John Bell, Victorian adventurer and "professional exposer of ghosts", is asked by a doctor acquaintance to investigate the case of Edward Thesiger, who claims the statue of Śiva speaks to him. Thesiger seems perfectly sane in other respects, yet his nephew wants him committed to an asylum. Can Bell unravel the mystery of how Thesiger hears Śiva's voice, even though others present in the same room hear nothing? Story begins at 00:01:20 Narrated/performed by Simon Stanhope, aka Bitesized Audio. If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me (and get access to exclusive content): * Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/bitesizedaudio * Monthly support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/bitesizedaudio * Visit my Bandcamp page to hear more of my performances of classic stories, and you can purchase and download high quality audio files to listen offline: bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com/ * Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on RU-vid, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month: ru-vid.comjoin
@@emilyduffy1410 it's okay, I'm sure Simon understands! LOL most of us have discovered and love them all, Tony, Greg, Ian and if there's others I have not found them yet! They all know and respect each others work, I'm certain of that because they are all so good and work so hard and love what they do
The thing I like about these Victorian stories is that they don't leave much to the reader in that they usually end up explaining everything at the end 👍
I hadn't read this story. It was another really enjoyable tale. Thank you Mr Stanhope for your timely upload. Today was a rather difficult one, so this was a lovely surprise. Have a lovely day.
Looking gawj on the new intro, cher Simon. And then, the incomparable treat of a further 50+ minutes of your dulcet tones and a new (to me) vintage yarn. Deep joy! ❤
I like the new flippy foldy animation of your titles in the intro 😊and this welcome story came as I was musing out the window 🪟 about when you might give your next gift of a pleasurable hour - and there it was!🙏🏽
Wonderful, perfect timing! Yes, I stumbled across that animation feature while experimenting with my video editor and thought it worked rather well, I wish I'd discovered it earlier!
So do I, though hadn’t heard of them until I discovered this channel. Have found so many treasures, entire channel is wonderful, every story as good as the last, whole collection is wonderful✊♥️
Yes indeed. I have wondered if the late-1990s UK TV series 'Jonathan Creek' might have been inspired to some extent by these stories, they have a similar feel, but yes the originals do seem to me to be crying out for adaptation!
@@BitesizedAudioI watched quite a few of the Jonathan Creek episodes bc of Caroline Quentin after seeing her in Blue Murder series. Always happy to get recommendations from you! 😊
Ah yes, great word, "bounder". Sir Perceval Glyde in 'The Woman in White' is another great name for a baddie... along with his confederate Count Fosco of course
@@julielevinge266 Yes blatant blaggard, another wonderful term. Jasper Bagwell a blatant blaggard, a bounder, and a fortune hunter. Not only where the Victorians great judges of character, they had the language to describe it.
A lot of good things happen in that little sound proof studio! You can really hear a difference in the sound quality in your recordings! No echo, crisp and clear! It sounds like you are in the same room as me! You are truly a cut above! Thank you Simon!
I was going to check the news quickly before retiring for the night. And look what I found! What a nice surprise. Now I won't have to decide which one I want to listen to. I love seeing a new story to get lost in. Much better than the news. ☺
O.K. I was reading a short story set in the Edwardian period and found it being narrated in my head in YOUR VOICE. How did you do this? I'm not complaining, but do you intend to collect royalties?
Thanks Max, I have another summer ghost story compilation in preparation as last year's was so popular, and some new ghost and mystery tales in the pipeline for the months ahead too...
I enjoy your stories and await each one with baited breath. Please, keep up the good work. I must also share a little something: Here in the U.S., years ago when I was a child, there was an animated cartoon program, which I don't remember the name of, but it was about Mr. Peabody and a boy named Sherman. Your voice is a dead ringer for Mr. Peabody. He was an intellectual, scientist, inventor, historian, etc. and to his credit loved sharing his discoveries with Sherman. I am always struck by your voice and get a visual to go along with it. Hope you don't mind.
Oh my goodness thanks to you, Simon, for introducing us, these authors are among my very favorites in the genre. About to walk into Trader Joe's, and fortunately... I DO HAVE MY EARBUDS!! Okay as they say, I'M GOIN' IN!.....
What a fascinating story in so many ways - period esoteric faddism (Benson's Queen Lucia is something like a comic counterpart respecting this continuing phenomenon) , historic comparison (Pompeii) with a twist, psychological manipulation, and superbly read/performed - for example, "'What do you mean?' I asked in astonishment."
Hello Julie, no I've not done this one before (though I have read other stories featuring the main character, most recently 'The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel'). I think there may be a LibriVox version available on YT somewhere, so perhaps you've heard it there. Anyway, only one more to go in this series and then I'll put them all together as a single long video
@@BitesizedAudio Hope I wouldn’t confuse you with libra vox? That would mean certain senile dementia!😂Can’t wait for them all to be put together, another excellent addition to your wonderful collection✊♥️
A while back someone suggested we fans should have a nickname. I still think there’s got to be one out there that we can all agree on. Or at least aren’t haunted by. Bitesizians? Simonoids? 😂 That on made me laugh…any others?
Wasn't colonialism lovely. Particularly intriguing how the main protagonist is a thief who stole something of extreme importance from a friend who sheltered him. In light of such a hero being called 'grotesque' is almost a praise. Don't get angry on Victorian writers😅
@@ipsygypsy16 and usually those thieves or their heirs ended up either destroying or throwing their loot cursing it rather than their own actions feeling very Christian. I think they only did disservice to Christianity in long run.
I find it a pointless exercise to criticise our ancestors for the time in which they lived, if you look at what the Victorians did to improve the lives of so many, through medicine, hygiene, engineering, life-changing inventions etc. you may find their contribution far outweighs what you deem to be their faults!
@@kayi9236 I disagree. The meta narrative of science and engineering was used in the colonial project to undermine other cultures.The money for all those ventures came from the colonies. Moreover what scientists didn't give a free hand to the writers to dehumanise other cultures. That's how they not only glorified the loot but also to justified it. So yes, they need to be called out.
I wish that you would add iDeal for a coff e, then I would gladly contribute to your work via that immediate fin anci al channel. Thank you very much for your excellent work!
Thank you for the suggestion. I have to confess I hadn't heard of iDeal, I'll have to look into it. I have PayPal and Stripe payment options set up - there are so many different providers it's hard to keep up with them all! Anyway, I'll investigate further. Thanks again
Mood of story towards Hinduism is hardly PC, especially now we have a Prime Minister whose desk is adorned with the idol Ganesh. Glad you left the tone of contempt as the author intended-- coming through, especially, in the voice of the young heiress.
Shiva being called a hideous monster!...He has been regarded as the most benevolent dispenser of Karma, Divine Justice and Spiritual Sagacity in mythologies ...Concerning this story and this one only....clearly the authors came off as a duo of doltish bigots who didn't want to do their homework!
