Fright Night

Chilling sound effects, a stellar cast and a collection of readings and dramas to terrify and delight as we turn up the horror on Radio 4 and 4 Extra. Read on if you dare....

The centrepiece of Fright Night 2016 on BBC Radio 4 is a two-hour scary-as-hell reading of Rosemary's Baby, delivered superbly by Kim Cattrall.

Ira Levin’s 1967 best-selling classic Rosemary’s Baby, is a horror story of occultism, set in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The book centres on Rosemary Woodhouse and her husband Guy, who move into an apartment building with a disturbing history of witchcraft and murder.

Described by author Stephen King as “the Swiss watchmaker of suspense novels”, Levin is also the author of The Stepford Wives, another psychological thriller which places women as victims of seemingly ordinary environments that belie dark, sinister truths.

Rosemary’s Baby is a special one-off abridgement, read by Kim Cattrall over two spine-tingling hours.

The darkness descends in good time for All Hallows' Eve with Fright Night Shorts, a collection of unnerving tales by Stephen King, Kate Mosse and John Connolly.

Cookie Jar, by Stephen King, tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy who inherits a cookie jar, but in true King of Horror style this is no ordinary jar. This unsettling tale is read by Colin Stinton.

A young girl has no shadow and sees things that others can’t see in The Mirror a new story for Radio 4, written and read by Kate Mosse.

The Rat King, our third Fright Night Short, is a macabre retelling of the Pied Piper story, written by John Connolly, author of The Book of Lost Things, Nocturnes and the bestselling Charlie Parker mysteries. Read by Peter Marinker.

A team of scientists working on a new kind of sonic drill take over a Victorian mansion only to discover something ancient and malevolent lurking in the walls.

The Stone Tape has been re-imagined by one of the most exciting British filmmakers of his generation, Peter Strickland, with a script by the co-creator of Life On Mars, Matthew Graham. It stars Romola Garai, Julian Barratt, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Dean Andrews, Tom Bennett and Jane Asher.

Jane Asher’s appeared in The Stone Tape before; she played the lead in the ground-breaking 1972 TV movie.

Broadcast on Radio 4 Extra, a special binaural version of the drama will made available online.

Listen. Watch. Until the end. You will be consumed by the lost.

British journalist Mitchell Hooper lives in Tokyo with his wife Toni. When he begins investigating the mysterious deaths of four teenagers, he discovers a nightmarish secret.

Ring is Japanese horror at its best. This radio drama is an adaptation of the classic novel by Koji Suzuki that also inspired the infamous 1998 film. Our spooky offering stars Matthew Gravelle, Eve Myles, Akira Koieyama and Naoko Mori.

To turn up the horror for Ring and The Stone Tape, put on your headphones and listen to the immersive 'binaural' mix of the programme for a unique 3D listening experience. Here's our handy guide explaining how to listen in binaural sound and what it is.