Where Angels Fear by Manly Wade Wells

On a mist-shrouded night in March, two brave souls, Muriel Fisher and Scotty McCormack, dare to confront the malevolent secrets of a forsaken house with a history steeped in death. As they step into its decaying halls, the oppressive silence of the house breathes life into shadows, whispering of the dark fates that have befallen all who entered before them. As midnight looms, they will face an unspeakable terror that blurs the line between the living and the dead, in a chilling tale where the past refuses to rest.
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Music by The Heartwood Institute
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[@karensmith2204]

I just love your after story chat

[@martiwilliams4592]

Creepy, disturbing, captivating also this time around. Leaves us, as usual, with plenty to think about. Love your storytelling, your enjoyable, thought provoking "ramblings". Much needed and appreciated. Thanks for all of your hard work, Tony.

[@KristinChoruby]

I've heard of parents giving their children aspirational names, but "Manly" is a new one! Nice Pink Floyd reference, BTW 👌

[@DaleRibbons]

I believe Manly is short for Emmanuel. I'm going by my own grandfather, who was Manny.

[@ClassicGhost]

I didn’t know that, and I am very pleased that I found out. Thank you very much.

[@thurayya8905]

You might want to look up Manly P. Hall, who was one of the leading teachers of esoterica of the twentieth century.

[@KristinChoruby]

@@thurayya8905 "Manly P"? 👀 I would not have included that initial if I were him.

[@jayfox28]

Oh God. Utterly terrifying. The boding, impending disaster unfolding had me shaking. One of the scariest tales I've heard on here, or anywhere.

[@debra333]

Dear Tony, I can't wait to hear this. But I had to comment on the graphic of the house with the setting sun ... breathtaking!

[@ClassicGhost]

I messed around with the image a bit so i’m glad you like it

[@martiwilliams4592]

Agree!

[@rheinhartsilvento2576]

​@@ClassicGhost You did this? Very well done 💚🌺

[@GriethDay]

Extremely evocative, atmospheric, painfully beautiful. I gasped a wee bit when I saw it.

[@GriethDay]

@@ClassicGhostabsolutely amazing

[@sheilasmith7991]

I really enjoy your channel. Last night I fell asleep listening to Dracula and woke up this morning with the story still playing. I love horror stories and this is perfect to listen to.

[@ClassicGhost]

+@sheilasmith7991 It’s a long one :)

[@WhiteRabbitAnne]

Who needs woke broke Hollywood when we have Tony and the best stories ever written. Thanks Tony. My husband and I both love your reading. Though my husband has yet to make it through a whole story. Your voice is just too soothing. Right when I'm on the edge of my seat i hear light snoring beside me. ❤😸

[@biangelboy21]

Since when has Hollywood been "woke"? Just enjoy the channel and leave buzzwords in the bin.

[@caliwagg1898]

Can’t enjoy a ghost story without letting everyone know your political leaning 🙄

[@WhiteRabbitAnne]

@@caliwagg1898 read again. I wasn't talking politics I was talking talent. New Hollywood talks nothing but politics which means the story gets lost. Non politics was what I was praising. And I was complimenting Tony .I'm not sure how you fit into that. Do you walk up to random tables at cafes and comment on what people at that table are talking about? Seems a bit odd don't you think.

[@sheilasmith7991]

​@@biangelboy21 it's been WOKE for a few years now. Haven't you been to the cinema lately?

[@dorn0531]

A few decades…

[@stevenmiller2427]

I'm a teacher and I try to always be a positive force in my students' life's. Sometimes I am the only positive force in their lifes.

[@ringingthechanges]

This one is frankly terrifying, wow.

[@michaelcannon4835]

Holy crap, I love this guy’s channel. I love his reading voice. Love most of the selections. Love hearing the post notes on author/story. Find listening to be a joy and comfort. But the digressions are getting difficult. Maybe progressively so

[@ClassicGhost]

Tell me what you mean so I can address it.

