Gothic Imagination: Dracula, Frankenstein & more

A BBC chilling collection of classic gothic horror and ghost stories adapted or written by women In this breathtaking collection of gothic horror and eerie tales, draw the curtains and pull the blankets close for two classic Victorian horror tales in new adaptations, Dracula starring Nicky Henson, Charles Edwards, Don Gilet and Ellie Kendrick and Frankenstein, with Jamie Parker (Harry Potter) as Frankenstein and Shaun Dooley (Gentleman Jack, Broadchurch) as the Monster. Next is a thrilling drama about the scandalous Mary Shelley and Lord Byron in Bloody Poetry. In the sensational psycho-sexual thriller The Mysteries of Udolpho with Robert Glenister (Suspicion, Spooks), a young woman is trapped in a castle of nightmares and villains. But who can she trust?Four spine-chilling dramatised tales follow: The Cold Embrace, where a handsome artist makes a terrible mistake, Man-size in Marble, in which newly-weds must face a horrifying truth, Afterward sees a couple paying the price for an unexpected windfall, and The Demon Lover, featuring Jenny Howe (Silent Witness, Eastenders) about a woman struggling home through the Blitz.Finally, two of Mary Shelley's finest short stories, 'The Mortal Immortal '- when a young apprentice drinks a potion to cure his heartbreak but discovers a feeling far worse - and 'Rodger Dodworth: The Reanimated Englishman' - where a man is woken after 170 years encased in ice.Cast and credits Dracula Written by Rebecca LenkiewiczStory written by Bram StokerDirected by Jessica DromgooleFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 14 October 2012Frankenstein Dramatised by Lucy CatherineWritten by Mary ShelleyDirected by Marc BeebyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 28 October - 4 November 2012Bloody Poetry Written by Howard BrentonAdapted by Alison HindellDirected by Alison HindellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 20 October 2012The Mysteries of Udolpho Written by Ann RadcliffeDramatised by Catherine CzerkawskaDirected by David BlountFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13 October - 24 October 1996The Cold Embrace Written by Mary BraddonProduced by Marion NancarrowDirected by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26 July 1997Man-size in Marble Written by Edith NesbitProduced by Marion NancarrowDramatised by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 November 1997Afterward Written by Edith WhartonProduced by Marion NancarrowDirected by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 November 1997The Demon LoverWritten by Elizabeth BowenProduced by Marion NancarrowDirected by Christopher HawesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 July 1997'The Mortal Immortal'Written by Mary ShelleyProduced by Gemma JenkinsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3 December 2005'Rodger Dodworth: The Reanimated Englishman'Written by Mary ShelleyProduced by John CardyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 May 1982(c)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd