The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

By: H.P. Lovecraft

Narrated by: H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society

Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

An escaped madman. Unspeakable research into the blackest depths of the occult. Shadowy figures ruthlessly pursuing unholy secrets. Will a young man’s thirst for knowledge push him over the brink to madness, or will it lead him to a fate far, far worse?

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2012 HPLHS, Inc.

This might be the best episode of DART!

I love this episode! It's epic and horrifying, at times heartbreaking and at all times amazing. The flashbacks are so well done. The actors make the family relationship of the Ward's so believable which pays off so well at the end. The music in this episode is so spot on for enhancing the scenes and the sound effects are chilling. DART just keeps getting better.

Fun listen

Very well done! They did great capturing that one time radio show feel. It's a fun listen.

Great work by the HPLHS

A great story by HP Lovecraft and a great radio drama adaptation by the HPLHS .

My favorite Lovecraft story brought to vivid life

I tried out Charles Dexter Ward after enjoying a couple other dark radio theater productions. This one blew me away. All the essentials of the original story are included with more drama to keep your interest and the brilliant use of sound effects to create atmosphere. When the narrator descends into the catacombs, I felt like I was right there with him. Using a credit might seem a little expensive for a two hour audiobook, but really it's a steal. I'm already sure that I'll listen to this one again several times. If you like supernatural horror at all, you owe it to yourself to try this.

The ending is the only shortcoming

The original story has always been a love-hate piece for me, because the concept is so good and quite the Lovecraftian narrative set piece, but the writing style is just so unnecessarily long and winding, that I find myself falling asleep listening to unabridged audiobooks of the story. Luckily, we have HPLHS to bring us just the right amount of action and dramatic tension, without the long grind through antiquarian details!

To be honest, I have some huge gripes about the ending bit HPLHS decided to put in. It's cheesy in old pulp radio play fashion, I know, but it kinda ruined the melancholic air they have so elegantly woven together near the end. Other than that, great, great performance.

Excellent Telling

This radio drama was a joy to listen to. As with all their productions any Lovecraft fan should give them a listen!

A Double Helping

This is a fully developed dramatic presentation of one of Lovecraft’s foundational pieces. Well done.


I just finished listening to it a second time. It stands up to listening to again. A second listen add A to my appreciation of the dramatization and the original.

Another great addition to a great series!

Great narration and production. All of the effects made this story so much more enthralling. I would love to see this story made into a movie or tv series.

Lovely little pulp story

Probably my favorite HPLHS production yet but I have only listened to Innsmouth and Mountains so far. This had good performances and immersion that I could really enjoy while I exercise. Also great for a road trip at night through stormy weather.

Great performances, just one issue..

I really enjoyed, the adaptation was good and the performances were excellent. however... I could have done without the interruption of the episodic device and its accompanying adverts... took me out of the immersion.

A story within a story within...

Saying this as a non-native English speaker this audiobook needs your utmost attention and concention. It is both longer and thus harder to follow compared to HPL's shorter novellas. Despite it's length it's still a good story and a must-listen for a HPL fan.

pretty dang good

Willet's voice actor put on an amazing performance.

wish there were more audio dramas by this company.