[@beckylynnegamble588]

in US one can utilize USPS Media Mail to ship books, albums, etc to avoid going broke but unsure if it can be used internationally

[@ClassicGhost]

certainly, I’ve never found out myself. I couldn’t believe how expensive it was. I don’t think anyone would mind if it just got put in the hold of a ship and took a month to get over.

[@GriethDay]

I first read this story forty years ago when a young woman. It was chilling then and has lost none of its charm.

[@edf777]

Thanks,kept this for bed tonight..again thank you sir 😊❤

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you very much

[@lyndabrennan4560]

Thank you dear Tony, I always look forward to a new story from you, I can't wait till bedtime and settle down with this story 💛🤗

[@BoneLonesome]

There was a movie made of John the Balladeer. I enjoyed it. The legend of Hillbilly John. It's very 70s, but it was made in 1972 so what does one expect?

[@dodiekoehler]

Thanks Tony! Great story. I really enjoy listening to your ramble about your life. 😊 Thank you for sharing.

[@dongray9852]

Many of Wellman's "Silver John" tales would be most welcome here! The Old Gods Waken, for example.

[@cronchyskull]

Tony, you need to make an online DnD campaign so we can all join 🤣 Been trying to get into it but I struggle with working out stats etc (luv dyscalcula)

[@ClassicGhost]

I use Roll20. You can find me there!

[@kimberleyoga]

Starting at 32:53 "...I don't know what that is, but it needs ironing." 🤣 🤣🤣 Thank you for making me laugh out loud, I needed that!

[@JensLarsson-vi5py]

Great one ! From an old time fan (pre -5k ) Best regards and keep your village radio/drama stories coming. Best regards , PARISCRIBE .

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you for your support about the Ashridge drama.

[@greatestytcommentator]

SPOILER ALERT " Everybody dies " Don't they?

[@AND-od5jt]

28:28 Maybe you can get to coop with Chris Perkins *hoping*

[@franken-pattern]

Oh, boy! I know what I am doing tonight!!

[@kristinacable]

❤

[@melaniemacalister]

“They must have shares in PDFs or something” 😂

[@JimBagby74]

An American Graphic for an American Gothic.

[@stalinlovsciafbifakemsmzio6674]

Hahaha, soooo, wahmen CAN’T compete with men, after all- gee, who’d’a’thunkit? Lo freakin’LLLLL, the beau saved the belle. Again. Not that women aren’t amazing and wonderful, and magickal and able to give life and do many many things we cannot. Just different, as we’ve always known.

[@sarahcrowther6267]

OMG🤯 🐾🐾🐾🐾

[@sonnetlikely]

Please please please positive pants more because it might be one of the best things I’ve heard you say 😂😂😂 (not true- your stories are wonderful, but it’s a close second)

[@jamesvanderwire4667]

Manly Wade Wellman has many great stories. I definitely suggest looking into him deeper.

[@dongray9852]

Lifelong M.W.Wellman fan. Supernatural Appalachia.

[@michellebastiani6470]

Agreed.

[@SMichaelDeHart]

Tony, you're pronouncing Appalachia correctly. I live in southern West Virginia. My state is the only state completely in the Appalachian ramge. The rest only have sections of their state. My father worked as a Class A Transmission Lineman for Appalachian Power Company for 38 years. Dad was born in the Pocahontas Coual Fields of Appalachia. I hate when Yankees tries to tell me how to pronounce an area thats in my DNA. Off my soap box. This was a rather scarier story that youve done in a while.

[@Thomas-wn7cl]

"Where marines and angels fear to tread, there you'll find the corpsman dead"

[@anneinnes5691]

“Saw myself in a mirror and thought ‘that needs ironing’”.. me, every day, lol! Genius expression- made me laugh out loud! 😂😂

[@pajamapants2605]

I always find myself guffawing at Tony’s expressions like “positive pants” alone in the dark with my phone after enjoying a bedtime story lol

[@dwellerofthedark]

This should be epic, Tony, with your amazing narration. Living up in the remote Appalachians, I definitely enjoy the homemade moonshine and telling campfire Manly Wade Wellman’s stories a little too much sometimes. My epic ‘Hell’s Forge’ was inspired by ‘Where Angel’s Fear’ and of course Matheson’s ‘Hell House’.

