Murder of Crows – an Original Short Story by Don McDonald
Please note: "Murder of Crows" is one of the early episodes of my new podcast, New Tales Told. I published it here to share it with my large Litreading audience. However, it will eventually only be available on New Tales Told. If you haven't yet done so, please search for New Tales Told on this podcast service or visit shortstoryverses.com to listen to this and my other original stories.There’s a reason crows gather in cemeteries. They remember. They watch. And sometimes, they wait. Murder of Crowsisn’t a tale borrowed from the past—it’s one I wrote for New Tales Told, a series of original stories that echo in the spaces between memory and myth. This one lingers in the cold silence of the American frontier, where the shadows are long and the watchers have wings.Set in Montana Territory, 1868, Murder of Crows is a western—but not the kind you remember from Saturday matinees. The dead don’t rest. The land doesn’t forget. And the crows? They remember everything.Author's NoteThere’s an old belief that crows remember faces. That they mourn their dead. That they never forget a slight.It was early morning when a murder of crows descended on the sycamore outside my bedroom window, their cries so sharp and relentless they pulled me from sleep with a strange sense of dread. I lay there, half-conscious and irritated, staring at the ceiling as their screams echoed through the glass. And in that moment—quietly, almost reflexively—I had a thought I wasn’t proud of: Maybe this murder deserves one of its own.From that flash of anger came something unexpected: a story. Murder of Crows began as a whisper of guilt and folklore. Though it draws faint inspiration from the life and legend of Jeremiah Johnson, this tale is entirely imagined—fiction through and through. But like many stories, its roots are tangled in real emotion: grief, memory, regret… and the uncanny way the natural world sometimes stares back.A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Most Dangerous Game–a Classic Thriller by Richard Connell
We reprise another classic thriller from Litreading's archives for this year's scary season,In this episode, we go on an adventure off the coast of South America, as a famous big game hunter finds himself stranded on an island where hunting has been elevated to a new and frightening level. It’s time to play “The Most Dangerous Game.”"The Most Dangerous Game" has been called "the most popular story ever written in English" and was made into a 1932 movie. It’s author, Richard Connell was one of the most famous American short story writers in the early 20th Century. He was also a screenwriter who won an Academy Award in 1942 for his original screenplay “Meet John Doe.”A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Black Cat–a Classic Scary Story by Edgar Allen Poe
Here is one of the greatest gothic horror stories of all time, originally produced for Litreading in 2019.As Halloween approaches, our tales of horror grow more grisly with a classic scary story, The Black Cat by one of America’s greatest devisers of dread, Edgar Allen PoeA Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Willow Walk–a Classic Thriller by Sinclair Lewis
This dark, thriller deserves to be included in our reprise of classic stories for the scary season. Written by one of America’s greatest writers, Sinclair Lewis, "The Willow Walk" features some fascinating characters, shocking twists, and powerful imagery. It is also one of our longest stories clocking in at over one hour.In addition to winning a Pulitzer Prize, Sinclair Lewis was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. Like many great artists, he had a brief and truly brilliant period, after which the quality of his work declined markedly.A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Empire of the Ants–a Classic Scary Sci-Fi Story by H.G. Wells
What is the scary season without a classic monster story? Like the campy creature features of the 50s and 60s, this story features a tiny annoyance turned into a killing machine. First published in 2020, this story returns to send chills down your spine.Late 19th and early 20th-century science fiction writers were fascinated with the wild and relatively unknown regions of the world, from which they imagined all manner of invaders from insects to lizards, even giant apes.H.G. Wells was a master of using our irrational fears of the unknown to craft masterful stories that still resonate today. In today’s story, the true tales of giant Amazonian ants are magnified into a tale much like a terrestrial “War of the Worlds.”Herbert George Wells was one of the preeminent science fiction writers of his day and his tales, including this one, have been the basis of dozens of movies. 1977’s “Empire of the Ants,” very loosely based on the short story, has the distinction of being one of the very worst.A Survey. A Dream. A Better Ad?Somewhere out there is an ad you won’t hate.And this brief, slightly soul-sucking survey might help me find it.t’s optional. But I’d be forever grateful. Or at least for like, a week.http://bit.ly/litreadingclassicshortstories-surveyThanks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Litreading brings classic short stories to life—expertly narrated with care, clarity, and just enough character to keep things lively. From Poe to Twain, Wolfe to Hemingway, each episode features a complete tale designed for immersive, thoughtful listening in a few minutes to an hour.In addition to timeless tales from the past, explore New Tales Told—a podcast of original short stories that echo the tone and texture of the classics, but are entirely new. Search New Tales Told wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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