Thirteen: Reviews

A couple of reviews for Thirteen, which was released on 23rd August:

"A collection of spooky audio tales designed to keep you chilled no matter what the weather…

Scott Harrison – who contributes the linking story – has brought together an intriguing mix of writers for this tribute to the old horror anthologies of the 1970s. Not tied to a specific length, but none running more than 21 minutes (roughly the length of a side of an old LP, uncoincidentally), each boasts a different narrator and its own style.

Some are graphic in their horror, others are unsettling without the need for explicitness: one of my favourites of the latter is Dan Abnett’s Half Life, images from which have kept coming to mind in the week since I first heard it. There are homages to earlier classics, notably Johnny Mains’ I Wish, and ones that eventually evoke
familiar horror images, such as Gary McMahon’s Down, or Martin Day’s The Hairstyle of the Devil.

The narrators are well-suited to their tales and audiobook stalwart Barnaby Edwards is particularly chilling in the three-part linking story Hidden Track, which throws more than a few curveballs, as well as explaining the conceit of the album (although 78s actually only lasted about four minutes per side in reality).

There are no clunkers in the anthology; you might feel that a couple of them could lose a couple of scenes here or there, and there are a couple of similar resolutions, but overall this is an enjoyable anthology."

Verdict: A deliciously dark collation. 8/10                                               Paul Simpson  Sci-Fi Bulletin

"The individual chillers are held together by the traditional 'bridging' story, in this case the classic trope of the old curiosity shop, here selling vinyl records that contain a hidden track, which happen to be these particularly fine scary stories...Overall, this is a great collection of supernatural tales, with a mournful and melancholy tone. They feel very much like old fashioned ghost stories and are genuinely chilling."

9/10 Starburst Magazine

Side A

1  Hidden Track (part 1) by Scott Harrison read by Barnaby Edwards

2 Dead Space  by  George Mann read by Greg Wise

3  A Girl, Sitting  by  Mark Morris read by Jilly Bond

4 Finding The Path  by  Kaaron Warren read by Trevor White

5  The Hairstyle of the Devil  by  Martin Day read by Arthur Darvill
6  Down  by  Gary McMahon read by Stephen Rashbrook

7 Visions  by  Cavan Scott read by Michael Maloney

8  Half Life  by  Dan Abnett read by John Banks

9  Hidden Track (part 2) by Scott Harrison read by Barnaby Edwards

 
 
Side B

10  With Her In Spirit  by  Stephen Gallagher read by Frances Barber

11  Tabula Rasa  by  Alasdair Stuart read by Lalla Ward

12  One Hit Wanda  by  Kim Newman read by Samuel West

13  A Glass of Water  by  Mark Wright read by Gemma Arterton

14  Ghost Pit  by  Simon Clark read by Jeff Harding

15  I Wish  by  Johnny Mains read by Steven Cree

16 Hidden Track (part 3) by Scott Harrison read by Barnaby Edwards

"Nicely assembled...not a bad story or bad vocal performance amongst them. 3.5/5"            SFX Magazine

"If you're a fan of classic, spine tingling horror then that should be reason enough to listen to Thirteen" 

                                                        GeekPlanetOnline

Available from: Spokenworld Audio

The sources of Thirteen