Season 1

A Ghost Story for Christmas

Season 1

Dec 24, 1971 19 episodes

Episodes

The Stalls of Barchester

Episode 1

The Stalls of Barchester

Dec 24, 1971 45 min

An 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.

A Warning to the Curious

Episode 2

A Warning to the Curious

Dec 24, 1972 50 min

An 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.

Lost Hearts

Episode 3

Lost Hearts

Dec 25, 1973 35 min

An 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?

Treasure of Abbot Thomas

Episode 4

Treasure of Abbot Thomas

Dec 23, 1974 37 min

A respected theologian and his protΓ©gΓ© 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?

The Ash-tree

Episode 5

The Ash-tree

Dec 23, 1975 32 min

An aristocrat inherits his family estate and is haunted by visions of his ancestor's role in a witchcraft trial.

The Signalman

Episode 6

The Signalman

Dec 22, 1976 38 min

A railway signalman tells a curious traveller how he is being troubled by a ghostly spectre that seems to predict calamity.

Stigma

Episode 7

Stigma

Dec 28, 1977 32 min

Whilst 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.

The Ice House

Episode 8

The Ice House

Dec 25, 1978 34 min

The 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.......

A View From a Hill

Episode 9

A View From a Hill

Dec 23, 2005 39 min

A historian has a disturbing experience after borrowing a pair of binoculars belonging to a missing outcast and venturing up a notorious landmark.

Number 13

Episode 10

Number 13

Dec 22, 2006 40 min

An academic researcher repudiates local superstitions surrounding a devilish house. However, repeated visions and noises during the night suggest he may be proved wrong.

Whistle and I'll Come to You

Episode 11

Whistle and I'll Come to You

Dec 24, 2010 52 min

Leaving 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.

The Tractate Middoth

Episode 12

The Tractate Middoth

Dec 25, 2013 35 min

A young librarian receives a request for an obscure Hebrew book from a sinister gentleman, unaware of its contents.

The Dead Room

Episode 13

The Dead Room

Dec 24, 2018 28 min

Aubrey 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.

Martin's Close

Episode 14

Martin's Close

Dec 24, 2019 31 min

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.

The Mezzotint

Episode 15

The Mezzotint

Dec 24, 2021 29 min

1923. 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.

Count Magnus

Episode 16

Count Magnus

Dec 24, 2022 30 min

The inquisitive Mr Wraxhall discovers that a long-dead Swedish nobleman does not lie easy in his tomb.

Lot No. 249

Episode 17

Lot No. 249

Dec 24, 2023 29 min

An Oxford University student becomes obsessed with an ancient Egyptian mummy.

Woman of Stone

Episode 18

Woman of Stone

Dec 24, 2024 30 min

Newlywed couple Jack and Laura move to a village where a legend says marble knight effigies in the church come alive on Christmas Eve. Jack dismisses it as folklore, but on Christmas Eve, he feels drawn to the church, leaving Laura alone.

The Room in the Tower

Episode 19

The Room in the Tower

Dec 24, 2025 30 min

For 15 years, Roger Winstanley has been haunted by an unsettling, recurring dream: an invitation to spend the night in the house of an acquaintance, where an unseen terror lurks and the figures who populate the dream seem to age in real time. Nightmare and waking life seem to finally collide when an invitation to the dreaded "room in the tower” becomes all too real…