Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909) was an American writer, born in Italy and educated in the USA. He also studied at the universities of Cambridge and Heidelberg. He was a prolific writer in many fields but it was his novels that were most popular, commanding a large following. His stories of the macabre and supernatural are very highly regarded.

Roy Macready reads five of them from "Uncanny Tales":



The Dead Smile

The Screaming Skull

Man Overboard!

For the Blood is the Life

The Doll's Ghost