The Call of Cthulhu

A young artist has dreams of a Cyclopean city from beneath the waves, and when he seeks out a wise professor for help, he unlocks years' worth of hidden horrors. A police inspector confronts depraved cultists in the swamps of Louisiana, and finds a hideous idol of an otherworldly god. Sailors adrift in the south Pacific encounter ageless cosmic evil on an island that should not be. And the chronicler of these events dies under mysterious circumstances in Boston.

The Call of Cthulhu is Lovecraft's most famous and influential tale, having inspired generations of writers and artists, gamers and musicians, and dreamers of all kinds. It inspired the classic role-playing game that introduced most of the founders of the HPLHS to the Mythos, and it inspired our 1920s-style film version of the same tale. The radio version allows us to bring you scenes that were omitted from the movie, and add a new dimension to the classic story. Our old-time radio adaptation features a cast of professional actors, exciting sound effects and music by Troy Sterling Nies.

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Props

To enhance your listening pleasure, the HPLHS has packed the jewel case for The Call of Cthulhu with carefully created props from the story. You'll have

  • A page from the dream journal of Henry Wilcox, describing and picturing one of his dreams of the nightmare city.
  • The fateful page from the Sydney Bulletin, featuring the story and half-tone photo of the Cthulhu idol found on the Alert. (Text of the article by HPL himself!)
  • The mugshot and New Orleans Police measurement card for Castro, the most informative of the cultists captured during the swamp raid.
  • A photograph of the Eskimo Cthulhu idol, with a note from Professor William Channing Webb.
  • Track Listing

    1. Opening 2:13
    2. Found Among the Papers... 6:33
    3. The Horror in Clay 14:45
    4. The Tale of Inspector Legrasse 23:15
    5. The Madness from the Sea 25:49
    6. The Cultist 3:04
    7. Closing 1:23
    Total Runtime 77:02

    Cast and Crew

    Leslie Baldwin...Landlady, Greta Johansen
    Sean Branney...Castro, Rodrigues, Prof. Webb, Witness, Jabaley, Seaman
    Mark Colson...Inspector Legrasse
    Dan Conroy...Erskine Blackwell, Parker, Kincade, Thibidoux
    Mike Dalager...Galvez, Guerrera
    Matt Foyer...Detective Mallory, Dr. Tobey, Prof. Bell
    Conny Laxéll...Johansen
    Andrew Leman...Thurston, Prof. Quintana, Borque, Capt. Collins
    Barry Lynch...Sergeant Hale, Ångstrom
    Erin Noble...Swamp Mama, Kiwi Nurse, Museum Matron
    David Pavao...Prof. Henning, Hawkins
    Kevin Stidham...Henry Wilcox, Roy, Briden
    Josh Thoemke...Announcer
    Time Winters...Professor Angell, Swamp Papa, Vigilant Capt.
    Dee Calhoun, David G. Cercone II, Reber Clark, Jonathan Crimmins, Bryan Davis, Martin Holt, Catrin Jones & Marc Thomas...Cultists

    Based on the story by H. P. Lovecraft
    Radio adaptation by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman
    Original music by Troy Sterling Nies
    Audio engineering by Chris Horvath
    "Haul Away Joe" performed by Slugger O'Toole
    Cover and disc illustrations by Darrell Tutchton
    Bonus props by Andrew Leman and Sean Branney
    Nautical Consultants: Chief Michael W. Tapp, USCG, and Darrell Tutchton
    Produced by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman

    Script, Liner Notes & More

    The music in this episode of Dark Adventure was originally composed by Troy Sterling Nies for the HPLHS motion picture The Call of Cthulhu. The soundtrack album, which contains all those cues plus additional music from the film, is available here.

    CoC Soundtrack CD

    If you haven't seen our movie of "The Call of Cthulhu", check out the Call of Cthulhu Combo, which features the DVD, soundtrack album, film poster, vintage style theater program, bonus prop newspaper clippings and a t-shirt!

    For your very own replica of the Eskimo Cthulhu idol, check this out! For PDF versions of all the documents in Professor Angell's Cthulhu Cult file that you can print yourself, go here!

    For your enjoyment, we present free PDF downloads of the final recording script and liner notes of The Call of Cthulhu. Note: this script is only for use for reading along with Dark Adventure Radio Theatre; no performance of the script may be made without written consent of the HPLHS.

    The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
    Episode 6
    The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
    The Colour Out of Space
    Episode 7
    The Colour Out of Space
    Herbert West: Reanimator
    Episode 8
    Herbert West—Reanimator
    Liner Notes
    Liner Notes
    The Call of Cthulhu