ALGERNON BLACKWOOD [STORIES]
[SHORT-STORIES]
Blackwood’s early fiction collection centering around a physician who is also a kind of occult
detective…
[Preterite] “The late Sheila Hodgson was a noted author and playwright who wrote extensively
for BBC Radio. Of particular interest to genre fans is her series of audio dramas, inspired by M.R.
James' fragmentary Stories I Have Tried to Write, which feature James himself as protagonist.
“Much less known is her series featuring Algernon Blackwood's supernatural detective, John
Silence. I don't know how many of these were produced, and the usual references don't have
much info. Camp of the Dog is the only audio drama I could find with the same title as one of the
original John Silence tales. To further complicate things, the other play I have is based on a
Blackwood story which originally had nothing to do with the "physician extraordinary". If anyone
could pass along information on other John Silence dramas by Hodgson, I'd be most grateful.
“John Silence would bristle at being labeled an occult detective. He referred to himself as a
"psychic doctor", one who tended to the ailments of the spirit instead of that of the flesh. Silence
hated the word "occult", and considered what we call the supernatural to be merely an extension
of the so-called natural universe. All manner of bogies, from werewolves to ghosts, are merely
manifestations of a spiritual illness in Silence's worldview.
“In Hodgson's plays, Silence isn't the hero as much as an observer, an expositionary character
who explains what is happening and why. This is in keeping with the original short stories by
Blackwood, in which the "psychic doctor" was involved to various degrees, sometimes as
protagonist, sometimes simply as a sympathetic audience to another's tale (as is the case in
Ancient Sorceries, which was produced as a four-part reading by BBC7). Still, these dramas are
spooky fun, and should be of interest to any fan of Hodgson's other works.”
[The Independent, March 22, 2002—“Sheila Hodgson” Jack Adrian] “Ruth Sheila Hodgson,
scriptwriter and dramatist: born Beckenham, Kent 22 December 1921; married 1971 David
Middleton; died South Newton, Wiltshire 25 December 2001.
“Sheila Hodgson was a prolific writer of radio and television dramas at a time, the 1950s to the
1980s, when actually making a living out of such an occupation was rare. She was a pioneer who
contributed greatly to the entertainment of the nation… But her most lasting fame came late in
life and in a wholly unexpected manner, when she turned her considerable talents to the
supernatural.
“In the realm of the wireless she was a purveyor of light fictions: thrillers, tales of adventure,
detective stories. On occasion a superior piece of psychological suspense would pass through her
typewriter – This Line is Now Closed (1978), for example, a chilling old-lady-in-peril tale which
was written expressly for the distinguished, and elderly, radio actress Grizelda Hervey (generally
agreed by most critics to have had the best, most terror-filled shriek in the business). But in the
main Hodgson aimed to quicken the pulse in as diverting a manner as possible, as in The Long
Drive Home (1967; directed by the legendary Betty Davies), which featured a clever murder plot
set in the world of golf-bores with a cast (Timothy West, William Fox, Peter Howell, the
inimitable Rolf Lefebvre) you could only have afforded on the radio.
“Towards the end of her own career Hodgson became fascinated by the supernatural,
successfully adapting for radio's Midweek Theatre (a showcase series which featured the early
work of writers such as Andrew Davies, R.D. Wingfield, Frederic Raphael and N.J. Crisp) several
of Algernon Blackwood's "Dr John Silence: psychic detective" stories, with the sinister-voiced
Malcolm Hayes in the title role.”
[CHRONOLOGY]
WE KNOW A STORY (WONS, HARTFORD)
[???day—10:00-10:15 PM]
September 19, 1948 “The Gypsy’s Prophesy” [EXTANT RECORDING]
[Could this be a re-titling of “By Water”?]
CAST: Sylvia Draper, Guy Hedlund.
(BBC EASTERN SERVICE—PERSIAN TRANSMISSION)
[Friday—4:54-5:12 PM]
April 27, 1951 “The Camp of the Dog”
PERSONNEL: H. M. Baiyuzi (translator, scriptwriter, producer).
CAST: Miss Ansari, H. Darabaghi, A Dehkan, I. Saviz, S. A. Taheri.
