Genre: Horror

The Demon Cats

Oct 31, 2025

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Scotland

New Vocabulary: Bite, Bone, Demon, Disappear, Fisherman, Fur, Holy water, Priest, Scratch, Stab, Superstition

Word Count: 1423

Original Author: Tom Muir

Would you go fishing on Halloween night? That’s when demons walk the Earth, and nobody is truly safe…
The Juniper Tree

Sep 30, 2025

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Fairytale

New Vocabulary: Chest (box), Console, Demon, Juniper berry, Millstone, Padlock, Torment, Witch

Word Count: 4623

Original Author: Fairy Tales

Skin as white as snow and eyes as red as blood. Some would call it beautiful, but to Nicholas’s parents, he is a demon child. But when Nicholas discovers that his ‘mother’ is not his real mother, his whole world starts to change.
Have You Met Elaine?

May 27, 2025

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Modern

New Vocabulary: Cuppa, Defrost, Egging, Fertiliser, Hoarder, Infer, Intermittent fasting, Parish council, Ragamuffin, Six pack, Spot (skin), Vandalise

Word Count: 1728

Original Author: Ariel Goodbody

Have you met Elaine? Elaine is very giving, but not very nice. Oh, she loves everyone, but she shows her love through action, not smiles.
A Crooked Old House

Apr 16, 2024

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Genre: Horror

Setting: UK

New Vocabulary: Association, Crooked, Drain (noun), Fern, Hook, Moisture, Plumber, Pretend, Roll, Warp (wood), Zip-line

Word Count: 1753

Original Author: Ariel Goodbody

An old man lives in an old house. The house is so old that it has changed shape and many things are broken. Every day, the man must climb up a big hill to get to the kitchen. Lots of people tell him he needs to leave the house, but the old man refuses. But one day, the house makes sure he will never leave.
The Red Book

Jan 16, 2024

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Modern

New Vocabulary: Dive, Keep doing, Leaf, Pile, Push, Run away, Scary, Treasure, Wrap

Word Count: 1821

Original Author: Ariel Goodbody

Gemma finds a strange red book on her way home from school. She starts reading it, and it is a story about a boy called Nai. In the story, Nai also finds a red book, and when he starts to read it, the story is about Gemma…
The Water Monster

Nov 21, 2023

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Fairytale

New Vocabulary: Bend someone’s will, Brine, Flesh and blood, Froth, Make to do something, Mild, Seaweed, String of pearls, Swirl, Tea (food)

Word Count: 753

Original Author: Karel Jaromír Erben

Download this episode as a PDF. Transcript Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great. I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show. Today’s story is for intermediate learners. The name of the story is The Water Monster. You can […]
The Path of Pins and Needles

Oct 10, 2023

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Fairytale

New Vocabulary: Get the better of you, Intestines, Pins and needles, Sense (verb), Sneak, Stray from, Tickle, Wet yourself, Wolf down

Word Count: 2024

Original Author: Ariel Goodbody

Red loves playing tricks on the adults in her village, so one day her mother sends her to bring bread and milk to her grandmother. On the way, Red meets a strange man, Wolf, who suggests they play a game: he’ll walk the path of pins, she’ll walk the path of needles, and they’ll see who gets to Grandmother’s house first. But when Red arrives, she finds something very different to what she expected.
The Piper of Hamelin (Beginner)

Aug 15, 2023

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Fairytale

New Vocabulary: Blind, Deaf, Disappear, Drown, Get rid of, Lead, Limp, Mayor, Piper, Times (maths)

Word Count: 1588

Original Author: Fairy Tales

Rats come to the town of Hamelin, three times as big as normal rats. The townspeople don’t know what to do. But then a piper comes to town and says he can get rid of the rats with his music. The only problem? The price! But when the mayor refuses to pay him, the piper plays a different kind of music…
Eileen

May 9, 2023

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Modern

New Vocabulary: Acid, Bruise, Bully, Climate change, Come up with, Disguise, Disprove, Exponential, Hack, Precocious

Word Count: 1449

Original Author: Ariel Goodbody

With every month that passes, Eileen gets cleverer. The kids at school hate her, and her parents are afraid of her. There’s something not… human about this child. This story covers my feelings about AI (artificial intelligence). I talk a lot about an episode of another podcast, Your Undivided Attention, which explains the dangers and possibilities of AI.
The Perfect Pet

Feb 14, 2023

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Genre: Horror

Setting: Modern

New Vocabulary: Allergy, Bite, Blood, Butcher, Covered in, Guinea pig, Lock, Mean (unkind), Named after, Pee, Scratch, Social

Word Count: 1424

Original Author: Ariel Goodbody

Rory has always wanted a pet, but his parents don’t like animals. When Rory finishes university, he decides to get a pet. First, he gets a dog, but then things start going wrong…