Horrible Histories

The Horrible Histories franchise encompasses many media including books, magazine, audio books, stage shows, TV shows and more.

Books

Horrible Histories first began as a book series.

See Horrible Histories (book series)

Magazines

One of the first additions to the franchise was a series of magazines in 2003. A new magazine series was launched in 2012.

2003 series

In late 2003 Terry Deary released the Horrible Histories Magazine Collection, a series of magazines based on his book collection. In 2005 some of the titles in the series were released as free audiobooks as part of a promotion with breakfast cereal. Originally planned to be 60, the series was continued with an additional 20. Here is a list of the 80 Issues of the magazine in the order in which they are received:

1. The Gory Glory of Rome – (Roman Empire)
2. The Terrible Tudors: Horrible Henry – (Tudor King Henry VIII)
3. The Awesome Egyptians: Mummy Mania – (Ancient Egyptian Mummies)
4. The Vile Victorians: Cruel Britannia – (Victorian Britannia)
5. The Measly Middle Ages – (Middle Ages)
6. The Slimy Stuarts: Bombs & Broomsticks – (Stuart and Guy Fawkes)
7. The Groovy Greeks: Hits 'n' Myths – (Greek Mythology)
8. The Frightful First World War – (World War I)
9. The Angry Aztecs – (Aztecs)
10. The Bizarre Tsars – (Russian Tsars)
11. The Vicious Vikings – (Vikings)
12. The Terrible Tudors: Misery Mary – (Tudor Queen Mary)
13. The Savage Stone Age – (Stone Age)
14. Rotten Romans on the Rampage – (The end of the Roman Republic)
15. The Awesome Egyptians: Fabulous Pharaohs – (Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs)
16. The Gorgeous Georgians: Heroes & Villains – (Georgian Policemen and Criminals)
17. The Vile Victorians: Crime & Punishment – (Victorian Crime and Punishment)
18. The Wicked Wild West – (Wild West)
19. The Frightfully Fabulous French – (France)
20. The Slimy Stuarts: Burning Boils – (Stuart Diseases)
21. The Woeful Second World War – (World War 2)
22. The Terrible Tudors: Bad Bess – (Tudor and Elizabethan Queen Elizabeth the First)
23. The Extraordinary Explorers – (Explorers)
24. The Trendy 20s & The Dirty 30s – (Roaring Twenties in 1920s and Great Depression in 1930s)
25. America & its Scurvy Settlers – (America in 1600s and American Indians)
26. The Incredible Incas – (Incas)
27. The Smashing Saxons – (Saxons)
28. Rotten Romans in Britain – (The Roman conquest of Britain and Roman Britain)
29. The Vile Victorians: Foul Factories – (The Victorian Industrial Revolution)
30. The Groovy Greeks: Alexander the Not-So-Great – (Greek Alexander the Great)
31. The Slimy Stuarts: Charlie's Gets the Chop – (Stuart Charles I and the English Civil War)
32. The Marauding Mongols – (Mongols and Mongolia)
33. Rowdy Revolutions: France – (French Revolution)
34. The Awful Ancients – (Ancient Civilizations)
35. The Sizzling Spanish – (Spanish)
36. The Beastly Barbarians – (Barbarians)
37. The Stormin' Normans – (Normans)
38. Ruthless Richard & the Useless Yorks – (The Wars of the Roses)
39. The Blitzed Brits – (Britain's Blitz in the Second World War)
40. Rowdy Revolutions: America – (American Revolutionary War)
41. The Silly Chilly Cold War – (Cold War)
42. The Cut-Throat Celts – (Celts)
43. The Ingenious Italians – (Italian Renaissance)
44. Nasty Knights & Crazy Crusaders – (Knights and Crusaders)
45. The Gorgeous Georgians vs. Nasty Napoleon – (Napoleonic Wars)
46. The Slicing Samurai – (Japanese Samurai)
47. The 'Orrible Ottomans – (Ottoman Empire)
48. Plundering Pirates – (Pirates)
49. Rowdy Revolutions: Russia – (Russian Communist Revolution)
50. The Jumbled Germans – (Germany)
51. The Amazing Africans – (Africa)
52. The Incredible Indians – (India)
53. Revolting Rebellions: Europe – (European Revolutions for Republic)
54. The Cheeky Chinese – (Chinese)
55. America's Very Uncivil War – (US Civil War)
56. The Terrific Pacific – (Pacific Islands)
57. The Irate Irish – (Ireland)
58. Revolting Rebellions: South America – (South America)
59. Cruel Colonials – (British Colonies)
60. The Awesome Aussies – (Australian Colonists and Aborigines)
61. The Scary Scots: Woad Warriors – (Scots and Picts)
62. Even More Rotten Romans – (Roman Empire and Emperors)
63. Awful England – (Pre-Norman England)
64. The Super South Africans -(South Africa)
65. The Shifty 50s – (The 50s).
66. Even More Extraordinary Explorers – (Explorers and The Age of Discovery)
67. The Amazing Americans – (Late 19th and early 20th century United States)
68. The Terrifying Trojans – (Trojans and City of Troy)
69. The Crazy Caribbean -(European Explorers, Colonists and Native Caribbeans)
70. Even More Vile Victorians – (Victorian Era)
71. The Wild Welsh – (Wales)
72. The Shocking 60s – (The 60s)
73. The Scary Scots: Tartan Terrors – (Pre-Act of Union Scotland)
74. The Busy Byzantines – (Byzantine Empire)
75. The Elegant Edwardians – (Edwardian Era)
76. Potty Portugal – (Portugal)
77. The Awesome North American Indians – (North American Indians and Indian Wars)
78. The Polar Brrrs – (The North and South Poles)
79. Awful England Again – (British Famous People)
80. Rotten Round-Up – (The Largest, Biggest and the Best)

Each issue came with small cards depicting historic people, places, events and customs as well as a collection of timelines. The first 60 issues came with timelines each showing an era of human history, while the later 20 had timelines showing the history of themes such as fashion, art and science. Some of the first 60 issues also had a royal family tree based on a certain period of history. The only exception of for Savage Stone Age, which instead had a comparison of all the ancient forms of man and what they ate.

There have also been three "special" magazines in the series:

• S1. Horrible Christmas
• S2. Cruel Crimes and Painful Punishments
• S3. Cruel Kings and Mean Queens – (English Monarchs)

The collection will not be relaunched in the UK in September 2009 Due To Low Trial Sales.

2012 series

A new monthly Horrible Histories magazine was launched in the UK in October 2012, published by Immediate Media Company. The main page of the magazine series is at http://www.hhmag.co.uk/.

Theatre

Some of Terry Deary's books have been adapted into plays.

• "Horrible Histories - The Mad Millennium" broke box-office records when it opened at Cardiff's Sherman Theatre in Summer 1999.
• "Crackers Christmas", based on Terry's "Horrible Christmas Book" ran at the Sherman in December 2000. In 2002 Terry revived the play in a version for Barrow-in-Furness. Terry starred in that production himself.
• "Wild Wales" was performed as a reading at the Sherman in 2001
• The children's theatre company Birmingham Stage Company Productions have the licence to present Horrible Histories on stage around the world. They use the "bogglevision" 3D effects. Terrible Tudors and Vile Victorians in bogglevision visited theatres around Britain in 2010 in a production from the Birmingham Stage Company. These plays were written by Terry and were a hit in their 2006 tour. Bogglevision in particular has been successful in engaging children in the stage shows.
• In 2009 Terry wrote two new plays for the Birmingham Stage Company to tour The Blitzed Brits and The Frightful First World War.

Reception

Carole Green of the BBC reviewed the Terrible Tudors play at the Grand Opera House, York (2006). She wrote "It was a wonderful evening, very funny and educational without realising it." The Guardian gave the series great praise.

Horrible Histories Sticker and Activity Books

There are also quite a number of 'Horrible Histories Sticker and Activity Books' (officially called Activity, Gift and Novelty Books, from the Horrible Histories main page)

• Horrible Christmas Sticker Book
• Angry Aztecs Sticker Book
• Dark Knights and Dingy Castles Sticker-Activity Book
• Cut-throat Celts Sticker-Activity Book
• Incredible Incas Activity Book
• Gorgeous Georgians Activity Book
• Savage Stone Age Sticker Book
• Measly Middle Ages Activity Book
• Slimy Stuarts Sticker Book
• The Groovy Greeks Activity Book
• The Vicious Vikings Sticker Book
• Vile Victorians Activity Book
• Terrible Tudors Sticker Book
• Rotten Romans Sticker Book
• Awesome Egyptians Activity Book
• Awesome Activity Book
• Savage Sticker Book
• Grisly Quiz Book and Gruesome Games Pack

Audio Tapes/CDs

In 2003 and 2004, BBC Worldwide released 10 CDs of Audio tape/CD dramatizations of books from the Horrible Histories' series, starring Terry Deary. These include:

• The Savage Stone Age
• The Groovy Greeks
• The Rotten Romans
• The Vicious Vikings
• The Stormin' Normans
• The Measly Middle Ages
• The Terrible Tudors
• The Vile Victorians
• The Frightful First World War
• The Woeful Second World War

Reception

The response has been generally positive: "Terry Deary and Martin Brown's brilliant books about the nastiest periods in history have now - with the help of some astounding actors - been transformed into a series of audio extravaganzas. Featuring new, extra material not found anywhere in the books, these sound spectaculars are just as thrilling and spilling, funny and fast as their printed counterparts. Horrible Histories are guaranteed to bring you history with the nasty bits left in! The Rotten Romans features beastly battles, deadly doctoring and marvellous myths - and you can even find out how to tell the future using a dead chicken! It's packed with quizzes, sketches, music and jokes, as well as mini-dramas and real life re-enactments - telling you the kind of foul facts which just aren't available from a classroom education!"

TV

Horrible Histories has been adapted into TV form 3 times. The first was an animated series in 2001. The second was a successful live-action series starting in 2009. The third, Gory Games, is a children gameshow, and is a spin-off to the 2009 series. See Horrible Histories (TV Series)

Awards

• Won a BAFTA for best comedy sketch show in 2010 (for the 2009 TV program)
• Won BAFTAs for Best Comedy, Best writing and Best performer (Jim Howick) (for the 2009 TV program).
• Won a British Comedy Award for best sketch show (TV program) (for the 2009 TV program).

Kellogg's/Telegraph audiobooks

Horrible Histories teamed up with Kellogg's to produce a set of audiobooks for the following books:

• The Rotten Romans
• The Vicious Vikings
• The Measly Middle Ages
• The Vile Victorians
• Incredible Ireland
• The Terrible Tudors

All of the CDs are read by Terry Deary and were available inside some Kellogs cereals.

In addition, the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph gave away four free audiobooks over a two-week period in October 2006. They were:

• The Awesome Egyptians
• The Ruthless Romans
• The Frightful First World War
• The Woeful Second World War

Between 8 and 14 September 2007, the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph gave away 7 new Horrible Histories audiobooks, again read by Terry Deary and adapted from his books. They were:

• The Villainous Victorians
• The Savage Stone Age
• The Angry Aztecs
• The Incredible Incas
• The Cut Throat Celts
• The Groovy Greeks
• The Barmy British Empire

Gory Stories

A new fiction-type of Horrible Histories series has recently sprouted, called Gory Stories. The first set of books to be published in July 2008 were:

• Gory Stories - Tower of Terror (Terrible Tudors)
• Gory Stories - Tomb of Treasure (Awful Egyptians)
• Gory Stories - Wall of Woe - (Rotten Romans)
• Gory Stories - Shadow of the Gallows (Vile Victorians)
• Gory Stories - Raiders and Ruins (Vikings) - March 2009
• Gory Stories - Blackout in the Blitz (World War II) - May 2009
• Gory Stories - The Plague of Pain (aka Plague and Peril) (Middle Ages) - 2009
• Gory Stories - The Trail of Treasure (aka Pirates and Plunder) (Pirates) - 2009
• Big Book of Gory Stories (Pack of Tomb of Treasure, Wall of Woe and Tower of Terror)

Blackout in the Blitz is listed on Terry Deary's website as Bombs on Britain, but on Amazon.co.uk it is listed as Blackout in the Blitz, along with a cover.

High-speed History

Beginning in 2010, a new sub-series called "High-speed History" was published. These books are written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Dave Smith. The books in the sub-series are:

• Egypt - A High-Speed History - 3 May 2010
• Tudors - A High-Speed History - 2 Aug 2010
• Knights - A High-Speed History - 3 Mar 2011
• Rome - A High-Speed History - July 2011

Video Games

In 2009, a video game based on the books Rotten Romans and Ruthless Romans, entitled Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans was released. See Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans

Theme Park

Author Terry Deary stated in March 2003 that he had plans for a £130 million theme park "...on an enormous scale, something that will really put this region on the map the way Disney World has done for Florida." Terry Deary's History Experience was to be built on South Tyneside, close to where Deary was born.

These original plans fell through, but new talks are underway about a second proposal, based in County Durham, which would include the Horrible Histories name.

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Board Game

A board game edition of the Rotten Roman book and videogame was released in 2008. Terry Deary and Mike Siggins are the designers, the artwork was done by Martin Brown and Dave Smith, and the text was by Simon Breed. The game was published by Sophisticated Games. The game is for 2-4 players and is of the "roll and move" genre.

Virtual World

Scholastic went into in partnership with agency Yomego to create an online world using the HuzuVirtual virtual world framework from software company HuzuTech. Visitors to the virtual world will be able to create an avatar dressed in historical costume, explore, look in a virtual world shop, chat, and subscribe to events where the children may meet the author, Terry Deary. The idea is that users will be able to explore areas with names like "Rotten Rome", "Awesome Egypt", and "Terrible Tudor London".

The Virtual world went live in August 2011.