Between 1971 and 1978 the BBC used to dramatise a ghost story every year under the title "A Ghost Story for Christmas", and the first five entries in the series were all based upon tales by that great master of the genre, M. R. James. The tradition has been revived in recent years, and nine more Christmas ghost stories have appeared at irregular intervals since 2005. All of these, apart from "The Dead Room" in 2018, are based upon stories by James; "Count Magnus" is the most recent episode, broadcast on 23 December 2022.
Lawrence Gordon Clark, who directed most of the entries from the seventies, wanted to film this story in 1978, but the BBC vetoed his plan on costs grounds as he wanted to film in Sweden, where the story is set. Mark Gatiss has finally achieved Clark's ambition, but even the 2022 film, ostensibly set in Sweden, was actually shot in Britain.
The action takes place in 1863. Mr Wraxhall, an English gentleman-scholar, travels to Sweden as part of his research for a guidebook to Scandinavia. (His name is spelt in the cast-list as "Wraxhall" although James used the spelling "Wraxall"). There he befriends Froken de la Gardie, a lady from an old aristocratic family, and visits her in her stately home. He becomes fascinated by the story of her ancestor, Count Magnus, an evil man notorious for his harsh and brutal treatment of his tenants and the local peasants, and reputedly also an alchemist, devil-worshipper and necromancer.
Wraxhall is that stock figure from ghost stories, the sceptic who is proved wrong. Local people are reluctant to talk about Count Magnus, whose evil reputation persists many years after his death. Those who have disrespected his memory are said to have come to a bad end. Wraxhall scoffs at these legends, but is nevertheless fascinated by them, and cannot resist going into the Count's mausoleum shortly before his departure to bid him a mocking farewell. Needless to say, this is something he comes to regret doing.
Another sceptic proved wrong is Professor Parkins in James's "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad", dramatised for the BBC by Jonathan Miller in 1968. (Not part of the "A Ghost Story for Christmas series"). There are, however, important differences between Wraxhall and Parkins. Wraxhall, as played here by Jason Watkins, is strangely childish for a scholar, going to say his farewell to the Count in the spirit of a small boy blowing a raspberry at an unpopular teacher. There is nothing childish about Parkins, played by Michael Hordern as all-too-adult, an arrogant intellectual snob who believes in nothing except the power of his own intellect. Another difference is that Parkins receives nothing worse than a bad fright, whereas Wraxhall pays for his temerity with his life.
When I reviewed 2021's entry in the series, "The Mezzotint", I pointed out that James's story works well on the printed page but would probably not do so if adapted for the screen in a version 100% faithful to the original. I felt, therefore, that Gatiss was right to alter that story when he adapted it for television. With "Count Magnus", on the other hand, he has stuck closely to the original story, and yet has produced something that works less well. This was partly because I did not like Watkins's interpretation of his character, but also because the story is not really scary. This is perhaps a difficult story to adapt. James never describes the ghost, or spirit, or entity, which pursues the hapless Wraxall, but he leaves us in no doubt of its evil nature. We never get that sense of evil in Gatiss's adaptation. In the final scenes of his adaptation of "Oh Whistle..." Miller achieves much from little in his ability to conjure up a frightening atmosphere, but there is nothing comparable here. And a ghost story, if it is anything, should be frightening. 6/10.
Lawrence Gordon Clark, who directed most of the entries from the seventies, wanted to film this story in 1978, but the BBC vetoed his plan on costs grounds as he wanted to film in Sweden, where the story is set. Mark Gatiss has finally achieved Clark's ambition, but even the 2022 film, ostensibly set in Sweden, was actually shot in Britain.
The action takes place in 1863. Mr Wraxhall, an English gentleman-scholar, travels to Sweden as part of his research for a guidebook to Scandinavia. (His name is spelt in the cast-list as "Wraxhall" although James used the spelling "Wraxall"). There he befriends Froken de la Gardie, a lady from an old aristocratic family, and visits her in her stately home. He becomes fascinated by the story of her ancestor, Count Magnus, an evil man notorious for his harsh and brutal treatment of his tenants and the local peasants, and reputedly also an alchemist, devil-worshipper and necromancer.
Wraxhall is that stock figure from ghost stories, the sceptic who is proved wrong. Local people are reluctant to talk about Count Magnus, whose evil reputation persists many years after his death. Those who have disrespected his memory are said to have come to a bad end. Wraxhall scoffs at these legends, but is nevertheless fascinated by them, and cannot resist going into the Count's mausoleum shortly before his departure to bid him a mocking farewell. Needless to say, this is something he comes to regret doing.
Another sceptic proved wrong is Professor Parkins in James's "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad", dramatised for the BBC by Jonathan Miller in 1968. (Not part of the "A Ghost Story for Christmas series"). There are, however, important differences between Wraxhall and Parkins. Wraxhall, as played here by Jason Watkins, is strangely childish for a scholar, going to say his farewell to the Count in the spirit of a small boy blowing a raspberry at an unpopular teacher. There is nothing childish about Parkins, played by Michael Hordern as all-too-adult, an arrogant intellectual snob who believes in nothing except the power of his own intellect. Another difference is that Parkins receives nothing worse than a bad fright, whereas Wraxhall pays for his temerity with his life.
When I reviewed 2021's entry in the series, "The Mezzotint", I pointed out that James's story works well on the printed page but would probably not do so if adapted for the screen in a version 100% faithful to the original. I felt, therefore, that Gatiss was right to alter that story when he adapted it for television. With "Count Magnus", on the other hand, he has stuck closely to the original story, and yet has produced something that works less well. This was partly because I did not like Watkins's interpretation of his character, but also because the story is not really scary. This is perhaps a difficult story to adapt. James never describes the ghost, or spirit, or entity, which pursues the hapless Wraxall, but he leaves us in no doubt of its evil nature. We never get that sense of evil in Gatiss's adaptation. In the final scenes of his adaptation of "Oh Whistle..." Miller achieves much from little in his ability to conjure up a frightening atmosphere, but there is nothing comparable here. And a ghost story, if it is anything, should be frightening. 6/10.