General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast 🕷️
Welcome to General Witchfinders, a podcast dedicated to the dark heart of British horror.
If you’re passionate about Hammer Horror films, classic folk horror, Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass, and the chilling legacy of British supernatural cinema and television, this is the podcast for you. 🩸
Hosted by lifelong friends Ross, Jon, and James, General Witchfinders dives deep into the world of British gothic and folk horror.
We explore everything from Hammer Horror’s blood-drenched vampire classics—starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing—to the eerie folk horror landscapes of The Wicker Man and Nigel Kneale’s The Road.
Whether it’s cinematic icons like Dracula AD 1972 and The Curse of Frankenstein, or television classics like BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas, we unearth the films and series that shaped British horror. 🦇
We cover cult favourites including Quatermass and the Pit, The Quatermass Xperiment, and Quatermass II—examining how Nigel Kneale shaped British sci-fi horror.
And we shine a spotlight on the terrifying tales of James Herbert, from The Rats to The Survivor. 👻
Our episodes explore folk horror, gothic horror, and supernatural thrillers, dissecting films like Twins of Evil, The Reptile, Night of the Demon, and The Legend of Hell House.
We also revisit chilling television events such as Ghostwatch and Doctor Who’s The Dæmons and Horror of Fang Rock. ⚰️
Expect thoughtful commentary, dry wit, and nostalgic tangents about 1980s and 90s British culture.
General Witchfinders is your go-to podcast for British folk horror, Hammer Horror, Quatermass, and everything that makes the UK’s horror tradition uniquely haunting. 🪦
🎙️ Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at www.generalwitchfinders.com.
🩸 Listener Reviews 🕸️
“Really entertaining and insightful. About half a dozen episodes done so far, and all on horror/supernatural things I personally love and wanted to hear more about. Lots of new facts and just downright entertaining takedowns. Great work.” – 5 Stars *****
🦴 “If you’re looking for a fun chat about vintage British horror and sci-fi, then this is the podcast for you.” – 5 Stars *****
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast 🕷️
Welcome to General Witchfinders, a podcast dedicated to the dark heart of British horror.
If you’re passionate about Hammer Horror films, classic folk horror, Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass, and the chilling legacy of British supernatural cinema and television, this is the podcast for you. 🩸
Hosted by lifelong friends Ross, Jon, and James, General Witchfinders dives deep into the world of British gothic and folk horror.
We explore everything from Hammer Horror’s blood-drenched vampire classics—starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing—to the eerie folk horror landscapes of The Wicker Man and Nigel Kneale’s The Road.
Whether it’s cinematic icons like Dracula AD 1972 and The Curse of Frankenstein, or television classics like BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas, we unearth the films and series that shaped British horror. 🦇
We cover cult favourites including Quatermass and the Pit, The Quatermass Xperiment, and Quatermass II—examining how Nigel Kneale shaped British sci-fi horror.
And we shine a spotlight on the terrifying tales of James Herbert, from The Rats to The Survivor. 👻
Our episodes explore folk horror, gothic horror, and supernatural thrillers, dissecting films like Twins of Evil, The Reptile, Night of the Demon, and The Legend of Hell House.
We also revisit chilling television events such as Ghostwatch and Doctor Who’s The Dæmons and Horror of Fang Rock. ⚰️
Expect thoughtful commentary, dry wit, and nostalgic tangents about 1980s and 90s British culture.
General Witchfinders is your go-to podcast for British folk horror, Hammer Horror, Quatermass, and everything that makes the UK’s horror tradition uniquely haunting. 🪦
🎙️ Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at www.generalwitchfinders.com.
🩸 Listener Reviews 🕸️
“Really entertaining and insightful. About half a dozen episodes done so far, and all on horror/supernatural things I personally love and wanted to hear more about. Lots of new facts and just downright entertaining takedowns. Great work.” – 5 Stars *****
🦴 “If you’re looking for a fun chat about vintage British horror and sci-fi, then this is the podcast for you.” – 5 Stars *****
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This time, we listened to and read Ringing the Changes by Robert Aickman.
Robert Fordyce Aickman was an English conservationist and writer. As a conservationist, he played a key role in preserving and restoring England's inland canal system. As a writer, he is best known for his supernatural fiction, which he described as "strange stories."
On his mother’s side, Aickman was the grandson of the prolific Victorian novelist Richard Marsh. Marsh is known for his occult thriller The Beetle, a book as popular in its time as Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Aickman is best known for his 48 "strange stories," published across eight volumes.
Podcast favorite Jeremy Dyson has adapted Aickman’s work in various forms. Listen to episode 8 for our most in-depth look at Jeremy’s work. A musical version of Aickman’s short story The Same Dog, co-written by Dyson and Joby Talbot, premiered in 2000 at the Barbican Concert Hall.
In 2000, Dyson, along with his League of Gentlemen collaborator Mark Gatiss, adapted Ringing the Changes into a BBC Radio Four play, airing exactly twenty years after the CBC adaptation. This adaptation was intended to start a tradition of 'An Aickman Story for Halloween,' but unfortunately, it did not continue. Dyson also directed a 2002 short film based on Aickman’s story The Cicerones, with Gatiss as the principal actor.
It is this Dyson/Gatiss adaptation that we listened to for this episode. (Thanks to ‘Mysterious Magpie’ for putting this up on YouTube so we could listen to it)
The cast includes George Baker as Gerald. Baker is known for his roles in The Dam Busters as Flight Lieutenant D. J. H. Maltby, Tiberius in I, Claudius, D.C.I. Wexford in The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Decider Logrin in the Doctor Who story Full Circle, and appearances in two James Bond films.
Fiona Allen plays Phrynne. Allen is an actress and writer known for 24 Hour Party People, Smack the Pony, and Poirot. She has been married to Michael Parkinson since April 2001. This surprised Ross when writing this until he discovered it wasn’t ‘That’ Michael Parkinson (see episode 18 of this podcast for more about him). Instead, it’s the patronymic son of the chat show legend, whom she met while he was working as a location manager on Smack the Pony. Confused? I am!
Friend of the show Mark Gatiss appears as the Narrator and Mr. Pascoe, the landlord.
Commandant Shortcroft is played by Michael Cochrane, known for his role in 280 episodes of The Archers, Arnold (Private Godfrey) Ridley in We’re Doomed! The Dad’s Army Story, and for playing three different characters in three different episodes of Heartbeat.
Barbara Shelley plays Mrs. Pascoe. Known to our podcast listeners for her portrayal of Barbara Judd in the Hammer version of Quatermass and the Pit (reviewed in episode 34), she also starred in The Village of the Damned (which we need to review soon), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (one of the Dracula films we still need to cover), Rasputin: The Mad Monk, The Gorgon, and the 1958 Hammer wannabe Blood of the Vampire, written by Jimmy Sangster.
She also appeared in both Blake’s 7 and Doctor Who— as I'm sure James is dying to know, we can tell you she played Sorasta in Planet of Fire and was considered for the role of Tanha in Snakedance… but that’s enough Doctor Who for now…
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.