MIDWEEK THEATRE (RADIO 4)
[Wednesday—8:15-9:00 PM]
August 28, 1974 “The Camp of the Dog”
[Pre-recorded August 12, 1974… Repeat broadcast of recording on August
29, 1974 (Afternoon Theatre, Radio 4), October 16, 1975 (Radio 4),
December 28, 1975 (Radio Theatre, World Service), March 18, 1976
(Theatre 45, SABC), and December 28, 1977 (Afternoon Theatre, Radio
4).]
PERSONNEL: Harry Catlin (producer), Sheila Hodgson (scriptwriter).
CAST: Timothy Bateson (Stephen Hubbard), Malcolm Hayes (John Silence), Jane Knowles
(Joan Maloney), David March (Reverend Timothy Maloney), Joan Matheson (Mrs.
Maloney), David Sinclair (Porter), Peter Whitman (Peter Sangree).
MIDWEEK THEATRE (RADIO 4)
[Wednesday—8:15-9:00 PM]
December 18, 1974 “The Nemesis of Fire”
[Pre-recorded December 12, 1974… Repeat broadcasts of recording on
December 19, 1974 (Afternoon Theatre, Radio 4), June 13 and 17, 1976
(Radio Theatre, World Service), November 25, 1976 (Theatre 45, SABC),
and June 21, 1981 (Late Night Theatre, SABC).]
PERSONNEL: Harry Catlin (producer), Sheila Hodgson (scriptwriter).
CAST: Jack Carr (Porter), Madeleine Cemm (Jane), David Ericsson (Cabby/Waiter),
Grizelda Harvey (Ellen Wragge), Malcolm Hayes (John Silence), Fraser Kerr (Stephen
Hubbard), Denis McCarthy (Dr. Corbin), Hector Ross (Colonel Wragge).
MIDWEEK THEATRE (RADIO 4)
[Wednesday—8:15-9:00 PM]
March 19, 1975 “Secret Worship”
[Pre-recorded March 11, 1975… Repeat broadcasts of recording on March
20, 1975 (Afternoon Theatre, Radio 4), October 31, 1975 (Midweek
Theatre, Radio 4), June 6, 1976 (Radio Theatre, World Service), August
5, 1976 (Theatre 45, SABC), and October 13, 1980 (Springbok Radio).
PERSONNEL: Harry Catlin (producer), Sheila Hodgson (scriptwriter).
CAST: John Bull (Man in Post Office), Alan Dudley (Bruder Pagel), Roger Gartland
(Porter), Malcolm Hayes (John Silence), Fraser Kerr (Stephen Hubbard), Denis McCarthy
(Bruder Kalkman), Sion Probert (Priest), Michael Shannon (Cabby), Peter Whitman
(Waiter), Michael Wolf (Landlord).
AFTERNOON THEATRE (RADIO 4)
[Thursday—3:05-3:50 PM]
October 2, 1975 “The Empty Sleeve”
[Research: was this a John Silence story, or was the character added by
the radio adapter (Sheila Hodgson)? ASHLEY: England (London):
transmogrification; the Gilmer brothers collect violins, one of which is
craved for by Hyman whose spirit, in the form of a cat, attempts to steal
it.”
PERSONNEL: Harry Catlin (producer), Sheila Hodgson (scriptwriter).
CAST: Alan Dudley (William Gilmer), Garard Green (Porter), Malcolm Hayes
(John Silence), Haydn Jones (Arthur Gilmer), Fraser Kerr (Stephen Hubbard),
Hector Ross (Cabby/Theatre Manager), Peter Woodthorpe (Isadore Hyman).
BOOK AT BEDTIME—“ALGERNON BLACKWOOD GHOST STORIES” (RADIO 4,
LONDON)
[Monday-Friday—
July 31, 2006 “The Willows”
[“…Two travelers camped in the wilderness encounter malevolent forces
beyond their understanding…”]
PERSONNEL: Clive Brill (director), Fiona McAlpine (abridger), Hugh Ross
(reader).
August 1, 2006 “The Empty House”
[“…An aunt and her nephew attempt to spend the night in a haunted
house…”]
August 2, 2006 “Ancient Sorceries”
[“…An Englishman staying in a sleepy French town makes a terrifying
discovery…”]
August 3, 2006 “Smith: An Episode in a Lodging House”
[“…When his fellow lodger comes to borrow a book, a student is caught
up in powerful rituals…”]
August 4, 2006 “The Glamour of the Snow”
[“A tourist at a mountain ski resort becomes captivated by a mysterious
young woman…”]