[@TheLoneAnimator]

Look up the Silver John (John the Balladeer) tales "A Desrick On Yandro" and "O Ugly Bird." They're very atmospheric and have very cool and creepy folkloric monsters.

[@erichinkle7347]

If you're the fellow I think you are, I can only hope that one day you post art of the critters from either of those stories on DA.

[@katyvdb5993]

Good gracious, is 'The Desrick on Yandro' part of a series? And a pre-war series at that? I'm very interested and must look for more stories. I read it in a children's anthology decades ago and realised that the narrator was a wandering musician, but assumed that he was one of the hippie generation ... oh dear 😳.

[@TheLoneAnimator]

@@katyvdb5993 Silver John is actually a veteran of the Korean War, so the stories must be set somewhere in the mid-19th century. I think "Who Fears the Devil" is the best of the Silver John anthologies.

[@aveg7899]

Your narration is flawless Tony. The listener cannot help, but be drawn in. Thanks for bringing these treasures back to life.

[@ClassicGhost]

very nice of you to say so

[@julierobinson3633]

What an absolute corker! Loved this one. I think my favourite so far.

[@elizabethflynr7561]

Hi Tony, I’m the American who was worried about your wallet. Thanks for letting me know it got returned. I suggested a Thomas Ligotti short story, Conversations in a Dead Language. You said that might be a bit difficult to pull off. What about Conrad Aiken’s story Silent Snow, Secret Snow? Tony, you’d nail it man!

[@guts_punch_balls_throw-up]

I'm all for a Thomas Ligotti reading!

[@donaldmccleary9015]

Great story and narration! Thanks! As has been previously stated, I love the picture. Great job on it. The way it shfts at the end.... Loved your chat at the end, especially about the Karens complaining about the comments. Required order of completion of Tony's stories: 1. Listen to Tony's story 2. Listen to Tony's chat 3. Read the comments Note: Deviating from this order removes your ability to complain. We listeners use the comments to communicate about the stories. Read them prior to the story at your own peril. Thanks again, Tony, for all you do! Above all, happy Father's Day.

[@thurayya8905]

Regarding teachers: When I was in college, I found that I had a two hour gap between classes and saw there was a Creative Writing III class that would nicely fit the gap and bring credits to my English major. I knew adding this class was extremely nervy of me, as I had not even taken the prerequisites, Creative Writing I and Creative Writing II. Still, there was that gap. The class turned out to have only 18 or 20 students (they had probably taken the prerequisites). On the occasion of our first class, the professor, a lovely and serious middle-aged man with a black suit and sagging socks, had us write a story. That's how old I am; everyone wrote their story on ruled paper with a pen or pencil. I was the last to start. I wasn't panicked, but I hadn't expected to dive in just like that. We handed them in, one by one, and left. On our next class, the professor singled out a few students and told them, in a warm but regretful tone, that he was sorry, but he didn't think they would be up to the coursework. He suggested they repeat the last class and try again. At this point, I was just happy I wasn't in this group and my shortcomings hadn't yet been spotted. He then went on to comment about some of the stories and even read a couple to us, handing them back to the authors afterward with compliments and criticism. He then went on to say that there was one story he was very impressed by and started to read it. At this point, I had my nearsighted head stuck to my notebook, but, when he began to read MY paper, my head went up and my jaw went down. He told me after class that I was greatly talented. He normally spent his time discouraging students from thinking they were going to make a living from writing, but felt I should really get out there and try. So, Tony, I guess you are right in a backward way here, because I never went anywhere with my writing.😂 The teacher was right, too, though; he just didn't know I was too lazy to stick to it.

[@ClassicGhost]

You should still try! Why not?

