‘Awed listening’: H. P. Lovecraft in classic and contemporary audio horror

Hand, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2076-1435 (2022) ‘Awed listening’: H. P. Lovecraft in classic and contemporary audio horror. Horror Studies, 13 (1). pp. 97-115. ISSN 2040-3275

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Abstract

From the beginnings of radio drama to digital podcasting, horror has been a significant genre. Radio located an immediate and effective affinity with horror, exploiting the form’s qualities of invisibility, immersivity and suggestion in realizing the genre in on-air performance. As a part of this, adaptation ‐ from Gothic classics to populist fiction ‐ has been central. One conspicuous absence in early radio is H. P. Lovecraft with only one notable adaptation in the 1930‐1950s ‘golden age’. Nevertheless, in the radio work of Lovecraft acolyte Robert Bloch as well as shows such as Quiet, Please (1947‐49) the ‘Lovecraftesque’ is strongly evident. Indeed, various dimensions to Lovecraft’s fiction make his oeuvre ideally suited to audio adaptation. In recent times, the transmedia pre-eminence of Lovecraft is evident in audio culture as much as anywhere else. This article scopes the presence of Lovecraft in both classic and contemporary contexts of horror audio.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: horror,radio drama,audio,podcast,lovecraft
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art, Media and American Studies
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Film, Television and Media
Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Comics Studies Research Group
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 08 Apr 2022 13:30
Last Modified: 13 Nov 2023 17:51
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/84531
DOI: 10.1386/host_00048_1

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