Prompt Cast
"Lost Hearts" by M.R. James: A Terrifying Tale of Revenge and Dark Secrets
TLDR In the horror short story "Lost Hearts" by M.R. James, a young orphan boy named Stephen discovers the disturbing secret of his elderly cousin, Mr. Abney, who absorbs the hearts of others for immortality. As Stephen uncovers the truth, he becomes entangled in a haunting tale of revenge by the ghosts of the children Mr. Abney killed.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
In the 2021 Halloween Spooktacular episode of "Stuff You Should Know," the hosts introduce the ad-free episode and discuss the selection of horror short stories, specifically mentioning "Lost Hearts" by M.R. James as one of the stories they are excited about.
05:21
A young orphan boy arrives at his elderly cousin's house, Mr. Abney, who is known as a recluse and scholar, and is surprised by Mr. Abney's warm reception and interest in his age and birthday.
10:09
A young boy named Stephen asks Mrs. Bunch about two other children that Mr. Abney had taken in, a little girl who disappeared mysteriously and a foreign boy named Giovanni who also vanished.
15:21
Stephen has a terrifying dream about a thin, shrouded figure with a dreadful smile and wakes up to find himself standing in the moonlit bathroom, but the figure is not there when he checks, leading Mrs. Bunch to replace the curtain on the bathroom window; later, Stephen discovers mysterious slits on his nightgown and Mrs. Bunch suggests that they may be claw marks.
20:14
Stephen is asked by Mr. Abney to come to his study at 11 o'clock in the evening for something important regarding his future, and Stephen eagerly awaits the opportunity.
25:02
Stephen sees two ghostly figures, a boy and a girl, outside his window, and the boy has a terrifying chest wound, which leads Stephen to discover Mr. Abney's disturbing secret of absorbing the hearts of others for spiritual enlightenment.
30:22
Mr. Abney's disturbing secret involves removing the hearts of living subjects and mixing them with red wine to achieve immortality, but Stephen discovers his true fate when he finds Mr. Abney dead with a lacerated wound and realizes the ghosts of the children he killed sought revenge.
35:36
Dr. Raymond convinces Clark that their operation to lift the veil and see the real world is safe and necessary, as he explains his groundbreaking discoveries in brain physiology.
40:36
Dr. Raymond can connect people to the spirit world using brain experiments, and he plans to use Mary as his first test subject.
45:28
Clark sits in a chair in the laboratory while Raymond performs experiments, and as he sits there, he is transported back to a vivid memory of a hot summer day from his childhood.
50:11
Clark witnesses a disturbing experiment in which a girl named Mary is put into a chair, rendered unconscious, and wakes up as a hopeless idiot after supposedly seeing the great God Pan.
Categories:
Society & Culture