[@appalachianamerican7171]

Great story, Mr. Tony. And by the way, you nailed it with your pronunciation of Appalachia. 👍

[@ClassicGhost]

I follow a girl on Instagram from Appalachia. I would’ve got it wrong without her.

[@GriethDay]

Thank you for the quality of your content, wish I could give more. Appreciate you.

[@ClassicGhost]

I am very grateful to you and the amount doesn't matter. The thought is the most important thing.

[@marciedewolff9357]

Whoop whoop! Can't wait to listen! I agree the graphic is beautiful. Many thanks Tony.

[@psychedianic]

The house in the thumbnail looks like the only one I could afford to buy these days. Falling apart, haunted, out in the middle of nowhere. Expecting a price tag of 80k and a monthly payment of $560. Owner probably selling for half a million. Ah, America. 😂 Manly Wade Wellman was a well known writer here in NC. I grew up reading local ghost stories by him. Nancy Roberts also did some compilations of NC ghost stories. Great stuff!

[@RolandWieffering1]

I love the stories of M.W. W. I hope you will read more for us..... But Thanks for this one. All the best from Holland.

[@lunablue745]

Sufficiently spooky. As an aside, I was listening to a podcast by two American women. It was a paranormal kind of thing. One of the women said that whenever she hears the word "spooky" it makes her laugh because it sounds silly. Maybe that's just our American sense of humor? It does sound like a silly word now that I think about it. I am curious if anyone else was confused a little by the story. It seemed like there was a big assumption made as to the reader understanding how the protagonists became the hanging people. Like, did a spirit hang them? Did they hang themselves? I enjoyed the story, but didn't like the way the ending was written. Cheers!

[@ronaldashby935]

Thanks again for the great stories Wademan has a lot of great stories. I was first hooked by his Fantasy/Sword style. DND tybe tales. I am commenting from the heart of Appalachian mountains in beautiful Uppet East Tennessee just a 30 minute ot less from North Carolina. Thanks again really enjoy your channel.. Don't mind the spelling too much or my writing . You have a great 4th of July holiday. Yep every American thinks everyone in the world celebrates our holiday.

[@Hunrakku3]

There's an RPG (similar to D&D) called Dungeon Crawl Classics... it has a setting/adventure based on Manly Wade Wellman, it's called The Chained Coffin.

[@ClassicGhost]

Oooo. That sounds good

[@d.deckert6634]

Amazing story narrative. Thank you, didn't expect that ending.... Just fantastic. By the way, I love dungeon and dragons 👍

[@terryIKE69]

Whiskey and sardines are not a diet to thrive on? Oh, posh. I knew a couple nonagenarians who swear by it. My first thought, (listening to the story) was that I hoped they had some breath mints handy. I love Manly Wade Wellman! Have 2 of his story collections: The Devil is Not Mocked and Worse Things Waiting. If you can find them, I highly recommend picking one up. (And if you have the money, they can be pretty spendy). Flawless narration, going to be putting this one in my Top 25 Classic Ghost Stories Podcast favorites. I would pay money for a print of the story thumbnail, to frame and put on my wall. (One without the bars... ) Thanks for the story and take care!

[@norayoder3189]

Tony So stoked really needed this and what a fantastic graphic❣️🙏🏻❣️

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you 🙏

[@elizabethflynr7561]

Dear Mr. Walker, I have to do something incredibly difficult for me in the morning. I can’t sleep and your narration of Manley Wade Wellman’s story Where Angels... is a wonderful distraction from the 3 o’clock noise in my head. Thanks.

[@ClassicGhost]

Good luck 🤞

[@glosteiger2517]

Beautifully creepy! What a funny ramble at the end. 😂. I’m a grandma and can assure you I have never sucked eggs.

[@dawnwaddell7324]

I don't know why, but I pitcher the too characters as Shaggy and Velma from Scooby-Doo. Love the picture as well.

