The BBC's cherished tradition of festive frights continues this year with Mark Gatiss's adaptation of E.F. Benson's 'The Room in the Tower', a chilling half-hour drama featuring a perfectly understated performance from Tobias Menzies. This annual Ghost Story for Christmas, now available on iPlayer, weaves a tale of recurring nightmares that may prove too intense for younger viewers.
A Festive Tradition of Fear
Since its inception in 1968, the BBC's Ghost Story for Christmas series has provided a spooky counterpoint to seasonal cheer. In recent years, writer and director Mark Gatiss has helmed these annual offerings, adapting classic tales from masters of the macabre. Moving beyond his frequent source, M.R. James, Gatiss has turned to E.F. Benson, better known for the Mapp & Lucia novels but also a prolific writer of 'spook stories'.
This year's entry, 'The Room in the Tower', was originally published in 1912. Gatiss has deftly reset part of the narrative during the Second World War, framing the core ghostly tale within a London air raid shelter.
The Spiral of a Recurring Nightmare
The story centres on Roger Winstanley, played by Tobias Menzies, who recounts a lifelong, terrifying dream to a stranger, Verity (Nancy Carroll), as they wait out a bombing raid. From his schooldays, Roger has been haunted by a vision of arriving at a friend's house for tea, only to be told by the boy's mother, Julia (a chilling Joanna Lumley), that he will stay in 'the room in the tower'. The dream always ends before he discovers the room's horror.
The nightmare evolves over the years, but its dreadful climax remains elusive. The terror culminates when, as an adult, Roger visits a cheerful friend's house for tennis, only to find it is the very location of his dreams. The matriarch, now played by Polly Walker, delivers the same fateful line, sending him to the dreaded room and forcing a confrontation with the source of his fear.
A Shift into Horror Territory
While steeped in the atmospheric, whispered dread that defines the best ghost stories, Gatiss's adaptation, with Benson's original twist, verges on outright horror. The conclusion provides a satisfyingly creepy payoff that is likely to terrify young children, making it a piece for discerning festive viewers rather than a broad family audience.
The production continues the series' tradition of offering quality, actor-led drama with a distinct seasonal shiver. As with previous instalments, it serves as a welcome, if spine-tingling, festive fixture.
'The Room in the Tower: A Ghost Story for Christmas' aired on BBC One and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.
