A Ghost Story for Christmas (1971)
A strand of annual British short television adaptations of classic ghost stories, referencing the oral tradition of telling supernatural tales at Christmas. First broadcast on BBC One from 1971 to 1978, and revived in 2005 on BBC Four.
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Episode 1 - The Stalls of Barchester
Release Date: 1971-12-24An ambitious cleric murders an aged Archdeacon at Barchester Cathedral. However, he is soon being stalked by a sinister black cat and by a hooded figure both of whom seem to be embodiments of carvings on the cathedral's choir stalls.
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Episode 2 - A Warning to the Curious
Release Date: 1972-12-24An amateur archaeologist travels to a remote seaside town in Norfolk to search for the lost crown of Anglia, but after unearthing it is haunted by a mysterious black figure.
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Episode 3 - Lost Hearts
Release Date: 1973-12-25An orphan moves into the house of his uncle, but is disturbed by visions of a pair of ghostly children. Is their message a warning to be fearful of his uncle's obsession with immortality?
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Episode 4 - Treasure of Abbot Thomas
Release Date: 1974-12-23A respected theologian and his protégé unearth clues to find the hidden treasure of a disgraced monk in an abbey library. Should he have heeded his own advice not to go treasure hunting?
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Episode 5 - The Ash-tree
Release Date: 1975-12-23An aristocrat inherits his family estate and is haunted by visions of his ancestor's role in a witchcraft trial.
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Episode 6 - The Signalman
Release Date: 1976-12-22A railway signalman tells a curious traveller how he is being troubled by a ghostly spectre that seems to predict calamity.
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Episode 7 - Stigma
Release Date: 1977-12-28Whilst clearing the ground for a new lawn, a family find a huge flat rock in their garden. It is so heavy it needs a crane to remove it. In doing so, they release a spirit which has terrible consequences for the family.
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Episode 8 - The Ice House
Release Date: 1978-12-25The story concerns a health spa visited by Paul (John Stride) , strange incidents occur with members of staff whom Paul notices are all icy cold to the touch. The Brother and sister owners seem otherworldly , as do the residents, and they have a strange relationship with two vines.......
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Episode 9 - A View From a Hill
Release Date: 2005-12-23A historian has a disturbing experience after borrowing a pair of binoculars belonging to a missing outcast and venturing up a notorious landmark.
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Episode 10 - Number 13
Release Date: 2006-12-22An academic researcher repudiates local superstitions surrounding a devilish house. However, repeated visions and noises during the night suggest he may be proved wrong.
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Episode 11 - Whistle and I'll Come to You
Release Date: 2010-12-24Leaving his ill and ageing wife in a care home, a retired astronomer revisits one of their old coastal haunts, but after discovering a ring on the beach is soon haunted himself.
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Episode 12 - The Tractate Middoth
Release Date: 2013-12-25A young librarian receives a request for an obscure Hebrew book from a sinister gentleman, unaware of its contents.
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Episode 13 - The Dead Room
Release Date: 2018-12-24Aubrey Judd, veteran radio presenter of The Dead Room, soon realises that elements of his own past are not as dead and buried as he perhaps hoped.
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Episode 14 - Martin's Close
Release Date: 2019-12-24Adaptation 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.
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Episode 15 - The Mezzotint
Release Date: 2021-12-241923. In the heart of an old English college, Edward Williams receives an engraving of of an unknown country house with an imposing facade, a sweeping lawn - and, just perhaps, something else.
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Episode 16 - Count Magnus
Release Date: 2022-12-24The inquisitive Mr Wraxhall discovers that a long-dead Swedish nobleman does not lie easy in his tomb.
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Episode 17 - Lot No. 249
Release Date: 2023-12-24An Oxford University student becomes obsessed with an ancient Egyptian mummy.