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Latest viewpoints
The Mystery of Scotland Yard in Horror Cinema
Scotland Yard has been in horror films since Sherlock Holmes and the “Quatermass” trilogy, but were any actually filmed at the Yard? And what is the Yard’s famous Black Museum? Listen to hear about the three locations of Scotland Yard in London’s film history, the horror films inspired by the Yard’s Black Museum, and about the strange shift away from Scotland Yard in recent horror history. Includes a highlight of Edgar Wright’s 2006 “Hot Fuzz”
Horrors of the Battersea Funfair
In the 1950s Battersea Park opened it’s own Funfair, and once it did the horror filmmakers came running. Horror films – including “The Mutations” starring Donald Pleasance and “Gorgo” London’s 1969 answer to Godzilla – used the bright lights of the funfair to contrast with dark stories, that is until the Battersea funfair had a real-life horror of its own.
Horror stars of the London Zoo
London Zoo is a place of fun and wonder with animals from all over the world gathered for us to enjoy, but you may not know that one particular animal has been the star of three horror movies. Listen to hear about the role they played in “Werewolf of London” (1935), “American Werewolf in London” (1981), and “Braham Stoker’s Dracula” (1992)
The Eros Fountain in Horror Cinema
The Eros Fountain in Piccadilly Circus has appeared in more than a dozen horror films, mostly to set the scene in London. But it plays a more important symbolic role in three horror films – Edgar Wright’s 2021 “Last Night in Soho”, Lindsay Shonteff’s “Night After Night After Night”, and Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later”. Listen to find out what this fountain meant for these three, very different, horror films
The ‘amorous career’ of Lady Anne Hatton
This viewpoint discusses the controversial marriage of James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn and his third wife, Lady Anne Hatton, which took place in 1800.
Most recently linked books
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Kathryn FerrySeaside 100: A History of the British Seaside in 100 Objects
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Kara Murphy SchlichtingNew York Recentered: Building the Metropolis from the Shore
4.50
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John PriceHeroes of Postman’s Park: Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Victorian London
3.50
2015
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Lauren MackayAmong The Wolves of Court
4.26
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Helen PaulThe South Sea Bubble: An Economic History of its Origins and Consequences. (Routledge Explorations in Economic History)
4.00
2010
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Susan T. Pettiss Lynne TaylorAfter the Shooting Stopped: The Memoir of an Unrra Welfare Worker, Germany 1945-1947
4.00
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Brian CowanThe Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse
3.81
2005
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