Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (Dark Adventure Radio Theatre) by H.P. Lovecraft

Imprisoned with the Pharaohs (Dark Adventure Radio Theatre) Reviews

• 
  Shannon

  Dark Adventure Radio Theatre: Imprisoned with the Pharaohs lets you hear this eerie tale of Egyptian mystery as it might have been dramatized for radio in the 1930s. Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presents HPL's story with a huge cast of professional actors, exciting sound effects and thrilling original music by Troy Sterling Nies. Click here for more information about our other Lovecraft stories in the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre series. It's like a movie you can enjoy with your eyes closed.
  
  In 1924, Lovecraft ghost-wrote this story for the celebrated magician and escape artist Harry Houdini. In the tale, Houdini visits Cairo hoping to tease out the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. He gets more than he bargained for as he runs afoul of a gang of dubious bedouins who plunge him headlong into a terror-filled adventure beneath the pyramids. Will Houdini be able to make the most difficult escape of his storied career, or will he join the untold legions of the dead waiting in the darkness?
• 
  Keith

  
  
  The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (HPLHS) provides a fine adaptation of another Lovecraft story, improving upon the original 1924 novelette co-written with famous magician Harry Houdini. HPLHS has created dozens of audio plays like this done in the style of 1930s radio dramas - with a full cast of talented actors, original music, and elaborate sound effects. The series is called
  Dark Adventure Radio Theatre. The technology used is more advanced than it was in Lovecraft’s day, but the shows remain “an affectionate invocation of the spirit of classic radio.” The creative team - usually headed by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman - makes full use of the audio medium, accomplishing far more with the listener’s “theater of the mind” than can usually be done in film or TV shows. Most adaptations of Lovecraft stories for the latter two mediums are awful. Dark Adventure Radio Theatre’s Imprisoned with the Pharaohs is a rousing adventure story - albeit not a particularly scary one - fleshing out character motivations and adding humor in a way that makes for a great listen.
  
  
  
  A few years back, I read and reviewed all of Lovecraft’s stories in chronological order, including
  “Imprisoned with the Pharaohs”:
  

  “It was first published in May 1924 in Weird Tales. Lovecraft ghost wrote the novelette for the famous escape artist, illusionist, and showman Harry Houdini (real name Erik Weisz, 1874–1926). Houdini apparently provided the basic premise of a story to Lovecraft, probably that he was tied up by a group of men and thrown into a cave of some kind during a trip to Egypt in 1910, and HPL was given the latitude to write whatever he wanted from there. The fact that these two men met and collaborated is astounding. That fact alone makes Imprisoned with the Pharaohs worth reading.”

  
  
  
  
  

  “The setting of the second half of the story is excellent, filled with bizarre elements of cosmic horror that only Lovecraft could have created at this time. However, I was a bit disappointed. The character of Harry Houdini, at least the one he presented to the public, was a very physical and active adventurer. In this story, Imprisoned with the Pharaohs he is depicted as a typical Lovecraftian protagonist: a largely passive, vulnerable witness to the supernatural horrors. For example, we never find out how he managed to escape from the terrible situation. Houdini is also depicted fainting three times at his awe-inspiring circumstances. A tendency towards fainting would have killed Houdini in the many of the daring escapes that he made before audiences. I wish that this story was a little more pulpy, meaning filled with heroic exploits, and a little less Lovecraftian, with cosmic horror’s depiction of mankind as a helpful against larger forces. The first chapter also spends too long describing the sights in Egypt for my taste. I wanted the action to start a little more quickly. Even so, the tale is genuinely suspenseful and makes good use of ancient Egyptian imagery.”

  
  
  
  
  This radio play, produced in 2018, actually spends more time with the characters before Houdini is “thrown into a cave of some kind” and witnesses supernatural horrors. The motivations of the characters who imprison him are fleshed out more, with an interesting allusion to an ancient cult in the Middle East dating to the earliest days of civilization and beyond. Houdini himself is shown to have the fatal flaw of hubris, with his excessive pride and disrespect of ancient Egypt being the direct cause of his assault and imprisonment. Yes, we see what a great athlete and escape artist he was but he still faints three times when faced with the supernatural, much to the detriment of his ego. The folly of mankind’s arrogance is a clear theme of this audioplay and one that Lovecraft would have approved of.
  
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  Citation:
  Houdini, H., & Lovecraft, H.P. (2018). Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presents H.P. Lovecraft’s imprisoned with the pharaohs (Audio play). H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
  https://www.hplhs.org/dartiwp.php
  
  Title: Imprisoned with the Pharaohs
  Author(s): The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society adapted from the 1924 short story of the same name by H.P. Lovecraft & Harry Houdini
  Series: Dark Adventure Radio Theatre
  Year: 2018
  Genre: Fiction - Audio play: adventure, supernatural horror
  Length: 77 minutes
  Date(s) read: 8/3/24
  Book #153 in 2024
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• 
  Matthew

  HPL, Houdini, & Horror in a Hammer-style Egypt:
  The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's Dark Adventure Radio Theatre has taken one of HPL's less known stories (and ghost-written for Harry Houdini, no less), Imprisoned with the Pharaohs, and recast it as a old-time radio drama, complete with sound effects and cheeky radio advertisements. The resulting show is, admittedly, a smidge slow to get going, but, when it does, it rivals the great Hammer Horror Mummy films in terms of exotic Egyptian adventure. Highly recommended, especially the CD version which comes with a slew of props to support the radio drama.
• 
  Ursula Johnson

  This is another excellent entry in the outstanding Dark Adventure Radio Theater series. This one is a bit different since we are following Harry Houdini and his wife during a thrilling adventure in Egypt. The production is outstanding as usual and the voice talent is simply superb. I have nearly all of these adventures and love them all!
• 
  Marco Baier

  Not really that scary but very enjoyable nonetheless. Made me think of The Mummy Movies. :)
• 
  Animephreak

  21. Written By A Ghostwriter
• 
  Ryan

  This is one of a couple DART episodes that took me a few listens to really appreciate it. This episode is also unique in that's both the only one in which Houdini features and which Houdini had a hand in writing.
  
  The original story was a project between Lovecraft and Houdini. Specifically, Houdini was originally named as the author to promote this supposed story of an adventure he had in Egypt, and Lovecraft actually wrote it. The story follows Houdini as he and his wife take a break from touring to explore Egypt. Houdini makes an attempt to acquire the mummy and sarcophagus of a recently discovered and hitherto unknown Egyptian queen named Nitocris. Naturally, a cult has formed around her and take this as a dire affront. The remainder of the story shows how they capture Houdini and how he has to find his way out of tunnels unfathomably deep beneath the pyramids while fighting to retain his sanity. The DART episode doesn't stray too far here, but they do add one of their signature original characters: Nate Ward. Nate is a wise man who listens more than he speaks, and is well versed in the sciences, particularly archaeology. He was a friend of Charlie Tower, who is only mentioned this episode and who is also a friend of Houdini's. Tower knew that Nate was at the Egyptian Museum studying recently unearthed mummies and so decided to connect his two friends, leading to the events of the story and Nate being a part of Houdini's strange journey beneath the pyramids.
  
  My initial frustration with this episode is that it felt like the intro was far too long. The initial part of the episode shows Houdini's traveling show and the different acts that might have been a part of it. On the first listen it felt interminable but after subsequent listens I came to enjoy it, particularly as it introduced me to some very old songs I'd never heard of. It's a solid episode but not the best of what the Society has done with the DART series.