Show Notes
🎙️ 1001 Ghost, Chiller & Lovecraft Stories SHOW NOTES "SMEE" by A.M. Burrage A Christmas Eve game of hide‑and‑seek becomes a brush with the dead. A.M. Burrage's "Smee" is one of the finest English ghost stories of the early 20th century — subtle, atmospheric, and built around the kind of slow‑creeping dread that M.R. James himself praised Burrage for achieving . First published in December 1929 in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine, the story has become a classic of holiday hauntings: a tale where a simple parlor game turns into a chilling encounter with something that should not be there.
🕯️ Story Summary It is Christmas Eve, and a group of fourteen friends gather in an old country house — the perfect setting for childish games after a good dinner and holiday cheer. Someone suggests hide‑and‑seek, and the group erupts in enthusiastic approval… except for one man: Jackson. Jackson refuses to play. When pressed, he explains that he once stayed in a house where a girl died during hide‑and‑seek — she opened the wrong door in the dark, fell down a servants' staircase, and broke her neck . But then he adds something even more unsettling: "I was there when something else happened. Something worse." Jackson proposes a different game: SMEE — a variation of hide‑and‑seek played in total darkness. One player secretly becomes "Smee," hides, and remains silent when found. The others must locate Smee by touch and challenge them with the word "Smee." The real Smee never answers. One by one, players gather silently around the hidden figure until everyone is found. It is meant to be noisy, chaotic, and fun. But in a large, old house, it can take a long time… and strange things can happen in the dark. During the game, the narrator encounters a silent figure standing in a small, cold room — a figure he assumes is one of the players. But when the lights come on, he learns that no one else was ever in that room. The person he stood beside — the one who refused to answer — was not part of the game at all. And when Jackson later reveals the name of the girl who died in the house, the narrator realizes with horror that the silent figure he found matches her description exactly. The game of SMEE has drawn a ghost into the circle.
👻 Why "SMEE" Works So Well Classic English ghost‑story atmosphere — Christmas Eve, an old house, candlelight, and youthful merriment.
A slow build of dread — Burrage uses silence, darkness, and suggestion rather than shock.
A perfect twist — the narrator's "player" was never alive.
A haunting backstory — the girl who died on the servants' staircase becomes the ghost who joins the game.
A timeless structure — a party game becomes a supernatural encounter.
This is Burrage at his best: understated, eerie, and unforgettable.
🧩 Themes & Tone Games that open doors to the unseen
The thin veil between memory and haunting
The danger of old houses and forgotten tragedies
The uncanny silence of the dead
The story is perfect for listeners who love M.R. James, E.F. Benson, and the classic British tradition of Christmas ghost stories.
📚 Publication Notes First published December 1929 in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine
Written by A.M. Burrage, later praised by M.R. James as one of the writers who "best realized" the possibilities of the ghost story
Frequently anthologized in Christmas ghost‑story collections
Public domain
🔔 Programming Note New stories every Sunday at noon ET Tune in to 1001 Ghost, Chiller & Lovecraft Stories for weekly releases of classic horror, supernatural tales, and eerie fiction from the masters of the genre.
🎧 Suggested Outro "SMEE" reminds us that some games should never be played in the dark — especially in old houses where tragedy has left its mark. Burrage's tale lingers long after the lights come back on, whispering that sometimes, when we call out 'Smee,' something answers by staying silent."
More from 1001 Ghost, Chiller & Lovecraft Stories
💀 LIGHTS OUT! — "THE SEA" Original Air Date: March 16, 1943 Cast: Arch Oboler (writer/director), Bernard Grant, and Mercedes McCambridge Summary A haunting tale of obsession and revenge set against the endless roar of the ocean. When a shipwreck survivor is rescued from the waves, he brings with him a secret that should have stayed buried beneath the sea. As the tide rises and the voices of the deep begin to whisper, the line between sanity and the supernatural dissolves. The Sea is pure Lights Out! — claustrophobic, poetic, and terrifying — a reminder that the ocean never forgets what it's owed. 🎧 Listen for Oboler's masterful use of sound — the crashing surf becomes the heartbeat of guilt itself.
