Mark Gatiss has masterfully revived the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series, blending faithful adaptations with fresh perspectives to continue the tradition of spine-chilling festive tales, writes RICHARD MARKWORTH
For fright fans of a certain vintage, the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas strand holds fond memories of 1970s Yuletide viewing.
Its adaptations of classic literary tales of the supernatural, along with a pair of contemporary stories, added spooky spice to the festive season and became a staple of the Christmas viewing schedules.
The first seven segments of the original run were directed by the legendary Lawrence Gordon Clark with 1978’s The Ice House helmed by Derek Lister. Sadly, there would be no further instalment to see out the decade.
However, this would not be the final laying to rest of the series and its unquiet spirit would eventually rise to haunt audiences again.
A Ghost Story for Christmas was briefly resuscitated in 2005 with an entry derived from M R James’ A View from a Hill and continued the following year with the same author’s Number 13. Clark was not involved in this mini revival, with these solid episodes being directed by Luke Watson and Pier Wilkie respectively.
The next few Christmases saw no further manifestations other than director Andy de Emmony’s bleak version of Whistle and I’ll Come to You, starring John Hurt, in 2010.
It was not until Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock) took the reins for his take on M R James’ The Tractate Middoth in 2013 that the groundwork was laid for the series to materialize onto our screens on a regular basis once more.
Who is Mark Gatiss?
A vastly talented writer and actor, Gatiss is famously a genuine enthusiast for all things fantastic and an avid fan of the original sequence. Having been commissioned by the BBC to produce a documentary on James, whose stories were a mainstay of the 1970s A Ghost Story For Christmas, he seized the opportunity to include writing and directing his own adaptation as part of his conditions for taking on the project.
The Tractate Middoth, concerning a vindictive clergyman (David Ryall) whose malignancy continues to torment his relatives after his earthly demise, was patently a labour of love for Gatiss. He successfully provided an entertaining and eerie tale containing all the required ingredients to enable his version of the story to sit comfortably alongside it’s classic 1970s predecessors. Furthermore, he sowed the seeds for a full resurrection of the series.
Surprisingly, it would be five years until Gatiss would provide a new A Ghost Story for Christmas, this time choosing to write and direct an original piece, The Dead Room (2018).
Set in the present day, this tale of aging thespian Aubrey Judd (Simon Callow), haunted by phantoms of the past, is ironically somewhat derivative but certainly has its spooky moments and contains a superb central performance by Callow.
Gatiss returned in 2019, revisiting the works of M R James with a dramatisation of the author’s Martin’s Close, in which the cruel treatment of simple-minded peasant girl, Ann Clark (Jessica Temple), by rich cad John Martin (Wilf Scolding) is punished from beyond the veil.
Although utilising traditional source material, Gatiss once again adds his own spin by introducing a 21st century narrator (Simon Williams) to the proceedings. Gatiss keeps the action moving swiftly and it is clear he is firmly finding his feet by this point in the series.
Although there would be no visitation the following year, Gatiss was thankfully back in 2021 with another helping from James’ oeuvre. The Mezzotint starred Rory Kinnear as a museum curator who, disturbingly, acquires a haunted picture and is arguably the best of Gatiss’ first four episodes.
He not only expertly builds suspense but his increasingly confident changes to James’ text, although considered controversial in some quarters of fandom, ably assist the smooth transition of the tale to television.
2022 saw Gatiss tackling James’ Count Magnus. This was a particular fillip for fans of the 70s strand as Clark had intended to include it in his own run but was stymied when the BBC’s purse holders stingily declined to stump up the required budget.
Gatiss certainly delivers a treat with the long-awaited adaptation, providing a wonderfully eerie telling of James’ Sweden-set creeper in which inquisitive English scholar, Wraxham (a marvellous Jason Watkins), falls foul of the titular undead Count and his unholy companion.
The next offering saw Gatiss diverge from the masterly works of M R James. This time the writer/director opted to film Lot No. 249 (2023) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
More Hammer horror than fireside ghost story, this production nonetheless proved a worthy addition to the canon with Gatiss conjuring a rattling yarn involving stout-hearted Englishman, Abercrombie Smith (Kit Harington), battling devilish foreign influences in the form of oily necromancer Edward Bellingham (Freddie Fox) and his supernaturally mobile Egyptian mummy.
Gatiss would vary the formula again for 2024’s presentation, Woman of Stone, based on Edith Nesbit’s Man-Size in Marble. Here, he cleverly features Nesbit herself (portrayed by Celia Imrie) in his narrative.
As she faces her final days, Edith relays her account of a troubled young couple menaced by the stone statues of two knights, who allegedly come to murderous life once a year, to her attending physician, Doctor Zubin (Mawaan Rizwan). The result is another entertaining and unsettling late night delight.
With this, his seventh entry, Mark Gatiss has equalled the output of the greatly respected Lawrence Gordon Clark. However, for some nebulous reason, he remains a divisive figure amongst a certain stratum of fandom as evidenced by comments on various online forums. It seems there is an element who believes he can do no right, with criticisms ranged against such targets as his amendments to the source text, casting choices, direction etc.
Whilst I fully appreciate the passionate nature of genre aficionados, opinions are, after all, merely that. It is surely impossible to handle established and much-loved properties in a manner that will fully satisfy all interested parties.
My own opinion is that Gatiss’ work has continued to improve as the series has progressed. He has a true sense of atmosphere, is adept at creating tension and able to provide satisfying, self-contained, supernatural thrillers within the narrow framework of a 30 minute drama.
Furthermore, I feel we fans owe the gentleman a degree of gratitude for his heroic efforts in revitalising and maintaining A Ghost Story for Christmas. Simply put, it is highly unlikely Auntie Beeb would have deigned to provide us with our regular festive scares without his input.
Interestingly, Gatiss has stated Man-Size in Marble was the first ghost story he ever read. Should 2024’s highly involving chiller prove to be his last then it would be a fitting way to round off his immense contribution to this Christmas TV tradition.
Personally, I hope he chooses to furnish us with many more of his uncanny seasonal gifts in the years to come.
Have you enjoyed any of Mark Gatiss’ adaptations for A Ghost Story for Christmas? Let us know in the comments!
