Carnacki the Ghost-Finder

By: William Hope Hodgson

Narrated by: Dan Starkey, Joseph Kloska

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Dan Starkey takes on the mantle of William Hope Hodgson's supernatural detective, Thomas Carnacki, in this collection of enhanced audiobook readings: 'The Gateway of the Monster', 'The House Among the Laurels', 'The Whistling Room', 'The Horse of the Invisible', 'The Searcher of the End House' and 'The Thing Invisible'.

Directed by Scott Handcock.

Public Domain (P)2016 Big Finish Productions

Critic reviews

"This is a straight, very faithful rendition of the original stories by William Hope Hodgson, and very well produced. No unnecessary updating, no loss of Hodgson's period language or descriptions. Spot on." (Grey Dog Tales)

"Neil Gardner and Tanja Glittenberg, the collection's sound designers, are to be congratulated. They've outdone themselves with this release." (Occult Detective Quarterly, Issue 1)

Wonder filled!

Hodgson's Carnacki tales are wonderful, a look back at a classical method of tale-telling. Many of the stories are absolutely chilling. I just wish this collection had included all of the Carnacki stories, as "The Hog" is truly one of the best, and this collection is diminished by it's absence.

Great Ghost Stories in the Style of Sherlock Holmes

The six stories told in this collection are classic! Told in the Style of Edwardian mysteries, Carnacki is not just a Ghost Hunter but a Ghost FINDER!. The performance and sound effects are worthy of Basil Rath one. what a great find!

Flimsy Fun

These are fun, creepy, but somewhat predictable mysteries. Hodgson does an amazing job with atmosphere, tapping into upper-class anxieties, but the plots are repetitive and often offer Scooby Doo endings that only disappoint.

I'd love to hear the same narrators and producers tackle one of his more weighty works, like The Night Lands, or House on the Borderland.

A Disappointment Due To 'Atmospheric' Music

I waited for some time for this to hit release, having had a longtime familiarity with Hodgson's stories and others subsequently written, using these central characters.

Unfortunately, I did not realize that there was music added in the background to 'enhance' the reading. This ruined the read for me. I want a straight reading on an audio book, and frankly the addition of music to any degree within the body of the text is distracting for me and (inn this case) completely breaks the mood.

I have a number of Big Finish recordings in my library, and this isn't as large an issue as it is on these more atmospheric stories. To be fair, I've had similar issues with a couple of collections of M.R; James' work from another publisher -- though in that case it's an insistence of bridging the gaps between the stories with 'mood' music.

While it is good to finally see a collection of Carnacki tales in release, this one did not work for me. I lasted approximately six minutes into the initial story before I was so vexed that I gave up and switched my player to a historical test.