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Christopher Lee's Ghost Stories for Christmas
Horror maestro Christopher Lee reads this quartet of supernatural tales, adapted from the stories of M. R. James
Over a century ago, M. R. James was the provost of King's College, Cambridge. He would gather together a select group of students in his rooms every Christmas Eve, and give a candlelit performance of one of his superbly unsettling ghost stories. Christopher Lee recreates the spine-chilling atmosphere of those evenings, as he dons James' mantle to read these four fearful tales.
The Stalls of Barchester - Perusing the papers of Archdeacon Haynes, our narrator uncovers a hidden history of intrigue, murder, a sinister cat and some strange ecclesiastical carvings.
The Ash Tree - When Sir Matthew Fell, squire of Castringham Hall, testifies against suspected witch Mrs Mothersole, she is found guilty and hanged. From that day forward, a series of tragic events afflict the Fell family, all seemingly linked to the old ash tree growing in the Hall grounds...
Number 13 - Staying in Room 12 of the Golden Lion in the Danish town of Viborg, historian Mr Anderson is perturbed by the mystery of the room next door. Who, or what, is the inhabitant of number 13?
A Warning to the Curious - The horrific account of an archaeologist named Paxton, who takes the fateful decision to excavate the last of the legendary East Anglian crowns - and unleashes a terrifying supernatural force...
Over a century ago, M. R. James was the provost of King's College, Cambridge. He would gather together a select group of students in his rooms every Christmas Eve, and give a candlelit performance of one of his superbly unsettling ghost stories. Christopher Lee recreates the spine-chilling atmosphere of those evenings, as he dons James' mantle to read these four fearful tales.
The Stalls of Barchester - Perusing the papers of Archdeacon Haynes, our narrator uncovers a hidden history of intrigue, murder, a sinister cat and some strange ecclesiastical carvings.
The Ash Tree - When Sir Matthew Fell, squire of Castringham Hall, testifies against suspected witch Mrs Mothersole, she is found guilty and hanged. From that day forward, a series of tragic events afflict the Fell family, all seemingly linked to the old ash tree growing in the Hall grounds...
Number 13 - Staying in Room 12 of the Golden Lion in the Danish town of Viborg, historian Mr Anderson is perturbed by the mystery of the room next door. Who, or what, is the inhabitant of number 13?
A Warning to the Curious - The horrific account of an archaeologist named Paxton, who takes the fateful decision to excavate the last of the legendary East Anglian crowns - and unleashes a terrifying supernatural force...
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First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
M.R. James
1,524 books913 followersMontague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. James, was a noted English mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
M.R.^James
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
M.R.^James
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 28, 2022
This was produced twenty years ago as a Christmas special which was not the vibe I was going for in April, but we're here now.
I don't think this was the best way to consume M. R. James stories, because my brain does not want to pick up the details being spoken, and got things confused sometimes. I guess I have to read them, or wait or track down the visual adaptions. I've definitely consumed some of these stories in other forms but I've also been mindlessly consuming from a young age so I'm not sure if it's adaptions or people having took inspiration from James.
Frankly, I want Ghost stories to be a thing at Christmas again. Probably because I'm big believer in Horror being all the year genre.
I don't think this was the best way to consume M. R. James stories, because my brain does not want to pick up the details being spoken, and got things confused sometimes. I guess I have to read them, or wait or track down the visual adaptions. I've definitely consumed some of these stories in other forms but I've also been mindlessly consuming from a young age so I'm not sure if it's adaptions or people having took inspiration from James.
Frankly, I want Ghost stories to be a thing at Christmas again. Probably because I'm big believer in Horror being all the year genre.
Displaying 1 of 1 review