Scarred for Life

From terrifying films like The Wicker Man and Witchfinder General to the gentle eeriness of The Owl Service and Worzel Gummidge, ‘Folk Horror’ has become a thrilling genre in its own right.

In this brand new live show, Stephen Brotherstone – co-author of the acclaimed Scarred For Life books, joins writer and broadcaster Bob Fischer to explore ancient magic, eerie stone circles and ask… what does actually lie beneath?

A hilarious talk about the TV, films, music, comics, board games, books, adverts and crisps (no, really) that blighted 70's/80's childhoods!

Did you spend your childhood being traumatised by Worzel Gummidge, Doctor Who, Hartley Hare and the Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water? Were you terrified of the Usborne Book of Ghosts, given nightmares by Horror Top Trumps, and then handed a Dalek’s Death Ray lolly to calm you down?

The children who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s were placed in the unenviable position of being scared by virtually everything. In this show, writers Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence – the men behind the superb Scarred for Life books – will be giving a hilarious talk about the TV, films, music, comics, board games, books, adverts and crisps (no, really) that blighted all of our childhoods!

There’ll be explicit talk about the giant spiders from Doctor Who, a rummage through the gruesome Public Information Films that haunted all of our nightmares… and even a Top 10 Chart Countdown of the best British hit singles to be inspired by the prospect of impending nuclear Armageddon.

Afterwards, there’ll be a Q&A and discussion, so feel free to chip in with your own memories of retro childhood trauma!

You are – of course – at liberty to watch the show through your fingers, although sadly we’re unable to provide a sofa to hide behind.

And the evening will be hosted by writer and broadcaster Bob Fischer, who spent the entirety of 1978 convinced that his family dog had rabies after glimpsing an appallingly irresponsible poster next to the headmaster’s office door in his primary school reception.