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Terror In the Air Trivia Quiz

British radio is probably most famous for comedy, but it has also produced some truly chilling horror tales and series. Here's a quiz about just a few of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by BlueLemming. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
BlueLemming

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
371,457

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
178

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The series "Appointment With Fear" (first broadcast in the UK in 1943) was famous for the Man in Black, a narrator who introduced each tale. Who played him in the first series? Hint

Valentine Dyall

Mark Gatiss

Edward de Souza

Franklin Dyall

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Question 2 of 10

2. In 2010 BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of a classic story by Daphne du Maurier which had previously been filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. Was it: Hint

Don't Look Now

The Old Man

The Apple Tree

The Birds

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Question 3 of 10

3. Five creepy tales were aired by Radio Four in 2007 as "Spine Chillers", short dramas based on the work of a famous writer of horror stories. Who was that author? Hint

M.R.James

Edgar Allen Poe

Bram Stoker

Clive Barker

4. In early 1973 a series debuted on BBC Radio which would become a worldwide favourite. "The Price of Fear" was immensely popular for both its well-made stand-alone tales and its legendary host. Who introduced each episode? Hint

Peter Cushing

John Hurt

Christopher Lee

Vincent Price

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Question 5 of 10

5. Actors James D'Arcy and Daniel Radcliffe have played the same character in dramatisations of a horror novel - Radcliffe on film and D'Arcy on radio. What character, in which story? Hint

Jonathan Harker in "Dracula"

Arthur Kipps in "The Woman in Black"

Victor Frankenstein in "Frankenstein"

Louis in "Interview With the Vampire"

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Question 6 of 10

6. "Voices From the Grave" was a short series of four supernatural dramas aired on Radio 4 in 2008. Which of these was NOT one of the featured tales? Hint

Middlewitch

50 Berkeley Square

Ringing the Changes

The Parson

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Question 7 of 10

7. A hit horror movie of the 1980s was expanded into a series for Radio 1 in 1997. What film was it? Hint

Halloween

A Nightmare on Elm Street

An American Werewolf in London

Friday the 13th

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Question 8 of 10

8. The BBC have broadcast several versions of the classic vampire tale "Carmilla", including a 2011 version on Radio 4 Extra. But who wrote the original story "Carmilla"? Hint

Bram Stoker

Sheridan Le Fanu

Robert Louis Stevenson

Edith Nesbit

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Question 9 of 10

9. Not all the BBC's output was seriously horrific; in 1987 they broadcast a hilarious parody of M.R. James' tales. What was it called? Hint

The Whirling Well

The Haunted Clothes-Horse

A Warning to the Dubious

The Teeth of Abbot Thomas

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Question 10 of 10

10. The BBC has produced so many wonderful and chilling horror series and plays that I could not hope to cover them all. Which of these is NOT a BBC Radio drama that I have missed? Hint

Nightfall

All the Dark Corners

The Edge of Fear

Blood Lines

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The series "Appointment With Fear" (first broadcast in the UK in 1943) was famous for the Man in Black, a narrator who introduced each tale. Who played him in the first series?

Answer: Valentine Dyall

This classic series ran for many years, from 1943 to 1955, and made the Man in Black a household name. Episodes were a mix of new and classic horror stories in a half hour dramatization introduced by the Man in Black. Valentine Dyall, the original and longest-serving actor in the part, played him in 9 series, and also in the 1949 series "The Man in Black". Franklin Dyall, his father, played him in the second series; Edward de Souza played the part in the 1988 series "Fear on Four"; and Mark Gatiss in "The Man in Black", broadcast between 2009 and 2011.

2. In 2010 BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of a classic story by Daphne du Maurier which had previously been filmed by Alfred Hitchcock. Was it:

Answer: The Birds

The incorrect answers were also short stories by du Maurier, and all four were originally published in the collection "The Apple Tree" in 1952. "Don't Look Now" was adapted for BBC radio, but in 2001, and it was Nicolas Roeg rather than Hitchcock who made a film of that story.

3. Five creepy tales were aired by Radio Four in 2007 as "Spine Chillers", short dramas based on the work of a famous writer of horror stories. Who was that author?

Answer: M.R.James

The series was unusual in that it was broadcast within another regular Radio Four programme, and one not generally associated with horror - "Woman's Hour".

Answer: Vincent Price

Peter Cushing was among the many performers to appear in "The Price of Fear", as was Price's wife Coral Browne.

5. Actors James D'Arcy and Daniel Radcliffe have played the same character in dramatisations of a horror novel - Radcliffe on film and D'Arcy on radio. What character, in which story?

Answer: Arthur Kipps in "The Woman in Black"

D'Arcy played the unfortunate young lawyer in a play broadcast on Radio 4 in 2004. This was the second BBC Radio version of the story, a four-part series being broadcast on Radio 5 in 1993 (Robert Glenister played the young Kipps, John Woodvine his older self).

6. "Voices From the Grave" was a short series of four supernatural dramas aired on Radio 4 in 2008. Which of these was NOT one of the featured tales?

Answer: Ringing the Changes

The missing episode was "The Lie"; "Ringing the Changes" was a one-off dramatisation of a Robert Aickmann story scripted by Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson, which was broadcast for Halloween 2000.

7. A hit horror movie of the 1980s was expanded into a series for Radio 1 in 1997. What film was it?

Answer: An American Werewolf in London

The story was originally aired as short snippets interpolated into a normal DJ show, and later edited into four thirty-minute episodes. Several members of the original movie cast took part in the series, including Jenny Agutter, reprising her role as the nurse Alex Price. John Landis, who wrote and directed the movie, helped provide copyright clearance and was delighted with the results.

8. The BBC have broadcast several versions of the classic vampire tale "Carmilla", including a 2011 version on Radio 4 Extra. But who wrote the original story "Carmilla"?

Answer: Sheridan Le Fanu

The 2011 cast included David Warner, Celia Imrie and Kenneth Cranham and was produced by the BBC's Northern Ireland Drama unit.

9. Not all the BBC's output was seriously horrific; in 1987 they broadcast a hilarious parody of M.R. James' tales. What was it called?

Answer: The Teeth of Abbot Thomas

The show was scripted by Stephen Sheridan, who has written several serious horror dramatisations including "The House at World's End" (2003), a fictional account of how M.R. James became interested in writing stories of an occult nature.

10. The BBC has produced so many wonderful and chilling horror series and plays that I could not hope to cover them all. Which of these is NOT a BBC Radio drama that I have missed?

Answer: Nightfall

"Nightfall" was a Canadian anthology series produced by CBC between 1980 and 1983. All the others were BBC Radio anthology series - "The Edge of Fear" in 1964, and "All the Dark Corners" and "Blood Lines" both in 2011.

Source: Author BlueLemming

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor linkan before going online.
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