View this production – a series of short videos published December 1 – 24 2020 – via our YouTube Channel
Ghostly Christmas Advent Calendar
created by Suse Crosby and Guy Steddon from an idea by Guy Steddon
December 1 – Dan Dryer reads The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs – video link
December 2 – Anna Quick reads The Shadowby Edith Nesbit – video link
December 3 – Diane Robinson reads The Room in the Tower by E H Benson – video link
December 4 – Guy Steddon reads The Festival by H P Lovecraft – video link
December 5 – Suse Crosby reads The Mezzotint by M R James – video link
December 6 – Bob Ryder reads The Signal Man by Charles Dickens – video link
December 7 – Poems Selection Box 1 – video link
– Suse Crosby recites The Witch by Mary Elisabeth Coleridge
– Guy Steddon recites Antigonish by William Huges Means
– Anna Quick recites All Hallows by Louise Elisabeth Glück
– Claire Wiggins recites The Listeners by Walter de la Mare
December 8 – Sam Razavi reads The Horla by Guy de Maupassant – video link
December 9 – Jacqueline Harper reads Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Alan Poe – video link
December 10 – Luke Mepham reads The Box by S Crosby – video link
December 11 – Phil Nair-Brown reads The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce – video link
December 12 – Guy Steddon reads The Pale Man by Julius Long – video link
December 13 – Poems Selection Box 2 – video link
– Victoria Storm recites From The Haunted Wood by Isaac McLellan
– Peter Joyce recites El Dorado by Edgar Allan Poe
– Hazel Starns recites A Chilly Night by Christina Rosetti
– Ralph Dawes recites Hunting Of The Snark by Lewis Carol
December 14 – Anna Quick reads The View From The Hill by M R James – video link
December 15 – Victoria Storm reads Hagon by H P Lovecraft – video link
December 16 – Derek Fraser reads The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe – video link
December 17 – Phil Nair-Brown reads In the Court of the Dragon by Robert Chambers – video link
December 18 – Poems Selection Box 3 – video link
– Victoria Storm recites Little Orphan Annie by James Whitcombe Riley
– Amanda Dawes recites Spellbound by Emily Bronte
– Hazel Starns recites Journey of the Magi by T S Eliot
– Mysterio recites A Timely Escape by Mysterio
December 19 – Sam Razavi reads Safe by S Crosby – video link
December 20 – Sarah Frost reads Smee by A M Burrage – video link
December 21 – Julian Batstone reads A Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe – video link
December 22 – Bob Ryder reads Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad by M R James – video link
December 23 – Suse Crosby reads The Tower by Marghanita Laski – video link
December 24 – Christmas Eve Selection Box – video link
– Guy Steddon recites The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore : attrib
– Sue Goble recites Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
– Jacqueline Harper recites Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus by Viginia O’Hanlon & Frances Parcellus Church [featuring the voice of Merryn Steddon]
Publicity for the event:
Christmas time and ghost stories may seem odd bedfellows but the combination has proved a winning one since the 1700s; perhaps the end of autumn and the arrival of winter sends our minds to ponder the dark and the strange?
A carefully curated selection of some of the greatest creepy tales and poems of all time, delivered in advent calendar style seemed a great way to reach out and spread some festive fun.
“There are those that may question the choice of spooky stories in this climate but, as the saying goes, it is always darkest before its dawn” explained Guy.
Each day during December you can expect a little film of a creepy story or selection of chilling poems brought to you by different Wick members, filmed during this latest lockdown. Expect a peppering of classics by renowned authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, M.R James, H.P Lovecraft and Edith Nesbit; famous titles such as ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, ‘The Raven’ and ‘Tell Tale Heart’. There are also contemporary offerings from authors that include award winning material from Suse herself!
“I think most of us will be glad to see then end of this year” said Guy “and I hope that counting down to 2021 will be more fun with our video advent calendar that celebrates the macabre, the ghosts and the ghouls. We can then focus on our dearest hope that we can return to the stage in the new year.”
“It’s important to us to show that although there are no lights on at the Theatres, the light continues to shine inside all of us” said Suse.
As the month progresses you will also meet :
Mysterio
Derek Fraser
Amanda Dawes
Sarah Frost
Julian Batstone
Sue Goble