Hypnogoria

In this chapter we take a deep dive in the world of Nosferatu, exploring its relationship with Bram Stoker's Dracula, and examining the portrayal of Orlock himself.

In another stop-gap episode, we go to raid the audio archives and find the Man in Black waiting for us there to relate the creepy tale of Fat Andy...

In this chapter we untangle the twisted tale of Nosferatu's rampage in cinemas, and chronicle how the vile Graf Orlock faced his most deadly foe, Florence Stoker, who very nearly succeeded in having the film destroyed by fire forever!

In an emergency stop-gap episode, we delve into the archives of abominable audio, to unearth a tale of vampirism from the shadowy realm of old time radio - The Marquis of Death!

In this chapter of our celebration of Nosferatu (1922), we meet the screenwriter Henrik Galeen, the mysterious Max Schreck, and learn how the film was shot!

In this chapter of our celebration of the centenary of Nosferatu, we discover the origins of the word "nosferatu" itself, meet the director F.W. Murnau and reveal the unsung mastermind behind the production, Albin Grau.

To open a new podcast series celebrating the centenary of seminal movie Nosferatu (1922), we unearth an almost forgotten remake - a radio version of the silent classic!

In this bite-size episode we take a look at the directorial debut of Travis Stevens - an intriguing little movie called The Girl on the Third Floor...

As a follow up to our three part series on the history of the horror anthology book, in this show Mr Jim investigates why there was such an explosion of horror novels, and indeed, a whole pantheon of horror writers, springing out of nowhere in the 1980s!

In our final exploration of the history of horror anthologies and the brilliant women who edited the leading titles in the field, we look at the spooky collections for younger readers from Barbara Ireson, and the remarkable career of Mary Danby who helmed the Armada Ghost Books and the Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories.

In this podcast, Mr Jim delves further into the history of the horror anthology, detailing the legacy and influence of pioneering editors such as Helen Hoke and Christine Bernard, and paperback ranges such as the Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories and The Armada Ghost Books.

For Women in Horror Month, in this episode Mr Jim delves into the history of the horror anthology and discovered how several pioneering ladies of literature curated ground-breaking collections of weird fiction!

The final frights of 1944 find Lon Chaney Jnr. looking through Dead Man's Eyes, spectral shenanigans in Murder in the Blue Room, Kharis walking for a final time in The Mummy's Curse, and the famous monsters meeting up at the House of Frankenstein!

The frights of '44 continue coming thick and fast from Universal! Ape-girl Paula Dupree returns in the Jungle Woman, Kharis walks again in The Mummy's Ghost, Sherlock Holmes is menaced by the Hoxton Creeper while hunting The Pearl of Death, and Boris Karloff goes all mad doctor at the opera, in The Climax!

1944 would see another bumper crop of fright flicks released by Universal, with the year opening with fresh instalments in their various franchises - a new Inner Sanctum movie Weird Woman, a chilling new adventure for Holmes and Watson in The Scarlet Claw, and the return of one their original horror characters in The Invisible Man's Revenge!

In an unscheduled excursion down the dodgier end of Memory Lane, we pay a visit to the 'Orrible 'Ouse of Terrible Old Tat and unearth one of the most disappointing board games of the 1970s - the infamous Tank Command from Ideal!

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!

1940 was a year for returning horror stars and brand new sequels! In this podcast we look at Black Friday starring Karloff and Lugosi, and The House of Seven Gables with Vincent Price. Plus, meet new monster Kharis in The Mummy's Hand, and hook up with The Invisible Woman!

In this episode we look at the first movies in the second wave of Universal horror - ghostly revenge in The House of Fear, medieval murders in The Tower of London, and more mad science mayhem in The Invisible Man Returns!

In this chapter we discover the story behind Son of Frankenstein (1939)! This movie gave us one of the most remarkable resurrections in film history, not just reviving the Universal Frankenstein saga, but also spawning a new era of horror movies!

A fresh chapter of Universal Horror history! In this episode we examine what happened during the great horror hiatus and how the horror film was resurrected once more!

In this special we uncover the saga of Black Beth, a character who first appeared in legendary 1980s horror comic Scream! We learn of her surprising origins, and take a look at her resurrection by Rebellion and the brand new adventures chronicled by writer Alec Worley and artist DaNi, including the latest hot-off-the-press one shot special The Devils of Al-Kadesh

While Mr Jim is laid low with a throat infection, we have the strange tale of a curious clock, that just might be a portal to Hell itself!

In a little T Rex tangent I couldn't fit into the Damnation Alley saga, we exploring the culty connections between dread dino Satanus in Judge Dredd, Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park and Westworld, time tourism, 2000 AD's Flesh, T Rex hunting, and Ray Bradbury!

We continue to trace the various science fiction vehicles inspired by Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley. We learn how both Zelazny's story and the Adventure 2000 toys turned up in a classic Judge Dredd tale in 2000 AD, plus look at some futuristic toys from the same ear - the Xploratrons from Corgi - who also had connections to the galaxy's greatest comic too!

In the first of a two part trip to the 'Orrible 'Ouse of Terrible Old Tat we trace a strange family tree spawned by Hell Tanner's ride in Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley, and see how the movie version's Land Master influenced a successful line of sci-fi toy vehicles from Matchbox - the Adventure 2000 range.

Unearthed from the archives, the unaired pilot for a 1940s horror radio series - Mystery House, hosted by and starring Bela Lugosi. In this sole surviving episode, with guest star John Carradine, brings us the tale of The Thirsty Dead!

In this final chapter, we look at the heyday of the H certificate, see which movies got the dreaded H, chart the fortunes of horror movies during World War II, and discover how and why the H was replaced with the X certificate in 1951.

In this episode we delve into film censorship in the 1930s, look at the controversies over the new horror talkies, discover why some films were banned, and chart the development of the H certificate!

We begin tracing the history of the infamous H Certificate issued by the British Board of Film Censors - H for Horrific! In this opening chapter, we look at the birth of movie censorship and uncover the often surprising things that caused controversy in the the early days of film!

In this episode we look at a sequel to one of my favourite nonfiction volumes of recent years. Yes, Scarred For Life Volume Two - Television in the 1980s is here!