OMG, I didn't realize just how alike the images are.  And speaking of GMTA...

Bobbing for apples in a barrel wasn't good enough for the Collins family's Halloween party...

[size=8]HAPPY BIRTHDAY[/size]

Teresalita, It was great seeing you.  I hope your special day is exciting and crazy!

CallieWL, love all your captions!  Welcome. 

PennyDreadful,

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

Thank you for posting this.  My prayers will go out to Craig and his loved ones.

PennyD, what a marvelous review!

Another plus that I can't praise enough is the timeless quality of "The House of Despair."  While the story takes place sometime before "Return to Collinwood," as I'm listening I can picture it occuring any time after the end of the series.

By avoiding references (for the most part) to current events, our beloved original became a timeless classic that was not defined by its broadcast era.  This decision, I believe, helped pave the way for it to be enjoyed by generations to come.  Yes, the clothing and equipment do date it somewhat, but I feel these aspects add to its nostalgic charm, whereas an avoidance of references to "current" events such as the Viet Nam war, the hippie culture {cough}, political assassinations, the Sexual Revolution, the Cold War, etc. serves to avoid trapping the story in its decade.  "The House of Despair" and its sequel follow in these same timeless footsteps.  Even when a familiar tune plays during a scene in "THOD," for example, I can imagine that we've gone back to the 60s just as easily as I can envision that the Collinsport Inn is playing "oldies" on its sound system.

Of course, writing is going to reflect the sensibilities of the writer and the times in which s/he lives, and this is also true of the style of DS.  But these audio stories keep my interest because they have updated the plots to respect the listeners' modern expectations.  To use the example of the Strix, while we may not have been ready for such a creature in the 1960s, it suits post-XFiles and Smallville audiences perfectly.  The same can be said for [spoiler]the spell that brings Angelique back.[/spoiler]

"The House of Despair" and "The Book of Temptation," like the series, are about characters and themes.  Story considerations are updated yet remain loyal to the original.  They are also thankfully free of pop culture references; these worked well in Buffy, but it wouldn't have been Dark Shadows.

Cute avatar, Amanda!

You might be thinking of Scott Alan Woodard, who wrote the fourth DS CD, "The Rage Beneath"...  He's contributed to the "Doctor Who" range.

Well, this isn't where I saw it before, but I do recognize the title ("Oracle Of Delphi")--  http://www.androzani.com/bfbscds.shtml