For decades there have been rumours at St Simeon’s College: whispers of a door that somehow appears, once a year, in the depths of the building. 

Some claim it leads to a set of rooms owned by a long-forgotten master of the college, and if you happen to meet him, he’ll invite you inside to hear a story. A tale to chill the blood. But those who hear him speak are never the same. 

No one knows who the man is or where the rooms come from. There is no official record of either. And yet they both exist if you know where to look… when the cold, dark nights draw in. 

Would you like to hear a story? Because the Master’s waiting. 

There’s a wintry chill in the air, as Sir Derek Jacobi returns as the malicious War Master in Future Phantoms, available now from Big Finish Productions. 

This box set comprises four full-cast audio drama tales, each one a chilling horror story inspired by the likes of M. R. James, Charles Dickens, and Nigel Kneale. There are voices from an ancient civilisation, a ghostly presence on a London council estate, and the mystery of a missing train. 

The War Master: Future Phantoms is now available to own as a collector’s edition CD box set (+ download) for just £24.99 and as a digital download only for £19.99, exclusively here. 

The four chilling tales are: 

His Close Companions by Jonathan Barnes 

 At a provincial school, the headmaster seemingly conjures up a vengeful creature from another world. Years later, only one witness remains… and the Master knows the truth of what’s to come. 

The Foxglove Cylinders by James Goss 

 When Merton, a young academic, investigates the Foxglove Acquisition, he uncovers a set of cylinders that could conceal voices of ancient cultures. But are they recordings or transmissions? 

The Sitter by Lizzie Hopley 

Dorothy Stubbs is plagued by an entity: a man who comes to her house in the dead of night and sits downstairs. Is it just a figment of her imagination? Or is the Sitter of Waterfront Close a thing to be feared? 

Signal and I’ll Come to You by Tim Foley 

After a train vanishes in a tunnel on a rural branch line, Mr Eliot has no choice but to revisit his past to tackle the present. Why is history repeating itself? And will this be the Master’s final tale? 

Alongside Jacobi, The War Master: Future Phantoms features Robert Glenister (Spooks, Hustle) as railway signalman Mr Eliot, Annette Badland (Doctor Who: Aliens of London, Ted Lasso) as the tormented Dorothy, and Lorne MacFadyen (Vigil, Starstruck) as Dorothy’s son Alan. 

The guest cast also includes Omar Baroud, Timothy Blore, Celine Buckens, Steffan Cennydd, Chandrika Chevli, Mark Elstob, Lewis Grimshaw, Jason Hogan, Ruth Lass, Abigail Matthews, Sarah Naudi, George Naylor, Maya Saroya, and Milo Twomey. 

Sir Derek Jacobi said: “He has such fun, the Master, because he can be all different things and different people, and change his personality and his accent and everything. It's lovely for an actor, because he plays all the time.

“I always read some M. R. James ghost stories by the fire at Christmas. They're all lovely. And these kinds of stories work well on audio, because it’s like putting something in your head that is weird, strange, grotesque. And imagining what it looks like is much more frightening than actually seeing anything. You create your own ghosts, your own horrors.” 

Big Finish listeners can save money by purchasing Future Phantoms in a bundle with the previous two The War Master box sets, Solitary Confinement and Rogue Encounters, for £72 (collector’s edition CD box sets + downloads) or £58 (downloads only), exclusively here. 

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release. 

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.