You’ve seen it recreated with PlayMobil figures, but with Christmas fast approaching, it’s time for the real thing: the BBC adaptation of MR James’ classic ghost story, A Warning To The Curious. Airing in 1972, it was the second of the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas and was adapted by the marvellous Lawrence Gordon Clark. In it, Peter Vaughan is an amateur archaeologist looking for a particularly important English treasure. Unfortunately for him, he finds it and discovers it has a guardian…
With its marvellous atmosphere and stark seaside location, I think it’s the best of all the MR James adaptations that the BBC did and you can watch it below, you lucky people*. Enjoy!
* There is, apparently, a minor edit in this version. For the full version, there’s the marvellous BFI DVD, which includes Robert Hardy in The Stalls of Barchester.