For decades, the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series has provided a uniquely chilling counterpoint to traditional festive cheer. This year's instalment, The Room in the Tower, continues that proud tradition with a masterfully unsettling tale written and directed by Mark Gatiss.
A Nightmare That Spans a Lifetime
The story centres on Roger Winstanley, played with palpable unease by Tobias Menzies. An ordinary middle-class man, his life has been haunted since childhood by a terrifying, recurring dream. During the Blitz, he confesses this to a stranger in a Tube tunnel, driven by a sense of impending mortality. The dream always involves a slight school acquaintance, Jack Stone, who invites him to tea at his family's grand Tudor mansion.
There, Roger encounters the Stone family, who sit in eerie, posed silence. The only figure who speaks is Jack's mother, the steely matriarch Mrs Julia Stone, portrayed with formidable force by Joanna Lumley. Her recurring line, dripping with menace, seals Roger's fate: "Jack will show you your room. I've given you the room in the tower."
From Premonition to Terrifying Reality
The narrative reveals that Roger's dream is a grim premonition. When a real-life invitation leads him to that very house, he finds himself allocated the dreaded room in the tower. Inside, he is confronted by a haunting self-portrait of Mrs Stone, described with beautifully antique prose that echoes the original E.F. Benson story from 1912. The production excels in its atmospheric craft, from fish-eye-lens cinematography to a subtly suspenseful score, building a pervasive sense of dread.
Lumley's performance is a standout, transforming Mrs Stone into a figure of profound horror—a chilling hybrid of Miss Havisham and the supernatural spectacle of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". At nearly 80, Dame Joanna proves she remains fearlessly committed to her craft.
Why This Christmas Tradition Endures
Unlike more graphic horror, The Room in the Tower trades on psychological terror and lingering mystery. Gatiss wisely avoids neat resolutions, understanding that the power of a ghost story lies in its unanswered questions and the unsettling elision between the supernatural and the real. This gem-like piece of entertainment arrives as a welcome annual gift, proving that even amidst the BBC's perennial challenges, this intricate, spooky series remains a vital part of the British Christmas landscape.
First broadcast in 1976 with an adaptation of "The Signalman", the series has consistently offered a more insidious chill than the camp horrors of Hammer films. This year's tale, airing on Christmas Eve 2025, ensures that tradition of exquisite, polished fear continues for audiences to enjoy, and be troubled by, for years to come.
