The Book of Shadows by Scott Cherry - Hallowed Histories Present Ghost Stories for Christmas

Hallowed Histories

For the next in our strand of ghost stories for Christmas, we present a classic audio drama, the Book of the Shadows, written by Scott Cherry and originally broadcast a week before Halloween in 1995. Not only is it spooky stuff, with demonic curses, sinister witch covens and a village with secrets, it is also set in Norfolk, with namechecks to such familiar places as Wells, Fakenham and Walsingham. The script makes some amusing sallies comparing it’s slick, modern protagonists against a Norfolk village that seems more like Lovecraft’s Dunwich than the places we know and love, and the local accents range from authentic to misguided, but that doesn’t detract from the fun.

You will probably pick up on how much debt this drama owes to the 1957 film Night of the Demon, and Casting the Runes, the MR James short story on which the film is based. The Book of Shadows is seemingly aware of this, and cast Maurice Denham as the villain of the piece, the same actor who had played the first victim of the monster in Night of the Demon.

This is a long one, almost an hour and a half, but it’s worth sticking to until the very end. So, turn off the lights, pour a glass of something warming, and get ready to find out what secrets lie in the dark and silent villages of the Norfolk expanse.

Thanks to Linda Sheppard and Stephen Parkes for their always invaluable help. Feel free to write to us at [e-mail].

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