"Cold Print" by Ramsey Campbell / Cthulhu Mythos
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- ** This is a licensed recording -- the story is NOT in the public domain **
"Cold Print" is a 'Severn Valley' Cthulhu Mythos short story by the English author, Ramsey Campbell, first published in the 1969 Arkham House anthology, Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. The story concerns Sam Strutt, an avid reader with a predilection for lurid fiction, on the lookout for suitable material in an obscure bookshop.
Ramsey Campbell: knibbworld.com/campbell
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Cold Print
43:39 - Further Listening
Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble
Music and production by Ian & Jennifer Gordon
Artwork by Vishnu Prasad: / artgeek09
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This is an ORIGINAL HorrorBabble Production. - Zábava
*** This is a licensed recording -- the story is NOT in the public domain ***
"Cold Print" is a 'Severn Valley' Cthulhu Mythos short story by the English author, Ramsey Campbell, first published in the 1969 Arkham House anthology, Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. The story concerns Sam Strutt, an avid reader with a predilection for lurid fiction, on the lookout for suitable material in an obscure bookshop.
Ramsey Campbell: knibbworld.com/campbell
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Cold Print
43:39 - Further Listening
HorrorBabble, Fiction, Audiobook, Horror
Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble
Music and production by Ian & Jennifer Gordon
Artwork by Vishnu Prasad: instagram.com/artgeek09
Ah, I was wondering why you were holding off on reading Ramsey Campbell stories.
an avid reader with a predilection for lurid fiction, on the lookout for suitable material in an obscure bookshop.
Spooky!
You’re very fortunate to have found that ! There is a lot of rare Campbell floating around out there which you certainly won’t find at your giant retail bookshop (if those still exist) but I did once find something precious in a New Hampshire library called ‘Goatswold Tales’ (unless it was ‘wood’, I forget). Anyway it was all stories by Campbell about the terrible goings on in the tiny, isolated English village of Goatswood which is a cross between Arkham and Innsmouth. It was certainly in my top 10 Campbell books yet I only had it for those precious three weeks, had to return it, and haven’t seen it since.
The reason I tell you all this is because there were an additional three stories by different authors. I want to say the last name of one of the authors was Sturgeon perhaps. The general plot is an writer rents a spider-infested room with a religiously devout couple in a farmhouse deep in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Something falls from the sky during his tenancy and as time passes the couples cat and then the couple themselves begin to…change. The title in the book - which I’ve since learned is NOT the actual title - was listed as ‘Sometimes We Forget To Blink’. It’s easily one of the best horror stories I’ve ever read and if anything I’m telling you rings a bell and you can hunt it down I can’t imagine anyone narrating it better than you and Jennifer.
For what it’s worth, I’ve seen the following three Campbell stories told on CZcams and they all pack that same horrid and sickening dread only Campbell (and yes, Ligotti too) can produce. So maybe they’re marginally less copyright protected. Makes as much sense as ‘more lost’ or ‘slightly pregnant’ but they were ‘Call First’, ‘The Companion’ and ‘Again’. They were all done well but not Horror Babble-level well
I approve! Ramsey Campbell is one of the best authors to ever contribute to the Cthulhu Mythos!
It takes all the fun out of it, (and also the risk,) I realize this; out of visiting those strange and eerie antiquarian book shops, the ones we all so love but these days you can get pretty much anything at all on e-bay or from Amazon and if you read the reviews you can generally avoid getting a lumbered with say a used copy, (one careful owner,) of for example The Necronomicon by mistake with all the stress and complication that something like that can so easily create.
Unless of course that's actually what you really want ?
Thank you so much for always featuring the (amazing) credited art of real artists in the thumbnails. In an era of relentless CZcams laziness, this channel is a goddamn beacon of hope.
Well said.
@@dorndy1 It costs money to pay artists, are all you folks on Ian’s Patreon? Put your money on your opinions, friends. I recommend joining. As a visual artist who likes to be paid for drawings and paintings i make myself, I don’t personally hate AI thumbnails. Many CZcamsrs are barely making ends meet and AI thumbnails are free.
“Oh you like reading? Me too! What genre is your favorite?”
Me: “it’s… complicated”
This was great! My favorite kind of atmosphere. And oddly reminiscent of all the old backstreet bookshops I used to haunt. But that last line, bloody brilliant! Yes, I second those who want more of Mr. Campbelll.
Epic. Campbells work deserves audio recordings. Hope this is a sign of future things to come. Alone with the Horrors is one of the most important collections of short stories. Definitely deserves a rendition by the OG horror narrator.
It just occurred to me that there’s a measly six or seven Campbell novels available on Audible. Who on earth would be better at reading his work than Mr Gordon ? I don’t know how such a thing is arranged but how very amazing it would be.
