Ghost Stories from the BBC: The Signalman / Stigma / The Ice House (DVD)

Really fine stories and Denholm Elliott is superb as usual.

BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas ran between the years 1971 and 1978. This DVD contains three of those stories.The Signalman, is an adaptation of a short story by Charles Dickens and was telecast in 1976. It is an effectively creepy tale, with the seemingly innocuous words "Hello, below there!" that signals (no pun intended) the beginning of a strange and surreal tale. The phrase is uttered by a traveler (Bernard Lloyd) who is out on a walk when he calls down to a signalman whose gaze appears to be transfixed by something at the mouth of the railway tunnel. The traveler finds the signalman (Denholm Elliott in an understated yet thoroughly convincing performance) strangely afraid of him, but when the signalman discovers the traveler is not whom he thought he was, a friendship of sorts develops between the pair and the traveler joins the signalman at his signal box. Over a cup of tea, the traveler concludes that the signalman is a man of some learning but is obviously suffering some level of anxiety over an unnamed trouble.The story develops slowly but surely, and when the traveler does eventually discover the source of the signalman's anxiety, he tries to help his new friend by providing a rational explanation. Of course, in a ghost story, one knows that not all things can be explained in a rational manner. The performances by both characters are compelling, especially the credible portrayal of the besieged signalman by Elliott. I found the story to be highly atmospheric, and there's a palpable sense of looming danger that permeates the story and is made all the more real by the convincingly creepy soundtrack, especially in the sound of the warning bell.At around 40 minutes, this is a short dramatization, but the cast and story make this one of the best in the series. It left me with a deep sense of melancholy and yes, horror. Recommended for fans of supernatural stories in the classic tradition.The second story, "Stigma" was telecast in 1977 and was scripted by Clive Exton. Unlike the earlier ghost stories featured in this series, especially the first few which were based on the master M.R. James' short stories, I feel Stigma does not really conform to the atmospheric ghost story genre. It is quite straightforward and leaves little to the imagination (which is why I favor the earlier stories and also The Signalman). In this story, a family of three live in a house in the countryside. There is some construction work going on in a field nearby and the disruption of the ancient stone circles in the field unleashes a long dormant terror. The unsuspecting family is impacted, especially the mother who begins to notice bleeding but can't seem to find the source. It is only towards the end, when one of the ancient stones is lifted and a skeleton unearthed does the viewer begin to understand what precipitated these strange events. Though "Stigma" is a supernatural tale, it is not a ghost story and I felt that it was not as well-made as the earlier stories.Lastly, there's "The Ice House" which was telecast in 1978. This story is set at a health spa where mysterious events occur, having to do with a particular flower growing on the grounds. Though it has its creepy moments, I felt that this, in addition to Stigma, was a far cry from the antiquarian feel of the earlier episodes.I would still recommend this as a necessary watch for those who love supernatural themed dramas, and The Signalman is certainly the best of the trilogy featured here. I think there was an attempt to revive the series some years ago, with a return to adaptations of M.R. James' works, i.e. A View From a Hill in 2005, and Number 13 (starring Greg Wise) in 2006. Both were much better than Stigma and The Ice House, but I felt there was still a little something missing in terms of atmosphere.Here is a list of the episodes in the series:The Stalls of Barchester (1971) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesA Warning to the Curious (1972) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesLost Hearts (1973) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesThe Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesThe Ash Tree (1975) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesThe Signalman (1976) - adapted from a story by Charles DickensStigma (1977) - written by Clive ExtonThe Ice House (1978) - written by John BowenMore recent revivals:A View From a Hill (2005) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesNumber 13 (2006) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesFor those who are unable to find the DVDs of these shows, I would suggest looking for them on Youtube. The collected stories are also available as a DVD set on the UK Amazon website.

BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas ran between the years 1971 and 1978. This DVD contains three of those stories.The Signalman, is an adaptation of a short story by Charles Dickens and was telecast in 1976. It is an effectively creepy tale, with the seemingly innocuous words "Hello, below there!" that signals (no pun intended) the beginning of a strange and surreal tale. The phrase is uttered by a traveler (Bernard Lloyd) who is out on a walk when he calls down to a signalman whose gaze appears to be transfixed by something at the mouth of the railway tunnel. The traveler finds the signalman (Denholm Elliott in an understated yet thoroughly convincing performance) strangely afraid of him, but when the signalman discovers the traveler is not whom he thought he was, a friendship of sorts develops between the pair and the traveler joins the signalman at his signal box. Over a cup of tea, the traveler concludes that the signalman is a man of some learning but is obviously suffering some level of anxiety over an unnamed trouble.The story develops slowly but surely, and when the traveler does eventually discover the source of the signalman's anxiety, he tries to help his new friend by providing a rational explanation. Of course, in a ghost story, one knows that not all things can be explained in a rational manner. The performances by both characters are compelling, especially the credible portrayal of the besieged signalman by Elliott. I found the story to be highly atmospheric, and there's a palpable sense of looming danger that permeates the story and is made all the more real by the convincingly creepy soundtrack, especially in the sound of the warning bell.At around 40 minutes, this is a short dramatization, but the cast and story make this one of the best in the series. It left me with a deep sense of melancholy and yes, horror. Recommended for fans of supernatural stories in the classic tradition.The second story, "Stigma" was telecast in 1977 and was scripted by Clive Exton. Unlike the earlier ghost stories featured in this series, especially the first few which were based on the master M.R. James' short stories, I feel Stigma does not really conform to the atmospheric ghost story genre. It is quite straightforward and leaves little to the imagination (which is why I favor the earlier stories and also The Signalman). In this story, a family of three live in a house in the countryside. There is some construction work going on in a field nearby and the disruption of the ancient stone circles in the field unleashes a long dormant terror. The unsuspecting family is impacted, especially the mother who begins to notice bleeding but can't seem to find the source. It is only towards the end, when one of the ancient stones is lifted and a skeleton unearthed does the viewer begin to understand what precipitated these strange events. Though "Stigma" is a supernatural tale, it is not a ghost story and I felt that it was not as well-made as the earlier stories.Lastly, there's "The Ice House" which was telecast in 1978. This story is set at a health spa where mysterious events occur, having to do with a particular flower growing on the grounds. Though it has its creepy moments, I felt that this, in addition to Stigma, was a far cry from the antiquarian feel of the earlier episodes.I would still recommend this as a necessary watch for those who love supernatural themed dramas, and The Signalman is certainly the best of the trilogy featured here. I think there was an attempt to revive the series some years ago, with a return to adaptations of M.R. James' works, i.e. A View From a Hill in 2005, and Number 13 (starring Greg Wise) in 2006. Both were much better than Stigma and The Ice House, but I felt there was still a little something missing in terms of atmosphere.Here is a list of the episodes in the series:The Stalls of Barchester (1971) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesA Warning to the Curious (1972) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesLost Hearts (1973) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesThe Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesThe Ash Tree (1975) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesThe Signalman (1976) - adapted from a story by Charles DickensStigma (1977) - written by Clive ExtonThe Ice House (1978) - written by John BowenMore recent revivals:A View From a Hill (2005) - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesNumber 13 - adapted from a short story by M.R. JamesFor those who are unable to find the DVDs of these shows, I would suggest looking for them on Youtube. The collected stories are also available as a DVD set on the UK Amazon website. I do hope they produce a Region One set very soon for those of us living in the United States as I would love to own a set of these remarkable atmospheric and chilling tales of the supernatural.

I bought this for 'The Signalman' only so can't really comment on the other two - haven't watched them yet. I first saw this when it was shown on the BBC as a Christmas ghost story long before video/DVD. The transfer to DVD isn't brilliant by today's standards but it's all about story and the performance. I used to be a signalman myself in the 80's in a box located miles from anywhere and I can attest from personal experience that strange things happen (if only in your own mind) in the small hours of the morning and I was really glad the door had a lock on the inside :-).

I bought it just for The Signalman and, despite that not state of the art quality (which I don't dislike, because this grainy ruined film quality makes it even more old and mysterious) I think it's one the best horro made in britain. It's mysterious, suggestive, and has a dreamy-like narration and atmosphere that gets even more uncanny and metaphysical when you get to the twist. Horro based on destiny and its mysteries are my favourite and are those who really need great screenwriting and direction not to lose their power.

I have always been fascinated by the "Signalman" ghost story, not factually correct but always gets the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, when it was on TV recently i decided to buy it, well worth the money just for this film alone, i haven't watched the other two films on the DVD yet

Watched this when I was 8 and it scared the life out of me.It’s the usual BBC quality. Very atmospheric and had other short stories which is a bonus.

I love M. R. James's Ghost stories and the service was great too.