Christopher Lee's Fireside Tales/Charles Dickens' Last Ghost Story

[mrs_emma_peel]

Apart from the sublime Scrooge (1951) with Alistair Sim ... there doesn't seem to be many classic ghost/horror stories around on television or radio this Christmas ... however I have found a few on Radio4 Extra.

Christopher Lee's Fireside Tales
BBC Radio4 Extra ...
Monday 26th December - Friday 30th December 2011 ... 9.00-9.15pm

1) The Black Cat
The master of horror shares a classic creepy yarn. Black cats loom large in Edgar Allen Poe's story of feline revenge ... 1/5

2) The Man of Science
The famed horror actor recounts Jerome K Jerome's piquant story of a doctor being hunted from beyond the grave ... 2/5

3) John Charrington's Wedding
The master of fright shares E Nesbit's spine tingler about a wedding that is all too literally from hell ... 3/5

4) The Man and the Snake
The master of terror shares Ambrose Bierce's scary story of serpents and hallucination, with a real sting in its tail ... 4/5

5) The Monkey's Paw.
The master of terror shares WW Jacobs' classic tale of a sinister talisman sparking untold horror for a dear old couple ... 5/5

The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
BBC Radio4 Extra ... Tuesday 27th December 2011 ... 9.15-10.00pm

Charles Dickens' last Christmas ghost story is a vivid account of a man tormented by his past.
With Michael Tudor-Barnes and John Moffatt.
Emma

[Nimuae]

Thanks for that information - I adore Christopher Lee - could listen to him reciting the 'phone book !

[Edward G]

Cheers Mrs Peel -able to pick out the nuggets as always!

[jaycad]

Cheers! It's a pity that they're not being aired the week leading up to the 25th as Christmas ends on Boxing Day in my world! I've had to buy the Australian Region free release of the BBC M.R. James 'Ghost Stories for Christmas' boxset to console myself for the lack of the traditional Christmas ghost story on T.V. this year.

[Windthrop]

What no MR James this year ! - must admit last years wasn't one of the best. That said it was a remake of the Jonathan Miller classic.

[jaycad]

What no MR James this year ! - must admit last years wasn't one of the best. That said it was a remake of the Jonathan Miller classic.

I don't think M.R.James' tales work well with a modern day setting but they certainly don't work when every single aspect is compromised! I'd love to see a new adaptation of 'The Tractate Middoth' but in its correct setting.

[Windthrop]

I don't think M.R.James' tales work well with a modern day setting but they certainly don't work when every single aspect is compromised! I'd love to see a new adaptation of 'The Tractate Middoth' but in its correct setting.

or how about raiding the ourve of Robert Aickman ?

[jaycad]

or how about raiding the ourve of Robert Aickman ?

I'm surprised at how little of Aickman and Algernon Blackwoods work has been adapted-Oliver Onions is another whose work would be ideal for the screen.

[Windthrop]

There is a docu on Aickman this thursday on R4

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The Unsettled Dust: The Strange Stories of Robert Aickman

[Timmy_Lea]

[jaycad]

There is a docu on Aickman this thursday on R4

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - The Unsettled Dust: The Strange Stories of Robert Aickman

Thanks for the info Windthrop!