RhoDeo 1842 Supernatural 2

Hello, in accordance with the upcoming autumnal days when the light is fading, the supernatural manifest and us humans start to shiverrrr


xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

Robert Westall (1929-1993) is one of the best modern writers of ghost stories in the tradition of the great M.R. James, and The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral, which won the Dracula Society’s Children of the Night Award, is one of his finest. Originally published back in 1991, the novella is one creepy story about a steeplejack working on the towers and steeple of Muncaster Cathedral. Joe Clarke wondered why he had the fortune to get this good paying job, (the repairs to the cathedral). How could everyone else not be available? But as so many of us do, he set aside his questions and set to work. Get 'er done, right? As it turns out though, those other steeplejacks turned down this job for a good reason-one that Joe is soon to discover. ...... N Joy

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

The Wheatstone Pond may be short-lived, but is told with a dry wit and competent realism that you don't normally find in super natural stories. It is similar to John Wyndham's approach to stories of this nature, which focuses more on the characters and their reaction to the events of the book, rather than the events themselves. Westall adds his own sense of a dull and listless London to the mix, ditching the bustling city atmosphere of thrillers and action novels and describing the quiet streets and buildings of residential areas in a way the reader can relate to. It's sets the mood perfectly for this bleak but homely story of residents as a nearby pond is drained by local authorities. Seven suicides in five years. It's more than coincidence. The Wheatstone Pond is a killer. Everyone knows the Pond should be filled in, but first it has to be drained. The beguiling Hermione from the City Toy Museum is intent on excavating the wrecks of a hundred years of model boats. But there's more down there, under the evil black slime, than they bargained for - a hundred years of a city's guilty secrets, and much, much worse.

When an archaeological dig begins at the Wheatstone Pond, nasty events occur. Violence and aggression build up in the people who work there, the corpse of a baby is found, and a motorbike salvaged from the water carries its new owner to a fatal accident. Some sort of evil is clearly at work. This is a story where Westall draws on his own experience as an antique dealer to combine past and present, as he often liked to do, with supernatural forces.




This BBC radio drama is a treat for fan of old-school supernatural horror. Starring John Duttine and dramatised from Westall's story by Martin Reed.


Robert Westall - The Wheatstone Pond ( 60min mp3  39mb)

Once an Edwardian boating haven, the Wheatstone Pond has aquired a dark and chilling atmosphere. After a tragic suicide the pond is drained and some rather unusual artefacts begin to emerge.

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx

previously

Robert Westall - The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral ( 87min mp3  60mb)

xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx