EXCLUSIVE: Colin Morgan (Merlin) and Katie Leung (Harry Potter) will narrate The Haunted Library, a podcast about based around classic horror stories.
The concept is for the pair to read titles from a fictional Gothic library, the doors to which open on September 21, with BBC Studios Audio producing and funding the series, which will comprise versions of stories from Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James and more.
Two episodes will launch each week on major podcast providers and BBC Sounds, the BBC’s audio platform. Subscribers to The Haunted Library Plus on Apple Podcasts will get early access and ad-free listens.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will launch the series, with Morgan and Leung narrating the likes of Frankenstein, The Turn of the Screw, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Carmilla and The Invisible Man.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories that explore the darker corners of the imagination, and it’s been a real pleasure to spend time with so many of the great works of Gothic literature,” said Morgan. “These are stories that have endured for generations, but there’s something particularly powerful about hearing them told aloud. I hope The Haunted Library gives listeners the chance to lose themselves in these extraordinary worlds and perhaps discover a few stories they haven’t encountered before.”
“There’s something irresistible about the idea of a mysterious library filled with stories that have frightened and fascinated readers for centuries,” added Leung. “I love the atmosphere of The Haunted Library and the way it draws you into this strange, spooky world. I’m delighted to be joining Colin to bring these incredible stories to life.”
Lydia Shamah, Creative Director, Fiction, at BBC Studio Audio said Morgan and Leung’s “exquisite narration perfectly captures the atmosphere of these classic tales which have remained so vivid in our collective imagination,” and added: “These stories are the foundations on which all subsequent horror – in literature and on film – has been built. And we can’t wait for listeners to discover how Colin and Katie have brought them to life in such a fresh and immersive way.”
