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PODCAST

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast

Ross, Jon & James | Exploring Cult British Horror Films, TV & Books

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

tv & film film history

All Episodes

54:30

52b - BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas: Lost Hearts

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/12/31

The original run of A Ghost Story for Christmas aired on the BBC from 1971 to 1978, bringing classic ghost stories to television and keeping alive the tradition of sharing supernatural tales during the Christmas season.In our journey through the series, we’ve covered A Warning to the Curious and The Signalman in Episode 21, Whistle and I’ll Come to You and Stigma in Episode 32, and The Stalls of Barchester alongside The Treasure of Abbot Thomas in Episodes 41a and 41b.Just five days ago, on

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57:25

52a - BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas: The Ash Tree

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/12/24

A Ghost Story for Christmas is a series of annual British short films first broadcast on BBC One from 1971 to 1978, and sporadically revived by the BBC since 2005. With one exception, the original films were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and shot on 16 mm color film. The series aimed to adapt classic ghost stories for television, echoing the tradition of telling supernatural tales at Christmas. So far, we’ve covered A Warning to the Curious and The Signalman in Episode 21, Whistle and I’ll Come

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1:31:03

51 - Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/11/23

Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter is a 1974 British swashbuckling action horror film, written and directed by Brian Clemens in his directorial debut. Clemens was celebrated for his work as a screenwriter, particularly for his contributions to British television series. Prior to Captain Kronos, he wrote and produced Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde for Hammer. Other films he wrote that fall into and circle around our areas of interest include And Soon the Darkness (which he wrote with Dalek creator Terry

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1:50:12

50 - Doctor Who - The Dæmons

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/10/31

The Dæmons is the final story in the eighth season of Doctor Who, with Jon Pertwee playing the eponymous hero (see episode 48 covering The House That Dripped Blood for some fantastic Pertrivia). It aired over five weeks on BBC1 from 22 May to 19 June 1971. In The Dæmons, the Master, played by Roger Delgado, awakens the ancient horned alien Azal, hoping to gain his immense power. Delgado, a close friend of Pertwee, worked extensively on stage, TV, film, and radio. His work included the BBC’s

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1:13:24

49 - Robert Aickman's - Ringing the Changes

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/09/25

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

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1:20:00

48 - The House that Dripped blood

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/08/19

"The House That Dripped Blood" is a 1971 British anthology horror film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. The film is a collection of four short stories, each concerning a series of inhabitants of the eponymous building.Denholm Elliott appears in the segment "Method for Murder," playing Charles Hillyer. He is joined by Joanna Dunham, who portrays Alice Hillyer, Charles' wife.Peter Cushing stars in the segment "Waxworks," portraying Philip Grayson. Joss Ackland (known

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1:19:09

47 - Inside Number 9 - The Devil of Christmas

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/07/06

Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology series that aired from February 5, 2014, to June 12, 2024. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith and produced by the BBC. The only recurring elements are a setting related to the number 9 and a hidden brass hare statue. The show blends comedy, horror, and plot twists. The episode we watched, "The Devil of Christmas," is a Christmas special and the first episode of the third series, aired on December 27, 2016. Directed by Graeme Harper and

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1:49:24

46 - The Survivor (based on the James Herbert Novel)

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/06/14

Intro music from:Arthemis - Survivor (Destiny's Child Cover)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjYCOtYjCY4The Survivor is a 1981 supernatural horror Australian-British co-production directed by David Hemmings and starring Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, and Joseph Cotten.In Adelaide, Australia (not Eton in the UK as in the original novel written by James Herbert), airline pilot David Keller (played by Powell) survives the crash of his Boeing 747-200, unhurt despite all 300 passengers dying in the

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1:30:00

45 - Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/05/10

We return to Hammer Productions with Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell, filmed at Elstree Studios in 1972. It marked the final chapter in the Hammer Frankenstein saga and director Terence Fisher's last film.The Film Features:Peter Cushing in his sixth and final portrayal of Baron Victor Frankenstein, a part he originated in 1957's The Curse of Frankenstein. Despite being 59 and apparently in poor health when he made this film, Cushing still insisted on performing a stunt requiring him to leap

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1:20:06

44b - Nigel Kneale's Beasts - During Barty's Party

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/04/15

Welcome back to our “Beasts” Double Bill! Last time, we watched "The Dummy" from the infamous anthology series by General Witchfinders hero Nigel Kneale. We now leave the smashed-up movie set of "The Dummy" with its snarling Y-fronts-wearing jilted actor and join Angie and Roger Truscott in their secluded Hampshire home for "During Barty's Party." This episode features the only actual 'beasts' as the main threat: in this case, large, super-evolved, intelligent rats. Elizabeth Sellars plays Angie

