The Croglin Vampire by Tony Walker

[@kayevans2964]

I loved the addition of the sound effects! Ultra spooky. I listened to the Highgate Vampire last night so it seems I'm on a roll. Bravo! 👏👏👏

[@ClassicGhost]

On a vampire thing

[@kayevans2964]

@@ClassicGhost Apparently so, as I listened to the Dalston Vampire this afternoon too. 🧛‍♂️ I love the way you never write simple names. Even more difficult to pronounce in a broad accent. Bravo 👏

[@chrishalliday8371]

A great telling of a classic folklore tale. I love the period detail and the scene-setting. One can easily imagine the events in the theatre of the mind. Brilliant stuff!

[@garybernstein3527]

Wonderfully effective atmosphere and writing Details achieve terrifying effect while never for a moment going too far. The characters and the impression of the village and its society are totally convincing. The ending and the question asked after the vampire's destroyed

[@ponygirl]

When my friends and I were teenagers we used to drive to Croglin from Carlisle at night time and scare ourselves silly. The narrow road down to both of the Croglin halls is very spooky and creepy with twisted trees especially at night 🧛

[@ClassicGhost]

You were very lucky…

[@whiskerbiscuit8666]

Great story. Reminds me of MR James or Varney the Vampire. Wonderfully written.

[@colemarie9262]

Perfect English vampire story!

[@ClassicGhost]

I have another I will do : the Highgate Vampire

[@DreamingCatStudio]

Yikes! That was good and creepy!

[@lisap.1826]

I love this story. No silly fainting women or daft people who die in disbelief. Another fantastic narration.

[@lesreed9269]

My thoughts exactly. So many stories are uploaded, that make me think "Are you sure?" Cheers, Les.

[@rneustel388]

I can never get enough of vampires, and I’m thrilled with a tale about someone who manages to escape the clutches of one. I was yelling at my phone about their dangerous behavior of entering the vampire’s resting place so close to it awaking. The open ending was great, too. I just purchased the Audible version of “London Horror Stories” and “Cumbrian Ghost Stories.” I can’t wait until they finish downloading!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thanks for downloading my books! There is also The Highgate Vampire in London HS

[@rneustel388]

@@ClassicGhost Yes, I’m going to get to that one soon.

[@leighannehoglund733]

Ooooo that was a corker Tony! Gave me real chills, excellent 👍🏼😈

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@veganleigh4817]

Tony, your stories are so well written, and your narration, along with background "sounds", (music and effects), makes them truly creepy and shivery.

[@ClassicGhost]

thank you. You are a good supporter.

[@GLING17]

This story was written by Bernhardt J. Hurwood. It has appeared in several short story books.

[@ToddBrittain1963]

Tony, I want to thank you for this, and I'll tell you why. One night in 1977, when I was 15 years old and living in a small town in the southwest of Western Australia, I was dozing in bed listening to the radio (as was my habit before dropping off to sleep), and a program called 'Stranger Than Fiction' came on. The feature story was the 'Vampire of Croglin Hall' narrated by an Australian presenter in deep hushed tones. With lights off, my ears glued to the radio and being safely tucked under the blankets, my imagination was captured to the extent that the story and experience has remained with me ever since, and now, thanks to you I can re-live that wonderful childhood memory. I don't remember the exact script of the Aussie version because it was so long ago, but I recall the plot well enough, and your re-telling is so hauntingly similar, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Just brilliant. Thank you so much for helping me to relive this experience. 🙂

[@ClassicGhost]

this no great anecdote

[@donaldmccleary9015]

The music and sound effects are amazing. Above all, this is damn fine story, Tony. Great job. Your works are amazing. I enjoyed this over a Hefeweizen and some fine tobacco very late in the evening. Great setting for a good story. I really like the conversation the guys have at the end over beer in leather tankards. Keep up the great work!!

[@ClassicGhost]

you are a great supporter Donald!

[@creativemindloveworks]

Why is this Chanel so underrated?

[@Rosemarysummers2]

It was very good, quite scary. I've listened to many and read many a horror book. This was very good. Thank you.

[@Lab4Official]

This is such an amazing and well written piece, I'm a sound designer / producer and the sound effects you've used are spot on, loved every minute of this story. Proper theater of the mind material.

