The Haunted Orchard

Spring returns to the world—and with it comes a quiet mystery hidden among the blossoms.

In Richard Le Gallienne’s hauntingly beautiful short story, a weary city dweller escapes the noise of New York and travels to a lonely stretch of countryside along the Connecticut coast. There he rents an abandoned colonial farmhouse surrounded by ancient apple trees, lilacs, and the shimmering silence of spring.

At first the orchard seems like the perfect sanctuary for solitude and reflection.

But soon something strange begins to happen.

While resting beneath the blossoming trees, the narrator hears a soft young voice singing in French among the branches—a voice that drifts through the orchard like a memory carried on the wind. No one is ever seen, yet the singing returns day after day, filled with a sadness that refuses to fade.

Compelled by the mystery, the narrator slowly uncovers the tragic story of a young woman whose love—and heartbreak—still lingers among the blossoms.

Poetic, atmospheric, and deeply moving, The Haunted Orchard is not a tale of terror but a quiet ghost story of memory, longing, and unfinished love. First published in Harper’s Magazine in 1912, Le Gallienne’s story captures the delicate boundary between the living and the past, where music, grief, and springtime beauty intertwine.

Narrated with warmth and sensitivity by Christopher Mireider, this classic supernatural tale invites listeners into a world where the wind through apple blossoms may carry more than the songs of birds.

And where some voices refuse to be forgotten.