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I'm very fond of the traditional ghost story- and a well made film with a ghost story as its subject. I particularly enjoy the ghost stories of M. R. James:
and stories by Shirley Jackson and E. F. Benson. It used to be the case that at Christmas and/or Hallowe'en, BBC2 or BBC1 would present a dramatisation of an M. R. James story-
or show 'Night Of The Demon' or 'The Seventh Victim' or 'Witchfinder General'- which made the festive season slightly more bearable.
If you're looking for an autumnal chill, I can happily recommend also 'Mrs Amworth' and 'The Devil Rides Out'.
and for the younger ones, I found 'Children of the Stones' quite effective on my nephews and nieces.
or the odd episode of 'Sapphire and Steel'- the man who escapes into old photographs was a favourite.
Atkinson Grimshaw is one artist I always associate with this time of year:
Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was a medieval scholar; Provost of King’s College, Cambridge. He wrote many of his ghost stories to be read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. His stories often use rural settings, with a quiet, scholarly protagonist getting caught up in the activities of supernatural forces. The details of horror are almost never explicit, the stories relying on a gentle, bucolic background to emphasise the awfulness of the otherworldly intrusions.
“Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” was written as two collections, presented here as two volumes in a single work. There is a short author’s preface before the first story in each volume.
“Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” was written as two collections, presented here as two volumes in a single work. There is a short author’s preface before the first story in each volume.
and stories by Shirley Jackson and E. F. Benson. It used to be the case that at Christmas and/or Hallowe'en, BBC2 or BBC1 would present a dramatisation of an M. R. James story-
The predecessor to the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series, this 1968 adaptation of M.R. James' story "O, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad" was originally screened as part of the BBC's Omnibus series. It tells the tale of a socially isolated intellectual on holiday (Professor Parkins, played by Michael Hordern) who finds an old whistle while enjoying a coastal walk. After trying the whistle, he experiences increasingly disturbing nightmares which threaten his sanity.
or show 'Night Of The Demon' or 'The Seventh Victim' or 'Witchfinder General'- which made the festive season slightly more bearable.
If you're looking for an autumnal chill, I can happily recommend also 'Mrs Amworth' and 'The Devil Rides Out'.
and for the younger ones, I found 'Children of the Stones' quite effective on my nephews and nieces.
or the odd episode of 'Sapphire and Steel'- the man who escapes into old photographs was a favourite.
Atkinson Grimshaw is one artist I always associate with this time of year: