M.R. James' Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee

The late Sir Christopher Lee narrates a series of four half-hour ghost stories by M.R. James. Originally shown on BBC2 during the last week of December, 2000.

Watch them while you can!


The Stalls of Barchester (December 23rd, 2000)




The Ash Tree (December 26th, 2000)




Number 13 (December 29th, 2000)




A Warning to the Curious (December 31st, 2000)




Buy them on DVD from Amazon here: Ghost Stories for Christmas (Expanded 6-Disc Collection Box Set) [DVD] - Note: Does not include Christopher Lee reading "The Ash Tree".

M.R. James' Ghost Stories for Christmas with Robert Powell

Robert Powell narrates a series of five partially-dramatised ghost stories by M.R. James. Originally shown on BBC2 during the last week of December, 1986, they included "The Mezzotint", "The Ash-Tree", "The Rose Garden", "Wailing Well", and "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad".

Watch this one on YouTube while you still can!

Wailing Well (December 28th, 1986)





Buy them on DVD from Amazon here: Classic Ghost Stories of M R James [DVD]

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 11

The Amazing Mr. Blunden (1972)



"A mysterious, very old solicitor Mr. Blunden visits Mrs. Allen and her young children in her squalid, tiny Camden Town flat and makes her an offer she cannot refuse."

Based on the "The Ghosts" by Antonia Barber, "The Amazing Mr. Blunden" is another classic British movie for the Christmas season.

This is the last one of these that I'm going to post since you all hate free movies so much. Bah, humbug!

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 10

The Phantom Coach (1864)



A silhouette puppet film by Richard Mansfield based on the short story by Amelia B. Edwards.

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 9

Cold Christmas by Nina Beachcroft (1974)

Yes, it's a kids' book rather than a film, but "Cold Christmas" is one of the few books which I read when I was in the intended age range for it. As someone who was reading James Herbert instead of the patronising and unrealistic "approved" books in English lessons when the teacher wanted some peace and quiet, I still think that "Cold Christmas" is one of the best of its kind.

"Cold Christmas" is out of print, but there are plenty of copies available to buy from eBay and Amazon. I got mine from a church jumble sale back in the early '80s. I don't have it now as I passed it on to another jumble sale along with all my other paperbacks in the early 2000s. "Cold Christmas" is not a rare book by any stretch of the imagination although I can't tell you how many times it has been reprinted. I had the Piccolo version as in the picture above which I know didn't have the original cover art.

I don't understand why nobody ever thought of adapting "Cold Christmas" into a TV miniseries or a film except that maybe it would have turned out to be too much like "The Amazing Mr. Blunden" (1972) or "The Watcher in the Woods" (1980). Nowadays, with filmmakers cloning every other success, this wouldn't even be an issue.

"Cold Christmas" isn't really like "The Amazing Mr. Blunden" or "The Watcher in the Woods" though. It doesn't have quite the same childish vibe to it. Give or take some of the dialogue, if it's similar to anything then it's a lot like Robert Westall's books in the way it handles the perspective of a lonely child caught up in a more adult situation than the child realises. The closest thing to it that I can think of would be Robert Westall's "The Scarecrows" (1981) which was, of course, written later and meant for slightly older readers, but there are superficial similarities to a lot of Enid Blyton's stories, Barbara Sleigh's "Jessamy" (1967), Penelope Farmer's "Charlotte Sometimes" (1969), Antonia Barber's "The Ghosts" (1969), and even Philippa Pearce's "Tom's Midnight Garden" (1958). Most children's fantasy books are in the same vein, but "Cold Christmas" feels a little bit more modern.

So what's it about? Basically, due to changes in her family circumstances (i.e. remarriage), a neglected little girl named Josephine spends Christmas in a large Georgian mansion, and discovers that the mansion is haunted. Just like every other children's ghost story, it features an alienated lead character and the "Cassandra" trope as what Josephine sees isn't believed by the grown-ups until the very end.

Apparently, Nine Beachcroft saw a house in a Hertfordshire village called "Cold Christmas" and was inspired to write a story about it. The real house has no such legend, but it's described so well that the you can really imagine the place existing and having a ghostly mystery to solve.

The atmosphere is very sad, and the whole family situation is very "upper working class" or even "lower middle class", but that's hardly a hindrance to a child's imagination. I'd hazard a guess that the book was intended for girls, but that doesn't matter so much either. How many boys have read "Twilight" or "The Hunger Games" in recent years? Gender specific books don't seem to phase anyone who wants to read something. Hell, I used to read "Misty" comic along with my weekly "2000 A.D." because the girls' comicbook was the only thing with horror stories in it at the time.

It's a pulp children's novel for sure, but if you've never read "Cold Christmas", I recommend that you do so. It's one of the great Christmas ghost stories no matter what your age is.

Here's the Amazon link: Cold Christmas: A Ghost Story

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 8

The Mistletoe Bough



The Mistletoe Bough, a ballad by Thomas Haynes Bayley and Sir Henry Bishop, was published circa 1830.

The mistletoe hung in the castle hall
The holly branch shone on the old oak wall.
The Baron's retainers were blithe and gay,
Keeping the Christmas holiday.

The Baron beheld with a father's pride
His beautiful child, Lord Lovell's bride.
And she, with her bright eyes seemed to be
The star of that goodly company.
Oh, the mistletoe bough.
Oh, the mistletoe bough.

"I'm weary of dancing, now," she cried;
"Here, tarry a moment, I'll hide, I'll hide,
And, Lovell, be sure you're the first to trace
The clue to my secret hiding place."

Away she ran, and her friends began
Each tower to search and each nook to scan.
And young Lovell cried, "Oh, where do you hide?
I'm lonesome without you, my own fair bride."
Oh, the mistletoe bough.
Oh, the mistletoe bough.

They sought her that night, they sought her next day,
They sought her in vain when a week passed away.
In the highest, the lowest, the loneliest spot,
Young Lovell sought wildly, but found her not.

The years passed by and their brief at last
Was told as a sorrowful tale long past.
When Lovell appeared, all the children cried,
"See the old man weeps for his fairy bride."
Oh, the mistletoe bough.
Oh, the mistletoe bough.

At length, an old chest that had long laid hid
Was found in the castle; they raised the lid.
A skeleton form lay mouldering there
In the bridal wreath of that lady fair.

How sad the day when in sportive jest
She hid from her lord in the old oak chest,
It closed with a spring and a dreadful doom,
And the bride lay clasped in a living tomb.
Oh, the mistletoe bough.
Oh, the mistletoe bough.

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 7

Three movie versions of the quintessential ghost story for Christmas. Which do you prefer?

Scrooge (1935)




Scrooge (1951)




Scrooge (1970)

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 6

You can't have Christmas without "A Christmas Carol", so here's the 1949 TV dramatisation of the Dickens classic as narrated by Vincent Price.

A Christmas Carol



As a bonus, here's an interview that Vincent Price did in 1982 with Terry Wogan just before making "House of the Long Shadows".

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 5

After the semi-dramatic M.R. James adaptations read by Robert Powell, the BBC also produced a short series of further readings in 2000 featuring Christopher Lee as James: "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral", "The Ash Tree", "Number 13" and "A Warning to the Curious".

All of these "M.R. James' Ghost Stories for Christmas" have been included in the new BFI boxset, but there are two available as a taster on YouTube. Enjoy!


Number 13




A Warning to the Curious




I'm sure you're sick to death of M.R. James now. Don't worry, I have something different for you tomorrow.

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 4

Continuing the "Ghost Stories for Christmas", do you remember the half-way house provided by BBC2 which almost made up for the discontinued annual supernatural dramas?

In December 1986, BBC2 broadcast partially dramatised readings by Robert Powell of "The Mezzotint", "The Ash-Tree", "Wailing Well", "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" and "The Rose Garden".

I looked forward to watching these after school in the weeks before the Christmas holiday, but I vaguely remember that they weren't shown consecutively. I think that two episodes were shown one week and three the next which caused me to miss at least one of them. I'm also sure that one was broadcast on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and I only caught the very end of it.

Although they've never been repeated or made available to buy on VHS or DVD (as far as I know), these readings have been kept in circulation on YouTube for years. Unfortunately, they were all uploaded in sections rather than entire episodes (short as they are anyway) so you'll just have to click the related videos links at the end of each one to see the next part.


The Mezzotint




The Ash Tree




Wailing Well




Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad




The Rose Garden




Tomorrow, Christopher Lee does the same thing!

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 3

The more recent BBC "Ghost Stories for Christmas" haven't been as good as the originals. Maybe it's a case of rose-tinted spectacles, but they all seem rather soulless in comparison.

A View from a Hill (2005)



"A historian has a disturbing experience after borrowing a pair of binoculars belonging to a missing outcast and venturing up a notorious landmark."


Number 13 (2006)



"An academic researcher repudiates local superstitions surrounding a devilish house. However, repeated visions and noises during the night suggest he may be proved wrong."


The Turn of the Screw (2009)



"A governess, incarcerated in a mental asylum, tells a doctor of the possession of her two pupils by a former governess and her lover."


You'll notice that I haven't mentioned the 1968 version of "Whistle and I'll Come to You" starring Michael Hordern. Although it's included in the new BFI boxset - Ghost Stories for Christmas - The Definitive Collection - "Whistle and I'll Come to You" was a precursor to the BBC's true "Ghost Stories for Christmas" and was really part of the Omnibus series of dramas instead.

It's not worth including "The Haunted Airman" (2006 but re-shown in 2007), "Crooked House" (2008), or "Whistle and I'll Come to You" (2010) because they are all crap.

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 2

More nostalgia from the golden age of British TV horror. Watch them while you can!

As you will see, the quality of these dramas peaked then dropped significantly in later years until the BBC gave up on the idea.


The Signalman (1976)



"A railway signalman tells a curious traveller how he is being troubled by a ghostly spectre that seems to predict calamity."


Stigma (1977)



"After a young couple move into a remote country house in the middle of a stone circle, workmen disturb an ancient menhir, unleashing a supernatural force."


The Ice House (1978)



"Residents at a health spa begin to suspect a strange flower growing in an old ice house in the grounds may be the cause of a series of misfortunes."


Schalcken the Painter (1979)



"Schalcken the painter sees his one true love, Rose, wedded by contract for a sum of money to a man who may or may not be a demon. When she escapes and returns home, she is pursued by her demon lover."


Casting the Runes (1979) - a bonus from ITV



"After a television series lampoons a famous demonologist, its producer and cast soon find themselves threatened by mysterious, malevolent forces."


Tomorrow, I'll post the final "Ghost Stories for Christmas" which the BBC vainly tried to revive as a series in the mid 2000s.

Ghost Stories for Christmas - Part 1

I've talked about them a lot on this blog so here's your chance to enjoy some of the most terrifying ghost stories ever shown on TV.

Break out the Harvey's Bristol Cream, Twiglets and cheesy footballs with earwax in the middle, and prepare to soil yourself all over again!


The Stalls of Barchester (1971)



"An ambitious cleric murders an aged Archdeacon at Barchester Cathedral. However, he is soon being stalked by a sinister black cat and by a hooded figure both of whom seem to be embodiments of carvings on the cathedral's choir stalls."


A Warning to the Curious (1972)



"An amateur archaeologist travels to a remote seaside town in Norfolk to search for the lost crown of Anglia, but after unearthing it is haunted by a mysterious black figure."


Lost Hearts (1973)



"An orphan moves into the house of his uncle, but is disturbed by visions of a pair of ghostly children. Is their message a warning to be fearful of his uncle's obsession with immortality?"


The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)



"A respected theologian and his protégé unearth clues to find the hidden treasure of a disgraced monk in an abbey library. Should he have heeded his own advice not to go treasure hunting?"


The Ash Tree (1975)



"An aristocrat inherits his family estate and is haunted by visions of his ancestor's role in a witchcraft trial."


I'll post another four tomorrow.