Snoozecast

Tonight, for the next in our 5th annual “Spooky Sleep Story Series”, we shall read the narrative poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1845.

The poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a mysterious visit by a talking raven. The lover, often identified as a student,[1][2] is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further antagonize the protagonist with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore".

By the way, “a bust of Pallas” refers to a sculpture of Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. The fact that the narrator has one in his bedroom represents his interest in learning and scholarship, and also can be taken as representing his own rational, sane mind. The Raven, by landing on the bust when it flies into the room, signifies a threat to the narrator’s ability to understand the reasons (if any) behind the Raven’s coming and its message. That the Raven stays on top of the bust of Pallas at the end of the poem, never flitting, suggests that irrationality has taken up a permanent home in the narrator’s formerly rational mind.

Poe claimed to have written the poem logically and methodically, with the intention to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes. The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references. Its publication made Poe popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success. It remains one of the most famous poems ever written.

Tune in every Wednesday this month for sleep stories of the darker variety- like classic horror literature and ghost stories, read in a way to evoke a mood of spookiness, without actually causing a fright. Catch up on previous years by finding our free podcast “Snoozecast Presents: Spooky Stories” or if you are a premium subscriber, look for “Snoozecast+” or “Snoozecast+ Deluxe: Spooky Stories” instead to listen ad-free.

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Tonight, we’ll read the 15th chapter to “Anne of Green Gables” the classic 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This chapter is titled “Anne’s Confession”.

In the last episode, Marilla believes Anne lost Marilla’s special brooch and accuses her of lying. To punish her, Marilla disallows Anne to attend the much anticipated Sunday school picnic. Eventually, after much despair, Anne confesses for the crime she did not commit. Then Marilla finds that she herself lost her brooch when she finds it. Anne then gets to attend the Sunday school picnic after all.

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Tonight, for this monthly Snoozecast+ Deluxe bonus, we’ll read an original story about a curious kitten named Baxter. He accidentally falls whiskers over paws into Santa’s sack during a midnight visit, and is soon whisked away to fall off lands to see new sights.

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Tonight, we’ll read the third part of a fairy tale called “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen. The story centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kay. The first part originallyaired on January 4th, 2021.

This story is one of Andersen's longest and most highly acclaimed tales. It was also the inspiration for the Disney movie “Frozen.”

In the second part, we follow little Gerda on her journey to find her friend Kay. She is bewitched and talks with flowers, and then gets caught up with a family of robbers. A raven tries to help her and leads her to a castle where he thinks he has seen her Kay.

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We hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight we shall read the next chapter to “Peter Pan”, the 1911 novel by J.M. Barrie. To unlock full episodes of this series, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus.

An easy way to listen to this continuing story in order is at snoozecast.com/series.

When we left off, Peter stealthily boards the pirate ship to save his friends. Mayhem ensues, as he starts to attack the pirates one by one, without Hook understanding what was happening.

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