General Witchfinders

Twins of Evil (also known as Twins of Dracula) is a 1971 British horror film directed by John Hough and starring Peter Cushing's in his first film after the death of his poor wife, Helen, along with Damien Thomas and the real-life identical twins and former Playboy Playmates, Mary and Madeleine Collinson. It also sees the return of one of General Witchfinders favourite cinematographers, Mr Dick Bush.*

Twins of Evil was the third film in Hammer's "Karnstein trilogy," following The Vampire Lovers and Lust for a Vampire in a series loosely based on Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla."

These pictures were produced incredibly quickly, -and they were lurid even by Hammer standards, bloody and relatively steamy, with an emphasis on heaving bosoms and vampire-enhanced girl-on-girl sexuality

Much of the interest of the film revolves around the contrasting evil and good natures of two beautiful sisters, Frieda and Maria. Unlike the previous two entries in the series, this film contains only a brief lesbian element.

The film was released in the U.S. as a double feature with Hands of the Ripper (soon to be featured here in your favour British horror podcast)

Ingrid ‘Wicker man’ Pitt was offered the part of Countess Mircalla Karnstein, but refused.

Harvey Hall and Kirsten Lindholm appear in all three films of the trilogy, although in different roles in each one.

Peter Cushing also played one of the leads in the first, The Vampire Lovers.

Special effects veteran Bert Luxford first employed Spam, then a marrow and finally resorted to using a large German sausage to simulate Frieda's decapitation for the climax of the film.

Australian indie rock band Turnstyle used a sample of Karnstein summoning Satan in their song Winter Rodeo, in 1999.

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*FYI Dick Bush also shot Tommy, The Phildelphia Experiment, The Lair of the White Worm, The Blood on Satans Claw, Phase IV, 2 pink panther movies and loads more - ‘Dick Bush Shoots’ could be a legitimate spin off podcast.

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An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 horror comedy film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and John Woodvine. The film's plot follows two American backpackers, David and Jack, who are attacked by a werewolf while travelling in England, causing David to question whether he will become a werewolf under the next full moon. The film made $62 million worldwide against the budget of $5.8 million and At the 54th Academy Awards, it won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Landis wrote the first draft of the screenplay for the film in 1969 and shelved it for over a decade. Prospective financiers believed that Landis' script was too frightening to be a comedy film and too humorous to be a horror film. After achieving success in Hollywood with the comedies The Kentucky Fried Movie, National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers, Landis was able to secure financing from PolyGram Pictures to produce An American Werewolf in London.

An American Werewolf in London was the first film allowed to shoot in Piccadilly Circus in 15 years. Landis accomplished this by inviting 300 members of London's Metropolitan Police Service to a screening of his new film The Blues Brothers. The police were so impressed by his work that they granted the production a two-night filming permit between the hours of 1 and 4 a.m. Traffic was stopped only three times for two-minute increments to film the automobile stunts involving the double-decker bus.

An American Werewolf in London was released in the US by Universal Pictures on August 21, 1981. It was a critical and commercial success, winning the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and the first ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. Since its release, it has become a cult classic.

In December 2017, Max Landis confirmed on Twitter that he had completed the first draft of the script for a reboot of the film. But beginning in late 2017, accusations by a number of women that Landis had abused them emotionally or sexually began to emerge publicly. In the wake of those allegations, it remains unknown if Landis will be replaced or if the project will be put on indefinite hold.

In November 2019, Variety reported that Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead comic book series, was in consideration to serve as a producer for a new reboot.

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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?

1. The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
2. A Warning to the Curious (1972)
3. Lost Hearts (1973)
4. The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)
5. The Ash Tree (1975)
6. The Signalman (1976)
7. Stigma (1977)

The cast of The Stalls of Barchester includes several actors now better known for their roles in situation comedies or lighter dramas:

Clive (Richard Bucket) Swift as Dr. Black (a character who does not appear in the original story). As we have mentioned before, he has had two appearances in Doctor Who of which he was not particularly pleased, so we will only mention them again. Of his appearance in the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special, Swift declared, "It wasn't until we'd been filming for two weeks that I realized that Mr. Copper is an alien!" And having been asked about his appearance in Revelation of the Daleks (1985), he said, "It was the most bizarre entertainment I have ever been part of."

Will Leighton as the cathedral librarian. He also appeared in the previously discussed film, An American Werewolf in London, as one of the Tramps that get killed by David.

Robert Hardy as Dr. Haynes. Hardy's birth name was Timothy Sidney Robert Hardy, his nickname being 'Tim'. He has played British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in six separate films, and has also twice played Winston Churchill's World War II ally and friend, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Thelma Barlow as Letitia Haynes. Famous for her part of Mavis Riley in Coronation Street, her first episode was transmitted in 1971, but her character only appeared regularly from 1973, when she joined the staff of "The Kabin". She remained in the series for 26 years, appearing in nearly 2,000 episodes.

Harold Bennett as Archdeacon Pulteney. Not Pountney as Ross kept hearing. Best known as the lecherous, octogenarian 'Young Mr. Grace' in the long-running comedy series Are You Being Served?, Bennett had a career as an architect and only became an actor when he retired.

Erik Chitty as the priest. Seen in Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin as Engin the Time Lord Coordinator of the Matrix

David Pugh as John and Ambrose Coghill as museum curator

The adaptation was filmed on location at Norwich Cathedral and the surrounding cathedral close. Unusual for a BBC television drama of the 1970s, both interior and exteriors in The Stalls of Barchester were originated on 16 mm film, as opposed to the standard studio videotape for interiors.

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Thomas Nigel Kneale was a British screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. This year is the 100 anniversary of his birth.

Predominantly a writer of thrillers that used science-fiction and horror elements, he was best known for the creation of the character Professor Bernard Quatermass.. Kneale wrote well-received television dramas such as The Year of the Sex Olympics and, the 3rd highest scoring General Witchfinders classic, The Stone Tape in addition to the Quatermass serials. He has been described as "one of the most influential writers of the 20th century", and as "having invented popular TV".

Part One: The Road

The Road is a 1963 British television play by Kneale. It was broadcast as part of the BBC Television anthology drama series First Night. An Australian remake was aired the following year. However, no recordings of the play, renowned as "one of the great missing masterpieces of British television." are known to exist having been tragically wiped by the BBC.

So... we listened to the BBC Radio 4 audio adaptation, written by Toby Hadoke and directed by Charlotte Riches, aired on 27 October 2018. The production starred Mark Gatiss as Gideon Cobb, Adrian Scarborough as Sir Timothy Hassall and Hattie Morahan as Lady Lavinia Hassall.

Part Two: Beasts: Baby

Beasts is a 1976 British television series. Written by Nigel Kneale, it is an anthology of six self-contained episodes that feature the recurring theme of bestial horror. The series was made by ATV for the ITV Network.

We watch the most infamous of the series, episode 4 titled ‘Baby’ Starring Simon ‘Manimal’ MacCorkindale as a newlywed whose wife (played by Midsumer Murders Jane Wymark - Daughter of Patrick Wymark as seen in The Witchfinder General) sees her pregnancy falls foul of ancient witchcraft.

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Two years after the events of Dracula AD 1972, a Secret Service agent barely escapes from an English country house, in which satanic rituals are being celebrated. Before he dies, he reveals to his superiors that four prominent members of society – a government minister, a peer, a general and a famous scientist – are involved in a cult led by the satanic priestess Chin Yang.

Scotland Yard's Inspector Murray is called in, for who Michael Coles reprises his role, to work on the case independently. Murray suggests consulting a noted occult expert, The heroic Professor Lorrimer Van Helsing, of course, played by Peter Cushing, who is assisted by his granddaughter Jessica, now played by Joanna Lumley.

Van Helsing visits his scientist friend, Julian Keeley, whom he recognized among the four conspirators. He discovers Keely is undertaking bacteriological research designed to create a virulent strain of the bubonic plague. Keeley referred to the 23rd of the month, which Van Helsing explains is the "Sabbath of the Undead", the date that Dracula plans to unleashed the plague on the world as his final revenge.

The action converges back at the country house where our heroes face off against Dracula, his vampiric brides and the satanic cultists.

In the United States, the film was distributed in a heavily edited version titled Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride.This was the final Hammer film that Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing would make together. The two stars would eventually reunite one more time in House of the Long Shadows, ten years later.

Something Horrific

Possessor

https://www.possessormovie.com/

Night Terrors: The Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Terrors-Stories-F-Supernatural/dp/1840226854

Adam Curtis - can’t get you out of my head

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p093wp6h/cant-get-you-out-of-my-head

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