Publisher Description
Universally acclaimed as the maestro of horror and the morbid, Edgar Allan Poe’s dark gift has for more than a century and a half set the standard for the genre.
Now, Caedmon Audio presents a classic collection of Poe’s most terrifying tales performed by two of the most brilliant interpreters of his work, Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone. Between them, they perform 20 of Poe’s chilling stories and poems, creating an unforgettably intense listening experience.
Includes:
• The Gold Bug
• The Imp of the Perverse
• Ligeia Performed by Vincent Price
• The Tell-Tale Heart
• The Pit and the Pendulum
• The Raven Performed by Basil Rathbone
Download and start listening now!
“At one time, lovers of Poe had access only to the recordings gathered here if they wanted to hear their favorite demon read aloud. The recordings have since fallen into near oblivion, as the rise of audiobooks replaced them with fresher interpretations. Their reappearance is most welcome, for these are superb renderings by the cornball ghoulish Price and filmdom’s most famous Sherlock Holmes, Basil Rathbone. Indeed, Rathbone is a revelation. His dry cinematic persona does not prepare one for the richness of his recital of Poe’s dark stories and poems. One would expect these two actors, if anybody, would give us definitive orations, which they do. They know this material well—the obscure diction, the subtext, the classical references—and know how to make it chill the listener. It’s a romp for them and a delight for us. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
—
AudioFile
About Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1848) transformed the American literary landscape with his innovations in the short story genre and his haunting lyrical poetry, and he is credited with inventing American gothic horror and detective fiction. He was first published in 1827 and then began a career as a magazine writer and editor and a sharp literary critic. In 1845 the publication of his most famous poem, “The Raven,” brought him national fame.
About the Narrators
Vincent Price (1911–1993) was an award-winning American actor, well known
for his distinctive voice and serio-comic performances in a series of horror
films. Because of his distinctive, low-pitched voice and atmospheric narration,
he was in demand for his voice work. He provided a quasi-rap voiceover for
Michael Jackson’s Thriller TV video;
he narrated a brief history of Tombstone, Arizona, for use in the diorama at
the site of the O.K. Corral gunfight; and he made a short speech about the
black widow on the Alice Cooper album Welcome
to My Nightmare.” He said that one of his most favorite roles was the voice
of Professor Ratigan in the Disney feature The
Great Mouse Detective (1986), especially since two original songs had been
written for him. His awards include a Career Achievement Award from the Los
Angeles Film Critics Association, an International Fantasy Film Award, and two
stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for film and one for his television
career. He won an AudioFile Earphones Award for his reading, along with Basil Rathbone, of The Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection.
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone (1892–1967) was a South African–born English actor. He rose to prominence in Britain as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over seventy films. He was widely recognized for his many portrayals of Sherlock Holmes in a series of fourteen feature films made between 1939 and 1946.