⭐ 1001 GHOST, CHILLER & LOVECRAFT STORIES SHOW NOTES — LIGHTS OUT! DOUBLE FEATURE "LORD MARLEY'S GHOST" & "THE WORD"
1001 Ghost, Chiller & Lovecraft Stories SHOW NOTES – The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe Episode Summary Tonight's story is one of Edgar Allan Poe's darkest psychological tales — a descent into guilt, madness, and the terrifying belief that the past can claw its way back into the present. The Black Cat first appeared in 1843 and remains one of Poe's most disturbing explorations of the human mind under pressure. It is a confession, a warning, and a portrait of a man who insists he is sane… even as every word proves otherwise. In this first‑person narrative, a once‑gentle man becomes consumed by alcohol, rage, and superstition. His beloved pets suffer first, then his household, and finally his own conscience. Poe builds the horror slowly — not through ghosts or monsters, but through the horrifying transformation of a man who believes he is still in control. The black cat, Pluto, becomes both victim and symbol, and the second cat… well, that's where Poe's genius truly shows. This is a story of cruelty, guilt, and the terrifying idea that the truth always finds a way to reveal itself. Why This Story Endures Poe understood that the most frightening monsters are the ones living inside us. The Black Cat is a masterclass in psychological horror — a tale where the supernatural may or may not be real, but the consequences certainly are. It's a story that forces readers to confront the darker corners of human nature, and it remains one of Poe's most analyzed works for its themes of addiction, violence, and moral collapse. About the Author Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was America's master of the macabre — a poet, critic, and storyteller whose works shaped the entire genre of psychological and supernatural horror. His stories continue to inspire writers, filmmakers, and readers around the world nearly two centuries later. Support the 1001 Stories Network If you enjoy our weekly episodes and want to help us keep the lights on at www.bestof1001stories.com, please consider supporting us at: www.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork (patreon.com in Bing) Your support is vital in maintaining our huge archive of classic stories, mysteries, chillers, and supernatural tales — and in helping us continue to bring these timeless works to listeners around the world. Release Schedule New ghost, chiller, and Lovecraft‑style stories release every week. Stay tuned for more classic supernatural fiction from the masters of the genre. Catch ALL of our shows at one place by going to www.bestof1001stories.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
⭐ SHOW NOTES — "Narrative About Clarence" (Suspense, 1944) 1001 Ghost, Chiller & Lovecraft Stories Tonight's episode comes from one of the greatest thriller series of the Golden Age of Radio — Suspense, CBS's long‑running masterpiece of psychological horror. First broadcast on March 16, 1944, Narrative About Clarence is a slow‑burn chiller that creeps up on you one unsettling detail at a time. The story centers on a strange houseguest named Clarence — polite, soft‑spoken, and unnervingly calm — whose presence begins to twist the household around him. Through hypnotism, suggestion, and a kind of quiet domination, Clarence exerts a power that no one can quite explain… until it's far too late. This is classic Suspense: eerie atmosphere
The Black Museum was based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard's Black Museum. The programme was transcribed in 1951 and was broadcast in the United States in 1952 on Mutual.[3] More than 500 of the network's stations carried it.[4] Ira Marion was the scriptwriter and music for the series was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch. This same music was used for the opening credits of, and incidental music in, the 1955 film They Can't Hang Me, starring Terence Morgan. Orson Welles was both host and narrator of stories of horror and mystery, based on Scotland Yard's collection of murder weapons and various ordinary objects once associated with historical true crime cases. The show's opening began: "This is Orson Welles, speaking from London. (Sound of Big Ben chimes) The Black Museum ... a repository of death. Here in the grim stone structure on the Thames which houses Scotland Yard is a warehouse of homicide, where everyday objects ... a woman's shoe, a tiny white box, a quilted robe ... all are touched by murder." Robert Rietti played the lead roles and Keith Pyott was often in the cast. In 2002, Towers produced The Black Museum for television and hired director Gregory Mackenzie to be the showrunner and director for the anthology series using the original narration by Welles. The adaptation was shot on location in London in a film noir style and the pilot starred Michael York as Scotland Yard Inspector Russell.