Christopher Lee – Fireside Tales (BBC Radio) (2004)

I’m not sure where I ran across these recordings, but they might … MIGHT … be my favorite ghost story readings. Right up there with Vincent Price’s Caedmon recordings from the early 70’s, and Boris Karloff’s “Tales of the Frightened”.

Christopher Lee is well-known to several generations of movie-goers, from his appearances in the Hammer horror films from the late 50’s through the early 70’s up to his supporting roles in The Lord of the Rings and the Star Wars prequels. His deep voice and wonderful accent make him a more than adequate reader for these frightening tales, including:

• “The Black Cat” – the Poe tale that (it seems) appears in every collection of scary stories
• “The Man of Science” – a terrific tale of revenge from beyond the grave by Jerome K. Jerome
• “John Charrington’s Wedding” – an story by Edith Nesbit featuring a man who won’t let anything … even death … stand between him and his wedding day
• “The Man and the Snake” – an Ambrose Bierce classic about a bad case of ophidiophobia
• “The Monkey’s Paw” – the W.W. Jacobs classic

Each story is around 15 minutes long, featuring a few sound effects and appropriately spooky accompaniment. Lee’s voice is delightful … the studio uses stereo effects to better enhance the conversational scenes, and Lee manages to differentiate between voices in a way that doesn’t come across as hokey or cheesy. I’ve listened (and watched) various renditions of “The Black Cat” for years, so that one is a bit of a slow mover for me. “The Man and the Snake” doesn’t have terribly scary source material. The other three stories are top-notch … particularly “The Monkey’s Paw”, in which Lee’s narration slowly builds to a terrifying and satisfying climax.

Ghost story recordings are becoming endangered … there were plenty in the 60’s and 70’s, but they have steadily declined in number ever since. How refreshing, then, to hear modern technology applied to turn-of-the-century stories. And how much more refreshing to hear a classically trained voice such as Lee’s leading the way. You should absolutely listen to these stories.

And you can get them here!