{"podcast":{"title":"General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast","slug":"general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772","podcast_index_feed_id":3516772,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003","website_url":"http://www.generalwitchfinders.com","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003/1772694982754-eb0af34b-8742-48c8-a3e1-0d3fc0433f39.jpeg","author":"Ross Cleaver, Jon Pountney, James Randall","episode_count":82,"summary":"General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast Welcome to General Witchfinders, a podcast dedicated to the dark heart of British horror and classic Hammer horror films – officially selected for permanent preservation in the British Library’s National Sound Archive. If you are passionate about British horror cinema, Hammer films, classic folk horror, Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass, and the chilling legacy of British supernatural television, this is the podcast for you. Hosted by lifelong friends Ross, Jon, and James, General Witchfinders dives deep into the world of British horror, gothic cinema, and unsettling archive television. We explore everything from Hammer horror’s blood-drenched vampire classics – starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing – to the eerie landscapes of The Wicker Man, Tigon’s The Creeping Flesh, and Amicus anthology films. Whether it is cinematic British horror icons like Dracula AD 1972 and The Curse of Frankenstein, modern independent UK folk horror like Possum and In The Earth, or sci-fi horror thrillers like Event Horizon and The Medusa Touch, we unearth the films that shaped the genre. We cover the definitive British sci-fi horror of Nigel Kneale – includ…","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772"},"episode":{"title":"52b: BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas - Lost Hearts (1973) – BBC – Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark, Writer M.R. James – Simon Gipps-Kent, Joseph O'Conor & James Mellor –","slug":"52b-bbc-ghost-stories-for-christmas-lost-hearts-1973-bbc-dir-lawrence-gordon-clark-writer-m-r-james-simon-gipps-kent-joseph-o-conor-james-mellor","published_at":"2024-12-31T05:00:17+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/52b-bbc-ghost-stories-for-christmas-lost-hearts-1973-bbc-dir-lawrence-gordon-clark-writer-m-r-james-simon-gipps-kent-joseph-o-conor-james-mellor","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772","url":"http://www.generalwitchfinders.com/","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/5fd77337c08ac45a2c50d003/e/67696e7a8e646d14ded385de/media.mp3","summary":"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 Christmas Eve, we delved into The Ash Tree . If you missed it, you can find it in our podcast feed. And tonight, as we stand on the brink of the space year 2025, we’re excited to bring you Lost Hearts .  Written by Robin Chapman, produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator Lawrence Gordon Clark, Lost Hearts is based on the 1895 ghost story of the same name by M.R. James. It first aired on BBC1 on December 25, 1973, marking the first installment in the series to be broadcast on Christmas Day itself—and one of only three to ever air on that date.  Robin Chapman also wrote 30 episodes of Tales of the Unexpected . (Seek out episode 29, where good old Bernard Cribbins makes an appearance.)  The film features Joseph O’Conor as Mr. Abney. O’Conor lent his voice to the narrator in (the best Muppet movie) The Dark Crysta l, played Mr. Brownlow in Oliver! (cue James mentioning the exclamation point here), and portrayed the Coroner in The Gorgon —but more on that soon.  Simon Gipps-Kent plays Stephen, the young protagonist. Tragically, Gipps-Kent passed away at just 28 years old. However, in his brief career, he appeared in several notable films and TV shows of interest to our listener. He played Paul in The Tomorrow People , had a brie…","meta_description":"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 tra…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3270,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/episodes/52b-bbc-ghost-stories-for-christmas-lost-hearts-1973-bbc-dir-lawrence-gordon-clark-writer-m-r-james-simon-gipps-kent-joseph-o-conor-james-mellor/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/general-witchfinders-the-british-horror-podcast-3516772/52b-bbc-ghost-stories-for-christmas-lost-hearts-1973-bbc-dir-lawrence-gordon-clark-writer-m-r-james-simon-gipps-kent-joseph-o-conor-james-mellor.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}