Nigel Kneale

[Doctor Dugald Eldritch]

I thought I might create a thread dedicated to Anglo-Manxman, Nigel Kneale. As many of you will probably know, Kneale is best known as the creator of the British scientist, Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the eponymous television series, as well as The Year of the Sex Olympics, which has been celebrated with giving rise to ''reality'' television, and The Stone Tape, a chilling ghost story with scientific elements. Perhaps as a result of my latest interest in the folklore of the British Isles, and my native Scotland, I have been viewing a number of programmes and serials which were scripted by Kneale. Among these are Murrain, a story of prejudice and witchcraft in modern Yorkshire; Beasts, an anthology series of encounters with the monstrous, my favourite being the horrendous Baby, again featuring ancient witchcraft in modern times; Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which, thankfully, is not a slasher film, but fuses Celtic sorcery with the modern-day custom of Hallowe'en and an Irishman's fiendish plan to restore the holiday to its ghoulish roots; and the terrific The Stone Tape, which is often described as a ghost story, but features a climax which brings to mind Philip Van Doren Stern's introduction to a selection of Arthur Machen's works: ''...things even more ancient than ghosts... the elemental forces of evil, with spells that outlast time, and with the malign powers of folklore and fairy tale.'' As for Quatermass, I must say I am fond of the 1967 Hammer film, partly because the two leads are Scots, and partly because I viewed it when I was young, and still remember the chilling climax when the gigantic, spectral head of the horned Martian appears over London, and the bold Professor Roney's self-sacrifice to destroy it.
Overall, Kneale was a highly imaginative and intelligent writer whose like we may never see again. He had a truly remarkable skill in combining ancient magic with modern technology, and fusing the Lovecraftian cosmic with the M.R. Jamesian ghostly. He is a writer, I feel, who is very much in the league of Machen, Blackwood, Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, and Poe; but he worked in a different, and inferior, medium, hence why he is scarcely ranked alongside the literary masters of the supernatural. I was too young to remember his passing in October, 2006, but I feel privileged to have spent ten years on the earth with him before he died. As my fellow countryman, Grant Morrison, said of Kneale's most enduring character: ''There's something eternal about Quatermass.''

[Murony_Pyre]

Thanks. There was a lot of info here I wasn't aware of. I would also like to mention the bizarre collection Tomato Cain, it is so off putting and sinister--quite reminiscent of Roald Dahl, if Roald Dahl were just trying to pass as human.

[bendk]

Thanks for mentioning Nigel Kneale and his book Tomato Cain. I just requested this book through the interlibrary loan system. It is expensive to purchase. I don't see a copy on the net for less than $100. I am familiar with him from watching the Quartermass movies. The Quartermass and the Pit was selected by Stephen Laws for the book Horror: 100 Best Books.

Here is a description of Tomato Cain and Other Stories:

A mixed collection of twenty- nine stories including a number of fantasies and contes cruels. This collection of stories won for him his first Somerset Maugham Award in 1950. "Nigel Kneale, in addition to a subtle sense of character and observation and the high literary quality that also earned him an Atlantic Award, is not afraid to write stories with plots. In this sense he is in the great tradition of English story-telling , the tradition of Saki and Maugham. But he is also a master at the creation of atmospheric bits of sheer horror."

He read "Tomato Cain" on a BBC Radio broadcast in 1946. I was hoping it was on Youtube, but no luck.

[Michael]

Ya, these desperately need to be reprinted. Hoping Centipede or Subterranean or anyone does it soon. Book of Jade came out this year and I thought that would never happen.

[marioneta]

I have the DVD of the classic 1958-1959 BBC television version of Quatermass and the Pit, starring Andre Morell as Quatermass. It is in black and white, but in some ways it is superior to the 1967 colored Hammer movie. I got my copy at Amazon.com.

Everybody always mentions Baby as the scariest Beasts episode, but for me the most frightening Kneale of all was During Barty's Party, which is saying something as this is the man who delivered Year of the Sex Olympics and Quatermass and the Pit.

I prefer the BBC version of 'Pit' to the Hammer film due to the emphasis on world building, which is lost in the film due to the shorter runtime. The Hammer film also lacks the final speech, which is an unfortunate omission. To its credit, the increased budget means that the climactic event is more convincingly realised and the image of the devil head above London gave me a nightmare or five.

[Acutely decayed]

the man was a genius ..sadly the bbc4 binaural of the stone tape has closed (formatted by Duke of Burgundy and Berberian Sound Studio director) I also have been trying for about half an hour to find a link to "Minuke" in the weird tales for winter series which had some cool stuff - get it if you can - beyond my abilities currently, i saved them all somewhere - stone tape is frequently on youtube - see it - dr who - stones of blood - fendahll meets existentialism and modern neurogenetics with a hauntological feel

sincerely - if you have not - see it - lucky dogs much better quality than my version

The Stone Tapes by Nigel Kneal - YouTube

(not the one I watched though caveat emptor and if your rewatching its at 1 hr 20 minutes) - i'll help you, I just need a copy.. everyone else though...

[Robin Davies]

Tomato Cain and Other Stories has just been reprinted by Comma Press:
Tomato Cain and Other Stories | Comma Press

[ZC_HAWK]

Quote Originally Posted by Robin Davies

Tomato Cain and Other Stories has just been reprinted by Comma Press: Tomato Cain and Other Stories | Comma Press

Profoundly exciting, have been searching for a first edition for sometime now to little success.