Audiobooks by John William Polidori

"Avec la collection Douceur & Crépitements, je vous propose des moments de lecture reposants et réconfortants en nous replongeant dans nos classiques préférés, dans une ambiance douce au coin du feu pour passer de bonnes nuits ! J’espère que vous êtes installés bien confortablement, peut être blotti sous votre plaid, une boisson chaude en main et prêts pour notre histoire cosy, d’horreur douce ou merveilleuse du jour ! Ce soir, je vous propose de nous plonger dans la nouvelle Le Vampire de John William Polidori publiée en 1819. C’est l’histoire d’un jeune homme, Aubrey, fasciné et envoûté par un mystérieux aristocrate nommé Lord Ruthven, qu'il rencontre lors de ses voyages à travers l’Europe. Charmé par la beauté et l'aura de Ruthven, Aubrey devient rapidement le compagnon de ce dernier, sans savoir qu’il est en réalité une créature maléfique, une figure de la nuit, un vampire. Alors que le mystère de Ruthven s’épaissit, Aubrey plonge de plus en plus dans un tourbillon de doute et de terreur. Entre fascination et crainte, il devra démêler les vérités cachées de ce personnage et les conséquences de leur rencontre avant qu'il ne soit trop tard… Le Vampire est une nouvelle fondatrice du genre vampirique qui mêle avec finesse mystère, séduction et horreur. Cette œuvre se distingue par son atmosphère sombre et envoûtante, où le surnaturel s’infiltre subtilement dans le quotidien. Polidori y introduit la figure du vampire aristocratique, froid et raffiné, qui influencera durablement la littérature gothique. N’hésitez pas à prendre connaissance de l’aperçu de ce livre audio disponible gratuitement afin de vous assurer que le ton, la narration et l’ambiance sonore correspondent à vos préférences ! J’espère que ça vous plaira ! Bonne écoute et douce nuit ! Debbie S. Owens ©️2025 Douceur & Crépitements"

Douceur et Crépitements, John William Polidori (Author), Debbie S. Owens (Narrator)

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Essence of Evil – Tales of Monsters, Demons, Devils, Vampires & More

"Pure Evil is one of our greatest fears. No appeals to reason, no pleas of mercy or forgiveness will have the slightest impact on the mind of the oppressor. These Evil entities, surely we can’t name them as beings, include all sorts of monsters, demons, devils, vampires and other assorted ghouls that care little about the fate of you or I.1 - Essence of Evil - Tales of Monsters, Demons, Devils, Vampires & more2 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft3 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft4 - A Pastoral Horror by Arthur Conan Doyle5 - The Devil In Manuscript by Nathaniel Hawthorne6 - Lucifer by Anatole France7 - The Devil's Wager by William Makepeace Thackeray8 - The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving9 - From the Memoirs of Satan by Wilhelm Hauff10 - The Devil's Mother-in-Law by Fernan Caballeron11 - The Devils Horse by Ion Luca Caragiale12 - The Demon Pope by Richard Garnett13 - Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book by M R James14 - Belphagor by Niccolo Machiavelli15 - Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling16 - A Story of a Weir-Wolf by Catherine Crowe17 - The She-Wolf by Saki18 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 1 by John William Polidori19 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 2 by John William Polidori20 - Vampirismus or Aurelia by E T A Hoffman21 - Vampirismus or Aurelia by E T A Hoffman (2)21 - The Vampire by Jan Neruda22 - The Black Vampyre by Uriah Derick D'Arcy23 - The Vampire of Croglin Grange by Augustus Hare24 - Alymer Vance & The Vampire by Alice and Claude Askew25 - The Last of the Vampires by Phil Robinson26 - The Vampire Maid by Hume Nisbet27 - For the Blood is the Life by F Marion Crawford28 - The Sumach by Ulric Daubeny29 - What Was It by Fitz James O'Brien30 - The Thing in the Forest by Bernard Capes31 - The Lizard by C J Cutcliffe Hyne32 - Eyes For the Blind by Frederick Cowles33 - The Lost Reflection by E T A Hoffman34 - Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu35 - Count Magnus by M R James36 - Gabriel-Ernest by Saki37 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No 1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson38 - Mrs Amworth by E F Benson39 - Olalla - Part 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson40 - Olalla - Part 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson41 - Tamar by Lady Eleanor Smith42 - The Generous Gambler by Charles Baudelaire43 - The Lame Priest by Susan Morrow writing as S Carleton44 - St Johns Eve by Nikolai Gogol45 - The Sea Raiders by H G Wells46 - How Much Land Does A Man Need by Leo Tolstoy47 - The Horror of Abbot's Grange by Frederick Cowles48 - The Tale Of The Stairs by Hristo Smirenski49 - The Room in the Tower by E F Benson50 - Tarnhelm or The Death of My Uncle Robert by Hugh Walpole51 - When The World Screamed by Arthur Conan Doyle52 - Wake Not the Dead - Part 1 by Ernst Raupach53 - Wake Not the Dead - Part 2 by Ernst Raupach"

Alice and Claude Askew, Anatole France, Augustus Hare, Bernard Capes, C J Cutcliffe Hyne, Catherine Crowe, Charles Baudelaire, E F Benson, E T A Hoffman, Ernst Raupach, F Marion Crawford, Fernan Caballeron, Fitz James O'Brien, Frederick Cowles, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Hristo Smirenski, Hugh Walpole, Hume Nisbet, Ion Luca Caragiale, Jan Neruda, John William Polidori, Lady Eleanor Smith, Leo Tolstoy, M.R. James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Niccolo Machiavelli, Nikolai Gogol, Phil Robinson, Richard Garnett, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Saki, Sheridan Le Fanu, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Susan Morrow writing as S Carleton, Ulric Daubeny, Uriah Derick D'Arcy, Washington Irving, Wilhelm Hauff, William Hope Hodgson, William Thackeray (Author), Elliot Fitzpatrick, Garrick Hogan, Robbie McNab (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - El Vampiro: The Vampire

"El vampiro (en inglés: The Vampyre) es un relato escrito por John William Polidori, el creador del género del vampiro romántico. Lo escribió en la ciudad de Ginebra en el que fue el año sin verano: en las famosas y tormentosas noches del 16 al 19 de junio de 1816. La obra surgió en la Villa Diodati, donde se hallaba Polidori con Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, y la hermanastra de ésta Claire Clairmont. La Villa Diodati era considerada por Mary Shelley como un lugar culturalmente sagrado, en donde habían estado escritores como John Milton, Rousseau y Voltaire. La noche del 16 o el 17 de junio de 1816, se pusieron a leer un libro perteneciente a Polidori llamado Fantasmagoriana, que contenía leyendas alemanas de fantasmas, y se pusieron todos de acuerdo para escribir cada cual una historia de terror; pero los únicos que terminaron el desafío fueron Mary Shelley, que ideó el argumento para su obra Frankenstein, y el propio Polidori con el relato El vampiro. Además, en las mismas noches en Villa Diodati, Byron llegó a esbozar su relato inacabado llamado El entierro, que cuenta de forma muy parecida la primera parte de El vampiro, además de ampliar el tercer canto de su libro Las peregrinaciones de Childe Harold."

John William Polidori (Author), Alfredo Giménez (Narrator)

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The Top 10 Short Stories - The 19th Century - Horror

"Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions - Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. In this volume Horror and its evil intents try to burrow into our heads and cavort around as only demons, monsters, phantoms and ghosts can do. They probably have other partners and friends too. And you, sitting there all alone, and listening..... oh dear. 1 - The Top 10 Short Stories - 19th Century Horror - An Introduction 2 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne 3 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel Hawthorne 4 - The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson 5 - The Horla by Guy De Maupassant (2022 vers) 6 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 7 - The Sand-Man - Part 1 by E T A Hoffman 8 - The Sand-Man - Part 2 by E T A Hoffman 9 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens 10 - The Squaw by Bram Stoker 11 - The Cask of Amontillardo by Edgar Allan Poe 12 - What Was It by Fitz James O'Brien 13 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 1 by John William Polidori 14 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 2 by John William Polidori"

Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, E T A Hoffman, Edgar Allan Poe, Fitz James O'Brien, Guy De Maupassant, John William Polidori, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Washington Irving (Author), Christopher Ragland, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Ian Holm (Narrator)

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The Top 10 Short Stories - Gothic

"Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author's brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted 'Top Tens' across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions - Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.The word 'Gothic' may be teamed with romance but here it brings an immediate feeling of unease. This unease, this disquiet, is sumptuously captured by ten masters of their art.01 - The Top 10 - Gothic - An Introduction02 - The Signalman by Charles Dickens03 - The Fall of the House of Usher - Part 1 by Edgar Allan Poe04 - The Fall of the House of Usher - Part 2 by Edgar Allan Poe05 - The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson06 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving07 - The Phantom Rickshaw by Rudyard Kipling08 - The Phantom Coach by Amelia Edwards09 - The Yellow Wall Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman10 - Lost Hearts by M R James04 - Thurnley Abbey by Perceval Landon12 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 1 by John William Polidori13 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 2 by John William Polidori"

Amelia B. Edwards, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Edgar Allan Poe, John William Polidori, M.R. James, Perceval Landon, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Washington Irving (Author), Ian Holm, Liza Ross, Vincent Marzello (Narrator)

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The Vampyre: The Origin Of Dracula A Tale 1816

"A young English gentleman of means, Aubrey is immediately intrigued by Lord Ruthven, the mysterious newcomer among society’s elite. His unknown origin and curious behavior tantalizes Aubrey’s imagination. But the young man soon discovers a sinister character hidden behind his new friend’s glamorous facade. When the two are set upon by bandits while traveling together in Europe, Ruthven is fatally injured. Before drawing his last breath, he makes the odd request that Aubrey keep his death and crimes secret for a year and a day. But when Ruthven resurfaces in London—making overtures toward Aubrey’s sister—Aubrey realizes this immortal fiend is a vampyre. John William Polidori’s The Vampyre is both a classic tale of gothic horror and the progenitor of the modern romantic vampire myth that has been fodder for artists ranging from Anne Rice to Alan Ball to Francis Ford Coppola. Originally published in 1819, many decades before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and misattributed to Polidori’s friend Lord Byron, The Vampyre has kept readers up at night for nearly two hundred years."

John William Polidori (Author), Geoffrey Giuliano, The Heretic (Narrator)

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The Vampyre

"Noted as one of the first pieces of literature to feature vampirism effectively, The Vampyre follows the adventures of a wealthy young man named Aubrey who befriends a mysterious, suave nobleman named Lord Ruthven. As Aubrey begins to realize just how dangerous Lord Ruthven is, he discovers that his beloved sister is in the monster's sights. A product of a competition that also produced Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this classic gothic novella became the foundation of the romantic vampire genre."

John William Polidori (Author), Tim Campbell (Narrator)

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The Vampyre

"Aubrey, an orphaned young gentleman in possession of a large fortune, arrives in London for the season where he meets the mysterious Lord Ruthven. Aubrey befriends Lord Ruthven and upon discovering that Ruthven is planning a trip to Europe, decides to take his grand tour at the same time and travel with him. The longer Aubrey is with Ruthven the more he discovers about him. He decides to distance himself from Ruthven; but is he already too late to save all that he holds dear from the thirst of the vampire?"

John William Polidori (Author), Gary Turner (Narrator)

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The Vampyre. A Tale

"John William Polidori was born on 7th September 1795 in London to Gaetano Polidori, an Italian political émigré scholar, and Anna Maria Pierce, an English governess. He was the eldest of 8 children.From 1804 Polidori was a pupil at the recently formed Ampleforth College. In 1810 he proceeded to the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote a thesis on sleepwalking and received his degree as a doctor of medicine on 1st August 1815. He was 19.In 1816, Dr. Polidori was given the job of Byron's personal physician and accompanied him on a trip through Europe. The publisher John Murray offered Polidori £500 to keep a diary of their travels. At the Villa Diodati, Byron's rented villa at Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the pair met with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont.One night in June, after the company had read aloud from a French collection of German horror tales, Byron suggested they each write a ghost story. There were to be two outstanding works from that evening; 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley and Polidori's 'The Vampyre' which would be the first published modern vampire story in English.Dismissed by Byron, Polidori traveled in Italy and then returned to England. His story, 'The Vampyre', was published in the April 1819 issue of New Monthly Magazine without his permission. Much to the annoyance of both Polidori and Byron it was the latter who was credited as author. Polidori also had published 'Ximenes, The Wreath & Other Poems' in 1819 and his long theological and sacred poem 'The Fall of the Angels' in 1821 as well as two plays, essays and his diary. Despite his youth Polidori was increasingly worn down by gambling debts and depression. John William Polidori died on 24th August 1821 at the age of only 25 in London. Although his death was recorded as death by natural causes, strong evidence asserts that it was suicide by means of cyanide."

