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Is there a BBC "Ghost Story For Christmas" this year?

GySLIcR.jpg

whistle and i'll come to you (1968)

There's a new Mark Gatiss M. R. James adaptation 'The Mezzotint' - BBC2 10.30pm Christmas Eve

Immediately afterwards (11.00pm) over on BBC4 a repeat of the 2009 BBC adaptation of The Turn of the Screw
and at 12.30am Jonathan Miller's classic 1968 version of Whistle and I'll Come to You.

(For those who can't get enough Gatiss his new feature length version of The Amazing Mr Blunden is on Sky Max on Christmas Eve at 7.00pm and no doubt at all good naughty download sites shortly afterwards).

BBC4 have been repeating the original 1970s Ghost Stories for Christmas series and four of them are still on the BBC iplayer. (The Ash Tree only for the next week)
The Ash Tree (1975) - The Signalman (1976) - Stigma (1977) - The Ice House (1978)

The latter two were modern day stories which haven't been repeated very often. Less popular at the time than the earlier period stories, Stigma in particular may be more in tune with the Folk Horror audience.
A family move into a remote country house on the edge of a stone circle. When they decide to have a stone in their garden moved, they unwittingly unleash an ancient curse.
Click to expand...

Other lists of horror and supernatural stuff on the BBC iplayer here and here. All episodes of Inside No. 9 are currently up.

Along with the radio stuff listed at the first of those links :
Neil Brand's 2018 play The Haunting of MR James starring someone called Mark Gatiss
Sheila Hodgson's 1984 play Echoes from the Abbey based on an idea of M. R. James.

Coming up on radio :
Christmas Day at 6.00pm - Linda Marshall Griffiths 2018 adaptation of The Turn of the Screw
New Years Day at 6.00pm - Gregory Evans 1981 play The Hex based on James' Casting The Runes.
 
Thank you Lurdan - I greatly appreciate the effort you go to each year to make sure us Xmas ghost story fans get our annual fix!

We watched The Ash Tree on iPlayer last night, it's now really starting to feel like Christmas here :D
 
I bought Mr. QofG's a compilation of the BBC ghost stories last Christmas and we've recently watched both "The Signalman" and "Stigma".

Denholm Elliott is so great in "The Signalman" portraying a kind of melancholic desperation. Not sure what to make of "Stigma". I liked it but wanted a bit more. Still good stuff though.
 



This year we have new BBC TV and Radio ghost stories, a new episode of Inside No. 9, plus repeats and other ghost stuff, including multiple versions of A Christmas Carol. Where relevant iplayer links are included for when they are up.

Things start on the radio this weekend so without further ado:


New TV

Thursday 22nd December

BBC Two - 9.00-9.30pm
Inside No. 9 - The Bones of St Nicholas
The first episode of a new series, this one apparently evokes M. R. James and Charles Dickens. Simon Callow guests.

Friday 23rd December

BBC Two - 10.00-1030pm
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Count Magnus
Mark Gatiss scripts and directs a new M. R. James adaptation.

It's followed (10.30-12.15) by
The Limehouse Golem
2016 film based on Peter Ackroyd's novel with Bill Nighy. And Karl Marx.

Christmas Day

Channel Five - 3.10-5.10pm
The Canterville Ghost part 1
New adaptation ("a modern retelling") of the Oscar Wilde story with Anthony Head. In two parts today and tomorrow.

BBC Four - 7.00-8.45pm
A Christmas Carol
Mark Gatiss' stage adaptation filmed at London's Alexandra Palace Theatre last year.

Boxing Day
Channel Five - 3.00-5.00pm
The Canterville Ghost part 2.


TV Repeats

Sun 18th December

Three of the previous Gatiss Christmas ghost stories are repeated.

BBC Four - 00.15-00.45
A Ghost Story for Christmas, The Dead Room (2018)

BBC Four - 00.45-01.15
A Ghost Story for Christmas, The Mezzotint (2021)
This one is currently on the iplayer.

BBC Four - 01.15-01.45
A Ghost Story for Christmas, Martin's Close (2019)

and that evening

BBC Four - 10.35-11.50pm
A Christmas Carol (2018)
The film of Simon Callow's one man show theatrical version.

IMO the most interesting TV repeat is on the 22nd:

Thursday 22nd December

BBC Four - 10.30-11.40pm
Schalcken the Painter
1979 BBC adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu story. Wasn't part of the Ghost Stories for Christmas strand but like Jonathan Miller's 1968 'Whistle and I'll Come to You' was made for the arts programme Omnibus. Well regarded.

Other ghosty things currently on the iplayer can be found here:
BBC - Programmes categorised as Drama: Horror & Supernatural

And the previous episodes of Inside No. 9 are still up (although I'm not sure how long the older episodes are up for).
Inside No. 9


Couple more films

Sun 18th December

Talking Pictures TV - 3.00-5.00pm
The Halfway House (1943)
Basil Dearden's wartime Ealing Studios supernatural fantasy.

Thursday 29th December BBC1

BBC One - 11.00pm-12.45am
The Others (2001)
Alejandro Amenabar's effective traditional ghost story with Nicole Kidman.

And for the Christmas Carol fans

Sun 18th December

ITV 3 - 5.55-8.00pm
A Christmas Carol (1984)
Clive Donner's TV movie, US financed but shot in the UK. All star cast led by George C. Scott.

Mon 19th December

Channel Five - 4.10-5.55pm
Scrooge (1951)
The classic b&W version with Alastair Sim.


New Radio

There are two new radio dramatisations this year:

Sat 17th December

BBC Radio 4 - 3.00-4.00pm
Algernon Blackwood's The Willows
New dramatisation by Stef Penney. With Bill Pullman and Julian Sands.

Christmas Day

BBC Radio 4 - 3.15-4.15pm
The Signalman
"Newly imagined adaptation" of the Dickens story by Jonathan Holloway, with Samuel West.

Shockingly neither of those involves Mark Gatiss but fear not:

Fri 23rd December

BBC Radio 4 - 7.15-8.00pm
Screenshot
includes Mark Gatiss discussing 'the tradition of ghost stories on film at Christmas'.


Radio Repeats

Sun 18th December

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 00.00-00.45 (repeated at 4.00pm)
Algernon Blackwood - The Camp of the Dog
Sheila Hodgson's 1974 dramatisation.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 00.45-01.00 (repeated 4.45pm)
A.M. Burrage - The Waxwork
1963 dramatisation featuring Valentine Dyall.

Sat 24th December

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 7.30-8.30am (repeated at 12.30pm, 6.30pm and 2.30am on the 25th)
Telling Tales, Jeremy Dyson
A 2019 programme in which the other member of the League of Gentlemen discusses his influences and reads two of his short stories.

Sun 25th December
BBC Radio 4 Extra - 00.00-00.30 (repeated at 4.00pm)
John Dickson Carr - Blind Man's Hood
1963 dramatisation with Jill Bennett.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 00.30-00.45 (repeated at 4.30pm)
Charles Dickens, The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton
1997 reading.

Thursday 29th December

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 8.00pm-8.30pm
Fear on 4 - Soul Searching
1989 dramatisation featuring Bernard Cribbins.

Sunday 1st January

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 00.00-00.30 (repeated at 4.00pm)
MR James' Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You
The 1963 radio dramatisation with Michael Hordern.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - 00.30-00.45 (repeated 4.30pm)
The Smell by Patrick McGrath
1996 reading by the author

ETA:
Other ghosty stuff currently on BBC Sounds can be found here:
BBC Sounds - Categories - Horror & Supernatural

they include a repeat of
M. R. James - Martin's Close
The 1963 dramatisation with Donald Wolfit.

Reality Paranormal

Last year the BBC initiated a new paranormal franchise with the podcast series The Battersea Poltergeist. It was followed by the series Uncanny and this year's series The Witch Farm.

Written and presented by Danny Robins they all examine paranormal "cold cases", mixing dramatic reconstructions, interviews with those actually involved, studio experts (representing 'team belief' and 'team sceptic') and when they are first broadcast they incorporate social media feedback.

hmmmmm

There is an Uncanny Christmas Special:

Friday 23rd December

BBC Radio 4 - 11.00-11.30pm
Uncanny Christmas Special

In a not dissimilar vein but without Danny Robins:

Saturday 24th December

BBC Radio 4 - 10.15-11.00pm (Repeated 4.15pm Christmas Day)
Hunting Ghosts with Gatiss and Coles
Mark Gatiss (sceptic) and Richard Coles (believer) go 'ghost hunting' in Coles' former parish at Finedon, Northamptonshire, "reputedly the most haunted in England".

And finally, in the great tradition of 'King Kong vs. Godzilla', or 'Strippers vs. Werewolves', there is a BBC franchise mash-up, featuring not only Mark Gatiss but also Danny Robins :eek:

Fri 30th December

BBC Radio 4 - 11.00-11.30pm
Uncanny Live with Mark Gatiss

Anyhow sorry that's a bit long, but as the great Noddy put it — It's Chriiistmaas!
 
Last edited:
There’s also:

The Haunting of Hill House
www.bbc.co.uk

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - 1. The Experiment - BBC Sounds

Dr Montague conducts an experiment at Hill House. Who will be first?
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk


The Turn of the Screw, which has been available for ages and will no doubt be available for more ages yet to come. It’s an unabridged reading. This is one of the first spook stories I ever heard (stepmother told it to us on long car journeys whenever we were children, the freaky weirdo) so of course it’s ... err... haunted me my whole life.
www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Sounds - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - Available Episodes

Listen to the latest episodes of The Turn of the Screw by Henry James on BBC Sounds
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
I thought the Gatiss production of A Christmas Carol was excellent and one of the best things on TV yesterday - I didn't get to see it then as I was cooking and guests were chatty, but I caught up with it this evening on iPlayer as I had a quiet night with just me, the cat, food, and a bottle of red wine, so uninterrupted viewing was possible :D
 
I think we have Conan-Doyle's Lot No. 249 as our now annual spooky Xmas offering from Gatiss this year.

10pm, 24th December on BBC2 (and iPlayer ofc) I think?

Not sure what else is on and when, paging Lurdan in case you know! You usually provide the most excellent info which means I rarely miss anything :)
 
Silas Loom said:
Has Mike Flanagan parted ways permanently with Netflix now? Shame.
Click to expand...
Since when???

His series aren't Xmas ones, they are released in October every year and we've just had one (The Fall of the House of Usher) and afaik he's doing one next year.

His stuff is not Xmas ghost story stuff though, the discussion about Flanagan's ones is in the Netflix thread.
 
Watched the Shepherd on Apple. Proper Christmas ghost story. With John Travolter in Norfolk.
 
Epona said:
Since when???

His series aren't Xmas ones, they are released in October every year and we've just had one (The Fall of the House of Usher) and afaik he's doing one next year.

His stuff is not Xmas ghost story stuff though, the discussion about Flanagan's ones is in the Netflix thread.
Click to expand...

I recalled reading that TFOTHOU was going to be his last, and thought that the official ghost telly thread was the best place to ask if that was true. Thematic TV threads make more sense to me than platform-specific ones, and ones which are limited by archaic concepts like scheduling would be frankly silly.
 
Silas Loom said:
I recalled reading that TFOTHOU was going to be his last, and thought that the official ghost telly thread was the best place to ask if that was true. Thematic TV threads make more sense to me than platform-specific ones, and ones which are limited by archaic concepts like scheduling would be frankly silly.
Click to expand...

This is the BBC "A Ghost Story For Christmas" (a long running TV tradition, and a theme in itself) thread, not a ghost TV thread - specifically about the BBC schedule over the Xmas period :)
 
Epona said:
I think we have Conan-Doyle's Lot No. 249 as our now annual spooky Xmas offering from Gatiss this year.

10pm, 24th December on BBC2 (and iPlayer ofc) I think?

Not sure what else is on and when, paging Lurdan in case you know! You usually provide the most excellent info which means I rarely miss anything :)
Click to expand...
Yes! 😎

I was watching an interview with Gattis and he was saying even though people love the Christmas ghost stories, they have only just scraped the funding together, right at the last minute, each year.
 
Epona said:
I think we have Conan-Doyle's Lot No. 249 as our now annual spooky Xmas offering from Gatiss this year.

10pm, 24th December on BBC2 (and iPlayer ofc) I think?

Not sure what else is on and when, paging Lurdan in case you know! You usually provide the most excellent info which means I rarely miss anything :)
Click to expand...

Yeah Lot 249 was officially announced with a post on the BBC 'media pack' site this week
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Mark Gatiss, Kit Harington and Freddie Fox tease “wonderfully scary and frightful” Lot No. 249
Interviews there with Gatiss and a couple of the actors.

It's scheduled for 10.00pm on the 24th on BBC2 and will be on the iplayer after broadcast.
BBC Two - A Ghost Story for Christmas, Lot No 249

(Xmas Fun Quiz: Notice anything interesting about the image on that page?)

Gatiss is also featured in next weeks Radio Times (Christmas Eve being on a Sunday this year means that 'winterval' starts before the period covered by the Xmas double issue of the Radio Times).

tKo8uXD.jpg

I'll be posting my tediously long xmas post "media pack" after the Radio Times double issue is issued next week so I can properly check wassup. I don't think it's a massive spoiler to say that it could be much shorter than previous years (hurrah!) but fear not I will diligently work to bulk it up (boo!). (Yes I know, 'It's behind beneath me').

However it might be worth pointing out that there are repeats of some of the 1970s BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas starting next week.
But these are not being broadcast or streamed by the BBC, but on the freeview Talking Pictures TV channel and presumably on their catch up service. (Hmmm 🤔).

