Roddy McDowall Reads the Horror Stories of H. P. Lovecraft (1962)
Description: Tales of the Sonic Voyage presents
Roddy McDowall Reads the Horror Stories of H. P. Lovecraft (1962)
Hello, my fellow travelers. Tonight our Halloween listening brings us a familiar voice telling two decidedly unfamiliar tales. Roddy McDowall takes us into the world of H. P. Lovecraft with “The Outsider” and “The Hound,” a pair of stories that make an excellent excuse to turn down the lights and spend some time listening to what might be stirring in the darkness.
Many of us first encountered McDowall through his films and television appearances. Born in London in 1928, he began acting as a child and became known to American audiences through films such as How Green Was My Valley and Lassie Come Home. He continued working across film, television and theatre throughout his life, building a career that reached several generations of viewers.
For science-fiction and horror fans, his place in Planet of the Apes, The Legend of Hell House (One of my favorite ghost stories!) and Fright Night makes his voice especially welcome here. This recording comes from earlier in his career, giving us a chance to hear him carry a performance through speech alone. His experience as an actor becomes the means of bringing Lovecraft’s narrators into the room with us.
Released through Prestige’s Lively Arts label, catalog number LA 30003, the album belongs to a series that brought actors and literary works together on record. Each side contains a separate story, making this a compact evening of horror with McDowall as our guide.
Lovecraft’s writing often places us beside someone trying to explain an experience that has broken their understanding of the world. His narrators remember, confess and struggle to describe what they have encountered. That makes the spoken voice particularly important: we are listening to someone tell us what happened, even as we begin to wonder how much we should trust their account.
“The Outsider” follows a solitary figure whose knowledge of life comes from an existence spent in isolation. The desire to escape that confinement and find companionship carries the story forward. There is sadness beneath its horror, and I’ll leave the discovery at its heart for you to hear rather than spoil it here.
“The Hound” takes us into the company of two collectors whose fascination with the macabre leads them to disturb a grave and take something they should have left alone.
Their pursuit of unusual experiences becomes a much more frightening encounter with consequences they cannot easily escape. It’s a good companion to “The Outsider,” offering another narrator looking back on something terrible.
Together, the stories give us two different ways into Lovecraft’s imagination: the loneliness of someone seeking a place among others, and the recklessness of people who deliberately cross a forbidden boundary. Neither requires a long cast of characters to make its effect. The telling, the setting and the uncertainty are enough to keep us listening.
I enjoy including spoken-word records in our October selections because they ask us to participate in a different way.
We supply the rooms, the faces and the things half seen in the distance. An actor can guide that imagination through the rhythm of a sentence or a pause before the next revelation, while the story quietly takes over the surroundings we’re sitting in.
This is also a chance to revisit McDowall beyond the characters for which we remember him best. There is pleasure in hearing an accomplished actor work with a story, allowing its language and the narrator’s predicament to hold our attention.
If you know his screen performances but haven’t heard this recording, I hope you enjoy discovering another part of his work.
Artists
Roddy McDowall — spoken-word readings and narration
H. P. Lovecraft — author of both stories
Track List
1 — The Outsider
2 — The Hound
All rights to this recording belong to the respective rights holders. If you enjoy what you hear, please explore legitimate editions of these recordings and support the performers, publishers and people preserving spoken-word work wherever possible. There is a great deal worth discovering beyond the familiar titles.
Thank you for spending part of your Halloween season with me at Tales of the Sonic Voyage. I appreciate everyone who listens, watches, likes, shares and subscribes, and everyone who takes a moment to leave a comment. Let me know whether this is an old favorite or your first encounter with McDowall reading Lovecraft.
We appreciate you. Keep listening, keep exploring, and help spread the music—and the stories. Close description
Roddy McDowall Reads the Horror Stories of H. P. Lovecraft (1962)
Hello, my fellow travelers. Tonight our Halloween listening brings us a familiar voice telling two decidedly unfamiliar tales. Roddy McDowall takes us into the world of H. P. Lovecraft with “The Outsider” and “The Hound,” a pair of stories that make an excellent excuse to turn down the lights and spend some time listening to what might be stirring in the darkness.
Many of us first encountered McDowall through his films and television appearances. Born in London in 1928, he began acting as a child and became known to American audiences through films such as How Green Was My Valley and Lassie Come Home. He continued working across film, television and theatre throughout his life, building a career that reached several generations of viewers.
For science-fiction and horror fans, his place in Planet of the Apes, The Legend of Hell House (One of my favorite ghost stories!) and Fright Night makes his voice especially welcome here. This recording comes from earlier in his career, giving us a chance to hear him carry a performance through speech alone. His experience as an actor becomes the means of bringing Lovecraft’s narrators into the room with us.
Released through Prestige’s Lively Arts label, catalog number LA 30003, the album belongs to a series that brought actors and literary works together on record. Each side contains a separate story, making this a compact evening of horror with McDowall as our guide.
Lovecraft’s writing often places us beside someone trying to explain an experience that has broken their understanding of the world. His narrators remember, confess and struggle to describe what they have encountered. That makes the spoken voice particularly important: we are listening to someone tell us what happened, even as we begin to wonder how much we should trust their account.
“The Outsider” follows a solitary figure whose knowledge of life comes from an existence spent in isolation. The desire to escape that confinement and find companionship carries the story forward. There is sadness beneath its horror, and I’ll leave the discovery at its heart for you to hear rather than spoil it here.
“The Hound” takes us into the company of two collectors whose fascination with the macabre leads them to disturb a grave and take something they should have left alone.
Their pursuit of unusual experiences becomes a much more frightening encounter with consequences they cannot easily escape. It’s a good companion to “The Outsider,” offering another narrator looking back on something terrible.
Together, the stories give us two different ways into Lovecraft’s imagination: the loneliness of someone seeking a place among others, and the recklessness of people who deliberately cross a forbidden boundary. Neither requires a long cast of characters to make its effect. The telling, the setting and the uncertainty are enough to keep us listening.
I enjoy including spoken-word records in our October selections because they ask us to participate in a different way.
We supply the rooms, the faces and the things half seen in the distance. An actor can guide that imagination through the rhythm of a sentence or a pause before the next revelation, while the story quietly takes over the surroundings we’re sitting in.
This is also a chance to revisit McDowall beyond the characters for which we remember him best. There is pleasure in hearing an accomplished actor work with a story, allowing its language and the narrator’s predicament to hold our attention.
If you know his screen performances but haven’t heard this recording, I hope you enjoy discovering another part of his work.
Artists
Roddy McDowall — spoken-word readings and narration
H. P. Lovecraft — author of both stories
Track List
1 — The Outsider
2 — The Hound
All rights to this recording belong to the respective rights holders. If you enjoy what you hear, please explore legitimate editions of these recordings and support the performers, publishers and people preserving spoken-word work wherever possible. There is a great deal worth discovering beyond the familiar titles.
Thank you for spending part of your Halloween season with me at Tales of the Sonic Voyage. I appreciate everyone who listens, watches, likes, shares and subscribes, and everyone who takes a moment to leave a comment. Let me know whether this is an old favorite or your first encounter with McDowall reading Lovecraft.
We appreciate you. Keep listening, keep exploring, and help spread the music—and the stories. Close description