A Ghost Story For Christmas
"The Phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached. When it came, Scrooge bent down upon his knee; for in the very air through which this Spirit moved it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery. It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand...It thrilled [Scrooge] with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black."
Brr, eh? That's from of course A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, by Charles Dickens, and I'm sure you're familiar with the story. But depending on your own Christmas pasts, or Christmas's past, or however you put it, you may not be aware of the long British tradition of ghost stories at Christmas. I can certainly relate -- back on Christmas Eve around 1972 or '73, when I was around ten years old, there was an episode of "Night Gallery" on TV, pretty late at night I'm sure, and I don't know if I talked my sister into staying up with me or vice-versa, but even back then I loved scary stories, movies, TV shows, whatever, if there's a ghost, I'm there. Scared, but there.
Anyway, I remember I was nervous about the show, it had something to do with this guy who inherits an old house that belonged to his dear departed Uncle Zachariah, and there's a trunk in an attic and you weren't supposed to move the trunk -- or something very bad would happen. Brr.
But I stayed up and we watched the show and good grief it scared the bejabbers out of me. My sister may remember differently but I kid you not that I remember that episode to this day, down to the the climatic scene where Uncle Zachariah comes to get the trunk.
I know I remember it very clearly because just a few days ago I managed to get hold of a copy of that very episode. It's called "Fright Night," not to be confused with a very good vampire movie with Roddy McDowell that came out in the 80's, you can tell by the hairstyles. In the movie, that is. But I digress.
I watched "Fright Night" (the episode) and while it's certainly no classic, I was a bit taken aback at how clearly I did remember it, over thirty years later; also it's actually still pretty creepy. What can I say, I don't like trunks in attics. Here's a clip from the show, where we finally get to see ... what's in the trunk. Not for the weak of heart or bladder! It's scary stuff! I'm not kidding! You've been warned!
Oh, just play the clip already ...
So that's a ghost story for Christmas from my own Christmas past, and while I didn't know it at the time, I was actually taking part in a great tradition of the sharing of ghost stories on the eve of the Nativity. And what's the appeal of ghost stories at Christmas, at least in the UK? Maybe because the holiday comes in the depths of winter when the nights are longest? Or that the season of goodwill renders all the creatures of the night powerless for a little while, making them curiosities rather than terrors?
Or maybe we just need a bit of fear to enhance our seasonal and/or traditional pleasures. And while probably the most famous yuletide tale of terror is A Christmas Carol, with its four reforming spirits (especially the last one!), there are quite a few more classics of the genre, with spectres of the supernatural who are, to put it mildly, far less benign.
As for what makes a Christmas ghost story a classic ... there is no formula to a good fright, but there are two recurring themes among the more memorable tales:
1) Sometimes the victims deserve their fate but often they are simply unlucky.
2) Part of the terror of these ghosts is their remorselessness. They cannot be reasoned with or bribed once roused. Neither do they obey man's or nature's laws, making it useless to try and outwit them. Those who try and escape too often find that a ghost's reach is very long.
Both the BBC and ITV have recognized the tradition of a seasonal ghost yarn and rarely a Christmas goes by without at least a supernatural film on or around Christmas Day. In fact, both channels have produced a special eerie drama for the occasion. 
During the seventies the BBC entrusted this job to an annual anthology series entitled, logically enough, A Ghost Story for Christmas, and some of the (rather ominous) titles include A Warning to the Curious, Number 13, The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, and Whistle And I'll Come To You. Rosemary Hill was the producer and Lawrence Gordon Clark directed all but the final installment, and you've probably never heard of them either, but they were an effective team and together produced a rather highly regarded series of creepy Christmas shows.
Most of the stories in the series were based on the work of M. R. James, widely regarded as England's greatest ghost story writer. James wrote with subtlety, and had a fine understanding of human foibles and personalities, particularly academics and clergymen (James was, indeed, an academic and a clergyman). And while his stories are less well known on this side of the pond, his story "Casting The Runes" was made into one of the true classics of the horror genre, Night of the Demon. 
It stars, nominally, Dana Andrews and Peggy Cumins, and they're both fine, but they can't hold a candle to our title character, of which nightmares are made. Seriously, if there is an uglier and/or scarier visage in the history of monster movies, I don't know what it is. And don't tell me Alien because the Demon in Night of the Demon would eat Alien for breakfast. Brrr.
So anyway, ghost stories are part of my Christmas tradition now and what kind of host would I be if I didn't share a ghost story, or two, with you?
Many years ago now, when I was but a mere lad, I was given the gift of an 8mm movie camera. Okay, I wasn't really "given" the camera, I borrowed it from my dad.
And with this camera I was witness to many strange and curious events that, even today, cannot be explained as just the ramblings of a twisted mind. Well, okay, I guess they can be explained as the ramblings of a twisted mind, actually the ramblings of a couple of twisted minds if you count my friend Leon, who could be talked into making movies with me as long as I bought the film.
One summer day, while out for a stroll, little did Leon know that he was about to encounter something so foul, so evil, so horrifying ... and the nightmare was just beginning ...
Click the button below to experience that terrible tale of terror that is ... SKATEBOARD! ...
But wait, there's more! If you haven't already been reduced to a quivering pile of jelly ... can you pile jelly? ... anyway, if that wasn't scary enough, then experience the horror that was unleashed during the dreaded day of the HOOVER OF THE DAMNED!...
Pleasant dreams, everyone! More Christmas fun tomorrow!
