THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS
[RADIO-SERIES]
This British series from the mid-Seventies combined readings of selected passages from the
masters of spectral fiction—Poe, Henry James, Algernon Blackwood—with a discussion of each
author’s style by Derek Parker. The readings were done by Margaret Tyzack and the original BBC
“Man in Black,” Valentine Dyall.
“6 talks broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 17/4/78 to 22/5/78./ Derek
Parker introduces Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Henry James, M.R. James and Algernon
Blackwood. Readings are by Valentine Dyall and Margaret Tyzack.”
ORIGINATION: World Service, London (BBC).
DURATION: November 22,-December 27, 1975.
[OG-NOTE: The series was rebroadcast on Australian radio from April 17-May 22, 1978. Surviving recordings are from
the Australian run and are archived in the University of Queensland.]
PERSONNEL: Valentine Dyall (reader), Derek Parker (lecturer), Margaret Tyzack (reader).
EXTANT RECORDINGS: “Introducing Tales Of The Supernatural,” “Edgar Allan Poe And The Supernatural”
(4/24/78), “Henry James And The Supernatural” (5/8/78), “The Writings Of Montague Rhodes James”
(5/15/78), “Algernon Henry Blackwood And The Supernatural” (5/22/78).
[CHRONOLOGY]
THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS (WORLD SERVICE, LONDON—BBC)
[Saturday—2:30-3:00 PM]
November 22, 1975 “Introducing Tales of the Supernatural”
EXTANT RECORDING
November 29, 1975 “Edgar Allan Poe and the Supernatural”
EXTANT RECORDING
December 6, 1975 “Ambrose Bierce”
December 13, 1975 “Henry James and the Supernatural”
EXTANT RECORDING
December 20, 1975 “The Writings of Montague Rhodes James”
EXTANT RECORDING
December 27, 1975 “Algernon Henry Blackwood and the Supernatural”
(with readings of excerpts from ‘The Man Who Was Milligan,’ “The
Tradition,’ ‘The Pikestaffe Case,’ and ‘Adventures Before Thirty’)
[ASHLEY: “#6 in a series; Derek Parker discusses the contribution to
ghost fiction by Blackwood illustrated by excerpts from his stories read
by Valentine Dyall and Margaret Tyzack: ‘The Man Who Was Milligan’ (6
½ minutes), ‘The Tradition’ (4 ½ minutes), ‘The Pikestaffe Case’ (8 ½
minutes), ‘Adventures Before Thirty’ (1 minute).”
EXTANT RECORDING