Not everything on the radio should be broadcast…

Young Virgil Kaylock has definitely been changed by his experiences in the Arctic – hardly surprising, and I’m glad that John Ramm gives his character space to breathe before throwing him into a new tale. There’s always been a very slight disconnect between the older Kaylock narrating the stories and the younger one who’s experiencing everything, and we’re getting to understand why that is (the smoothness of the preceding story is understandably lost here to an extent). While someone of similar vintage such as Simon Templar might be praying to be delivered into battle, murder and sudden death, Virgil wants the opposite, and at the start of this tale has hidden himself away. Luckily Dorothy isn’t going to let him get away with that…

You’ll recognise the various tropes that Ramm incorporates into this story and Richard Vahrman and Martin Malone’s sound design as well as Neil Brand’s score are put to good use. There’s more of a tragic and personal feel to this than some of the earlier tales with the relationship between Daniel Fraser’s young Kaylock and Ellie Turner’s Dorothy central to the story – there’s some nice development of the latter that reminds us that as well as a horror series, romance is at its heart too. Guest stars Jennifer English and Maggie Ollerenshaw also ensure the spooky factor is turned up!

A word of warning on this one – don’t try to listen to it if there’s any extensive outside noise as you’ll miss some of the key points that are, quite deliberately, made obscure. It’s worth making the time to hear it in a quiet environment, not purely for that reason but also to allow the chilling atmosphere of Waterhall to envelop you…

Verdict: A creeping horror that pushes the Kaylock story forward well. 8/10

Paul Simpson