Read to me classic stories of horror.
September 21, 2015 6:04 PM
This Halloween, I'm going to bake myself a Halloween cake, light some candles, turn the lights off, and listen to recordings of classic horror stories read by masters of the form. Need to beef up the story list!
I'm looking for audio recordings of classic horror stories (19th - early/mid 20th century), or radio broadcasts of terrible tales, read by great actors (or just great readers). Examples: "The Monkey's Paw" read by Christopher Lee or John Lithgow. (I see that Lee did a whole series called "Fireside Tales." PERFECT.)
The famed Orson Welles broadcast of "War of the Worlds" is also on my mind. I'll probably google Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, and company.
Please do recommend me some more. Audiobooks are a possibility but I'm looking for something I can listen to in the span of one evening. An audiobook of a story compilation would be just ducky.
I'm looking for audio recordings of classic horror stories (19th - early/mid 20th century), or radio broadcasts of terrible tales, read by great actors (or just great readers). Examples: "The Monkey's Paw" read by Christopher Lee or John Lithgow. (I see that Lee did a whole series called "Fireside Tales." PERFECT.)
The famed Orson Welles broadcast of "War of the Worlds" is also on my mind. I'll probably google Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, and company.
Please do recommend me some more. Audiobooks are a possibility but I'm looking for something I can listen to in the span of one evening. An audiobook of a story compilation would be just ducky.
This may a little off what you want, but James Earl Jones reading The Raven is a personal favorite.
posted by Ruki at 6:26 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by Ruki at 6:26 PM on September 21, 2015
Christopher Walken reads "The Raven". Lovecraft.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:34 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:34 PM on September 21, 2015
I really like Garrick Hagon's reading of The Call of Cthulhu (bonus points for the reader's name being just one letter away from an Elder Thing.)
posted by WidgetAlley at 6:40 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by WidgetAlley at 6:40 PM on September 21, 2015
I once read a book of utterly terrifying short stories that I think were by Arthur Conan Doyle. This might jog someone else's memory but I'll try googling too (I want to re-read them too).
posted by kitten magic at 7:01 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by kitten magic at 7:01 PM on September 21, 2015
Found it, omg just the titles are bringing back the shivers
posted by kitten magic at 7:06 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by kitten magic at 7:06 PM on September 21, 2015
Oh! Give The Thing on the Fourble Board a listen. It's from the radio program Quiet, Please, and it is so creepy.
I hope it's not too far off of what you're looking for, since it's a radio piece and not narration of a classic short horror story. But it's definitely short and Halloweeny.
posted by zoetrope at 7:10 PM on September 21, 2015
I hope it's not too far off of what you're looking for, since it's a radio piece and not narration of a classic short horror story. But it's definitely short and Halloweeny.
posted by zoetrope at 7:10 PM on September 21, 2015
Anthology is a podcast that does audio adoptions of works in the public domain. They did a really chilling retelling of the Yellow Wallpaper and they've done some Poe. Also a creepy ship story the name of which I can't recall.
posted by KernalM at 7:10 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by KernalM at 7:10 PM on September 21, 2015
There is also plenty of Old Time Radio "Suspense", Crime classics, Nero Wolf, etc.
https://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio
posted by nickggully at 7:31 PM on September 21, 2015
https://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio
posted by nickggully at 7:31 PM on September 21, 2015
Vincent Price is my Halloween standby -- I love listening to A Hornbook for Witches and the Edgar Allan Poe recordings done by him and Basil Rathbone.
posted by pepper bird at 9:19 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by pepper bird at 9:19 PM on September 21, 2015
PseudoPod is a horror story podcast that releases a story a week. Often they are classic stories, and often they are new. wikipedia has an extensive list of their episodes.
posted by garlic at 10:03 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by garlic at 10:03 PM on September 21, 2015
The H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast has a selection of readings on their site.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:35 PM on September 21, 2015
posted by Mister Moofoo at 11:35 PM on September 21, 2015
You mentioned the original War of the Worlds, but you might also enjoy the L.A. Theatre Works version too. Stars include Star Trek luminaries such as Leonard Nimoy, John de Lancie, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Armin Shimerman, and Wil Wheaton. They had a lot of fun with it.
(I had a Halloween like this a few years ago. Best. Ever. Just me and the cat, snacks, candles, and spooky, spooky radio. Enjoy!)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:18 AM on September 22, 2015
(I had a Halloween like this a few years ago. Best. Ever. Just me and the cat, snacks, candles, and spooky, spooky radio. Enjoy!)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:18 AM on September 22, 2015
The 15 Spookiest Episodes of Old Time Horror Radio.
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:34 AM on September 22, 2015
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:34 AM on September 22, 2015
Stuff You Should Know does a yearly read of a scary public domain story on Halloween. They do break the fourth wall at times but it's a fun time.
posted by Fuego at 10:02 PM on September 24, 2015
posted by Fuego at 10:02 PM on September 24, 2015
Ice Box Radio - The Thing on the Ice is a fantastic story... scared myself something awful listening to that while driving on a dark road during a snowstorm...
posted by noonday at 1:20 PM on September 26, 2015
posted by noonday at 1:20 PM on September 26, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by timeo danaos at 6:14 PM on September 21, 2015