Thirteen

By: Scott Harrison, Dan Abnett, Cavan Scott, Kim Newman, Kaaron Warren, George Mann, Simon Clark

Narrated by: Gemma Arterton, Lalla Ward, Frances Barber, Barnaby Edwards, Samuel West, Greg Wise, Arthur Darvill

Winner of the 2014 AUDIE award for Best Original Work

In early 20th Century England Hamilton James Macaulay relates the tale of how he found himself in a Scarborough Bric-a-brac shop. The owner of the shop has 13 long playing records that each contain a hidden track at the end, that tell strange tales of future times. These 13 tales of terror will change Hamilton James Macaulay's life forever and he will leave the shop a murderer.

Thirteen is a portmantaeu audio anthology, harking back to the classic horror albums of the 1970s.

Written by Scott Harrison, George Mann, Mark Morris, Kaaron Warren, Martin Day, Gary McMahon, Cavan Scott, Dan Abnett, Alasdair Stuart, Kim Newman, Mark Wright, Simon Clark and Johnny Mains.

Stories read by Barnaby Edwards, Greg Wise, Jilly Bond, Trevor White, Arthur Darvill, Stephen Rashbrook, Michael Maloney, John Banks, Frances Barber, Lalla Ward, Samuel West, Gemma Arterton, Jeff Harding and Steven Cree.

©2013 Spokenworld Audio/Ladbroke Audio Ltd (P)2013 Spokenworld Audio/Ladbroke Audio Ltd

Critic reviews

"A great collection of supernatural tales - those who like their spines chilled will be very pleased. 9/10" ( Starburst Magazine)
"A deliciously dark collation. 8/10" ( SciFiBulletin)
"The structure of the framing narrative calls to mind an audio version of the portmanteau films of Amicus studios. If you're a fan of classic, spine tingling horror then that should be reason enough to listen to Thirteen." ( GeekPlanetOnline)
"Nicely assembled...not a bad story or bad vocal performance amongst them. 3.5/5" ( SFX Magazine)

13 flash stories with an intriguing frame

What did you like best about Thirteen? What did you like least?

A collection of 13 flash stories with an intriguing frame narrative. Flash fiction is an interesting medium, and this collection shows the broad range, from the O Henry to the Conte Cruel to the Shaggy Dog. It really started landing its punches with me about the halfway mark.

The three I liked best:

HALF LIFE by Dan Abnett is the first one that really hit me. It’s an interesting take on haunting and how we continue to inhabit homes long after we've left them. It also includes a fascinating device of the Victorian mourning ring.

TABULA RASA by Alasdair Stuart felt like the B Reel story of an episode of Doctor Who in all the right ways.

ONE HIT WONDER by Kim Newman does a great job of exploring the haunting of both ghosts and failures. Is the damage caused by almost succeeding worse than that of always being a failure? Nice and impactful.

Gramaphone 78s spin some chills

I loved the concept of this book. That is why I picked it up. Thirteen tales of horror linked by the frame story of a man who goes into a bric-a-brac shop. There he encounters the mysterious proprietor with his collection of thirteen 78 records, each containing a hidden track.

The book plays out as the store owner plays each of the oldies but chillys.

Overall, I found the stories satisying. Some stories hit me more than oathers. That is always the case with an anthology. There is a tale of a dead mother who sends letters from beyond the grave. Another has a jealous boyfriend tracking a rival to a salon, but the stray hairs in his girlfriend's sheets can't be solved with a trim on the top. Schoolboys are stranded in an underground maze. Then there is the mystery of the records. Where did they come from? What are these hidden tracks?

The production was excellent with some great Gramaphone SFX and incidental music. The readers were top-notch, with some Doctor Who alumni doing readings.

A really unique read. Concept very cool. Wish I could find another like this.

love it

will have to let my friends know about it, hope one day there will be a movie

Great concept but mixed quality

An enjoyable nostalgic idea, to hark back to the story albums. As with any short story collection, there is a chance that some will be good, and others not so good. This is the case here. The readings are on the whole strong.

A Novice Write Tales from the Crypt Stories

This was immensely disappointing. The concept is intriguing: one story encompassing listening to 13 others, but each of the stories, though naturally short in nature, are unfulfilling, unsatisfying, unfinished. None of them will scare you, or even hold you in suspense. I kept waiting for them to get better, but they never do. On the bright side, the production is good and the narration varies from story to story, giving a nice variety.