Theatre Macabre Season 1, Episode 3: The Tortures of Hope

1

First Love

Vladimir, the teenage son of a local rich man, falls madly in love with his new neighbor's daughter Zina competing for her affections along with a host of her other suitors.

25 min

2

The Man Who Demoralized Hadleyburg

A stranger comes to town with a bag full of gold and a test for everyone.

25 min

3

The Tortures of Hope

A man is about to be executed by the Inquisition. Is hope enough to save him?

25 min

4

Mateo Falcone

A young Corsican boy defies local customs and dishonors his family when he turns in a bandit to police.

25 min

5

The Vampire

Intertwines multiple stories, including a framing device about a young man named Runevsky, and explores themes of obsession, the supernatural, and the line between reality and imagination.

25 min

6

The Swashbuckler

A psychological character study revolving around Luchkov, an aggressive, manipulative former military officer who lives for duels and social domination.

25 min

7

The Actress

A failed actress wants to go back to her husband, who has fallen into alcoholism.

25 min

8

The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether

A narrator visits a French mental asylum where the 'soothing system' of patient-led care has been overthrown by a new, more severe method, only for the narrator to discover the 'doctors' are actually the patients, and the 'keepers' are those locked away, tarred and feathered.

25 min

9

The Rajah's Diamond

Follows the journey of a cursed, valuable diamond as it passes through the hands of various characters, revealing their greed, folly, and the dark allure of wealth. The narrative links these tales through the diamond's movement from London to Paris, exploring themes of crime, deception, and morality.

25 min

10

The Nose

A government official's nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own.

25 min

11

Tell-Tale Hearts

A nameless man insists on his sanity while confessing to murdering an old man because of his 'vulture-like' eye.

25 min

12

Markheim

A man murders an antique dealer on Christmas Day to steal from him, only to be tormented by his own conscience, personified by a mysterious visitor who may be the Devil, forcing him to confront his evil and ultimately choose confession over further sin.

25 min

13

The Barrel Organ

Reclusive, cultured lawyer Mr Tomasz's solitary life is transformed by a blind orphan girl who moves in next door and her barrel organ, which he initially despises but comes to cherish as a source of joy and connection, ultimately leading him to help her.

25 min

14

The Canterville Ghost

A young American couple inherits an English castle, only to find that it is haunted by the spirit of a disgraced ancestor, doomed to stay on the estate because of his cowardice. The only way he can escape is if one of his descendants performs an heroic act, something he intends to get the husband to do.

25 min

15

Decameron

From Giovanni Boccaccio's 'The Decameron No. 40.'

25 min

16

A Matter of Conscience

From Ambrose Bierce's 'A Matter of Conscience.'

25 min

17

The Husband Under the Bed

From Fyodor Dostoevsky's 'Another Man's Wife and a Husband Under the Bed.'

25 min

18

Pavoncello

From Stefan Zeromski's 'Pavoncello.'

25 min

19

The Song of Triumphant Love

From Ivan Turgenev's 'The Song of Triumphant Love.'

25 min

20

The Postmaster

From Alexander Pushkin's 'The Postmaster.'

25 min

21

A Terribly Strange Bed

From William Wilkie Collins' 'A Terribly Strange Bed.'

25 min

22

The Fatalist

From Mikhail Lermontov's 'The Fatalist.'

25 min

23

Resurrection of the Offland

From Alexandre Dumas 'The Resurrection of the Offland.'

25 min

24

Boarded Window

From Ambrose Bierce's 'The Boarded Window.'

25 min