[@ClassicGhost]

That is a great compliment from you so I am really honoured. Thank you :)

[@scoutrifle6827]

Enjoyed it when I read it last week, enjoyed it again hearing it in your voice, Tony.

[@nicholaschiazza7926]

I remember my mother telling me this story when I was a little boy. At that time boys collected monster tales, magazines and merchandise like baseball cards. Your retelling is masterful and I love the sound effects. I just got through publishing my first vampire novel on Amazon and I'm working on my second. Thanks for sharing!

[@Mystic16]

This might not be the best place to post a link, but what's the title?

[@nicholaschiazza7926]

@@Mystic16 "The Far Side of the Cemetery" by Nicholas Chiazza.

[@tonicastel5933]

Great story & narration!

[@clonejones7955]

Red eyeballs peering in the window at night.You have a knack for scaring women lol.☕🥺 Thanks Tony!

[@ClassicGhost]

Everyone really I hope

[@susanotway7875]

Loved it! Thank you and I have enjoyed all the stories I have listened to of yours so far. Great work.

[@oneoflokis]

I "hated" the details of the vampire picking the lead out of the windows!😮

[@clonejones7955]

@@oneoflokis I missed that! I'll have to listen to this one again.

[@jbos5107]

I liked it! You are very talented!

[@geraldeenconsidine7068]

As always, I love listening to your stories. Thanks so much.

[@sallynichols323]

I love the sound effects and the sound of your voice, Tony. I recently discovered your KZbin channel and have shared it with others. This is a real gift; thank you.

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you for listening and for sharing

[@applewagon253]

Here here! I completely agree. It has been a real treat discovering this channel.

[@dragonflyparade8143]

I really enjoyed your story, and you told it so well too. Thank you.

[@ClassicGhost]

Great. It goes down well at live readings

[@EncounterswithStrangeness]

Wonderfully creepy. Thanks so much, love your KZbin channel! Cheers, Kitty.

[@mijiyoon5575]

Whip Poor Wills have red eyes & they look scary when they are feeding on insects; I've seen this behavior...sound effects are fine

[@frerindurin3632]

That was fantastic! I'm not a vampire fan but man that was good.

[@donnasmyth45]

Loved the sound effects.

[@ClassicGhost]

Good!

[@marikopratt7862]

The owl effect made me jump.

[@martiwilliams4592]

Just as as scary--second time around with details missed before. Have bought Cumbrian Ghost Stories book. Just came. Will throw myself into it now! Thank you so much for your expressive writing and narration.

[@ClassicGhost]

I hope you enjoy it. Try Horror Stories For Halloween and let me know what you think

[@martiwilliams4592]

@@ClassicGhost Enjoy it very much !!! Highly recommend it! I am usually a fast reader--but not here. I want to savor every sentence. Horror Stories for Halloween has also arrived, so I have lots to look forward to. Thank you!

[@martiwilliams4592]

@@ClassicGhost Jusr saw this! am engrossed in Haunted Castles right now.Managed cunningly to escape from Dalston Hall without that ol'baddy Gospatric noticing me and am now lost in the maze of rooms in Schloss Von Hohenwald. (Do you have a floorplan handy?) Am terribly concerned for Lady Amaris. But then who to trust?! Horror Stories For Halloween is next book on my list and then More Christmas Ghost Stories. Thank you so much for all of your hard work.

[@ClassicGhost]

@@martiwilliams4592 I'd be very interested in what you think of the Schloss Von Hohenwald story. I quite liked it by the end.

[@martiwilliams4592]

@@ClassicGhost On edge of my chair just starting Chapter 5! See you (I hope!) Confident you'll guide us through :0)

[@rheinhartsilvento2576]

🌟🌈First this time💥💐 Perfect way to end the day. Thank you!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you for liking it

[@janetcw9808]

👍🏼

[@vkhornby9548]

Absolutely love your stories and this podcast.

[@debia9860]

Thought I was going to pass out when she was fumbling with her locked bedroom door….love it! Thank you 🙏

[@ClassicGhost]

This will be the next one I do as storytelling from memory rather than reading

[@debia9860]

Can’t wait! I ALMOST turned it off I got so creeped out lol

[@susanmercurio1060]

My great-grandmother was named Katie Howard, but she came to the US from Ireland.

