John Wyndham’s quietly menacing post-apocalyptic tales are enduringly popular, and these gripping, atmospheric radio adaptations of his classic fiction are resonant with terror and suspense. In

The Day of the Triffids, first broadcast in 1968, most people have been left blind after a meteor shower, and lethal carnivorous triffids are roaming the land.

The Kraken Wakes, dramatised for radio in 1998, is a thrilling story of monsters from the deep, alien invasion and ecological disaster.

The Chrysalids, first broadcast in 1981, explores the dangers of being different, while the 1989 adaptation of short story Survival focuses on the lengths people will go to in order to survive.

The Midwich Cuckoos, broadcast in 2003, is a disturbing tale of a village sealed off from the world for a day, and subsequently taken over by terrifying, inhuman children.

Dramatised for radio in 1998, Chocky is a chilling tale of a boy who appears to be communicating with an invisible friend.

Also included is Beware the Stare! a half-hour BBC Radio 4 documentary looking at The Midwich Cuckoos in print and on screen.

Duration: 11 hours approx.

‘Ingenious, horrifying’ – Guardian

It started with fireballs raining down from the sky and crashing into the oceans’ deeps. Then ships began sinking mysteriously and later ‘sea tanks’ emerged from the deeps to claim people . . .

For journalists Mike and Phyllis Watson, what at first appears to be a curiosity becomes a global calamity. Helpless, they watch as humanity struggles to survive now that water – one of the compounds upon which life depends – is turned against them. Finally, sea levels begin their inexorable rise . . .

The Kraken Wakes is a brilliant novel of how humankind responds to the threat of its own extinction and, ultimately, asks what we are prepared to do in order to survive.

‘When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.’

When a freak cosmic event renders most of the Earth’s population blind, Bill Masen – one of the lucky few to keep his sight – finds himself trapped in a London jammed with sightless mobs who prey on those who can still see. But another menace stalks blind and sighted alike. With nobody to stop them the Triffids – walking carnivorous plants with lethal stingers – rise up as humanity stumbles and falls . . .

With its startling imagery of desolate streets and lurching, The Day of the Triffid’s lethal plant life retains its power to haunt today.

‘One of those books that haunts you for the rest of your life’ Sunday Times

‘Has captivated readers for over half a century’ Guardian

David Strorm’s father doesn’t approve of Angus Morton’s unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, and his son’s cousin Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret abberation which would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery, or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands. . .

The Chrysalids is a post-nuclear apocalypse story of genetic mutation in a devastated world and explores the lengths the intolerant will go to keep themselves pure.

‘Perfect timing, astringent humour. . . one of the few authors whose compulsive readability is a compliment to the intelligence’ Spectator

‘Remains fresh and disturbing in an entirely unexpected way’ Guardian

John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote short stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called ‘logical fantasy’. As John Wyndham he wrote The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned), The Seeds of Time, Trouble with Lichen, The Outward Urge, Consider Her Ways and Others, Web and Chocky. John Wyndham died in March 1969.

Now a modern reimagining starring Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley available to watch on Sky.

‘Exciting, unsettling and technically brilliant’ Spectator

In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed – except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant.

The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blonde, all are golden eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds exhibit frightening abilities that give them control over others and brings them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling realisation dawns on the world outside . . .

The Midwich Cuckoos is the classic tale of aliens in our midst, exploring how we respond when confronted by those who are innately superior to us in every conceivable way.

The Day of the Triffids, published in 1951, expresses many of the political concerns of its time: the Cold War, the fear of biological experimentation and the man-made apocalypse. However, with its terrifyingly believable insights into the genetic modification of plants, the book is more relevant today than ever before.

John Wyndham was born in 1903. After a wide experience of the English preparatory school he was at Bedales from 1918 to 1921. Careers which he tried included farming, law, commercial art, and advertising, and he first started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. During the war he was in the Civil Service and afterwards in the Army. In 1946 he began writing his major science fiction novels including “The Kraken Wakes”, “The Chrysalids” and “The Midwich Cuckoos”.