Poe for Kids

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Sphinx" for listeners ages 8-12.

A terrible sickness is sweeping through New York City, and a young man escapes to a quiet cottage on the Hudson River to wait it out. But the bad news keeps arriving, and his nerves are wearing thin. Then one afternoon, gazing out the window at a distant hillside, he sees something impossible: a monster bigger than a sailing ship crawling down the slope, with two pairs of enormous wings, gleaming tusks, and a skull staring out from its chest. Is it an omen of doom, or is he losing his mind? The answer turns out to be much closer than he thinks. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's strangest tales about fear, imagination, and how easy it is to misjudge what's right in front of you.

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School's back, which means Buggy started 4th grade, picked up violin and tennis, and recording time got tight. We're not stopping — just slowing down for a bit. In this short bonus episode, we let you know what's coming next: The Sphinx is up first, then we close out Season One with one of Poe's most famous scary stories (Dad's keeping it a secret, and Buggy's hint doesn't exactly help). Subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and leave a comment telling us where in the world you're listening from — Buggy's studying geography this year and wants to know.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "A Descent into the Maelström" for listeners ages 8-12.

High on a cliff overlooking the coast of Norway, an old fisherman tells a story that turned his hair white in a single day. He and his brothers sailed too close to a monstrous whirlpool, a real, ferocious current called the Moskstraumen, and watched it swallow their boat whole. What he figured out in those terrifying minutes, the one calculation that saved his life, is either genius or madness. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's most harrowing tales of nature's raw power.

Watch the real Moskstraumen whirlpool here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MXzcGILsrM

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" for listeners ages 8-12.

Deep beneath the streets, in tunnels lined with bones and heavy with damp air, one man leads another toward the promise of a rare wine — but it isn't friendship guiding the way. When Montresor invites his old rival Fortunato down into the catacombs to taste a legendary cask of Amontillado, Fortunato has no idea he's walking straight into a trap years in the making. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's coldest and most calculated tales.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Purloined Letter" for listeners ages 8–12.

A stolen letter, a government minister hiding it in plain sight, and a detective who solves the case by refusing to think like everyone else — Auguste Dupin returns to untangle a mystery that has the entire Paris police force stumped. They've searched every inch of the minister's apartment and found nothing, but Dupin knows that sometimes the best hiding place is the one nobody bothers to check. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's most clever tales.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold Bug" for listeners ages 8–12.

A strange golden beetle, a scrap of weathered paper, and a code no one can crack — William Legrand is convinced they add up to something extraordinary. When a mysterious cryptogram sends him on a hunt across a remote South Carolina island, even his closest friends aren't sure if he's found treasure or lost his mind. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's most puzzling tales.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and The Pendulum" for listeners ages 8-12.

Buried in total darkness, with no idea what waits in the room around him — a prisoner must use every ounce of nerve just to survive the night. When a condemned man wakes up trapped in a dungeon during the Spanish Inquisition, he must outlast torments designed to break him before they can kill him. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's most nail-biting tales.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" for listeners ages 8–12.

A body found behind a locked door, a room no one could have entered or left — and a detective determined to solve it. When two women are murdered in a Paris apartment under impossible circumstances, C. Auguste Dupin sets out to untangle a mystery that has the whole city stumped. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's cleverest tales.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" for listeners ages 8–12.

Prince Prospero thinks he can hide from anything — even death itself — behind the walls of his abbey. But when a mysterious stranger shows up uninvited to his masquerade ball, things don't go quite the way he planned. Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's spookiest stories.

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A kid-friendly adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" for listeners ages 8-12.

Unsettled by an old man's pale, filmy eye, and certain his own senses have grown sharper than any ordinary man's — a narrator must rid himself of what haunts him just to find peace of mind.

When three police officers arrive to investigate a neighbor's report of a scream in the night, he must keep his composure and answer every question calmly — before a strange, steady sound threatens to give him away.

Join Buggy and Dad as they explore one of Edgar Allan Poe's most spine-tingling tales.