Behind the Couch

Throughout this month I’ve been looking at various Christmassy horror titles, many of which were made by the BBC and have been released for the first time by the BFI as part of their Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film season.  With recent releases such as the surviving episodes of the long thought lost Dead of Night , a creepy BBC anthology series, and the Ghost Stories for Christmas collection, which includes many adaptations of the work of M.R. James, the BFI has provided access to long sought after and historically significant horror rarities. These releases have been part of a staggering array of BFI film screenings and special events throughout the UK this year, all in celebration of our Gothic cinematic heritage. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Dunn, the BFI’s Head of Video Publishing, and Rhidian Davis, Season Organiser of Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film.  Head over to Diabolique to read it .

2013 Dir. Mark Gatiss When a young librarian is tasked with locating an obscure Hebrew tome for a sinister gentleman, he has a terrifying experience in the stacks. Soon afterwards he becomes embroiled in a search for the last will and testament of the spiritually corrupt uncle of rival siblings… Since the early Seventies the BBC has had a tradition of broadcasting ghost stories during the festive period, predominantly adapted from the work of medieval scholar and former Provost of Kings College, Cambridge, MR James. James wrote many of his, now classic, ghost stories to be read aloud to his friends and colleagues on Christmas Eve. The BBC series drew to an end in the late Seventies but was revived again in the Noughties with adaptations of James's  Number 13, A View from a Hill and a reinterpretation of Whistle and I’ll Come to You . This year’s instalment, another James adaptation, marks the directorial debut of writer/actor Mark Gatiss, best known for his work with The Lea...

Dir. Andy de Emmony After placing his wife Alice (Gemma Jones) in a care home, retired astronomer James Parkin (John Hurt) heads for the coast to revisit their ‘old haunts’, including the now out-of-season hotel they honeymooned in. By day he is stalked along the windswept beaches by a spectral figure dressed in white, and by night he is terrorised by strange sounds and someone, or something, attempting to enter his room… In the 2000s BBC4 attempted to reignite the old Ghost Story at Christmas tradition by adapting MR James’s A View from a Hill (2005) and Number 13 (2006). This series was short lived though, as their next outing wasn’t until 2010, and another reinterpretation of James’s classic chiller Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad . De Emmony’s direction captures the atmosphere and tone of James very well, and this film differs significantly from Jonathan Miller’s supremely unsettling 1968 take  due to a disarmingly emotional core. Neil Cross’s screenplay incorp...

1974 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas tells of a scholarly Reverend and his young protégé’s search for hidden treasure said to have been buried within a monastery by a disgraced abbot. Much to their detriment the duo ignore ominous warnings of an otherworldly guardian protecting the treasure… The Treasure of Abbot Thomas is a rather typical James story in that it unfurls as a cautionary tale involving the unearthing of a mysterious - reputedly fabled - buried object, only for the excavator to fall foul of the supernatural entity protecting said object. In adapting James’s short story for television, screenwriter John Bowen ( Robin Redbreast, The Ice House ) introduces the character of young scholar Peter Dattering (Paul Lavers), who accompanies Reverend Somerton (Michael Bryant, The Stone Tape ) during ...

1975 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, The Ash Tree was the last of several MR James adaptations directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Written for television by David Rudkin, It stars Edward Petherbridge in the dual role of Sir Richard, an 18th century aristocrat who inherits the vast estate of his late uncle, and of Sir Matthew, his 17th century ancestor whose role in local witch trials, and the death of Ann Mothersole (Barbara Ewing), haunts Sir Richard.  With a slim running time (just over 30 minutes) The Ash Tree is one of the shortest entries in the series, but it is also one of the densest. The amount of detail and information packed in, without compromising or diluting the impact of the source material, is admirable. Clarke manages to convey events and flashbacks by utilising an interesting narrative structure and some ...

1972 Dir. Don Taylor The Exorcism was part of the BBC’s Dead of Night horror anthology series from the early Seventies. Unfortunately not all of the episodes of the series have survived – three out of seven are all that is left, but they exemplify the series perfectly, capturing that unmistakably creepy and strangely nostalgic feel of ‘hide behind the couch’ television horror from yesteryear. The Exorcism tells of four friends who gather for Christmas dinner at a recently renovated old cottage in the English countryside. Throughout the evening a series of creepy occurrences suggest the spirits of the previous tenants do not rest in peace… The first episode to be broadcast, The Exorcism unfurls as a thoughtful critique of middle class attitudes and complacency, with several characters attempting to reconcile their wealth with their socialist upbringing. The juxtaposition between their fickle chit-chat, contemporary ‘concerns’ and bountiful Christmas spread, with that of the ...

