In my thinking, there is no better way to hear a story than in the author’s own voice. He knows how the audience should hear it, what needs to be emphasized, what can be downplayed.

Russell Kirk’s best ghost story is called “There’s a long, long trail a-winding,” an eerie tale good enough to earn Kirk a Hugo award. In 1976, just prior to it’s publication, Kirk presented this story to an audience at Hillsdale College. The telling was recorded and is now on file in Mp3 format at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute website, and you can listen to it here along with additional anecdotes of Kirk’s personal experiences with the supernatural.

Kirk does not read in the dull monotone you might expect from an academic. Rather, Kirk is a master storyteller and proves himself a dynamic reader, even giving the protagonist his own voice characterization. Kirk even throws in a little singing to liven things up.

The lesser quality of the recording only serves to enhance the experience, reminiscent of the old radio broadcasts of yesteryear. And, given the time in which part of the story takes place, it is a fitting coincidence for this recording. It was easy for me to understand what brought people together around the old radio of an evening as my family and I huddled around the computer listening carefully so as catch every word.

Run time on this piece is about 1 hr. 22 min., but well worth it.

Click to hear “There’s a long, long trail a-winding.“