The HorrorBabble Podcast

”The Riddle” by Walter de la Mare

"The Riddle" was written by Walter de la Mare, and was included in his Collected Stories for Children (1947). The story tells of seven children who go to live with their grandmother. They are free to live without rules, as long as they steer clear of a certain chest in the spare bedroom.

”Night Must Not Come” / A Weird Tale by Allison V. Harding

"Night Must Not Come" is a short story by Allison V. Harding. It was first published in Weird Tales in September 1943, and was given the following description: “Ever since the birth of time, fires have been kept at night, and man has never allowed complete darkness, for evil things are waiting out there beyond the light.”

”Table for Two” by Arthur Leo Zagat

"Table for Two" is a short story by Arthur Leo Zagat. First appearing in Weird Tales in its January 1941 edition, the story was described as follows: “Thought you heard something? Don’t be silly. It was just the sea you heard—just the foam on the ebb tide…”

”The Ghost-Writer” by Robert Bloch

"The Ghost-Writer" first appeared in Weird Tales in May 1940, and tells of an ambitious weird fiction writer, whose insatiable desire for success leads to his doom.

”The Glass Labyrinth” by Stanton A. Coblentz

"The Glass Labyrinth" is a short story by the Californian author, Stanton A. Coblentz. It’s a tale of time and dimensions, a true Weird Tale, having appeared in the magazine in its May 1943 edition.

”What Waits in Darkness” by Loretta Burrough

"What Waits in Darkness" by Loretta Burrough first appeared in Weird Tales in March 1935. The magazine described the tale as: "A grim story of a woman’s happiness that was menaced by a dreadful recurrent dream.”

”The Outsider” by H. P. Lovecraft

"The Outsider" is a short story by American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between March and August 1921, it was first published in Weird Tales, April 1926. In this work, a mysterious man who has been living alone in a castle for as long as he can remember decides to break free in search of human contact and light. "The Outsider" is one of Lovecraft's most commonly reprinted works and is also one of the most popular stories ever to be published in Weird Tales.

”The Strange Island of Doctor Nork” by Robert Bloch

"The Strange Island of Doctor Nork" first appeared in Weird Tales in March 1949. A parody of H. G. Wells' "The Island of Doctor Moreau", the story tells of an eccentric doctor, and his 'comically' odd experiments.

”Drowned Argosies” by Jay Wilmer Benjamin

"Drowned Argosies" by American author and teacher Jay Wilmer Benjamin, first appeared in Weird Tales Magazine in July 1934. The magazine described the tale in the following simple terms: “A weird tale of the sea.”

”The Tree‘s Wife” by Mary Elizabeth Counselman

"The Tree's Wife" by Mary Elizabeth Counselman (Weird Tales, March 1950). A curious yarn involving a tryst, and a tree.