The House by the Sea written by James Goss and directed by Joseph Lidster

What's it about: "Collinsport, it seems quiet. But it's like it's waiting for something to happen. Something bad.” Gerald Conway has come to Collinsport in pursuit of a dream. For the last few months, he's been haunted by visions of the House By The Sea. Now Gerald is staying at the House, he's beginning to uncover its dark past. Warlocks, vampires and murderers have all come here looking for something – and they've all died. What dark secret of the Collins family is hidden there? Something terrible is waiting under the House By The Sea. Waiting for Gerald...

Psychopath: Gerald will happily tell you that he is crazy. Not the sort of 'crazy for marshmallows' or 'she drives me crazy' but genuinely fruit loop crazy. It's the only explanation as to why he came to Collinsport. It started with his dreams and when he used to see the house by the sea... Eventually his wife had enough of his night terrors and demanded that he see someone. It has been such a long time since Gerald has been by himself without responsibilities and decisions to make. Just him. After moving to Collinsport to the house by the sea Gerald is considered something of a mystery and there are all kinds of tales concocted about the purpose of his visit. A reclusive author, a famous painter, running away from a doomed love affair.

Standout Performance: Nobody has to convince me that Colin Baker is an extraordinary actor, especially on audio, but this is the first role I have heard him play that isn't the Doctor such his chilling turn as Lord Burner in the Gallifrey spin off. He's outstanding, holding up the entire piece on his own and delivering a tour de force of complex and emotive narration. We go on one hell of a journey with Gerald and Baker is more than up to the task of keeping you riveted to your headphones for an entire hour. So different to how he plays the Doctor (and given his material of late in the main range hasn't been the most challenging despite him still giving 110%) and plumbing the depths of lunacy, I was spellbound by one of his best ever audio performances. And that is quite a statement.

Sparkling Dialogue: 'When did we become one of those couples that everybody looks at and says 'Why do they stay together?'

'Whatever happens to you, no matter how big or how terrible, it doesn't mean anything to the sea. When I'm gone, when the whole town is gone, the waves will still be there.'

'Dragged out of the ground by a crazy, lonely man...'

Great Ideas: Imagine being plagued by an image in your dreams night after night and then switching on a cable TV show only to be confronted with it in reality Spooky stuff. Making a joke out of everything is very English and as a defence mechanism it can be very dangerous. As soon as Gerald comes to the house it is the one thing he doesn't dream about! How alarming to come to the house and receive a note that says 'You're here for a reason. We want something from you...' I would high tail out of there as quick as my feet would take me. This is my first exposure to Elisabeth Stoddard through the eyes of somebody else and she comes across as no-nonsense, cold and confident. Not a woman to be trifled with. In a moment of chilling realisation when even the sound design is working to trick us and get involved in Gerald's madness everybody in the local pub vanishes...they were never there in the first place. Dead faces staring at him. Like any good lawyer, Gerald tries to piece together the mystery of the house by the sea, pulling together all the evidence to find an explanation. The banging, the pub full of dead people, the teeth... Any sane man would go home but it is the mystery that is keeping him going. He's convinced that it is Caleb Collins who is haunting him but I was never so sure...I was certain this would be linked into the theme of insanity, Shutter Island style. I was astounded by the appearance of the infamous Barnabas Collins', the central figure of Tim Burton's sadly ill judged movie based on the TV series (I walked out halfway through I was that boggled by the inconsistency of tone). I hope to listen to more featuring the series' most recognised character. He's a mysterious figure but seems to have Gerald's best interests at heart, warning him not to look into the previous inhabitants of the house. If he's anything like me, however, as soon a you are asked not to do something, well it's the only thing you want to do in the whole world. Gerald records his conversation with Barnabas Collins and he appears to be talking to himself...either this means that a vampire does not show up on tape (much like he fails to show up in a mirror) or Gerald has been walking around having conversations with imaginary people. A shadow once fell upon this house, a shadow that draws in spirits of the dead and once that waits to be lifted. Are the apparitions speaking through Gerald...or is Gerald simply creating this personalities in his mind? A body in the cellar, missing all of its teeth. A shadow waiting to be released...

Audio Landscape: The sound design s genuinely frightening in places, especially the sudden cuts to different sections of the recording. Rewinding a tape, lapping waves, thunder rumbling, a knock, a squeaky door, the storm outside, the rain hammering on the roof, madly shaking plumbing, crows squawking, banging, the lashing wind atop a cliff top, footsteps, laughter, mad knocking, pouring a drink, digging away into the earth, striking a match, dropping pills...

Standout Scene: The last track had me on the edge of my seat...it's an ambiguous ending but one that will have you scurrying for the one you love for a big comfort cuddle. I don't think I have ever heard terror so expertly portrayed on audio. Pop pop...

Result: Flesh creeping terror brought to courtesy of Colin Baker, James Goss and Joe Lidster. Let's deal with each of these individuals in turn. Baker is one of the shining stars of Big Finish, a man who has taken his scant reputation with the majority of Doctor Who fans and has managed to become the most popular actor to play the role in this medium. He tackles The House by the Sea with unrestrained gusto, giving an extraordinary performance that tops some of his very best in the Doctor Who range. He kept me on tenterhooks throughout. James Goss is slowly becoming the most reliable pair of hands writing for Big Finish, his works have all been gripping, surprising and really get under the skin of the characters in an intimate way. The House by the Sea is magnificently written and characterised with some deft and chilling moments. There wasn't one point where Goss wasn't leading me on like a dog hankering for a stick. Finally we have Joe Lidster, the man responsible for this range and who encouraged me to give it a try. I'm truly pleased that he did. I have been hankering on about missing his subversive style of storytelling in the main range for some time now but what I didn't realise was just how skilful he would turn out to be in the directors chair. As a piece of audio, this is a fantastic piece of work with some stunning editing that had me lurching for the light switch as I sat here listening in the near dark. It's very easy to assault the listener with a variety of scary noises but it takes much more skill to send subtle goosebumps up the spine, to make you feel as if there is somebody in the room behind you, to make you wonder if those sound effects are in your headphones or somewhere in the far distance... Lidster has a bright future ahead of him in the directors chair if this is the sort of horror he can produce on audio. This is a slow burn mystery that gets under your skin and sinks deeper as the mystery thickens and the terrors emerge. This is exactly the sort of bone gnawing dread that I expected to experience with The Phantom Bride and its ghostly apparitions but there are number of important differences. The House by the Sea is an intensely personal experience and told from the point of view of somebody teetering on the edge of a breakdown, the attacks are far more subtle and thus make much more of an impact and the direction truly pulls you into the mystery of the house, allowing us to experience Gerald's foolishness along with him. That mixture of visceral thrills and psychological terror is a winning, horrific formula. Definitely do not listen to this one in the dark. You might just cack your pants. The ending is unforgettable: 10/10