Mon 11th - 8.35pm - The Stalls of Barchester
Wed 13th - 6.55pm - A Warning to the Curious
Fri 15th - 8.15pm - Lost Hearts

And with that the Ghost of Christmas Future staggered off into the darkness, reeking of old egg nog and shedding stale crumbs of commodified 'entertainment' :cool:
 
jcOp6R2.jpg


TV
Christmas ghosts are not a BBC priority this year. Aside from the new Gatiss adaptation (see above), that's pretty much it. No other broadcast TV repeats or documentaries. (Last years 'Count Magnus' is on the iplayer until the 22nd).

Freeview channel Talking Pictures TV are showing pre-Gatiss era 'Ghost Story for Christmas' episodes.
Fri 15th - 8.15pm - Lost Hearts (1973)

Wed 20th - 9:05pm - The Ash Tree (1975)
Thu 21st - 10:05pm - The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)

Sat 23rd - 10:05pm - Stigma (1977)
Sun 24th - 10:35pm - The Ice House (1978)
Mon 25th - 9:15pm - Whistle and I'll Come to You (2010)
Tue 26th - 10:55pm - The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
Wed 27th - 9:05pm - Number 13 (2006)
Sun 31st - 10:05pm - The Signalman (1976)
Whistle and I'll Come To You is the seldom repeated 2010 version with John Hurt.

There is another repeat of a BBC programme
On Sat 23rd on Sky Arts (freeview), after a documentary about Dickens
3.15pm - Dickens: Phantoms and Fictions: supernatural tales, there is
4.15pm - A Christmas Carol
According to this listing this is the 1977 version with Michael Hordern as Scrooge.

As always 'A Christmas Carol' fans are well catered for
Fri 22nd Talking Pictures TV - 4:15pm - Scrooge (1935)
Sat 23rd C4 - 2.35pm - Scrooged (1988)
Sun 24th C5 - 11.30am - Scrooge (1951) w Alastair Sim
Sat 24th C4 - 2.40pm - A Christmas Carol (1984) w George C. scott
Mon 25th Talking Pictures TV - 4:10pm - Scrooge (1951) w Alastair Sim
Thu 28th Talking Pictures TV - 0:05am - Scrooge (1951) w Alastair Sim

Radio
My favourite thing last year was the radio adaptation of Algernon Blackwood's 'The Willows'. (It's not on the iplayer but can currently be heard here on YouTube). So it's rather sad to see there are no new radio ghost dramas this year. Presumably a consequence of the severe cuts in radio drama output.

From 2018, Radio 4 Extra is repeating five short MR James adaptations by Neil Brand, 'The Haunting of MR James', at 7.15am, 12.15pm and 5.15pm daily.
Mon 25th - 1. The Mezzotint
Tue 26th - 2. Casting the Runes
Wed 27th - 3. The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Thu 28th - 4. A Warning to the Curious
Fri 29th - 5. Rats

Sat 30th - 7.50am, 12.50pm, 6.50pm - An omnibus edition of all five

These originally accompanied a play by Brand about MR James. This isn't being rebroadcast but is on the iplayer The Haunting of M.R. James

On Christmas Day there is a repeat of a documentary broadcast at Halloween
Mon 25th - Radio 4 - 8.00pm - You're Dead to Me. Medieval Ghost Stories

Sun 24th - BBC 6 Music - 8.00pm - Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone A Ghost Story for Christmas
Stuart celebrates the tradition of the Christmas ghost story, including music.
Click to expand...

Radio 4 Extra is having a Nicholas Parsons day including 'A Christmas Carol By Candlelight', a musical version
Sun 24th - Radio 4 Extra at 6.00am, Midday and 6.00pm

Uncanny, the BBC's reality/paranormal show hosted by Danny Robins, ("Britain's high priest of the paranormal" - Guardian), has a Christmas special
Mon 25th - 10.00pm - Radio 4 - Uncanny Christmas Special
Bafta-winning actor and writer Daisy May Cooper thinks she shares her Cotswolds home with the spirit of a dead highwayman and a pair of disembodied legs, among other things. Now she’s called on the help of Danny Robins to investigate.
Click to expand...

Also on the iplayer and BBC sounds:
Sounds Iconic: Ghostly Christmas
BBC - Programmes categorised as Drama: Horror & Supernatural
BBC Sounds - Categories - Horror & Supernatural

This year was the 50th anniversary of The Wicker Man. On December 2nd Radio 4 extra had an evening of programmes either about it, or involving the actors in it. See the schedule for that day between 5.00pm and 10.00pm
BBC Radio 4 Extra - Schedules, Saturday 2 December 2023
The film itself is currently on the iplayer, as is a 1998 documentary about it.
All up for a couple more weeks.
 
All of the 'classic' stories are available as a set for purchase on Prime, and many are on Youtube if you want to collate your own Yuletide haunting, shame the Beeb isn't repeating any this year.
 
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