John William Polidori (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Ghizela Rowe (Narrator)

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The Vampyre: A Tale

"The superstition upon which this tale is founded is very general in the East. Among the Arabians, it appears to be common: it did not, however, extend itself to the Greeks until after the establishment of Christianity; and it has only assumed its present form since the division of the Latin and Greek churches. At which time, the idea becoming prevalent that a Latin body could not corrupt if buried in their territory, it gradually increased, and formed the subject of many wonderful stories, still extant, of the dead rising from their graves and feeding upon the blood of the young and beautiful. In the West it spread, with some slight variation, all over Hungary, Poland, Austria, and Lorraine, where the belief existed that vampyres nightly imbibed a certain portion of the blood of their victims, who became emaciated, lost their strength, and speedily died of consumption. Whilst these human blood-suckers fattened, and their veins became distended to such a state of repletion as to cause the blood to flow from all the passages of their bodies, and even from the very pores of their skins. In the London Journal of March 1732 is a curious, and, of course, credible account of a particular case of vampyrism, which is stated to have occurred at Madreyga, in Hungary. It appears that, upon an examination of the commander-in-chief and magistrates of the place, they positively and unanimously affirmed that, about five years before, a certain Heyduke, named Arnold Paul, had been heard to say, that, at Cassovia, on the frontiers of the Turkish Servia, he had been tormented by a vampyre, but had found a way to rid himself of the evil by eating some of the earth out of the vampyre's grave and rubbing himself with his blood. This precaution, however, did not prevent him from becoming a vampyre himself. For about 20 or 30 days after his death and burial, many persons complained of having been tormented by him."

John William Polidori (Author), Fred Wolinsky (Narrator)

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[Italian] - Tre storie di vampiri

"Il primo di questi tre racconti è lo storico 'Il Vampiro' con cui John William Polidori (1795-1821) inaugurò le vicende letterarie di questa creatura dell’orrore. Lo scrittore era anche il segretario e medico personale del poeta George Byron, a cui si fa più volte riferimento, nel racconto, alttribuendone a lui la paternità, secondo una non insolita finzione letteraria. L’autore del secondo racconto, 'perché il sangue è vita' è Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) poeta e scrittore statunitense, noto soprattutto per i suoi romanzi di terrore, che ha vissuto in Italia, paese in cui è ambientato il racconto. L’autore del terzo racconto, più moderno, 'Vampiro innocente' è Francesco Ernesto Morando (1858-1936), noto ai lettori di fantascienza. Cornice musicale di Kevin MacLeod."

Francesco Ernesto Morando, Francis Marion Crawford, John William Polidori (Author), Silvia Cecchini (Narrator)

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[German] - Der Vampyr

"John Polidori war der Leibarzt von Lord Byron und begleitete ihn auf einer Reise durch Europa. Am Genfer See lernten sie Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley (Geburtsname Mary Godwin) und deren Stiefschwester Claire Clairmont kennen. Man vertrieb sich die Zeit mit Gesprächen über Galvanismus und über die Möglichkeit, künstliches Leben zu schaffen. Vor dem Kaminfeuer las man sich nachts gegenseitig Schauergeschichten vor. Lord Byron schlug schließlich vor, dass jeder eine eigene Schauergeschichte zur Unterhaltung beisteuern solle. Mary Shelley entwarf daraufhin die Geschichte von "Frankenstein oder Der moderne Prometheus". Lord Byron begann eine Geschichte, die Polidori später als Basis seiner eigenen Erzählung "The Vampyre" aufgriff und weiter ausbaute. Mit dieser schuf Polidori nicht nur die erste Vampirerzählung der Weltliteratur, sondern begründete mit der Figur des Lord Ruthven den Typus des modernen Vampirs. Dieser prägt das Genre bis heute. Die Erzählung wurde auf Grund eines Verlagsirrtums lange Lord Byron zugeschrieben. (Einführung von Hokuspokus und Wikipedia)"

John William Polidori (Author), Various (Narrator)

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