2 min read
231 words
A tense family secret surfaces on the night before a brother’s death, as three sisters—each defined by sharp contrasts in age, demeanor, and presence—gather in the shadow of grief. What was said in the study that night still lingers, heavy and unspoken, in the silence between them.
📖 The Shadows on the Wall by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. This work is in the public domain in both the US and the UK.
Source text: Project Gutenberg ebook 1617, The Wind in the Rose-Bush, and Other Stories of the Supernatural
🏷 horror fiction · short story · first published 1903
Content note: Contains mild depictions of violence, including a character forcefully moving furniture and gesturing with a sword; also includes a description of a character’s face appearing distressed with a livid complexion.
⚠️ Content to skip — violence (22:13–25:59); gore (27:43–28:08).
Narration: AI multi-voice production (Kokoro engine), with synchronized read-along text for accessibility.
🖼 Art: Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916), “Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams” (1900), Ordrupgaard — public domain.
🔤 Read-along text set in Atkinson Hyperlegible (Braille Institute) — designed for low-vision readers.
0:00 Opening
0:13 The story begins
31:57 The End
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