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Doug Bradley's Spinechillers #3
Doug Bradley's Spinechillers, Vol. 3
Casting the Runes (1900) - M.R. James 55:28
The Monkey's Paw (1902) - W.W. Jacobs 23:54
Hop Frog (1849) - Edgar Allan Poe 24:39
The Body Snatcher (1884) - Robert Louis Stevenson 50:45
The Raven (1845) - Edgar Allan Poe 9:49
The Monkey's Paw (1902) - W.W. Jacobs 23:54
Hop Frog (1849) - Edgar Allan Poe 24:39
The Body Snatcher (1884) - Robert Louis Stevenson 50:45
The Raven (1845) - Edgar Allan Poe 9:49
First published July 27, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2012
The triumphant return of PINHEAD:
…oops, my bad. That's the wrong one. I meant this soulless, bizzare creepfest:
Doug Bradley, the man behind one of the ultimate cinematic horror icons, returns with another splendid narration of five classic terror tales from the way back when. Now on its third volume, the series continues to mine the forests, hillsides and cemeteries of pre- and early 20th century literature for the best of the early frights involving the ghost, ghoul and gothic.
As a collection, this probably deserves a 4th star. I admit that. However, since I was already intimately familiar with the first two stories (the best in the collection), my applause meter remained a bit muted. Still, for fans of the atmospheric antique art of the Ahhhhhhhh….this installment, and the series as a whole, are a treasure chest worth opening up.
Here are the tales:
Casting the Runes by M.R. James:
One of James’ most famous works, this is a terrific story that is as much mystery as tale of the supernatural. The horror elements, like many of M.R.’s stories are understated and suggestive rather than blatant that lends a sense of authenticity to the fear it provokes. The plot revolves around a man named Dunning who rejects a paper on alchemy submitted by a mysterious recluse named Karswell. Karswell is shown to be a horrific human being with zilch in the redeeming quality column. James effectively clues his audience in to this when he has a character relay a bizarre story of Karswell inviting some local children to his house to watch a slideshow.
I’ll leave the rest to you, good reader, to discover but I think you can guess that Karswell is not going to take his rebuffing with gentle, good humor. Occult lore, diabolical pacts and nefarious revenge schemes…oooh, what fun.
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs:
Rather than reinvent the review wheel, I willshamelessly pimp direct you all to my earlier comments on this classic piece of wonderful by Mr. Jacobs: Monkey’s Paw review
…Pffting owls, Yoda, Far Side comics and a D’ohing Homer…what more do you want in a review of a 19th century ghost story.
Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe:
This was easily the darkest, most chilling of the entries and Poe really made my skin crawl with this intense yarn about a mistreated court jester (aka Hop-frog), a mean-humored and supercilious King, a contemptible group of advisors...and orangutans…
yep, you heard me…orangutans, although, given the much scarier context in which Poe depploys them, I think this image may be more apropos:
Yeah...that feels about right.
This one had a lot of disturb to it. It’s been a few days since I finished this collection and this story is the only piece that is still demanding attention from my brain. That tells me it had a bigger impact than I originally suspected and may develop an even better reputation with me as time goes on.
The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson:
I love RLS, but this was my least favorite of the stories and it actually may have cost the entire collection a star. It’s not bad by any means but it certainly was not as entertaining or memorable as the other pieces. It’s a tale of grave robbers, morally-deficient medical students, some serious drinking and an unwanted hitchhiker. The drinking was good.
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe:
I assume everyone is familiar with this lush, giblet-tingling poem of a heart-broken lover’s descent into madness. Therefore, I shan't quoth it here. Let me just add that Doug Bradley’s reading, as will all of his narration on this collection, is done with skill and grace and adds a bit of oomph to the stories that make the overall experience terrific.
In sum, looking back over the first three installments of this series, it has been a wonderful ride. I don’t think I have given any installment more than 3 stars and yet I continue to come back for more with great eagerness. That’s because each batch of stories is highly readable and each has something that truly special that makes it very worth experiencing.
3.5 stars. Recommended!!
…oops, my bad. That's the wrong one. I meant this soulless, bizzare creepfest:
Doug Bradley, the man behind one of the ultimate cinematic horror icons, returns with another splendid narration of five classic terror tales from the way back when. Now on its third volume, the series continues to mine the forests, hillsides and cemeteries of pre- and early 20th century literature for the best of the early frights involving the ghost, ghoul and gothic.
As a collection, this probably deserves a 4th star. I admit that. However, since I was already intimately familiar with the first two stories (the best in the collection), my applause meter remained a bit muted. Still, for fans of the atmospheric antique art of the Ahhhhhhhh….this installment, and the series as a whole, are a treasure chest worth opening up.
Here are the tales:
Casting the Runes by M.R. James:
One of James’ most famous works, this is a terrific story that is as much mystery as tale of the supernatural. The horror elements, like many of M.R.’s stories are understated and suggestive rather than blatant that lends a sense of authenticity to the fear it provokes. The plot revolves around a man named Dunning who rejects a paper on alchemy submitted by a mysterious recluse named Karswell. Karswell is shown to be a horrific human being with zilch in the redeeming quality column. James effectively clues his audience in to this when he has a character relay a bizarre story of Karswell inviting some local children to his house to watch a slideshow.