@@teddydog6229 Yeah. and NONE of his short story collection are among those titles. Its honestly crazy. With Ligotti getting a audio version of his work its now time for Campbell.
There are a few short story collections of Campbells on audible. Just need to spend an age looking. Book of cthulhu 1 and 2 is a good start. That one has Campbell, Ligotti, Lumley, and Lansdale to name a few.
@@garethjones909 I meant a collection of only his work. I know some of his stories are part of anthologies.
My favorite Campbell work is probably "The Plain of Sound."
Ramsay Campbell is fast becoming a favorite of mine. He vividly evokes the grubbiness of an English city in the nineteen sixties, and the even grubbier life of his protagonist.
Vishnu Prasad is the real deal, fantastic really. I hope we get to see a lot more.
Man, I love it when Campbell does Mythos. It is like a British Bloch. I dearly hope you get permission to narrate all of Cold Print. It is one of my favourite Ramsey Campbell Lovecraftian anthologies!
Thanks! This one's a classic
Okay… now THIS just made my
crap Monday, a little less crappy!
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
This was a wild story! Thanks for sharing!
Definitely enjoyed listening today. Thanks HB
Ramsey Campbell is awesome!!!
Oh yay, love Ramsey Campbell!❤❤❤
Yay, indeed.
Not even an hour old, never been this early. I LOVE your work!
The cold print collection is excellent and I think this is the story your voice suits the most.
Vishnu's art is really unnerving in a perfect way. It pairs with Ian's reading perfectly.
Thank you very much a great reading hopefully the first of many.
Great story and narration!
Campbell sure as heck knew how to write. I hope to hear more of his works on this site. The stories he wrote I have listened to are amazing.
It has spitoons (found in every public place for a couple hundred years)!
This story has a nice dystopian air to it. That ending....
Fantastic as always! Great job, and thanks for bringing this to us.
I love the style of your reads so compelling
Ramsey Campbell, alongside M.R. James, is one of the finest British horror authors, but is shockingly under-served in the audio realm.
I’m so happy to listen to this 😊
Whoa! Campbell on HorrorBabble? Terrific. I hope you can add more of his work in the future.
haha ! AT LAST! one of my favourites and one of the all time best stories! 1,000 Thanks for this one ! :)
This is a dream come true. Ramsey Campbell is my favorite horror author which is to say my favorite author, period. I am so excited to hear one of his stories on this channel. His work just turns my guts to ice. He’s like a reincarnation of M.R. James. He’s that damn scary. I hope to hear more of his stories on this channel above any other.
If you want to read one of his more recent cosmic horror novels please check out his novel ‘The Grin of the Dark’. Not only does it feature a clown who makes Pennywise look as threatening as Harpo Marx but our vast cosmos themselves are put in very dire peril indeed. If that isn’t bad enough, it’s plausible. Thanks again for this incredible treat !
Outstanding as always Ian Warren would be proud!👻
It had those Clark Ashton Smith vibes of the main character being a villain or at least not a hero!
Another fine masterpiece mr Gordon
This is like some kind of BookPunk. The world is dark and dreary. The main character is as dark and mean as his surrounding world.
Let's make a book punk cover of the ya ya shub song! 😂
@@iantalmadge3410 lol didn't know that was a song. I wrote a lovecraft song not knowing that
@@GodOfPlague that's awesome! Yeah, I forget exactly how it goes, but it's the song of shub, the mother void, most of the elder gods lack appreciation for music cause theyre too snacky, but shubs a favorite of mine cause she has a bit of flair lol
The artwork is inspired! Much better than the AI soup
Excited about this one!
I am so glad Ramsey Campbell has at last featured on Horror Babble, in this classic tale.
It is like recalling a much loved song, recorded on a modest cassette format and listened to through functional headphones, but still makes the hairs stand up on end…….Then, listening to the same song, digitally remastered and through a bespoke pair of wireless earbuds. Ian brings fresh life in his delivery as well as nuance and perspective.
If possible, would you consider narrating his chiller ‘The Companion’?
Thank you! A return to works that suit the gift you were given! Much better than the rubbish you were called upon to read a week ago!
Oh my goodness! I’ve thought of asking you if you’d read a Ramsey Campbell for a long time!! I bought and devoured a 1993 copy of Cold Print in the early 2000’s, and from there discovered Lovecraft. I love the Severn Valley stories and in particular The Inhabitant of the Lake, very eerie. It’s amazing he wrote these short stories when so young. What a wonderful surprise, thank you Ian!
This is a superb adaptation of a classic 👌
Great recording as always! Would love to hear some from late Brian Lumley!
A new to me author, great reading thanks
What a wonderfully unpleasant protagonist. I don't normally cheer the Mythos, but I made an exception for this one.,
Fantastic
Thank you ❤
One of my subscriptions I have alerts on for
Oh my, better light another candle now to push the shadows back a bit more.
