“Think of having boiling lead poured into your brain. Think of it. She was dead before she could scream.” Does that make you shiver? Me, too. Listen on to Part Two of F. Marion Crawford's The Screaming Skull. I talk a little about the life of Crawford. The quote I mention in the podcast is below. “The great law of division became clear to him—the separation for a time of the universal agent into two parts, by the separation and reuniting of which comes light and heat and the hidden force of life, and the prime rules of attractive action; all things that are accounted material.  He saw the division of darkness and light, and how all things that are in the darkness are reflected in the light; and how the light which we call light is in reality darkness made visible, whereas the true light is not visible to the eyes that are darkened by the gross veil of transitory being. And as from the night of earth, his eyes were gradually opened to the astral day, he knew that the forms that move and have being in the night are perishable and utterly unreal; whereas the purer being which is reflected in the real light is true and endures forever.” ~ Zoroaster, F. Marion Crawford Music: Air of Mystery by Manuel Ochoa Watch Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven on Youtube: https://youtu.be/sisvA_gcijY (https://youtu.be/sisvA_gcijY) In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) https://my.captivate.fm/dashboard/podcast/a0d0254c-2926-4643-84bb-3e379d3b3a0c/analytics/www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com (www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com)

Dark Softly Tales

The Screaming Skull—Part Two by F. Marion Crawford

An old sea captain shares a tale of murder and revenge with a supernatural twist in The Screaming Skull by the fantastic F. Marion Crawford. This is the first part of three. Music: Air of Mystery by Manuel Ochoa Watch Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven on Youtube: https://youtu.be/sisvA_gcijY (https://youtu.be/sisvA_gcijY) In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com

The Screaming Skull by F. Marion Crawford

We celebrate our 100th episode with a gothic classic from the “saintly days of yorn.” The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is a chilling piece of literature that has captured imaginations for over 175 years. Listen and dream darkly. I made storybook style YouTube video for this. Feel free to watch at: https://youtu.be/sisvA_gcijY (https://youtu.be/sisvA_gcijY)

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

A slight pause between our Summer Bites and autumn kick off. Next week, I'm excited to see you all again in our 100th episode: The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

Quickie!

Welcome to the Waste land, a place where nothing survives except the grief of dreams. Fun little fact: Madison Julius Cawein's poem Waste Land was published in a journal that TS Eliot was reading at the time and most likely inspired his own version of The Waste Land, published a few years later. Music: That Impossible Last Breath by Da Sein Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com)

Waste Land by Madison Julius Cawein

Silence is like a canvas for sound to glide across, and no one shows this better than Robert Frost’s dark, moody prose where wind calls to window flowers, dead leaves creep along the forest floor amongst graves. Eventually we end up where death has pressed his cold fingers, and a couple have a difficult conversation about grief and the death of their firstborn. Finally, we land back in the darkest hour in a quiet forest, where Frost infamously reminds us about promises to keep. Frost’s poems are placed in order for a specific, theatrical affect. Nothing Gold Can Stay Wind and the Window Flower Ghost House Reluctance Home Burial Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Music: Frozen Tears by Calm Shores Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com)

Nothing Gold Can Stay and other poems by Robert Frost

"The cruellest lies are often told in silence." Robert Louis Stevenson delivers an interesting viewpoint on silence, expression and speech. After our several weeks of reading through The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I thought the Dark Softly Tales audience would enjoy Stevenson's viewpoint in The Truth of Intercourse. Music: Sublimation - Red Dictionary Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com)

The Truth of Intercourse by Robert Louis Stevenson

They say the devil spins the best yarns. Edgar Allan Poe puts that theory to the test in his chilling short story, Silence—A Fable. Music: Something Darker by Spectacles Wallet and Watch Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com)

Silence—A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe

Rudyard Kipling leads us into another form of silence within the bounds of the jungle where elephants run for their freedom and metamorphosis turns worms into butterflies in Episode 95: Stars in the Rifts. Music: Is by Sandra Marteleur Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) Or tweet a hello at: https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales (https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales)

Stars in the Rifts, poems by Rudyard Kipling

Listen in this week as Edgar Lee Masters explores the silence spaces between young and old, country and city, war and peace, man and woman and all the vastness between life and death. Music: Closer to Home - Spectacles Wallet and Watch Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) Or tweet a hello at: https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales (https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales)

Silence by Edgar Lee Masters

Silence, sorrow, struggle, shadows, what does it all mean? Where do we fit in? Let Dark Softly Tales take you on a journey through the quiet thoughts of the beautiful mind of Kahlil Gibran. Music: Lonely Space Rhodes by Eneide Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) Or tweet a hello at: https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales (https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales)

The City of the Dead by Kahlil Gibran

The greek root of the word Apocalypse means to reveal or uncover knowledge. Lets uncover the sound of silence through Madison Julius Cawein's stunning words of shadow and light. The five poems of his I narrate today in very specific order are: Quiet Abandoned At sunset Apocalypse After Long Grief Music: Hovercraft by _91nova Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) Or tweet a hello at: https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales (https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales)

Apocalypse and other poems by Madison Julius Cawein

Let Dark Softly Tales guide you into Edgar Allan Poe's Dream-Land, where you'll discover silence inside a Dream within a Dream. Music by Inside Light Ray Vorton Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com)

Dream within a Dream and other poems by Edgar Allan Poe

This week we take a walk in TS Eliot's dream kingdom under a twinkling of a fading star in The Hollow Men followed by Wait without Hope. Music: Take a Break by AG Music Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) Or tweet a hello at: https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales (https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales)

The Hollow Men by TS Eliot

I turned a poem I wrote into a song called, "What Does the Silence Sound Like to You?" I hope you all enjoy it. ;-) Write and let me know at darksoftlytales@gmail.com. We'll be back next week with our Summer Bites program. Welcome to the Dark Softly Tales Summer Bite series, our theme this year is silence. The summer kicks off in https://www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com/episode/the-sleeper-awakens-intro-to-the-summer-bite-series-by-mav-skye (Episode 88.) Tune in every week where we bring you bite size pieces of fiction under the silence of a summer sun.  In the mood for reading?  Check out Mav’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6 (https://www.amazon.com/Mav-Skye/e/B00I52M3J6) Check out Mav’s other creative work on her empire website here: http://www.darksoftlytales.com/ (www.darksoftlytales.com) Or tweet a hello at: https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales (https://twitter.com/DarkSoftlyTales)

What Does the Silence Sound Like to You? by Mav Skye

Dark Softly Tales is a weekly podcast of horror, suspense and dark fantasy stories written, produced and narrated by Mav Skye. The podcast will host dark fiction by guest authors and occasional interviews. Eventually, we will add additional weekly episode of true tales of the supernatural and fantastic.

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Dark Softly Tales

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