The Lovecraft Investigations

Last updated

The Lovecraft Investigations
The Lovecraft Investigations podcast.jpg
Presentation
Genre Horror podcast
Created by Julian Simpson
Written byJulian Simpson
Directed byJulian Simpson
Voices
Language British English
Production
Production
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes42
Publication
Original release2 January 2019 
16 October 2023
Cited forBest Fiction (silver)
British Podcast Awards
Provider BBC Radio 4
Related
Website www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06spb8w

The Lovecraft Investigations is a mystery thriller/horror fiction podcast created, written and directed by Julian Simpson, based on several works of H. P. Lovecraft. Produced by Karen Rose and Sweet Talk Productions for BBC Radio 4, the podcast premiered on 2 January 2019, with further series published in November 2019, November 2020 and October 2023.

Contents

The story is a modernization of the original Lovecraft works, set around the same time the podcast aired and presented as a podcast-within-a-podcast in which the two hosts of the Mystery Machine, a true crime podcast investigating cases related to the occult and conspiracy theories, stumble upon a case hiding a much larger mystery. It stars Barnaby Kay and Jana Carpenter as the two podcasters, Matt Heawood and Kennedy Fisher, with Nicola Walker as Eleanor Peck, a specialist in myths and the occult who helps their investigations.

Each season of The Lovecraft Investigations is titled after, and mostly based on, one of Lovecraft's works, namely 1927's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward , 1930's The Whisperer in Darkness , 1931's The Shadow over Innsmouth , and 1936's The Haunter of the Dark while creating an overarching story; it is also set within Simpson's Pleasant Green Universe of audio dramas, with the character of Fisher notably appearing in Simpson's Who is Aldrich Kemp? between the third and fourth seasons of The Lovecraft Investigations. [1] [2]

Synopsis

The first season, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, follows Heawood and Fisher as they investigate the unexplained disappearance of Charles Dexter Ward, a young patient in a mental health facility in Rhode Island who vanished one day from a closed room, never to be seen again.

In The Whisperer in Darkness, the duo investigates Henry Akeley, an elderly man from Suffolk and former acquaintance of Eleanor Peck, a woman who helped them in the case of Charles Dexter Ward. Although Akeley contacted Peck claiming to have important things to share, upon arriving to his house, he is nowhere to be seen, and the clues and recordings he left behind are puzzling.

The third season, The Shadow over Innsmouth, the two investigate the family of Fisher, after their previous investigations lead them to believe the family might be connected to the conspiracies uncovered in the podcast. To do so, Heawood goes to Iraq, while Fisher goes to Innsmouth, New England.

The fourth season follows Fisher who, having searched for Heawood for three years, gets a chance to further explore the mysteries around Pleasant Green and Heawood's disappearance in The Haunter of the Dark, a mystery tying back to Simpson's 2011 radio drama Bad Memories.

Production details

The series was written by Julian Simpson and is connected to his Pleasant Green Universe audio drama setting. [3] In particular, a version of The Department, a shadowy government agency monitoring supernatural threats, appears in both the Mythos trilogy of audio dramas and The Lovecraft Investigations; a bonus episode for the final episode of the series also directly mentions Marie Lairre, a character from Mythos. [4] Karen Rose produced all three of the initial series, with sound design by David Thomas and music by Tim Elsenburg. [2] The "Mystery Machine" characters continue in BBC Radio 4's 2022 Limelight series Who Is Aldrich Kemp?, [5] which continues the Pleasant Green storylines without a Lovecraft connection.

In developing the dramas, Simpson sought to modernize Lovecraft's stories while also tying in different folklore and actual unsolved mysteries. [6]

Voice cast

Main

Recurring

Series

The trailer for The Case of Charles Dexter Ward was released in November 2018 with the full series being released in January 2019. In November 2019, a teaser was released for The Whisperer in Darkness followed the rest of the series in December. The following November, The Shadow Over Innsmouth was released along with three bonus episodes. In October 2023, the series returned with The Haunter in the Dark. [2]

TitleEpisodesBonus Eps.Original airingProduction Company
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward10January 2019Sweet Talk Productions for BBC Radio 4
The Whisperer in Darkness92November 2019
The Shadow Over Innsmouth83November 2020
The Haunter of the Dark10October 2023

Reception

Critical reception for The Lovecraft Investigations has been positive. [7] The Verge called the first series "like Serial mixed with True Detective ", [8] and it received praise from The Spectator for its use of audio effects. [9]

In 2019, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward won silver honours for Best Fiction Podcast at the British Podcast Awards. [10] In 2020, the Lovecraft Investigations trilogy was among the top-ten most-listened-to podcasts/broadcasts on BBC Sounds. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyarlathotep</span> Fictional Lovecraftian god

Nyarlathotep is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft. The character is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem "Nyarlathotep", he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers, to the point of often being considered the main antagonist of the Cthulhu Mythos as a whole. Later, writers describe him as one of the Other Gods, an alien pantheon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkham</span> Fictional city in H.P. Lovecrafts works

Arkham is a fictional city situated in Massachusetts, United States. An integral part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H. P. Lovecraft, Arkham is featured in many of his stories and those of other Cthulhu Mythos writers.

<i>The Case of Charles Dexter Ward</i> Novel by H. P. Lovecraft

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a short horror novel by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early 1927, but not published during the author's lifetime. Set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, it was first published in the May and July issues of Weird Tales in 1941; the first complete publication was in Arkham House's Beyond the Wall of Sleep collection (1943). It is included in the Library of America volume of Lovecraft's work.

