by Ross, Jon & James | Exploring Cult British Horror Films, TV & Books
<blockquote>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 Hammer Horror’s blood-drenched vampire classics—starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing—to the eerie folk horror landscapes of The Wicker Man and Nigel Kneale’s The Road. Whether it’s cinematic icons like Dracula AD 1972 and The Curse of Frankenstein, or television classics like BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas, we unearth the films and series that shaped British horror. 🦇 We cover cult favourites including Quatermass and the Pit, The Quatermass Xperiment, and Quatermass II—examining how Nigel Kneale shaped British sci-fi horror. And we shine a spotlight on the terrifying tales of James Herbert, from The Rats to The Survivor. 👻 Our episodes explore folk horror, gothic horror, and supernatural thrillers, dissecting films like Twins of Evil, The Reptile, Night of the Demon, and The Legend of Hell House. We also revisit chilling television events such as Ghostwatch and Doctor Who’s The Dæmons and Horror of Fang Rock. ⚰️ Expect thoughtful commentary, dry wit, and nostalgic tangents about 1980s and 90s British culture. General Witchfinders is your go-to podcast for British folk horror, Hammer Horror, Quatermass, and everything that makes the UK’s horror tradition uniquely haunting. 🪦 </blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote>🎙️ Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at <a href="http://www.generalwitchfinders.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.generalwitchfinders.com</a>. </blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote>🩸 Listener Reviews 🕸️ </blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote>“Really entertaining and insightful. About half a dozen episodes done so far, and all on horror/supernatural things I personally love and wanted to hear more about. Lots of new facts and just downright entertaining takedowns. Great work.” – 5 Stars ***** </blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote>🦴 “If you’re looking for a fun chat about vintage British horror and sci-fi, then this is the podcast for you.” – 5 Stars *****</blockquote> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/5858146">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><p>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders">http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders</a>.<hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
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March 22, 2025
<p>Join us for Hammer’s Hands of the Ripper, a 1971 British horror film released as the second half of a double feature with Twins of Evil. Directed by Peter Sasdy, produced by Aida Young, and written by L.W. Davidson from a story by Edward Spencer Shew. </p><p>Making good use of the large Baker Street set at Pinewood Studios—left over from The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes—the production was denied permission to film its final scenes at St. Paul's Cathedral, so a replica was constructed instead. If the Pritchards' home and staircase look familiar, it’s because Hammer’s ever-resourceful set designers reused elements from The Curse of Frankenstein years earlier (see episode 2 of our podcast for more on that classic). </p><p>Director Peter Sasdy, who cited Hands of the Ripper as his favourite film, also directed the original Adrian Mole TV series (both The Secret Diary and The Growing Pains), three episodes of Hammer House of Horror, and two other Hammer features: Countess Dracula and Taste the Blood of Dracula (the latter coming to the podcast later this year, hopefully). Most monumentally, he directed the legendary BBC sci-fi thriller The Stone Tape (definitely check General Witchfinders number 5—our third most popular episode to date!). </p><p>Eric Porter stars as Doctor Pritchard. Renowned for his work in film, television, and theatre, he famously played Professor Moriarty opposite Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes and Soames Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga. </p><p>Angharad Rees plays Anna, the daughter of the Ripper. She appeared in Boon (take a drink), starred as Demelza in 28 episodes of Poldark, and, the year after Hands of the Ripper, featured in Under Milk Wood alongside Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, and Elizabeth Taylor. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, had a pub named after her in Pontypridd (sadly now a card shop), and founded a Knightsbridge jewellery company, Angharad. Pieces she designed were featured in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Wikipedia also notes she was once in a relationship with Alan Bates, which we mention only to plug episode 35, where we talked about The Shout.