A Ghost Story for Christmas Season 1, Episode 5: The Ash-tree

1

The Stalls of Barchester

An ambitious cleric murders an aged Archdeacon at Barchester Cathedral. However, he is soon being stalked by a sinister black cat and by a hooded figure both of whom seem to be embodiments of carvings on the cathedral's choir stalls.

45 min

2

A Warning to the Curious

An amateur archaeologist travels to a remote seaside town in Norfolk to search for the lost crown of Anglia, but after unearthing it is haunted by a mysterious black figure.

50 min

3

Lost Hearts

An orphan moves into the house of his uncle, but is disturbed by visions of a pair of ghostly children. Is their message a warning to be fearful of his uncle's obsession with immortality?

35 min

4

Treasure of Abbot Thomas

A respected theologian and his protégé unearth clues to find the hidden treasure of a disgraced monk in an abbey library. Should he have heeded his own advice not to go treasure hunting?

37 min

5

The Ash-tree

An aristocrat inherits his family estate and is haunted by visions of his ancestor's role in a witchcraft trial.

32 min

6

The Signalman

A railway signalman tells a curious traveller how he is being troubled by a ghostly spectre that seems to predict calamity.

38 min

7

Stigma

Whilst clearing the ground for a new lawn, a family find a huge flat rock in their garden. It is so heavy it needs a crane to remove it. In doing so, they release a spirit which has terrible consequences for the family.

32 min

8

The Ice House

The story concerns a health spa visited by Paul (John Stride) , strange incidents occur with members of staff whom Paul notices are all icy cold to the touch. The Brother and sister owners seem otherworldly , as do the residents, and they have a strange relationship with two vines.......

34 min

9

A View From a Hill

A historian has a disturbing experience after borrowing a pair of binoculars belonging to a missing outcast and venturing up a notorious landmark.

39 min

10

Number 13

An academic researcher repudiates local superstitions surrounding a devilish house. However, repeated visions and noises during the night suggest he may be proved wrong.

40 min

11

Whistle and I'll Come to You

Leaving his ill and ageing wife in a care home, a retired astronomer revisits one of their old coastal haunts, but after discovering a ring on the beach is soon haunted himself.

52 min

12

The Tractate Middoth

A young librarian receives a request for an obscure Hebrew book from a sinister gentleman, unaware of its contents.

35 min

13

The Dead Room

Aubrey Judd, veteran radio presenter of The Dead Room, soon realises that elements of his own past are not as dead and buried as he perhaps hoped.

28 min

14

Martin's Close

Adaptation of a ghost story by MR James. 1684. John Martin is on trial for his life. Facing him, the infamous 'hanging judge' George Jeffreys. However, this is not a cut-and-dried murder case.

31 min

15

The Mezzotint

1923. In the heart of an old English college, Edward Williams receives an engraving of of an unknown country house with an imposing facade, a sweeping lawn - and, just perhaps, something else.

29 min

16

Count Magnus

The inquisitive Mr Wraxhall discovers that a long-dead Swedish nobleman does not lie easy in his tomb.

30 min

17

Lot No. 249

An Oxford University student becomes obsessed with an ancient Egyptian mummy.

29 min

18

Woman of Stone

Newlywed couple Jack and Laura move to a village where a legend says marble knight effigies in the church come alive on Christmas Eve. Jack dismisses it as folklore, but on Christmas Eve, he feels drawn to the church, leaving Laura alone.

30 min

19

The Room in the Tower

For 15 years, Roger Winstanley has been haunted by an unsettling, recurring dream: an invitation to spend the night in the house of an acquaintance, where an unseen terror lurks and the figures who populate the dream seem to age in real time. Nightmare and waking life seem to finally collide when an invitation to the dreaded "room in the tower” becomes all too real…

30 min