The Shows

• Click here to listen to the entire show. {57:39}
  
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• Click here for the show's intro music. {0:41}

• Click here for the show's opening. {1:18}

• Click here for Warren's reading of The Tale of the German Student by Washington Irving. {13:54}

• Click here for Suzanne's reading of Selina Sedilia by Bret Harte. {22:08}

• Click here for Warren's reading of Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft. {17:47}

• Click here for the show's closing. {1:51}
  
  

• For more Halloween readings and interviews you can listen to our shows from 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2001 and 2000.
  
  

• And to add some music to your holiday season you might want to listen to our show featuring holiday carols with a Lovecraftian twist.
  
  

• Click here for links to all of the previous Shows that you can listen to on the Hour 25 Website.

• Click here for our current show.

If you enjoyed this show and would like to know when other interviews are uploaded to the Hour 25 Website, then send an email to me at wwjames@earthlink.net and I will add your name to the free Hour 25 Newsletter mailing list. That way you'll get a brief notice in your email every time a new show gets uploaded to the web.

Christmas Readings - 2015

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On Friday - December 25^th, 2015 - Hour 25 joined you to celebrate Christmas - a time to enjoy the company of family and friends and celebrate kindness and charity.

You know, there's a long history of reading stories out loud on Christmas and many authors, such as Charles Dickens or Jerome K. Jerome, had a personal tradition of writing new Christmas stories each and every year and then sharing them with friends over the holidays. Today we're going to continue Hour 25's tradition of being a part of your holiday celebrations by reading you some Christmas stories with a touch of the fantastic.

So get some eggnog, start a fire in the hearth, trim the Christmas tree and settle in for a few minutes of Christmas magic brought to you by The Hour That Stretches.

Their Dear Little Ghost by Elia W. Peattie

Our first story for tonight is Their Dear Little Ghost by Elia Wilkinson Peattie. This story tells us about a child so enchanting she can take you into fairyland. How could you possibly disappoint such a child a Christmastime? But a tragedy has struck and her parents and godmother learn the importance of cherishing the ones we love while they are with us.

The author of this poignant tale was an amazingly prolific author and hard working woman, despite growing up in a household with no books all and who had to leave school when she was thirteen to work in the family printing business.

She was born in 1862 in Kalamazoo Michigan and in 1883 married a reporter from the Chicago Tribune. She and her husband would stay up nights writing to supplement his reporter's salary. Her writing career took off and she became the first woman reporter for the Chicago Tribune, making her the second woman reporter in Chicago. By 1890 she had her own column and wrote about controversial issues of that time which often were in opposition to the views of many readers.

She produced more than 800 editorials, features and columns, and also wrote her own books, stories and plays. She once wrote 100 stories in 100 days to make ends meet and published over 5000 book reviews.

Like so many women, she wrote because she needed to help support her three children, a sister, mother-in-law and mother. She knew that if there was going to be a roof over their heads and food on the table, she'd better keep writing.

Here's a link to a site created by researchers at the University of Nebraska dedicated to "an Uncommon Woman who was an Uncommon Writer".

We venture into fairyland.

The Amalgamated Brotherhood of Spooks by J.K. Bangs

Our second story of the night comes to us from John Kendrick Bangs, an author who is well known for his ghost stories with a humorous or moral twist.

Last year we brought you a story of his wherein an author learned that accepting ghostly help with one's writing - especially for a Christmas ghost story that's late in being delivered to the editor - might not be a good idea.

This year J.K. Bangs is back with another story of an author who won't be able to deliver a promised Christmas ghost story to his editor. {I see a pattern here. I wonder if Bangs had difficulties making his deadlines?} The problem in this story is that the delinquent author can only write ghost stories based on his interactions with actual ghosts and they've all gone on strike because he offended their union boss.

So now we present to you a story of labor relations, authorial misadventures and holiday magic.

The spectre vanished in a rage.		The ghostly band howled and shrieked.

Christmas Greetings from the Moon

I'll never forget Christmas Eve 1968 - when I went outside on a cold winter's night and looked up at the Moon, shining over snow and Christmas lights, and realized that at that very moment three men from Earth were circling that world. This proved that the Moon was not just a place for science fiction dreams but a real place just waiting for discovery and exploration. For a young man who had been dreaming of spaceflight for his whole life the inescapable reality of that moment was a dream come true.

So let us remember that as the crew of Apollo 8 orbited above our lifeless Moon that night, they looked back to see the Earth - a blue and green oasis floating against star filled blackness - and sent the world a Christmas greeting... the first ever from another world.

A Science Fictional Christmas

Back in the 1950's Galaxy Magazine had something of a tradition of publishing Christmas themed covers for their holiday season issues. While looking at them I was struck by the similarities between what Santa does and what engineers do when designing and flying missions to other planets.

First you must establish your mission requirements...

Next you must plan your mission...

Then you must travel through space whilst being careful to account for any mid-course encounters with other objects or spacecraft...

Upon reaching your destination you must carefully deploy your payloads...

And when your mission is completed you can sit down with friends and give a toast to a job well done.

Now go and enjoy the holidays with your family and friends. From all of us here at Hour 25, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years. And remember, when happiness comes to your party, be sure to give it a comfortable seat.

The Hour 25 Broadcast

• Click here to listen to the entire show. {51:00}
  
  Or

• Click here for the show's intro music. {0:41}

• Click here for the show's opening. {1:05}

• Click here for Suzanne's reading of Their Dear Little Ghost by Elia W. Peattie. {17:32}

• Click here for Warren's reading of The Amalgamated Brotherhood of Spooks by John Kendrick Bangs. {26:13}

• Click here for a Christmas greeting from the Moon. {2:50}

• Click here for the show's closing. {2:39}
  
  

• For more Christmas readings you can listen to our shows from 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001.
  
  

• And to add some music to your holiday season you might want to listen to our show featuring Christmas carols with a Lovecraftian twist.
  
  

• Click here for links to all of the previous Shows that you can listen to on the Hour 25 Website.

If you enjoyed this show and would like to know when other interviews are uploaded to the Hour 25 Website, then send an email to me at wwjames@earthlink.net and I will add your name to the free Hour 25 Newsletter mailing list. That way you'll get a brief notice in your email every time a new show gets uploaded to the web.

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