Mr. Karswell had evidently set out with the intention of frightening these poor village children out of their wits, and I do believe, if he had been allowed to go on, he would actually have done so. He began with some comparatively mild things. Red Riding Hood was one, and even then… the wolf was so dreadful that several of the smaller children had to be taken out...Well, the show went on, and the stories kept on becoming a little more terrifying each time… At last he produced a series which represented a little boy passing through his own park in the evening. Every child in the room could recognize the place from the pictures. And this poor boy was followed, and at last pursued and overtaken, and either torn to pieces or somehow made away with, by a horrible hopping creature in white, which you saw first dodging about among the trees, and gradually it appeared more and more plainly…Well it turns out that Karswell, in addition to being mean, nasty and vindictive to the core, is also an expert in the black arts, having written a bizarre treatise on the subject years ago. The fate of the critic who panned that particular book makes up a major slice of this prose pie.
I’ll leave the rest to you, good reader, to discover but I think you can guess that Karswell is not going to take his rebuffing with gentle, good humor. Occult lore, diabolical pacts and nefarious revenge schemes…oooh, what fun.
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs:
Rather than reinvent the review wheel, I will
…Pffting owls, Yoda, Far Side comics and a D’ohing Homer…what more do you want in a review of a 19th century ghost story.
Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe:
This was easily the darkest, most chilling of the entries and Poe really made my skin crawl with this intense yarn about a mistreated court jester (aka Hop-frog), a mean-humored and supercilious King, a contemptible group of advisors...and orangutans…
yep, you heard me…orangutans, although, given the much scarier context in which Poe depploys them, I think this image may be more apropos:
Yeah...that feels about right.
This one had a lot of disturb to it. It’s been a few days since I finished this collection and this story is the only piece that is still demanding attention from my brain. That tells me it had a bigger impact than I originally suspected and may develop an even better reputation with me as time goes on.
The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson:
I love RLS, but this was my least favorite of the stories and it actually may have cost the entire collection a star. It’s not bad by any means but it certainly was not as entertaining or memorable as the other pieces. It’s a tale of grave robbers, morally-deficient medical students, some serious drinking and an unwanted hitchhiker. The drinking was good.
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe:
I assume everyone is familiar with this lush, giblet-tingling poem of a heart-broken lover’s descent into madness. Therefore, I shan't quoth it here. Let me just add that Doug Bradley’s reading, as will all of his narration on this collection, is done with skill and grace and adds a bit of oomph to the stories that make the overall experience terrific.
In sum, looking back over the first three installments of this series, it has been a wonderful ride. I don’t think I have given any installment more than 3 stars and yet I continue to come back for more with great eagerness. That’s because each batch of stories is highly readable and each has something that truly special that makes it very worth experiencing.
3.5 stars. Recommended!!
September 10, 2020
Casting the Runes - M.R. James
**** One of the better offerings from James, at least based on what I've read of him so far.
The Monkey's Paw - W.W. Jacobs
*** A great classic for sure, but I can't get past all the obviously bad decisions that the characters made.
Hop Frog - Edgar Allan Poe
**** This one was new to me. An uncharacteristically happy ending by Poe standards.
The Body Snatcher - Robert Louis Stevenson
*** Lots of great buildup but the ending was a letdown. So much more could have been done with all that capital.
The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe
***** Can't go wrong with an old favorite. Tap tap tap.
**** One of the better offerings from James, at least based on what I've read of him so far.
The Monkey's Paw - W.W. Jacobs
*** A great classic for sure, but I can't get past all the obviously bad decisions that the characters made.
Hop Frog - Edgar Allan Poe
**** This one was new to me. An uncharacteristically happy ending by Poe standards.
The Body Snatcher - Robert Louis Stevenson
*** Lots of great buildup but the ending was a letdown. So much more could have been done with all that capital.
The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe
***** Can't go wrong with an old favorite. Tap tap tap.
September 30, 2022
Doug Bradley's Spinechillers Volume 3: Includes the following short horror stories narrated by Doug Bradley:
Casting the Runes (1900)- M.R. James
The Monkey's Paw (1902)- W.W. Jacobs
Hop Frog (1849)- Edgar Allan Poe
The Body Snatcher (1884)-Robert Louis Stevenson
The Raven (1845)-Edgar Allan Poe
The Monkey's Paw,is a unique & creepy but memorable short horror story, the moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for, because you might get exactly what you wished for and it could have horrifying consequences.
You might regret wishing for exactly what you want.
The poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favourite poems, I always appreciate dramatic narration of the poem.
Casting the Runes (1900)- M.R. James
The Monkey's Paw (1902)- W.W. Jacobs
Hop Frog (1849)- Edgar Allan Poe
The Body Snatcher (1884)-Robert Louis Stevenson
The Raven (1845)-Edgar Allan Poe
The Monkey's Paw,is a unique & creepy but memorable short horror story, the moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for, because you might get exactly what you wished for and it could have horrifying consequences.
You might regret wishing for exactly what you want.
The poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favourite poems, I always appreciate dramatic narration of the poem.
October 9, 2015
Great listen
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews