Mark Gatiss, master of the macabre, presents chilling Christmas stories for a cold winter’s night.
Although they are all impeccable with perfect casting, faultless acting and the ideal mix of horror and comedy, we have shuffled them in to the order we found most enjoyable
- The Mezzotint
1923. Edward Williams, gentleman and amateur golfer, lives an untroubled life as the curator of a small university museum. His speciality is the topography of the British Isles. So when an art dealer sends him details of an interesting engraving – a mezzotint – of an old country house, he’s intrigued.
When the picture arrives, however, it seems perfectly ordinary – until Williams notices a figure in the picture where there was none before. A cloaked figure, with a skull-like head and legs that are horribly thin. Soon, within the mezzotint, the figure seems to be on the move across the moonlit lawn towards the house with murderous intent.
Long-forgotten secrets rise to the surface as Williams and his friends summon all the rational forces at their command to confront the impossible.
2. The Dead Room
Mark Gatiss brings the Christmas ghost story tradition back to life with The Dead Room, the tale of a long-running radio horror series of the same name. It made me think of Berberian Sound Studio initially,
3. Count Magnus
Sweden, 1863. A country not much visited by Englishmen. An exception is the inquisitive Mr Wraxhall, whose innocent rummaging through the archives of the noble de la Gardie family takes a sinister turn.
Wraxhall becomes fascinated by the long-dead founder of the dynasty, the fearsome Count Magnus, a tyrannical ruler who dabbled in alchemy and who once made a strange journey to the Holy Land on most unholy business. Despite the warnings of his hosts, Wraxhall is drawn ever deeper into the Count’s dark world and discovers that the dreaded aristocrat may not lie easy in his tomb…
4. Martin’s Close
Adaptation of a ghost story by MR James. 1684. John Martin is on trial for his life. Facing him, the infamous ‘hanging judge’ George Jeffreys. However, this is not a cut-and-dried murder case.
Watch all episodes on BBC iPlayer
Read more features here