</p><p>Lynda "Nurse Gladys Emmanuel" Baron appears as Long Liz—a curious name choice considering Long Liz was an actual canonical Ripper victim. Here, she’s depicted alive and well (at least initially), years after Saucy Jack's supposed demise. </p><p>Baron appeared as a recurring character in both Coronation Street and EastEnders, and played three different characters in Doctor Who across three Doctors.</p><p>Dora Bryan turns up as Mrs Golding, one of two clairvoyants in the film. You may know her from 50 episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, Boon (drink), or as Helen in A Taste of Honey (written by Jon's mum's mate Shelagh Delaney). She (Dora, not Shelagh) also appeared in both a Carry On and a St Trinian's.</p><p>Lastly, Norman Bird pops up as the Police Inspector. If he looks familiar, it's because he had over 200 TV and 60 film roles. He was in Spywatch (as Mr Jenkins), Boon (drink), Woof!, Whack-O!, and Help! (with Stephen Mangan). He also did a stint in Jim Davidson’s Up the Elephant and Round the Castle—only mentioned because Ross was convinced it was alongside Marina Sirtis, but IMDb says she was in just one episode?</p><p>Anyway, back to Norman Bird. He appeared in The Adventure Game, Whistle Down the Wind, Steptoe and Son, Fawlty Towers, Please Sir!, and The Medusa Touch (on our long list since day one). He was Mr Braithwaite, the farmer, in Worzel Gummidge and voiced Bilbo in the 1978 Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings.</p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/5858146">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><p>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders">http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
February 21, 2025
<p>Bear with us this month, listeners, as we take a left turn down Duckett's Passage to talk about something a little different from our usual classic British horror. </p><p>Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst, born April 1961, is an English actor who began his career as a child actor and is best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, which ran from 1981 to 2003.</p><br><p><strong>PART ONE: </strong></p><p>Tonight's first topic covers his role as the time-travelling bigamist Gary Sparrow in the British sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart. Created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran and produced by the BBC, Goodnight Sweetheart ran from 1993 to 1999, broadcasting a total of six series. </p><p>The sitcom follows Gary Sparrow, an accidental time traveller living a double life through a time portal that connects 1990s London with 1940s wartime London. While the show's creators, who also made Birds of a Feather and The New Statesman, wrote most of the episodes, we chose to watch series six, episode one ("Mine's a Double") and episode five ("The 'Ouses in Between") because they had at least a tenuous link to our podcast's premise. These episodes were written by Gary Lawson and John Phelps (as a writing team) and Geoff Rowley, respectively. </p><p>‘Sweetheart featured Victor McGuire as Ron Wheatcroft, Gary's best friend in every episode of the show. McGuire is best known for playing Jack Boswell in Carla Lane's Bread. Related to our areas of interest, he appeared in an episode of Chernobyl, was a bar patron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, played Police Officer No. 1 in 2005's Hellraiser: Hellworld, and portrayed Gerald Hardy in the 2012 Daniel Radcliffe version of The Woman in Black.</p><p>Dervla Kirwan played Gary's wartime love interest and later wife, Phoebe, in the first three series before being replaced by Elizabeth Carling. Carling was briefly engaged to Neil Morrissey, whom she met while both were in the oft-mentioned Boon; she also appeared alongside him in an episode of the BBC sitcom Men Behaving Badly. After ‘Sweetheart, she released an album of wartime covers, also titled Goodnight Sweetheart. </p><p>Similarly, the role of Gary's modern-day wife, Yvonne, was initially played by Michelle Holmes, who rose to prominence as Sue, one of the babysitters in Rita, Sue and Bob Too. After three seasons, she was replaced by Emma Amos, who appeared in Vera Drake, Bridget Jones's Diary, and an episode of Murder Most Horrid with Dawn French (cue Jon singing the theme tune). We've mentioned "Rear of the Year" a few times on this show, so it's worth noting that Amos was (according to Wikipedia — although Ross can't verify this) voted as having "TV's Best Legs" by readers of The Economist. </p><br><p><strong>PART TWO:</strong></p><p>We also listened to Channel Crossing by Rosemary Timperley. This was an episode of Haunted: Stories of