Having grown up with Play for Today, Armchair Theatre, Appointment with Fear and countless creepy TV plays, I am re-discovering one such television icon, the series of BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas, ideal for the nights drawing in now that Autumn looms.
Beginning in 1968 with Whistle and I'll Come To You, there followed a uniquely rich seam of television drama exploring the darkest corners of the supernatural. This carried on right up to the Tractate Middoth in 2013 and Remember Me in 2014.
The BBC used stories from classic writers like the great MR James and Charles Dickens, together with modern storytellers like Nigel Kneale and Mark Gatiss. Many of the older episodes have been re-made but I prefer the originals from the Sixties and Seventies, which were all masterclasses in the use of eerie locations and sparingly little music, relying more on lots of creepy quiet to create suspense!
All of these TV gems are really quite unsettling and many of them deal with the fell consequences of a selfish desire to uncover some hidden knowledge, the aftermath for which is usually quite grim for those concerned.
Often ancient objects are used as the catalyst in the story: an old crown, an age-old book, a lost whistle are a few that spring to mind. It is these objects which are coveted and the unseen knowledge they represent even moreso.
Often buried either in soil, sand or in libraries, to name a few locations, these old artifacts would be best left well alone. The usurpers of these artifacts become the victims of their own curiosity.
One of the most startling images is in Whistle and I'll Come to You [1968], that of a dark spectre chasing such a victim, played brilliantly by Michael Horden, across a lonely beach. The spectre looks like a large opaque bin liner but despite this, its awkward and otherworldly movements are really quite disturbing.
All of these TV gems are really quite unsettling and many of them deal with the fell consequences of a selfish desire to uncover some hidden knowledge, the aftermath for which is usually quite grim for those concerned.
Often ancient objects are used as the catalyst in the story: an old crown, an age-old book, a lost whistle are a few that spring to mind. It is these objects which are coveted and the unseen knowledge they represent even moreso.
Often buried either in soil, sand or in libraries, to name a few locations, these old artifacts would be best left well alone. The usurpers of these artifacts become the victims of their own curiosity.
One of the most startling images is in Whistle and I'll Come to You [1968], that of a dark spectre chasing such a victim, played brilliantly by Michael Horden, across a lonely beach. The spectre looks like a large opaque bin liner but despite this, its awkward and otherworldly movements are really quite disturbing.
For the DVD collector there are 5 and 6-disc boxed sets available through the BFI and Amazon et al, together with the individual BFI DVD's released in the early Noughties. I understand that there are also some old VHS releases as well although I have never seen them.
I remember seeing Whistle And I'll Come To You, I think when it was first shown in 1968. Spooky stuff indeed, and a great performance by Michael Hordern.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of the best ones for sure Kid, with A Warning to the Curious coming a close second. I agree, Michael Hordern is superb in Whistle - the way he scoffs his cooked breakfast like a greedy so and so is very memorable. The final scene in his room is a neck hair stander upper!
DeleteYep, Whistle still gives methe chills. Its the startlingly simple fx used to create the spirit on the beach, it captures James story beautifully. The whole thing is wonderfully downplayed and pedestrian, until the appearance of the spirit sets it all on its head, leaving the Prof sucking his thumb in the corner.
ReplyDeleteThere's a similarly chilling ending to Crooked House, a modern BBC Ghost Story, where a light is flickering and we see a deformed ancient naked old man crawling towards the protagonist with evil intent. Creeped the hell out of me!
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