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50:52

44a - Nigel Kneale's Beasts - The Dummy

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/03/29

We continue where we left off in episode 27 with our exploration of the 1976 British anthology series "Beasts," written by the legendary Nigel Kneale (who now has his own dedicated page on our website!), tonight we watch the first of two episodes "The Dummy." Directed by Don Leaver (not Cleaver), a veteran of many shows from our youth and boasts credits on two episodes of "Hammer House of Horror": "Witching Time" and "The Mark of Satan"Bernard Horsfal as Clyde Boydl: He appeared in classic TV series

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1:35:32

43 - 28 Days Later

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/02/22

28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film, our first film from the 21st Century. Ewan McGregor was the original choice to play the protagonist, ‘Jim’, but he and director Danny Boyle had a falling-out at the time over The Beach, in which McGregor was to play the lead but was replaced by Leonardo DiCaprio (McGregor and Boyle have since reconciled). After McGregor, the role was offered to Ryan Gosling, who passed, having a scheduling conflict, leading to the film being offered to

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1:31:37

42 - Nothing But The Night

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2024/01/25

Nothing but the Night is a 1973 British horror film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. It is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by John Blackburn.A commercial failure, the film was the only production of Charlemagne Films, cofounded by Christopher Lee and Anthony Nelson Keys (producer of may Hammer films, this was his last listing on IMDB). #BigChrisLee and Charlemagne Films optioned two other books by John Blackburn, "Portrait of Barbara" and "Bury Him

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54:13

41b - BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas: The Treasure...

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/12/31

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas is a supernatural drama produced by the BBC as part of the A Ghost Story for Christmas series. Once again, directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, the screenplay was written by John Bowen (Writer of the Series’The Guardians’ In a declining England of the 1980s, the UK has broken up and England is ruled by a fascist military force), with an atmospheric musical score by Geoffrey Burgon (Who also created the music for the BBC Narnia series and Monty Python’s the Life of Brian)

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1:06:58

41a - BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas: The Stalls of...

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/12/24

The Stalls of Barchester was first broadcast on BBC 1 at 11:00 pm on December 24, 1971. It is based on the story "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" from the 1911 collection More Ghost Stories by M. R. James, it was adapted, produced, and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, who directed every BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas between 1971 and 1977. Can you name them all, Jon?The Stalls of Barchester (1971)A Warning to the Curious (1972)Lost Hearts (1973)The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)The Ash Tree

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1:41:21

40 - The Brides of Dracula

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/11/15

"Dracula the Damned" is a 1960 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions starring ‘Big’ Christopher Lee…Scratch that…Rather, the original sequel to the first Hammer Dracula film was cancelled without explanation, although Christopher Lee's decision not to return due to fear of typecasting probably led to The Brides of Dracula taking its place.#BigChrisLee did return five years later, however, when he starred in Dracula, Prince of Darkness.The Brides of Dracula is a 1960

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1:41:31

39 - Lifeforce AKA Space Vampires

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/10/26

Lifeforce (aka Space Vampires) is a 1985 science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, adapted by Dan O'Bannon (writer of Alien!) and Don Jakoby, and starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. It also features John Forbes-Robertson as ‘The Minister’ The film is based on Colin Wilson's 1976 novel, The Space Vampires. It portrays the events that unfold after a trio of humanoids in a state of suspended animation are brought to Earth after being

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2:15:17

38 - Nigel Kneale's - The Quatermass Xperiment / AKA...

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/09/21

Tonight, we complete the HammerQuatermasstrilogy(albeit out of order) with The Quatermass Xperiment (a.k.a. The Creeping Unknown in the US) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serialwritten by Nigel Kneale. Produced by Anthony Hinds, one of the of 37 films he made for Hammer. Hinds wrote a number of films under thepseudonym 'John Elder' which he adopted after Her couldn't afford a screenwriter for The Curse of the Werewolf). It

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1:36:54

37 - Murder By Decree

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/08/06

Murder by Decree is a 1979 mystery thriller directed by Bob Clark (Director of ‘Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things’ and ’Dead of Night’ (not the brilliant black and white British film from 1945 - featured in episode 13, but the 1974 American film ), he also directed ‘Black Christmas’, ‘Porkys’ and ‘Porkys 2’Murder by Decree was written by playwright John Hopkins, who scripted the Bond film Thunderball, and the Alec Guinness TV version of Smileys People. Hopkins referenced Conan Doyle's work,

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1:24:49

36 - Nigel Kneale's / Susan Hill's - The Woman in...

General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast ·

2023/07/07

Tonight we are discussing the 1989 British horror drama television film directed by Herbert Wise (most famous for I, Cladius, who worked solidly from 1957 to 2001 on everything from The Bill to 9 episodes of Tales of the Unexpected - including ‘The Landlady’ which may well be the episode that Jon talked about remembering in episode 29)It stars Adrian Rawlins (Harry Potters Dead Dad in the movies and Mr Pike in one episode of Neighbours), Bernard Hepton (I, Claudius, Get Carter Tinker Tailor, Soldier

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