The Ghost at Massingham Mansions

It begins with Carlyle putting a question to his friend across the library: do you believe in ghosts, Max? He is not asking idly. A block of flats has a haunted set. A tenant has fled it. The landlord's agent would very much like the business settled before the story reaches the newspapers, and the rents with it. Max Carrados has not seen anything at all for many years. He is also the only person willing to ask the one question nobody has put: not whether the apparition was real, but what anybody stood to gain by its being seen. A small announcement with this one. We have now read every story in Ernest Bramah's first Max Carrados collection. Four separate listeners wrote in asking for more of this author by name, so tonight we open the second book — The Eyes of Max Carrados, published in nineteen twenty-three. There are nine fresh cases in it, and this is the first. Bramah's detective is never triumphant. He is curious, he is courteous to everybody including the guilty, and he treats a frightened tenant with exactly the same seriousness as a chief inspector. That is why people keep asking for him. FOR LISTENERS This is a complete, unabridged reading of The Ghost at Massingham Mansions by Ernest Bramah, collected in The Eyes of Max Carrados (1923) and now in the public domain. Every word is the author's own. Part of The Midnight Archive: three nights of classics every week, alongside four original Nocturnal Tales mysteries. YOU CHOOSE WHAT'S NEXT The Archive is deep — more Max Carrados? Loveday Brooke? Judith Lee? Violet Strange? Sherlock Holmes? Father Brown? Lady Molly? Raffles? Dr Thorndyke? Arsène Lupin? Vote in the poll attached to this episode, or tell us in the comments which classic you want to hear by lamplight. Once you know what somebody wanted out of an empty flat, the sheeted figure stops being frightening and becomes rather sad. How long did you hold on to the supernatural explanation? CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction 02:07 - Part One - The Ghost at Massingham Mansions 21:12 - Part Two - The Ghost at Massingham Mansions 33:41 - Part Three - The Ghost at Massingham Mansions 49:28 - Part Four - The Ghost at Massingham Mansions 1:05:27 - Closing SUPPORT & LISTENING OPTIONS ABOUT THIS RECORDING The Ghost at Massingham Mansions by Ernest Bramah (1923) is in the public domain. This recording is the complete, unabridged original text. Narration and production Nocturnal Tales. CREDITS Narrated and produced by Nocturnal Tales. Story by Ernest Bramah (public domain). TAGS / KEYWORDS ernest bramah audiobook, max carrados audiobook, the ghost at massingham mansions audiobook, the eyes of max carrados 1923, blind detective mystery, haunted flat mystery, ghost hoax story, 1920s london mystery, classic detective story audiobook, public domain audiobook, unabridged classic mystery HASHTAGS