[@mschoy1597]

This is too AWESOME! The moral of the story is: always let vampires in! 😂😂😂😁

[@terriwatkins282]

So creepy, I love your stories

[@novellanurney1294]

Thank you, so very much for this delightful story. I enjoyed it so very much. I look forward to more of your exceptional writing and narration. * P.S. I've always found it interesting how quickly those plagued with preternatural manifestations clamor to their nearest Catholic Priest for the rite of exorcism. Yet, they still do not believe . I realize these days one is more likely to encounter a Gorgon in the supermarket than a Catholic priest that is willing to do an exorcism ( or even believes in such things). There are some good ones, but usually only found in the Priestly Latin Rite Fraternities.

[@ClassicGhost]

I hope I never need one !

[@DevonExplorer]

That was really scary, especially with those fab sound effects. My heart was going hell for leather when it crawled through the window, lol! Brilliant story, beautifully read as always. Cheers, Tony. Good stuff! :)

[@karensmith2204]

Found it, this one is the best you have written....really liked it. Great sound and nice pause between phrases.

[@teddydog6229]

How about the Gorbals Vampire up in Glasgow ? I think I may have asked you about this one before. What always struck me about that story - apart from the grimness of the setting - was the similarity of all the descriptions given of the thing; roughly seven feet tall with glowing green eyes and iron or steel teeth. If I was a predator where better to hunt than in the most forsaken housing estate in the entire UK with a massive necropolis stretching for miles behind it ? Also just how much time are the police going to invest in tracking down missing slum urchins from Glasgow ? I read what I could find about it online and found the whole story fascinating. Either an extreme case of mass hysteria or something else. And last but not least where is he now ?

[@ClassicGhost]

I don't know about that one. Sounds a great subject for m next story.

[@AlexandriaGarcia-v1f]

The sound effects.The story was amazing.Loved it!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you so much 😀

[@anindk2049]

Wow, excellent story and narration! After a long time, a horror story made me shudder! And also enjoyed the ominous music.

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it! I like the story and it goes down well live

[@puca7908]

Shivers! Loved this one! Thank you!

[@samanthabaker964]

So well written & wonderfully narrated. Xcllnt wrk my good man! Thank u.

[@aandrus2169]

Loved it! The sound effects were great!!

[@tcup9258]

Another keeper , thanks heaps for this . 🙃

[@ClassicGhost]

:))

[@martiwilliams4592]

Ditto this time. Thank you, Tony!

[@applewagon253]

Ah I absolutely need to buy your book this coming fall 🍁 I love your stories! Not to mention your narrations.

[@ClassicGhost]

I'm doing more. So hope to have another out for Halloween.

[@bronte6364]

Wonderfully creepy and excellently told.😃

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you kindly!

[@RolandWieffering1]

Indeed, I came across this story in multiple collections of old folktales, and the like. Together with another whose name escapes me. Like Prof. Shrewsbury said: "at the bottom of every legend, myth and folktale, lies, how distorted it might have become, a core of truth." And I have to agree....🤔

[@oneoflokis]

That was good, Tony! 🙂👍 Sure enough, that is pretty much the version of the story I remember! (Scary to think there might have been others, though! But where would they have slept once the crypt was destroyed? 🙂) And oh, yes, I liked the sound effects! 🙂 The first time I ran across this tale was in an account by Tom Slemen. He set it far too late, though: 1900s. I also read some years ago, that the Revd Lionel Fanthorpe researched this story, and he thought it was true, or at least possible! 🙂 Some critics said Croglin Grange wasn't a real place. But it was!

[@blixten2928]

Yowzers what fun!! THANK YOU! I'll now take a left, and left again off the high road to the High Hall, and perhaps then a right to the ...Low Hall...

[@ClassicGhost]

Don’t!

[@auroramariealmeara8622]

Great story.

[@jeffwarren6906]

Wonderful tale , very exciting & spooky . I liked and subscribed . Vampire tales never get old . Especially the classic types .. Stellar narration Sir .

[@ClassicGhost]

+@jeffwarren6906 Thank you 🙏

[@leahwalker7852]

U have done it again 😳. Creepy !

[@ClassicGhost]

I’m sort of pleased

[@leahwalker7852]

@@ClassicGhost I thought that was the idea 👍🏻

[@Scarter63]

I did like the sound effects!

[@angelaroberts2803]

Scary .well done .

[@simonward-horner7605]

I enjoyed that! Thanks!

