The Invisible Man - Part 1 (of 6)
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we return to science fiction legend H. G. Wells and begin a new Tale, 'The Invisible Man.' Wells popularised and invented so many...
Rip Van Winkle
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, our Tale is 'Rip Van Winkle' by Washington Irving. While it draws on a variety of old stories and fairy tales which give it a tim...
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Part 4 (of 4)
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The fourth and final part of our reading of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. Alice has shared tea with the Mad Hatt...
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Part 3 (of 4)
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The third part of our reading of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. After a number of adventures and some confusing a...
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Part 2 (of 4)
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of our reading of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll. Alice has fallen down the rabbit hole and spent ...
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Part 1 (of 4)
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today we start a new Tale, Lewis Carroll's beloved classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Since its publication in 1865 it has never bee...
The Masque of the Red Death
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Tale is another Edgar Allan Poe short story, The Masque of the Red Death. This is one of his classic works of gothic horror, focused on d...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
26 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have a short story from F. Scott Fitzgerald. Best known for his novel "The Great Gatsby," Fitzgerald only ever wrote four nov...
The Time Machine - Part 5 (of 5)
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The fifth and final part of our reading of "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells. The Time Traveller, still 800,000 years in the future, has dec...
The Time Machine - Part 4 (of 5)
05 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The fourth part of our reading of "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells. The Time Traveller, 800,000 years in the future, has discovered a secon...
The Time Machine - Part 3 (of 5)
29 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The third part of our reading of "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells. The Time Traveller has travelled 800,000 years in the future and met the...
The Time Machine - Part 2 (of 5)
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of our telling of "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells. In Part 1, the Time Traveller revealed his time machine to his friends ...
The Time Machine - Part 1 (of 5)
15 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today we start a new tale, 'The Time Machine' by H. G. Wells. This masterwork of science fiction from 1895 gave rise to the very idea of a t...
The Fall of the House of Usher
08 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to The Well Told Tale. This episode: a reading of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. A psychological horror from the master ...
The Call of Cthulhu - Part 3 (of 3)
01 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The third and final part of our telling of the classic gothic horror tale, 'The Call of Cthulhu' by H. P. Lovecraft. Our nameless narrator...
The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 (of 3)
01 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of our telling of the classic gothic horror tale, 'The Call of Cthulhu' by H. P. Lovecraft. Our nameless narrator has been...
The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 (of 3)
01 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of H. P. Lovecraft's most famous tales, we will be discovering 'The Call of Cthulhu' over the next three episodes.The ancient figur...