The Horse of the Invisible | William Hope Hodgson | A Bitesized Audio Production

[@lindaloe]

A Genuinely Terrifing Story, And A Great Narration!!

[@nonatie8514]

I love the narrations always. They're superb and not to be equaled. I also love the vocabulary used by these wonderful Victorian authors. I love words and memorized so many begining in the fourth grade when they began to impress me. My family never tried to speak properly and actually laughed and made fun of me for reciting them to myself and their meaning in my room at night. They would always accuse me of trying to be better than my family. Of course I was concentrating on making myself better and could never make them understand my desire to elevate myself in any way available to me which at the time and place, these opportunities were not plentiful. Regardless my desire for my betterment did pay off and I love to hear a lot of the words I fell in love with long ago are used by authors here and its sweet to remember them from my own past while enjoying learning to pronounce and use. Thank you for the joy you bring through these stories. They are truly wonderful as well as the description of the landscapes and sounds and also the feelings the characters are experiencing . Awesome

[@deirdrewhelan9393]

I have been listening to simon for ages,but tonight i have found some new stories .delighted.

[@mijiyoon5575]

Re~listen ... the author *Hodgson* was a talented person & brave; a shame he died so young & the world lost a fine story teller

[@brendadouglas4706]

Hi, BJ here.🌟 I am new to your channel, and I looooove everything, that you project, in your narration. ❣ Via your narration, I am catapulted into the time and space of the story. 📚 BRAVO! BJ/ATLGA/USA 💖💚

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks so much, welcome to the channel

[@lizpride9960]

An unusual tale, beautifully narrated. Something of a "Scooby Doo" plot! Wonderful.

[@J.DeLaPoer]

I always thought Carnacki was one of the better occult detectives, even despite the relatively tiny amount of stories during the author's lifetime. Top notch reading, as usual!

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks @N. Reid, appreciated

[@angelachouinard4581]

Thank you! Once again you have come to the rescue of a rough week. Mi Sun the cat wanted a nap lap and I was about to say no and keep working but then I noticed my backed up notifications. A Carnacki story stops everything! I listen and she naps , both happy.

[@BitesizedAudio]

How wonderful. Sorry to hear you've had a rough week, but glad if this was able to help a bit. Best wishes to you

[@sankturban291]

The narrator breathes life into this story, bravo

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks Sankt Urban, appreciated

[@thomasbeaver5671]

Very happy to hear you reading Carnacki the Ghost Finder. Bravo!

[@JayceeWedmak]

Thank you 😮

[@DrewSohl]

The reader has this great speaking voice that can add even more chill to the story.🐴📷👻

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks James, appreciated

[@rosamariabonequi3202]

Traducir al español

[@Clodaghbob]

This is my favourite reader. He has a wonderfully expressive and musical voice. When I've heard a book read by Bitesize all other readers of the same book sound bland. Also, I love the selection of books. Every one is a literary treat. Thanks!

[@BitesizedAudio]

@Clodaghbob What a lovely comment, thank you so much! Best wishes to you

[@LisaCarso]

Fantastic! Thank you so much! I LOVE Carnaki and your reading is just wonderful!

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks Lisa, appreciate your kind feedback!

[@brennykins8823]

Equivocal little story, so much doubtful certainty certainly gives one the creeps. Years ago, I fell asleep listening to 'The House on the Borderland' and had the most frightful nightmare which still gives me the willies. Testament to the insidious nature of Mr Hodgson's craft. Thanks for the posting.

[@CrowSkeleton]

More Carnacki, pretty-please!

[@geoffreyraleigh1674]

Thank you. You make work so passable.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Glad to be of service....

[@boredwarlock5216]

Keep up the great work! It's fun to have these spooky stories to look forwards to. Thank you!!!

[@BitesizedAudio]

I'll do my best! Thanks for your support

[@giliolarossini6937]

You are a monster of skill. !!!!!!!!!!! Thanks thanks thanks

[@BitesizedAudio]

Very kind of you! Thanks for listening Giliola

[@bobnewmanknott3433]

As usual my sincere thanks for a perfect Sunday evening and as usual your choice of story adds to pleasure of hearing your faultless rendering , I trust you are now back on form , stay safe RNK.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks Bob, you too

[@valeriejones8195]

In addition to having great stories written by some great writers, the reader has been the icing on the cake which has quickly made bitesized audio classics my favorite "go to" stories to listen to.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thank you Valerie, I greatly appreciate your kind words!

