Review of The Lost Son—Gothic Audio Drama

A man’s frantic breathing is suddenly interrupted by a low, ominous growl… Before the words of the story even begin, these sounds paint a picture at the beginning of The Lost Son. Sound has a peculiar ability to immerse you in dread and terror in a way that I find harder to accomplish through the other senses. Perhaps that is why we’re seeing such a boom right now of horror stories being produced through audio fiction. These days, I devour audio fiction at a rate about five times faster than any other format. I started reading audiobooks around the same time I launched this blog and then reluctantly branched out into fiction podcasts. But I’ve been delighted over the past couple of years to see a rise in a new kind of audio fiction: the audio drama mini series. Often hosted on podcast platforms, these stories blend the best of both audiobooks and podcasts, with a bit of a throwback to old radio dramas, as well. They are self-contained stories, limited to a small number of episodes, and they revel in the audio format through the use of sound effects, background music, and talented voice actors. I’ve been venturing into this format through the shows produced by Realm, such as Beatrix Greene. And now there’s a new show coming out by a small group of independent creators that seems especially created for my tastes: The Lost Son. 

The Lost Son is a three-episode audio drama written and directed by Cole Burgett. It stars voice actors Bonnie Bogovich, Carter Calahan, Ethan Goff, and Josiah Robinson, supported by a small cast and crew. The show will be available on all major podcast platforms starting on October 25—just in time for Halloween!—but the creators were kind enough to give me early access so I can let you all know what to expect:

Set in turn-of-the-century America, The Lost Son follows a young woman doctor named Emily Goodwin as she investigates what is troubling her childhood friend and former lover Andrew Ballard. After receiving a letter begging her to come to his ancestral estate, Emily arrives at Ballard Hall to find Andrew struggling with his father’s recent death and with something much larger that he seems reluctant to discuss. Emily soon learns that his father’s death was one in a string of gruesome maulings that have plagued the area, and that the townspeople suspect Andrew to be the killer. An old legend associates the Ballard family with lycanthropy, and the killings certainly seem like the work of some monstrous beast. As a Pinkerton detective bears down on him, Andrew begins to doubt his own innocence, while Emily and another childhood friend Arthur race to uncover the truth.

I appreciate that The Lost Son strives to bring the werewolf back into the realm of horror. Though one of the classic monsters right up there with vampires, werewolves seem to have been largely relegated to the paranormal romance genre in recent years. But there’s nothing sexy about the werewolves here. Though the identity and even existence of the werewolf is kept in shadow for most of the story, the gory evidence of the killings is enough to make it clear that something ruthless and horrible is stalking the countryside. When our protagonists do finally come face to face with the wolf, the fact that we can only hear the confrontation, not see it, allows the listener to picture whatever version of the werewolf they find most terrifying. Snarls and howls intensify the atmosphere of horror, while in other moments suspenseful music builds a sense of dread. But though the werewolf in The Lost Son is most certainly a creature of horror, it is also ultimately one that we might pity, having been made into a monster through the ill-treatment of others, much like Frankenstein’s creature.

This story also features one of the most recognizable Gothic tropes: a family curse. The Ballard family legend suggests that the male line has been cursed for generations, with each firstborn son doomed to transform into a monster. The curse even followed the family as they moved from Europe to their current estate in America. While in some Gothic  stories family curses can be broken, The Lost Son suggests that attempting to meddle with such powerful forces may only seal your doom. 

You can check out the teaser trailer for The Lost Son now, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you want to hear the rest, be sure that you hit that “subscribe” button so you can be notified when the episodes drop on October 25. Once you’ve listened, come back and let me know your thoughts in the comments. In the meantime, got any other spooky audio dramas to recommend?