1971 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, The Stalls of Barchester was the first of several MR James adaptations written and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. It tells of one Dr Haynes, an Archdeacon who acquires his status through unscrupulous means, and the dire consequences that await him. Nigel Kneale provided a succinct description of James’ work, and the main themes and ideas that move throughout it, when he said: His victim-characters are usually lonely men, antiquarians investigating ancient manuscripts and carvings, bachelor amateurs dabbling in the esoteric. Suddenly and troublingly they may find themselves less alone… the enemies are always waiting, ready to be summoned by an unwitting whistle or tampering with a forbidden lock . Prior to 1971, adaptations of the work of MR James had been scarce (not that they’re exactly ri...

1973 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, Lost Hearts was adapted from the short story of the same name by MR James. It tells of a young orphan boy sent to live with his much older cousin at a remote house in the countryside. The boy begins to catch glimpses of two ghostly children with holes in their chests where their hearts should be and suspects his cousin may be involved in something deeply sinister indeed… This was the first of Clark’s adaptations for the Yuletide series he didn't write himself (it was written by Robin Chapman). While it isn’t as downright terrifying as some of the other titles in the series (namely Whistle and I’ll Come to You, A Warning to the Curious and The Stalls of Barchester ), it is just as atmospheric and the subject matter is perhaps the darkest written by James; child sacrifice. With its imperilled...

1972 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, A Warning to the Curious was adapted from the short story of the same name by MR James. It tells of a down on his luck amateur archaeologist who goes treasure hunting along the Norfolk coast in search of the fabled lost crown of Anglia, which supposedly helps protect Britain against invasion. He is soon hounded for his trouble by the crown’s spectral guardian… Lawrence Gordon Clark was responsible for many of the James adaptations in this series. Clark’s approach to revealing the horror is in keeping with James’ own quiet approach and it is unveiled slowly, suggestively, so as to heighten the impact and maintain the foreboding atmosphere of dread. The construction of the opening scene, in which an archaeologist is murdered while digging in search of the crown, is masterfully taut and creepy. T...

1972 Dir. Rodney Bennett A Woman Sobbing was part of the BBC’s Dead of Night horror anthology series from the early Seventies. Unfortunately not all of the episodes of the series have survived – three out of seven are all that is left, but they exemplify the series perfectly, capturing that unmistakably creepy and strangely nostalgic feel of ‘hide behind the couch’ television horror from yesteryear. A Woman Sobbing tells of Jane (Anna Massey), a middle aged woman who, after moving to the country with her family, begins to suspect that her home is haunted by a baleful spectre who ceaselessly weeps throughout the night in the attic room above Jane’s bed. Like many great ghost stories, the most haunting aspect of A Woman Sobbing is its ambiguity. Like most of the other episodes of the series, it unfurls as a study of psychological breakdown in modern society. Supernatural elements are present, but vaguely so. Jane may very well be haunted by a distraught ghost, but then again,...

1977 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark The removal of an ancient menhir from a family’s back garden unleashes a blood curse upon an unwitting woman. This was the seventh and last instalment of A Ghost Story for Christmas to be directed by Gordon Clark, and the first to feature an original story – not an MR James adaptation – in a then contemporary setting. Written specially for television by Clive Exton, Stigma is also much more graphic than any of the other Ghost Story for Christmas films and features a bleak and doomful tone that, while perfectly in keeping with the sombre tone of the earlier James adaptations, also echoes Exton’s prior work such as Doomwatch (1972) and Survivors (1975–1977) . That the horror plays out within the cosy home of a middle class family enhances the impact. Like all good horror stories it features very ordinary people, mundane even, caught up in an incomprehensibly extraordinary situation. The blending of the ancient (the standing stones) with the t...

1968 Dir. Jonathan Miller ‘Who is this who is coming?’ Based on the chilling ghost story (‘Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’, first published in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary , 1905) by the master of ghost tales MR James, Whistle and I’ll Come to You was adapted by the BBC for their arts Omnibus series. The story revolves around the cranky and rationally-minded Professor Parkins (Michael Hordern) as he travels to the Norfolk coast for a brief holiday from his academic work. Out on one of his many perambulations, Parkins discovers an old whistle half buried in the grounds of an ancient cemetery. Reading the titular inscription carved into the whistle, Parkins is able to translate the Latin verse and discovers it reads ‘Who is this who is coming?’ The professor dismisses it pompously and goes about his introverted daily routines of studying and hiking and further alienating himself from the other guests. Later that day though, as the light fades and the wind howls, Park...