Okay….now THIS just made my
sh*t Monday, a little less sh*tty!!
♥️♥️♥️♥️
I approve! Ramsey Campbell is one of the best authors to ever contribute to the Cthulhu Mythos!
Early afternoon on my day off...I could use a Cold Pint. Wait it's "Print"?! Too late I'm on my second pint!
This artwork makes me imagine a surrealist Caravaggio
Please make a reading of Neil Gaiman's "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar" !! 😃
You fool!
Warren is dead, masticated by mouth hands!
Kudos to the narrator and author 🎉🎉🎉.
I have the book in my library.
Awesome ❤😊
Tommy Mottola said it best...."Before Michael there was No one, now that He,s gone THERE IS NO ONE!!!!!!!!!!!😢
"Predilection for lurid fiction" is a damn fine rhyme.
I asked for this ages ago. Yas!!!!!
The buildup was so drawn out, effective, but drawn out just to be met with what feels like a lame, rushed creepy pasta ending from the oughts. The superb reading skill is the only thing that saved it. I'm still really disappointed because this was one of the top 5 commended shorter works of Campbell, yet the ending may as well have been ripped from the Goosebumps books I read in grade school.
Wow, was Strutt an ass. Good reading guys, congrats on getting to do this
A dose of cold liquid hit Warren in the face. “Wake up! Wake UP you filthy bastard!” Two hands violently seized him turned him around and bent him backwards over the bar. Warren awoke, sputtering from the cheap beer. His foggy vision abruptly sharpened on the beet red face of his assailant holding Warren’s collar in an iron grip. Warren recognized the man, the Canning Cartel’s chief enforcer, called “The Dread,” and two goons behind him. Warren shifted his gaze from The Dread to the shining straight razor pointed at his eyeball, which he did indeed dread.
The Dread shook Warren and drew in close so Warren could see his teeth and smell his breath. The former brown; the latter noxious. Or was that his BO? Through his teeth The Dread carefully enunciated in a yell stolen from every Royal Army Sergeant ever, “Mister! Hunt! Wants! His! Money!” The Dread punctuated “money” by cutting Warren ever so slightly under the eyeball. “Though he MIGHT be satisfied with your head.” He grinned, “I will be.”
Warren once heard a rumor The Dread had seen a Mexican cartel video where they beheaded a rival with a small knife, separating the head with a precise cut to the neck joint instead of tediously sawing through bone. The Dread, impressed, practiced on animals and the occasional enemy with a straight razor til he could duplicate the feat. The rumor might not have been true. But it was the type that seemed believable even if it wasn’t.
Beyond The Dread a bar maid exiting the lavatory shrieked at him to stop. But one of the rugby sized goons grabbed her, yelling *“You fool! Warren is dead!”*
Horrorbabble + Ramsey Campbell, Britain’s ultimate unholy alliance! ❤
Creepy good!
Horrorbabble continues here, an outstanding tradition of outright catatonia inducing terror.
Thank you, Ian and all.
Always my best! 😏❤️🕊️👉🏻✨
WHOA, I JUST recommended this story to someone asking about good R. Campbell stories! And I just reread Cold Print, the story and the collection! Nice one, Ian.
CAMPBELL ON A MONDAY YES thank 👍 👌
🎉🎉🎉
Great reading, amazing to see Campbell on the channel for the first time. I'd love to see a Brian Lumley story in the future.
Vishnu Prasad!
Tempting content like lurid grotesquerie and pronography (literary or otherwise) often inspires addiction, addiction demands the exponentially more frequent and intense consumption of ever degrading forms of stimulation, such stimulation can land you in shops like this one. Moral of the story? Avoid taboo things that profit you nothing and overcome your dependencies before you lose your head. Terrible things, human or otherwise, prey upon our petty desire to find shortcuts to dopamine release...
Not really.
Also, "pronography ?"
@@Eris123451
I'm on CZcams's sh|tlist; certain keywords get my comments removed or shadow-banned and that is one of them. Also yes; stop fapping and go get some exercise.
I'll always appreciate Ramsey Campbell for elevating the mythos pastiche. He wasn't content to simply ape Lovecraft's prose style, toss out a torrent of "fanboy" references, and call it a day. The Voice of the Beach is another favorite.
Be careful of strange booksellers! They are found in great stories as this one!
Request: The Lair of Star Spawn by August Dereleth
✌️
Eyy
Update: Warren is actually the homeless guy who guides Strutt to his doom. And yes, Warren IS dead, you fool!
Looks like Warren "shook hands with danger". (That's a bit of a deep cut from the _Rifftrax_ channel!)
Excellent reading!
The character in the story reminds me of this guy from the Fast Show: czcams.com/video/Wm9o_9goUAM/video.html
Fair warning, it's a bit rude 😁
BORING, bring back some good stories please.
😆 Good one!