[@psum6537]

Dear Tony, so happy to go “off the rocker” listening to your monologue!👍🏻

[@kathygreenlay73]

Us Canadians definitely use the term "jerk" but we certainly don't have a shortage of alternative descriptors.

[@lunarbloom3587]

Deliciously creepy story and wonderful narration Tony! Thank you 🦉

[@Thepurples]

Chills over whole body at the ending. Listened to the whole story twice. Thanks.

[@DenWell-SeedsOfChaos]

I found this story very creepy. I would have said "fuck no" and went home so many times... I read somewhere that M.W. Wellman liked H.P. Lovecraft's work a lot. Are only grandmothers allowed to suck eggs? I am not a grandmother and I have never sucked an egg, but I am sure I could. I don't really want to though so I would need about a hundred bucks to do so.

[@thurayya8905]

😂😂😂

[@lunablue745]

I too would have yeeted myself right out of there!

[@88lonerr23]

Your voice is soo pretty.

[@Kkthedj]

Your stream of consciousness really put a smile on my face today 😂

[@ClassicGhost]

I did one recently that even I thought was mad. but then the next one I did was calmer. I think the really crazy one was The eye of Apollo coming up on detectives.

[@christineheminger7762]

This story has stuck with me for years because it is Soo creepy

[@stalinlovsciafbifakemsmzio6674]

Absolutely LOVED LOVED this story, thanks T. And thank YOU, fine lady who recommended this wonderful tale!

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Tom-vm2wh]

Edward Gorey is an awesome artist. Highly recommend this group looks him up if you don't know him.

[@maryeckel9682]

What kind of cookies (biscuits) did the button tin originally hold? Ours always had butter cookies.

[@ClassicGhost]

I don’t remember I think she may have inherited it from my great grandmother so that might be going back to The earlier 20th century or even the late 19th

[@BBB_bbb_BBB]

Jerk is well and alive here in Canada too. And it's particularly funny to hear someone with a real thick Canadian accent say it. Don't know about Mexico though (they're also North Americans). It's interesting to hear the cookie tin with buttons is common elsewhere as well. In Quebec and Ontario it's very common. My mom inherited the button tin from her mom and any time I have extra buttons I hang on to them to add to the tin. And I'm sure I'll be inheriting it someday myself.

[@thurayya8905]

You made me remember my mother's button tin. I thought I had taken it with me when I left home years ago, but I think now it was probably left behind and my stepmother either threw it out or gave it to Goodwill.

[@furrypurry]

Oh that was a super creepy story, loved it. Thank you Tony and Nancy.

[@meistergedanken4790]

Indeed, it's never too late - I self-published my debut fantasy novel ( A D&D-grounded deconstruction of fantasy genre tropes) in 2022 at the age of 50. And the sequel should be completed this year.

[@thurayya8905]

Pish, you're still young!

[@catherinecrawford2289]

I also had a Gram with an old tin of buttons and I played with them all the time as well as her collection of swizzle sticks collected over the years. She had no toys so I made do. I have it now and I just realized the tin must be 90 years old.

[@marjie012000]

What a brilliant spooky story, Thank you Tony I enjoyed listening to this so much I listened twice! 😮

[@ClassicGhost]

Twice! It's a good one though.

[@marjie012000]

@@ClassicGhost yep twice! 🤩👍

[@greatestytcommentator]

You might find in Canadian, a Jerk is a Goof!?

[@ClassicGhost]

aha thank you !

[@annnovy4537]

This will stay with me for ages, so scary🧟‍♂️

[@barbarawallace6890]

I highly recommend finding copies of MWW's John the Balladeer stories! Very good folkloric stories; John is a great character, helping people who are having supernatural or demonic problems in the hollers and woods of the south. He's a plain man, but strong spiritually, and the stories always feel like you are with a person you could listen to around a fire for hours. ❤

[@erichinkle7347]

I agree. Wellman's John stories are some of the best American fantasy tales ever written.

[@susanr1277]

Enjoyed this story but even when the story doesn't do it for me, I love your ramblings at the end.