[@garybernstein3527]

I only recently discovered the stories you narrate on KZbin, and like them I'm a great deal

[@garybernstein3527]

(I am clumsy typist and sometimes accidentally post something before I finish the post or before I can correct my numerous typos). I heard several of the old tales you narrated before I realized yesterday that you were also an author. As both author and narrator In this story you're excellent diction is is held in perfect restraint so you don't go too far or forgive listener the sense he is being manipulated; your voice is author in your readers seem perfectly matched in this piece.

[@ClassicGhost]

We have that in common. I type what I think and hit send before I check it so between autocorrect and mistyping, often it looks very different to what I thought I'd said. Your kind words are very much appreciated.

[@Ricebread343]

Great story. I loved it ❤❤❤

[@niccolehoody7317]

Awesome English vampire story

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you very much

[@Rabbi_Dollarstein]

Great narration and great channel earned a new subscriber

[@ClassicGhost]

thanks!

[@Rosemarysummers2]

More please.

[@ClassicGhost]

More on its way

[@kalihensley-garrison6282]

BRAVO! BRAVO! 👏👏

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you :)

[@kalihensley-garrison6282]

@@ClassicGhost You're quite welcome! 😏

[@ammorales1524]

Loved the sound effects actually👹

[@ClassicGhost]

Me too! I like doing them

[@cringesuperhell]

a great little story, just the kind of thing i'm looking for in a spooky period piece :^)

[@ClassicGhost]

I'm very pleased you liked it

[@peskylisa]

Excellent story! I totally got into it!!

[@jimmycburfield5997]

Tony, this was a fantastic Halloween listen. Good work

[@ClassicGhost]

+Jimmyc Burfield hello Jimmy. I’m glad you liked it!

[@malcolmcraven4906]

Great Stuff 👻

[@fordguyfordguy]

This was great!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you!

[@mandolemite]

Very good, second only to the other vampire classic, "Zoltan Hound of Dracula".

[@ClassicGhost]

+@mandolemite I must do that one

[@rhondabuhler2984]

The figure in the window reminds me of the story Mrs. Amworth by E. F. Benson. Perhaps that story was based on the folk tale as well.

[@ClassicGhost]

Eliot O’Donnell write down the croglin vampire story so e f benson may have been familiar with it . O’Donnell was famous

[@simonward-horner7605]

By the way, I like the sound effects, a fine enhancement!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you 🙏

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

:=) Elegant. Thank you.

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you! 😊

[@joannemorris4451]

Creepy!

[@joannecataloni300]

I thought a vampire could not come in your house unless you invited them in but I love the stories anyway

[@garybernstein3527]

One minor touch bothered me. With less than 10 minutes before the sunset, they send for and get the shavings and tallow they need for the cremation of the monster. I suppose it is possible that they forsaw this need before sitting out and carry these items with them, and the men who would descended really sent up to the people in the surface for these materials.

[@vickimingus9281]

wow great

[@TheAGNOSTIC_who_YT_CENSORS]

27:18 "Perhaps the same could be said of all religions."

[@garybernstein3527]

Is Tony Walker the author of the Kroger Vampire in addition to reading it? I was unable to find the office credit

[@garybernstein3527]

Croglin vampire spelling

[@ClassicGhost]

i am

[@garybernstein3527]

One subjective comment about the sound effects. Early on, when we hear the owl's cry, it is so loud as to be too startling, so much that it distracts me from the story and gets me thinking about the sound effect. Otherwise I thought the sound effects were just right.

[@ClassicGhost]

I have moved away from sound effects because people often said they found them jarring. I did enjoy doing them, but I take your point that they have to be carefully done. There's an MR James story on there that has tolling bells in it, but they are so loud you can't hear the words.

[@donnacostanza532]

[@hahahahhahaimthebestc]

sven vath

[@browniepudding8315]

Is this the last vampire one by tony ? Of the 3 on here. And how would the vampire get in if it wasn’t invited…. Clearly this one of the 3 is fictional lol

[@ClassicGhost]

Absolutely. Good point you make and this is the only one that claims to be true . Unless Beam Stoker got that but wrong and they can come in anyway

[@browniepudding8315]

@@ClassicGhostI was just joking as I thought I heard you say you wrote all these. So none are supposed to be true events. I enjoyed all the vampire stories. I’m also a fan of ocean and maritime horror stories for some reason they interest me