[@andypammenter8528]

Thank you my friend, another great reading, your work is much appreciated :-)

[@BitesizedAudio]

Glad you enjoyed it Andy, thanks and best wishes to you

[@debraannlaprade6459]

Night after night I fall asleep to this wonderful voice. He narrates like no other! The stories are amazing.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks for your lovely comment Debra! Glad to be of service...

[@angelachouinard4581]

I have to add.. I have not heard this read before and I now appreciate on hearing this excellent narration how much more scary and unsettling it is received in this fashion.

[@Mi-yc3oy]

Thank you!! Loved his longer works, So this will be my first step into his carnacki stories. 🥃👍

[@spacehound3355]

Great story like the twist and very refreshing too have a spin on ghost stories.

[@bluefriend1723]

Thank you so much for this new story !

[@BitesizedAudio]

Pleasure, thanks BlueFriend

[@olwens1368]

Wonderful- a good old fashioned ghost story I've never read or heard before- and read really well. A great pleasure thank you.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks Olwen S, appreciated

[@scoutrifle6827]

Every time you release a reading, it's like a little Christmas-THOROUGHLY enjoy these!

[@BitesizedAudio]

Wonderful, compliments of the season to you Scout Rifle

[@junestanich7888]

Never heard a ghost story about a horse, awesome!

[@robertingham6123]

Absolutely fantastic narration and story I have been so engrossed I thought I was there

[@BitesizedAudio]

Very kind of you to say so, thanks Robert!

[@HerrCrankzy]

Thank you! I was only aware (by a podcast) of one story featuring Carnacki. Your voice seems to be as usual (apart from your self-proclaimed undermining of it - I am being respectful yet ironic in case someone misinterprets me). On my 4th lock-down you are ever more the keeper of my sanity. Thank You.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks HerrCrankzy, glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes to you.

[@ClockworkChainsaw]

There are several! And, not to be rude and promote another channel here, but Ian of @Horrorbabble, has written a few new ones himself, that are quite good! (I feel it is alright, since it's not like they are in the public domain yet. ;)

[@CharlieOkeson]

Ahhh, a new story just in time for bed! Thank you for Carnacki! I'd better get settled in for the night.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Hope you slept well! Thanks Charlie

[@andyfield7397]

Wonderful - I am going to save listening to this as an October 1st treat. Thank you

[@valeriejones8195]

Wow! I never saw that ending coming. Drew is correct the reader of your stories is the perfect narrator of them. He keeps things interesting while adding a natural chill to the story without being over the top which would take away from the story being read.

[@Norannmcguire]

Gosh he was very hansom a hunk of his time a charmer indeed

[@BitesizedAudio]

Yes, he apparently had a successful and somewhat famous career as a bodybuilder, in addition to his popularity as an author

[@squaretriangle3945]

Tragically, he had s short life because he was killed in the last phase of the First World War and was relatively poor his whole life. He made a lot of his short life though and was a very interesting character, indeed.

[@Phinnius23]

Brilliant. Loved it.

[@DragonsEyeTours]

Brilliant. Thank you so much,

[@BitesizedAudio]

You're very welcome!

[@Peter-gq4ww]

This one really spooked me good! The thought of an invisible hell horse is actually quite terrifying!

[@rozdoyle8872]

So Pasket was Horsing Around. What a wonderful story so well narrated. Thank You.

[@lilliesearles4488]

I enjoyed the reading very much, thank you

[@BitesizedAudio]

You're welcome Lillie, thanks for listening and taking the time to comment

[@sandy_says]

Finally, been waiting so long..❤️❤️ damn, it s WHH..the tropical terror is one of my favourites

[@kirpalani-griffin3706]

I see this is an interesting and rewarding ride! Thank you!! : - ) >

[@missy3240]

This story was great. It had me genuinely on edge wondering what the final outcome would be. You read the final battle of the hallway so well I was riveted in place the whole time! Horrifying gobbling neighing indeed! I could see it playing in my mind like a movie.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Wonderful! Thanks Missy

[@susanotway7875]

A very unique story. Enjoyed so much. Thanks!

[@alicecaulfield1012]

Great story & great narration Thank you so much!

[@BitesizedAudio]

You're most welcome, thanks for listening Alice

[@lesliehatton1493]

First time I have heard of the author and Carnaki. Excellent story.

