Hello and welcome back to the Hallowed Histories strand of Winters tales, and tonight we have a real classic for you. The Adventure of the Dancing Men is a classic slice of Sherlock Holmes, and one set in North Walsham. We’re breaking it into two parts for you, so stay tuned for the conclusion in a couple of days.

Arthur Conan Doyle was a frequent visitor to East Anglia, and as we covered in our episode on Black Shuck, he drew inspiration from Norfolk’s demon dog to create one of his most iconic creations – the Hound of the Baskervilles.

During another visit to Happisburgh in 1903, Conan Doyle noticed the sketches of the landlord’s son in the hotel he was staying. These dancing stick figure men became the inspiration for the macabre code that is at the heart of this story.

Conan Doyle was a man with many interests – golf, folklore, walking, ghost stories, you know, all those things that we do best around here.

Breathing life into the story is our reader, the actor David Mccabe. As with a lot of our readers this season, I met David while working on the Maddermarket theatre’s revival of Dracula last November. David played what is traditionally the thankless role of Jonathan Harker, but brought enough wit and energy to his acting to make sure his performance really stood out.

It was a pleasure to share a dressing room with him as well, because he is one of the most well-read men I have had the pleasure to meet, and that’s always a quality to treasure.

But for right now, imagine yourself in the study of the world’s most famous detective, with the fire roaring, foggy London just through the window, and a case about to present itself.

Contact us at hallowedhistories@gmail.com for more details and stay tuned every week until well past the twelfth night for more chills.