the Supernatural, which ran for several years on the BBC World Service in the early 1980s and has since had a second life on Radio 4 Extra (thanks to Mysterious Magpie on YouTube for sharing some of these stories so we count listen to review it today). </p><p>Rosemary Timperley was an author of over sixty novels and hundreds of short stories and feature articles, best known for her classic ghost stories The Mistress in Black and Christmas Meeting. Although primarily a mainstream writer, Timperley wrote numerous short stories that explored different aspects of the supernatural. She was well known for editing five volumes in a series of ghost story anthologies. Timperley also wrote several acclaimed radio and television scripts, and her short story Harry has been adapted to film multiple times.</p><p>This episode featured Nicholas Lyndhurst as Jack, Peter Sallis as Edward, Patsy Rowlands as Frances, Gregory de Polnay as Gregory, and Sonia Fraser as Annabelle.</p><p><br></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/5858146">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><p>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders">http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
January 25, 2025
<p>It’s 17th February 1964 – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ by The Righteous Brothers is at number one in the UK. Sir Alec Douglas-Home is Prime Minister, Beatlemania has erupted in the United States, Southampton has been granted city status (can you tell this script was running short?), and the Channel Tunnel Agreement was signed, with an estimated completion time of five years (though it would actually take 30). Meanwhile, at the cinema, released as a double feature with The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, is today’s topic – The Gorgon. </p><br><p>Anthony Nelson Keys, one of four filmmaking sons of comedian Nelson "Bunch" Keys, is well-known in this parish for a number of topics we’ve discussed before, including Quatermass and the Pit (Ep 34) and The Reptile (Ep 19). He joined Hammer in 1956 as an associate producer, later becoming a producer and occasional screenwriter. Keys also served as General Manager of Bray Studios in the 1960s and eventually co-founded Charlemagne Productions with Christopher Lee—or should that be production (singular)? As we know, they managed only one film together: Nothing but the Night (covered in Episode 42). </p><br><p>Richard Pasco plays Paul Heitz. Late in his career, he starred as Tom Colley in The Watcher in the Woods, a favorite film from Ross’s youth that we must cover one day. Before that, he played Cardinal Richelieu in the 1966 TV adaptation of The Three Musketeers and Dr. Boris Zargo in Rasputin: The Mad Monk. </p><br><p>#BigChrisLee appears as Professor Karl Meister, while his best buddy Peter Cushing plays Dr. Namaroff. Despite popular belief that they always worked together, the pair hadn’t shared the screen in four years before this production began. </p><br><p>Barbara Shelley stars as Carla Hoffman. Born Barbara Teresa Kowin in 1932, Shelley appeared in over 100 films and TV series. She’s celebrated for her roles in horror classics like Village of the Damned, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Rasputin: The Mad Monk, and Quatermass and the Pit. </p><br><p>For the role of the monster, former ballerina Prudence Hyman was cast, as the creature was intended to float gracefully, almost like a wraith. (Spoiler alert!) Shelley had hoped to play her character’s Gorgon form herself for continuity and even suggested using a special wig with live green garden snakes for realism. Unfortunately, the idea was rejected due to budget and time constraints. After seeing the disappointing Gorgon effects in the final cut, Keys admitted to Shelley that her suggestion might have been the better choice. As #BigChrisLee quipped, “The only thing wrong with The Gorgon is the Gorgon!” </p><br><p>Visually, this film is stunning, so let’s give a shoutout to Michael Reed’s cinematography and Bernard Robinson’s production design. Michael Reed’s CV includes Dracula: Prince of Darkness, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and five episodes of CITVs Press Gang. Meanwhile, Bernard Robinson designed some of Hammer’s greatest productions, spanning from the very first to the last of their classic horror films. </p><br><p><br></p> <a target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href="https://open.acast.com/public/patreon/fanSubscribe/5858146">Get bonus content on Patreon</a><p>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders">http://supporter.acast.com/general-witchfinders</a>.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
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