Doug Bradley, the actor who played Pinhead in the Hellraiser series of movies, lends his voice talent to the Spinechillers series of audiobooks: horror short story and novella classics, offered in Audible recordings that include atmospheric music and sound effects.
Right now (as of 10/16/15), several of the volumes in the series are being offered at discount prices as low as $3.95. Each can also be purchased with Audible member credits, but why waste a credit when you can get these recordings at prices so low? Just click the “Buy for [price]” button instead of the “Buy with 1 Audible credit” button to take advantage of the sale prices.
Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 1: Classic Horror Stories (5/5 stars, currently priced at $3.95)
This volume features William F. Harvey’s original undead hand story “The Beast with Five Fingers” that sparked many movies, including Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead”. Poe’s classic “The Tell Tale Heart” is joined by Lovecraft’s creepy tale of alienation “The Outsider”, and a chilling Dickens ghost story “The Signalman”. Harvey’s other selected story, “August Heat”, asks a chilling question about a man’s fate, and Saki offers something different with a tale of dead hunters returned from their marshy graves in “The Open Window”.
Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 2: Classic Horror Stories (5/5 stars, currently priced at $5.95)
It kicks off with Charles Dickens’ friend and collaborator Wilkie Collins’ eerie tale of a man’s dream of his own murder that comes too true, ‘The Dream Woman’. Second on the bill is the master of American literature Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story of doomed love, ‘The Oval Portrait’.
Making his first appearance in the Spine Chillers series is Arthur Conan Doyle. Widely known for creating Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle was also the author of a number of horror stories that introduced new ideas to the genre. Volume 2 includes his story ‘The The Ring of Thoth’, a tale of Egyptian mummies, immortality, and deadly rivalry spanning four millennia.
What better way to round off this voulme than with the classic H.P. Lovecraft short story ‘The Tomb’. The story works well as a companion piece to Volume 1’s ‘The Outsider’, and concerns a mans desperate quest to find a place in the dark tomb of his ancestors.
Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 3: Classic Horror Stories (4.4/5 stars [rated on Audible site], currently priced at $3.95)
This volume starts with the famous M. R. James story of occult revenge, “Casting the Runes”, about a slighted occultist out for murderous revenge using his diabolical black arts to achieve it. It was adapted into the equally chilling movie Night of the Demon in 1957.
Next up is another famous classic, W. W. Jacobs’ “The Monkeys Paw”, a brilliantly written tale of greed and getting what you wish for.
The third story is “Hop-Frog” by Edgar Allan Poe – a classic yarn about the grisly revenge conjured up by a mistreated court jester.
Poe is followed by another master of storytelling, Robert Louis Stevenson, with his tale of grave robbers and medical students, “The Body Sntacher”, inspired by real events.
Rounding off Volume 3 is one of the most well-known poems from Poe: “The Raven”. It’s beautifully written and concerns a raven’s visit to a heartbroken lover as he appears to descend into madness. Doug Bradley’s reading showcases Poe’s work with care and panache.
Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 10: Classic Horror Stories (4/5 stars [rated on Audible site], currently priced at $5.95)
Volume ten launches with Doug Bradley’s well-researched insight into the stories and their authors. This is followed by HP Lovecraft’s evocative tale of exploration, “The Strange High House in the Mist”. Next we hear Ambrose Bierce’s truly chilling “A Diagnosis of Death”, and Jeffery Combs reads Edgar Allan Poe’s classic revenge tale, “The Cask of Amontillado”.
The second section presents us with Rudyard Kipling’s tale of ghosts, “They”, before the third section takes us down into Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The New Catacomb”, in his tale of a heartbroken lover’s revenge. Jeffery Combs brings us part three of “Herbert West Reanimator”, and Robert Englund rounds off this volume with his sublime reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Sleeper”.
Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 11: Classic Horror Stories (4/5 stars [rated on Audible site], currently priced at $5.95)
Volume 11 begins with Doug’s well-researched insight into the stories and their authors. This is followed by Edgar Allan Poe’s highly acclaimed gothic romance “Ligeia”, Ambrose Bierce’s haunting “A Fruitless Assignment”, H. P. Lovecraft’s dark and disturbing “Pickman’s Model”, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s sinister masterpiece “Blue John Gap”, and more.
Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 12: Classic Horror Stories (4.4/5 stars [rated on Audible site], currently priced at $5.95)
Volume 12 begins with Doug Bradley’s well-researched insight into the stories and their authors. This is followed by what H. P. Lovecraft considered to be one of his best stories, “The Music of Eric Zann”. “The Tool” by W. F. Harvey is a horrifying tale narrated by an inmate of a mental institution. Next Edgar Allan Poe revisits his terrifying fear of being buried alive in “The Premature Burial”. Then an eavesdropper overhears five creepy and scary ghost stories in Charles Dickens “To Be Read at Dusk”. Ambrose Bierce’s haunting “The Moonlit Road” relates a murder tale from three perspectives, including the murdered wife’s. Jeffery Combs reads Part 5 of “Herbert West Reanimator” and this volume is completed with Edgar Allan Poe’s “Dreamland”. The poem describes the strange sights the speaker sees along his journey in a different and disturbing world.
Click here to browse the full Spinechillers catalog.
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