<i>The Shadow over Innsmouth</i> Horror novella by H. P. Lovecraft

The Shadow over Innsmouth is a horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in November–December 1931. It forms part of the Cthulhu Mythos, using its motif of a malign undersea civilization, and references several shared elements of the Mythos, including place-names, mythical creatures, and invocations. The Shadow over Innsmouth is the only Lovecraft story that was published in book form during his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Haunter of the Dark</span> Horror short story by H. P. Lovecraft

"The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written between 5–9 November 1935 and published in the December 1936 edition of Weird Tales. It was the last written of the author's known stories and is part of the Cthulhu Mythos. The epigraph to the story is the second stanza of Lovecraft's 1917 poem "Nemesis".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovecraft Country</span> Real and fictitious locations in New England related to H. P. Lovecrafts fiction

Lovecraft Country is a term coined for the New England setting used by H. P. Lovecraft in many of his weird fiction stories, which combines real and fictitious locations. This setting has been elaborated on by other writers working in the Cthulhu Mythos. The phrase was not in use during Lovecraft's own lifetime; it was coined by Keith Herber for the Lovecraftian role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovecraftian horror</span> Subgenre of horror

Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named after American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). His work emphasizes themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries, which are now associated with Lovecraftian horror as a subgenre. The cosmic themes of Lovecraftian horror can also be found in other media, notably horror films, horror games, and comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dagon (short story)</span> 1919 short story by H. P. Lovecraft

"Dagon" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was written in July 1917 and is one of the first stories that Lovecraft wrote as an adult. It was first published in the November 1919 edition of The Vagrant. Dagon was later published in Weird Tales in October 1923. It is considered by many to be one of Lovecraft's most forward-looking stories.

<i>The Whisperer in Darkness</i> Novella by H. P. Lovecraft

The Whisperer in Darkness is a 26,000-word novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written February–September 1930, it was first published in Weird Tales, August 1931. Similar to The Colour Out of Space (1927), it is a blend of horror and science fiction. Although it makes numerous references to the Cthulhu Mythos, the story is not a central part of the mythos, but reflects a shift in Lovecraft's writing at this time towards science fiction. The story also introduces the Mi-Go, an extraterrestrial race of fungoid creatures.

<i>Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos</i> 1972 non-fiction book by Lin Carter

Lovecraft: A Look Behind the "Cthulhu Mythos" is a 1972 non-fiction book written by Lin Carter, published by Ballantine Books. The introduction notes that the book "does not purport to be a biography of H. P. Lovecraft", and instead presents it as "a history of the growth of the so-called Cthulhu Mythos."

A Cthulhu Mythos anthology is a type of short story collection that contains stories written in, or related to, the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction launched by H. P. Lovecraft. Such anthologies have helped to define and popularize the genre.

Jana Carpenter is an American actress, singer and guitarist based in the UK. She has appeared in TV and radio series, episodes and films and is also a vocalist and guitarist in the countryfolk or harmony band Piefinger, and the Mercury Prize-nominated experimental rock band Sweet Billy Pilgrim.

The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society or HPLHS is the organization that hosts Cthulhu Lives!, a group of live-action roleplayers for the Cthulhu Live version of Call of Cthulhu. Founded in Colorado in 1984, it is now based in Glendale, California. Their motto is Ludo Fore Putavimus.

Barnaby Kay is a British actor who has played roles in television, stage, film and performance art. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<i>Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H. P. Lovecraft: Commemorative Edition</i> 2008 collection of stories by H. P. Lovecraft

Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft: Commemorative Edition is a select collection of horror short stories, novellas and novels written by H. P. Lovecraft. The book was published in 2008 by Gollancz and is edited by Stephen Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Fox</span> British actress (born 1987)

Phoebe Fox is an English actress, who was nominated for Olivier and Evening Standard awards for work in theatre. She has appeared in the Black Mirror episode "The Entire History of You" (2011), The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2015), The Hollow Crown: Wars of the Roses (2016), and The Great (2020–2023).

This is a list of fictional creatures from the Cthulhu mythos of American writer H. P. Lovecraft and his collaborators.

Julian Simpson is a British writer and director working in film, television and audio. He is best known for his radio plays for BBC Radio, most of which take place within his "Pleasant Green" universe with loose connections to each other, including The Lovecraft Investigations series, based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft.

References

  1. McMahon, James (29 March 2021). "Fear in your ear: The unstoppable rise of the horror podcast". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Lovecraft Investigations". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 Woodger, Andrew (10 January 2021). "BBC HP Lovecraft trilogy: Suffolk location of mystery village revealed". BBC News, East. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  4. Moore, Ian (20 June 2021). "Welcome to Pleasant Green". Secret Panda. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  5. "BBC Radio 4 - Limelight: Who is Aldrich Kemp?". BBC. 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  6. Bullough, Charlie (25 March 2020). "Exploring the podcast phenomenon with Julian Simpson who has produced hit shows for the BBC". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  7. Sawyer, Miranda (21 November 2020). "The week in audio: The Shadow Over Innsmouth; Hunting Ghislaine and more". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. Liptak, Andrew (27 January 2019). "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward podcast is like Serial mixed with True Detective". The Verge. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  9. Jeffries, Stuart (25 January 2020). "Radio 4's new H.P. Lovecraft adaptation will give you the chills". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  10. "Success for BBC Sounds at the British Podcast Awards". News on News. 19 May 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.