The Tomb of Sarah | F. G. Loring | A Bitesized Audio Production

Published three years after Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', 'The Tomb of Sarah' is a classic short vampire tale. During renovation of a west country church it becomes necessary to move one particular tomb, for the safety of the building. Unfortunately it happens to be the one tomb with an inscription warning against disturbing the occupant...
A new, original recording of a classic public domain text, read and performed by Simon Stanhope for Bitesized Audio.
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Frederick George Loring (1869-1951) was an English naval officer and author of magazine journalism and short stories, of which 'The Tomb of Sarah' is the best-remembered today. He was born on the Isle of Wight, the son of Admiral Sir William Loring. The navy was clearly in his blood, as his grandfather and great-grandfathers had also served. He followed family tradition and joined the Navy and rose through the ranks, eventually retiring as a Commander in 1909. During his naval service he took an interest in the fast developing area of wireless telegraphy and became a specialist in wireless systems. After leaving the Navy he worked for the Post Office as Inspector of Wireless Telegraphy, in charge of systems and operation until 1930, and subsequently as a director of the International Marine Radio Company.
Loring's naval career also includes an episode linked to an intriguing "real life ghost story". He was serving as Lieutenant on board the Royal Navy flagship HMS Victoria when it was in a collision with HMS Camperdown in the eastern Mediterranean on 22 June 1893. HMS Victoria capsized and sank within 20 minutes of the collision and barely half the 700 crew survived. Amongst those lost was Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, the Commander in Chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet, who was in command of the ship at the time. His bizarre orders, overriding the concerns of his juniors, were subsequently believed to have been the main cause of the disaster; he was last seen on the bridge going down with the ship and his reported last words were: "It's all my fault". Subsequently a legend arose that on that same afternoon, 22 June 1893, Sir George's wife Lady Tryon was entertaining some friends at her home in Eaton Square, London. Just after 3.30pm several of her guests mentioned that they had just seen Sir George enter the room, survey the party in silence, and then leave. Lady Tryon's alleged response was: "You must be mistaken, my husband is in the Mediterranean...". She received news of his death the following morning. Of course, at this distance in time there's no way of verifying the truth or otherwise of this story - I've not been able to find any contemporary evidence for it - but the legend gained currency over the decades following the incident and has been repeated in numerous "true ghost story" articles and books. What F. G. Loring made of it is unknown...
'The Tomb of Sarah' was first published in the Pall Mall magazine in December 1900. It has been much anthologised ever since.
The title card for this story is a detail from 'The Vampire' by Philip Burne-Jones, from 1897 (the year 'Dracula' was published). It is modelled by the actress Mrs Patrick Campbell, one of the most popular stars of the late Victorian and Edwardian stage, especially noted for her work with George Bernard Shaw, including originating the role of Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.
Recording © Bitesized Audio 2021.