[@stevecausey545]

That was wonderful. Great suggestion Nancy I really enjoy Wellman's stories ive never heard this one before...thank you.

[@evelanpatton]

A potential, & unusually authored, ghost recommendation: Hans Christian Andersen’s first published story, "The Ghost at Palnatoke's Grave" (1822). Is it any good? I would LOVE to hear it & hear your afterthoughts on it. Curious about this story now… is also/or maybe H.C. Andersen’s "The Traveling Companion", a ghost story from 1830. Are these any good?

[@vanillasuncherries]

The darker and the more chilling the better! I love it!

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

And I'll add: is it just me, or do these 2 characters remind you of Velma and shaggy too? (Written long before scooby doo, of course). Even the physical description, Muriel with spectacles, turtleneck, etc. Lol.

[@joannemorris4451]

Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the American "Little House" books, married a man named Almanzo. She called him 'Manly' for short.

[@christineheminger7762]

SPOILER ALERT(kind of-I’ll word it as vaguely as possible): I’ve always thought the little boy’s condition was because he left as soon as things started happening, while his parents stayed because There must be a reasonable explanation for this.

[@meganmcnelis7136]

Thank you for the Lake District inn recs!

[@sarahmurphy778]

This one legitimately scared me! Great reading Tony! Very, very creepy...you really narrated well and built up the suspense. 5/5 ⭐️

[@Thepurples]

Love this conversation from you. Thanks. My wifes name sheila too!

[@michaelperigo6746]

Love your narration of these stories and the work you put in to find these gems. But I also listen to your commentary. You might just do a "story" that is just your commentary on authors, plots, etc. Ramble as much as you like.

[@dubhub9]

Love this channel, but why is it not available on Amazon Music Podcasts anymore?

[@julierobinson3633]

When you said how expensive it is to post books - do they still do the 'printed materials' rate? It was a cheaper way to send books. Shipped, I think, so slower than airmail, but cheaper.

[@AND-od5jt]

My writing started with "Strafseiten" - so sheets I had to hand in for talking in class... so I started to have several sheets written in advance to reply with "Should I hand it in now or should we wait if there'll be more" ;)

[@sarahmcgrady6748]

Hi Tony! This was truly scary!! I listen to stories every night, but this was the first time I have had to wiggle in beside my husband.

[@Juhani139]

I'm afraid I also hate spoilers. I don't even watch movie trailers.😅

[@stardust949]

I relate to your busy weekend/s. Although mine haven't included adding more Buddhas (or Green Men) to household decorations. This was a new story to me, so thanks to the lady who mailed you her copy and sponsored this recording. I hope your Father's Day was lovely.

[@JamesRobertSmith]

I've read quite a lot of Wellman's weird fiction, and I've always thought that this one is the darkest of them. I met him a couple of times. He had great stories about writing for the pulps and comics during the 30s and 40s.

[@ClassicGhost]

I am really impressed and envious that you met him

[@lindadarveau1031]

AWESOME! Made my skin crawl

[@jessicajackson8064]

I think teachers should have to sware an oath like doctors. First: Do No Harm!

[@DPCurtisSydney]

Really strong….as you say, Tony this is scary…superb.

[@Josephinejefferies]

Apparently I have heard this already. But I just enjoyed it a second time. Enjoyed this. 😊

[@ClassicGhost]

It's best if you forget them then you get to enjoy them for the first time the second time too.

[@pakde8002]

The woman from down the holler might not be the authority tony has been led to believe on the accepted pronunciation of Appalachia. I lived in Maggie's Valley, North Carolina and no ever pronounced it a-puh-la-cuh but more like "appa-lay-shuh,” “appa-latch-uh". In any case the double p was always present

[@ClassicGhost]

I am at sea here . i await directions

[@amandine512]

Very well done. Perfectly spooky, perfectly read.

[@violetfemme411]

And Happy Father's Day my friend 💜

[@fortunefavorsthebold3459]

Genuinely terrifying!