[@javedsultan4830]

carnaki was a paranormal investigator

[@AudioBoyMA]

I was delighted to see a work by Hodgson! His Carnacki stories are some of my favorites. My favorite, though, is The Stone Ship. The CBC radio series "Nightfall" did an adaptation of it in 1980 and that hooked me on WHH.

[@cheriestl]

That was a truly scary story. Bravo!

[@grimtt]

I think I saw an old TV dramatization of this story, maybe in the “Rivals of Sherlock Holmes” series? Not nearly as spooky as hearing it outloud! 👍 another fine job, Mr Simon, thank you!!

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks @grimtt Yes indeed, it was part of that series, with Donald Pleasance as Carnacki. I saw it some time ago and enjoyed it very much, though I must say Pleasance, a brilliant and always watchable actor, isn't quite how I envisaged Carnacki from the books. In the contemporary illustrations which went with the original publications, he was depicted as quite a dashing figure

[@jackiehamilton2738]

It had Donald Peasance sitting in an electric pentacle contraption at one point.

[@babybooandherhumandeb3188]

Thank you 😊

[@BitesizedAudio]

You're welcome 😊

[@pankajsowaddi]

Loved it , thanks from India

[@giliolarossini6937]

I just saw the images of this incredible story as in a movie. What emotional for me !!!!!!😱

[@Fiona4650]

Will enjoy this on Friday pm..... Can't wait!

[@rameyzamora1018]

I can actually hear the "infernal gobbling neighing"! Shuddery.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Wonderful, thanks Ramey Zamora!

[@grahamturner1290]

Another great reading!

[@marmadukegrimwig]

Excellent. I believe there was a TV adaptation of this in the ‘70s. Probably on KZbin somewhere…

[@missying1115]

Quite a surprising twist!

[@Not00]

I'll have to wait until tomorrow at work to listen to this one.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Excellent, I see you've just joined as a channel member, thanks so much for your support Nick.

[@lucyyoung77777]

RAIN WINDY AND YOU THANK YOU SAFE AND WARM GOOD STORIES BRAVO

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thank you! Best wishes

[@glowingunknown5625]

OOh, thank you! I like WHH stories.

[@BitesizedAudio]

Glad to know that, thanks Jared

[@chrisnorman9980]

I listened to this story on another channel. It was fine but I am looking forward to hearing your interpretation of the Carnacki character. Without detracting from the other narrator’s interpretation, I know I will like your version best.

[@esterherschkovich6499]

Resting back+listening 🙂

[@rickh7683]

Amazing

[@catharine1877]

Thank you Simon, I hope you are in fine fettle once more!

[@BitesizedAudio]

Feeling much better, thank you Catharine!

[@catharine1877]

@@BitesizedAudio fantastic news!

[@WadeWeigle]

I love how plucky that family was. Break out your swords and guns! Let’s go ghost hunting! Love it! The writer did well at first with the feel on the horse scenes only to fail when you find out it’s a man in a horse mask and hooves on his arms. A man wouldn’t have the same weight and step echo that a horse does. It cheapens the moments early on and makes them feel hollow. A spectral horse lurking about is a novel idea and had the writer stuck to it, would have made this a truly unique story. Thank you for sharing this.

[@balazshatvani]

This story reminds me of the plot in the 1956 sci-fi movie “Forbidden Planet,” where thought projection creates “monsters from the id.”

[@GrandOldMovies]

Really enjoyed your reading of this entertaining story - Carnacki is new to me and the story's language and 'supernatural rationalism' theme seem very much of the pre-WWI period. I wonder if this story might have been influenced by "The Hound of the Baskervilles," with a similar plot of an unscrupulous person taking advantage of a spooky family legend to pursue his own ends; though Hodgson does throw in the supernatural twist at the end. Maybe the Carnacki stories also influenced Blackwood's John Silence stories?

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks for listening, and for your kind comments, glad to know you enjoyed it. I'd not made the connection with 'The Hound' but you're absolutely right there are some similarities there. Regarding Carnacki influencing the John Silence stories... I think John Silence pre-dates Carnacki by a couple of years in terms of when they first appeared in print (1908 and 1910 respectively). There was something of a vogue for "occult detectives" in this era - funnily enough I've just been working on another one, coming up this weekend all being well.

[@GrandOldMovies]

​@@BitesizedAudio Thanks for clarifying the John Silence/Carnacki chronology. Will you be reading any of the John Silence stories? "Ancient Sorceries" is probably the best and a really beautifully written story!

