Brenda has recently moved to Whitby, to get away from her old, slightly supernatural, life and hopefully enjoy a bit of quiet retirement running a welcoming B and B. Naturally, the minute she moves in, she discovers her annoying neighbour, Effie has an affinity for the strange, with the acquisition of an old painting that seems to change whenever you're not looking at it.
It's an adaptation of Paul Magr's Brenda and Effie Mysteries, originally released a few years ago, but since it got no traction, Bafflegab have now gone the podcast route. They've got up to a fair bit it would seem, including The Scarifyers, which I hadn't realised was them.
This is similar to The Scarifyers, in that we have two older ladies investigating various mythical problems, and solving them with a bit of sensible thinking and a well swung handbag. Effie has a certain amount of witchiness in her blood, which certainly helps, and Brenda, with her distinctive black beehive is another figure you might recognise from monster history. (Also, Whitby is a Hellmouth.)
It's a charming piece, with Anna Reid's gentle voice giving it a homely warmth, which contrasts nicely with the subtle horror. (For example, the deep fried cat who haunts the chip shops.) There's more humour in the voice of Harold, a second dead cat, who offers advice and titbits of local history in the style of Alan Bennett. Trust me, Bennett talking about hideous murder is absolutely worth it.
Nothing here is taken terribly seriously, which might annoy those who are expecting something a little truer to the relevant legends. A chavvy Erlking has a charm all of his own, but this probably falls more into suburban fantasy than the traditional urban, and feels like a slightly twee version of Robert Rankin's Brentford. There's also a nice twist on the usual Faerie lore, which I enjoyed.
A fun way to spend a few hours.
Tagged: Audio fiction Drama Cast Dramatised Urban fantasy Serial