A Ghost Story for Christmas

Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: M.R. James & Lawrence Gordon Clark
Cast: Robert Hardy, Clive Swift, Thelma Barlow, Will Leighton, Harold Bennett, Penny Service, Martin Hoyle, Eric Chitty, David Pugh & Ambrose Coghil
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Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: M.R. James & Lawrence Gordon Clark
Cast: Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Julian Herington, John Kearney, David Cargill, George Benson, Roger Millner, Gilly Fraser, David Pugh & Cyril Appleton
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Mr Paxton, a recently unemployed clerk, travels to Norfolk from London for a spell of amateur archaeology. He has made the special journey to try his luck in finding one of the three ancient crowns of Norfolk. The tale goes that three crowns were buried to protect the Norfolk coastline from invasion, one of which had been lost to the encroaching sea, another stolen and melted down. The clerk finds that his aspirations may weigh a heavy price when he encounters a fearful spectre closing in on him.

Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: M.R. James & Robin Chapman
Cast: Simon Gipps-Kent, Joseph O'Conor, James Mellor, Susan Richards, Christopher Davis, Michelle Foster & Roger Milner
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Stephen, a young orphan, goes to stay with his reclusive cousin Abney in his large old house in the country. The boy is haunted by two ghostly children who had stayed at the house but disappeared under Abney's charge. Although Abney seems to be a likeably odd, if rather silly eccentric old man, Stephen begins to wonder if there is something more disturbing behind his cousin's peculiarities. Perhaps the ghostly children are trying to warn the young lad of how they had lost their lives?

Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: M.R. James & John Bowen
Cast: Sheila Dunn, Anne Blake, Frank Mills, Virginia Balfour, Paul Lavers, Michael Bryant, John Herrington & Peggy Aitchison
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Historian Reverend Justin Somerton enlists the help of former pupil Peter, Lord Dattering in the endeavour to uncover the truth behind archaic writings of Abbot Thomas. The Abbot who was said to be an alchemist allegedly concealed a fortune of gold somewhere within the grounds of the University, guarded by a supernatural guardian.

Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: M.R. James & David Rudkin
Cast: Edward Petherbridge, Preston Lockwood, Barbara Ewing, Lalla Ward, Lucy Giffiths, Oliver Maguire, Clifford Kershaw, Cyril Appleton, David Pugh & Glynn Sweet
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Sir Richard returns from Italy to take charge of his inheritance, an ancestral stately home in England. Along with the house and grounds come other legacies - Sir Richard begins to be haunted by visions from the past of his ancestor Sir Matthew and Anne Mothersole, who was hung for witchcraft. Pestilent forces are at work in the estate, and Sir Richard's decision of disturbing the Mothersole grave to extend Castringham church making room for a new family pew, is not a wise one.

Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: Charles Dickens & Andrew Davies
Cast: Denholm Elliott, Bernard Lloyd, Reginald Jessup & Carina Wyeth
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A traveller makes the acquaintance of a signalman who works the evening shift along a lonely stretch of rail track. The signalman has a tale to tell of a ghostly apparition which appears to warn of impending disaster. As they drink tea and toast their toes they chat about the ghostly figure that has been seen hiding in the shadows at the mouth of a tunnel just prior to an oncoming accident. The gentleman tries to reassure his new acquaintance but the signalman is a troubled man who feels powerless to stop approaching events.

Director: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Writing Credits: Clive Exton
Cast: Kate Binchy, Peter Bowles, Maxine Gordon, Jon Laurimore, Christopher Blake & John Judd
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Katherine brings out some tea for the workmen who have been engaged to remove a large rock from the family cottage garden. As the large boulder is being lifted, Katherine is hit by an inexplicable gust of wind, as if something from under the rock has suddenly been set free. Upon returning to the cottage to go about her business, Katherine discovers she is bleeding profusely from her face and chest despite not having any noticeable wounds.

Director: Derek Lister
Writing Credits: John Bowen
Cast: John Stride, Elizabeth Romilly, Geoffrey Burridge, David Beames, Gladys Spencer, Eirene Beck, Sam Avent, Dennis Jennings & Ronald Mayer
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Paul becomes suspicious as to what is inside an old ice house on the grounds of the health farm where he is staying. He is also concerned as to the reason why the members of staff and other patrons complain of the cold and why the owners of the establishment are evasive as well as acting strangely upon questioning.

Director: Luke Watson
Writing Credits: M.R. James & Peter Harness
Cast: Mark Letheren, Pip Torrens, David Burke & Simon Linnell

Director: Pier Wilkie
Writing Credits: M.R. James & Justin Hopper
Cast: Greg Wise, Paul Freeman, David Burke, Tom Burke, Charlotte Comer & Anton Saunders