Hypnogoria

From the archives of abominable audio we present an eerie tale for the New Year!

In this new chapter of In Search of Santa, we discover the history of Christmas gift-bringers in Scandinavia, from the present day Julemanden, to the more ancient Yule Goat and the Jultomten!

In this episode we have our traditional Christmas commentary, revisiting a classic television adaptation of an MR James tale. Tonight we have reached Christmas 1974, and this year the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas was The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark.

In this festive special we explore the legends and lore of Herne the Hunter. We examine his appearances in classics such The Box of Delights, The Dark is Rising and Robin of Sherwood, explore his connections with the Wild Hunt and Christmas, and untangle his history and folklore from Shakespeare, ghost stories, and the pagan wildwood.

The horrors of '43 continue with mad science zombies in The Mad Ghoul, an eerie anthology of tales in Flesh & Fantasy, and Holmes tangles with The Spider Woman! Universal also begins another franchise with Calling Dr Death - the first of the Inner Sanctum Mysteries starring Lon Chaney Jnr.

1943 was another bumper year for Universal, with a new Phantom of the Opera, Lon Chaney Jnr. taking on the cloak of the Count in Son of Dracula, and a new franchise launching with Captive Wild Woman. Even the adventures of Holmes and Watson were taking an eerie turn...

1942 continues to be a bumper year for Universal, with Kharis rising from the grave once more in the shape of Lon Chaney Jnr. in The Mummy's Tomb, delivering old dark house thrills in Night Monster with Bela Lugosi, and pitting two titans of terror against one another in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man! Plus the great detective Sherlock Holmes, as played by Basil Rathbone, begins a long running series of film adventures at Universal!

In this chapter we see Universal riding high on the success of The Wolf Man, and launching a record-breaking number of horror movies in 1942, including a new addition to the Frankenstein saga with their newly crowned king of horror, Lon Chaney Jnr. donning the famous square skull and neck bolts!

It is 1978, and this is the night he came home! In this chapter we look at John Carpenter's classic Hallowe'en, uncover its origins, explore its connections with the holiday and learn how it brought horror back to Hallowe'en night!   Find more the rest of the Origins of Halloween podcast series, plus other ghoulish goodies, here!

As a prelude to the next chapter of our Origins of Hallowe'en series, we delve into the world of spooky spoken word records from the '60s and '70s, discovering a world of scary stories and haunted vinyl! We hear Famous Monsters Speak! (1963), visit A Graveyard of Ghosts (1974) with Vincent Price, and experience Halloween Horrors (1977)!

In this episode we have a double dose of terror from Adam Nevill! First we look at the new movie version of his novel No One Gets Out Alive which is currently scaring the pants of people on Netflix, and then have a review of his tenth novel, a tale of folk horror entitled Cunning Folk! The book is available for preorder, along lots of other goodies, at Adam's website

In this second exploration of the ghosts of MR James, we uncover strange childhood inspirations, identify recurring types of spectres in his tales, and uncover the good doctor's own view on ghosts.

This week we begin a two part investigation into the ghost stories of MR James, and try to uncover what inspired and influenced the creation of his classic tales of the supernatural.

In this final (honest) episode of our brains in jars season we look at a pair of movies featured chaotic cerebellums causing carnage! First from 1986 we have Canadian horror The Brain, and then from that golden age of sci-fi monster movies, the 1950s, we have the legendary Fiend Without a Face!

Continuing our brains-in-jars mini season, we look at two low budget schlockfests - The Brain from Planet Arous from 1957 and The Brain That Wouldn't Die from 1962!

In this show we take a look at the three big screen adaptations of the novel Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak - The Lady and the Monster (1944), Donovan's Brain (1953), and The Brain (1962) - three movies, from three different decades, and three very different versions of the story! 

Thanks to my arch enemy Mr Real Life getting in the way, it's another trip to the Archives of Abominable Audio this week... But on the upside, we've unearthed a macabre tale from Roald Dahl!

In a new mini series, we take a look at Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak, first published in 1942 in the pages of legendary pulp magazine Black Mask. In this first episode we hear the celebrated 1944 radio version produced by the Suspense Radio show, and starring Orson Welles!

In this chapter we look at one of the most seminal horror movies ever made - The Wolf Man (1941). Starring Lon Chaney Jnr., Evelyn Ankers, Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, and Maria Ouspenskaya, this is the movie that redefined werewolves for ever!

In this chapter we look at a landmark year for Universal horror - 1941 - the year that brought us the first appearances of Lon Chaney Jnr. , Evelyn Ankers and the men the monsters feared... Abbott & Costello!  In this show, we discuss Man-Made Monster, Horror Island, The Black Cat with Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi, and Hold That Ghost!