[@BitesizedAudio]

@GrandOldMovies Apologies for the delayed reply, for some reason I don't always get a notification when people respond to my comments... Yes, I would certainly like to read some Algernon Blackwood at some point, he's on my to-do list. I need to refresh my memory of the Silence stories but will certainly bear that one in mind! Thank you for the suggestion

[@ClockworkChainsaw]

You should consider a collab with @Horrorbabble at some point. Your reading of this is just as high quality as theirs, would be interesting to see what new heights you both could reach together! ^^

[@BitesizedAudio]

Thanks @Thesaya, appreciate the suggestion, I'll give it some thought. I only became aware of them quite recently but have enjoyed listening to a few of their stories; seems we do have some overlapping interests, although it looks like they've covered many authors I'm not familiar with so I must listen to some more.

[@JasonJason210]

That was great! Will you do more Hodgson stories?

[@BitesizedAudio]

@JasonJason210 Thank you. I'm bearing him in mind, although the estimable HorrorBabble have already done excellent renditions of many of them, including all the Carnacki stories, so I've been focussing more on the less well covered stories and/or authors. But a few people still do request him, so I'll definitely keep him on my to-do list

[@adzdahlman9724]

Unusual narrative pattern threw me somewhat at first ; a bit like listening to BBC World Sevices Neil Newnes read the news , it's odd , though perfectly correct. Having conquered that , the story quickly engrossed me. Can't really put much more here without ruining it for future listeners. Interesting use of language leads to a pleasantly unconventional conclusion. Give it a go folks. Cheers for upload*

[@TheRickie41]

Getting ready for offgrid, I still must find a way to preserve these treasures in a Faraday cage in some way, lol. Nothing better to relax in front of the fire...

[@hellodave1168]

Wonder what Carnacki would have thought of tulpas .

[@elizah2093]

Riveting!

[@waningmooncancer9628]

The number of likes is at 665. So I am saying here that I like the story. I've got enough trouble 😩🤪 NOPE

[@mijiyoon5575]

Another talent killed in stupid war at young age; barely made it out of his thirties

[@inisipisTV]

He was already severely wounded in 1914 that he was sent back home and decommissioned from the Army. Despite his injuries he re-enlisted again in 1918 and was killed during the final months.

[@bonniewood5263]

Damn scary.

[@BitesizedAudio]

I hope that's good?

[@bonniewood5263]

@@BitesizedAudio Absolutely! A lot of "scary" stories don't make the grade: this one does - with bells on!

[@johnbryant8603]

🎩🔝♥️🙏🏽🇺🇸

[@bobbeyderbrain]

Ooh it's my favourite reader. Deep joy. ❤ Don't rate the story as highly, sadly. Not a fan of William Hope Hodgson. Bit of a lame yarn - baa-dum-tish! 😉

[@BitesizedAudio]

Appreciated, thanks Bob

[@JonFrumTheFirst]

I'm clearly in the minority here, but what a stinker! There's a supernatural horse running around a house, so what do the residents do? Stay there. And after a set-up series of deaths, and injuries to the residents, along with random horse stomps around the house, Carnaki says 'so I dressed for dinner.' Is that what they call stiff upper lip? Too goofy for me.

[@Kernowcornwall]

I generally like this genre of Victorian suspense but this is one of the weakest. A series of repetitive, spooky encounters are described in a rather dull fashion, but there us no real plot or story evolution. Spoiler alert: it's basically a scooby doo episode.

[@inisipisTV]

The Carnacki adventure series IS the archetypal of the Scooby-do and Supernatural series.

[@johnathandennis5192]

I prefer his stories set at sea. There's an element of vulnerability on the ocean (or in outer space) that you just don't get on land. Furthermore, society is much farther removed from horses nowadays. I'm so used to thinking of them as majestic that it seems rather silly to have an evil scary horse haunting someone. However, I hadn't heard of Carnacki before and am interested in finding the other stories featuring this character. And regardless of whether or not i liked this particular story, I do like the author and the performance of the work was great as always. 😊

[@williamhagen2792]

Wordy, bloated.

[@johnathandennis5192]

I don't recall asking about your mother, but good to know she hasn't changed.

[@Dudu-ox2rd]

Extremely annoying diction thanks anyway

[@kindermord]

Wonderful stuff!

[@terranovarubacha5473]

Any thoughts on why the title is so odd grammatically?