The BFI has announced a 3-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray box set containing four supernatural horror tales for release on 5 December alongside the BFI horror season In Dreams are Monsters.

Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC’s A Ghost Story For Christmas series was a fixture of the seasonal schedules throughout the 1970s and spawned a long tradition of chilling tales that terrified yuletide viewers for decades to come. For many fans they are still a traditional Christmas-time watch.

Previously released on DVD by the BFI – and among our all-time best-selling titles – these terrific tales come to Blu-ray newly remastered from original film materials. With extras including 2010’s Whistle and I’ll Come to You and a selection of new and archive extras this handsome set makes a perfect Christmas gift.

Included in Volume 1 are the first four instalments of the series:

Whistle and I’ll Come To You (1968): produced and directed by Jonathan Miller, original story by MR James, starring Michael Hordern, Ambrose Coghill, George Woodbridge.

The Stalls of Barchester (1971): produced and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, starring Robert Hardy, Clive Swift, Thelma Barlow.

A Warning to the Curious (1972): written, directed and produced by Lawrence Gordon Clark, starring Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift, Julian Herington.

Lost Hearts (1973): directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, starring Simon Gipps-Kent, Joseph O’Conor, James Mellor.

Ghost Stories for Christmas Volume 1 will be released on UK Blu-ray by the BFI on 5 December 2022 at the RRP of £29.99.

BLU-RAY FEATURES:

• Newly remastered by the BFI
• Newly recorded audio commentaries for Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) and A Warning to the Curious by TV historian Jon Dear
• Newly recorded audio commentaries for The Stalls of Barchester and Lost Hearts by Kim Newman and Sean Hogan
• Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010, 52 mins): John Hurt stars in this 2010 interpretation of M R James’s chilling tale
• Jonathan Miller and Christopher Frayling interview (2012, 3 mins)
• Neil Brand reads M R James’s original story (2001, 42 mins, audio only)
• Ramsey Campbell on MR James (2001, 16 mins)
• Ramsey Campbell reads The Guide (2001, 27 mins)
• Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 33 mins total): the director of seven of the BBC’s classic A Ghost Story For Christmas episodes discusses his part in the first three instalments he directed
• Ghost Stories For Christmas With Christopher Lee (2000, 60 mins total): BBC Scotland’s ‘talking-head horror’ series starring the iconic actor as an M R James-like raconteur of fireside Christmas ghost stories. Included on this release are The Stalls of Barchester and A Warning to the Curious
• First pressing only: Illustrated booklet with essays by Reggie Oliver, Jon Dear, Jonathan Rigby, Adam Easterbrook and Ramsey Campbell; credits and notes on the special features

In Dreams are Monsters is a major two and a half month BFI UK-wide film and events season celebrating the horror genre on screen. Launched on 17 October, it continues until 31 December at BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, UK-wide cinemas and on BFI Player.

https://www.bfi.org.uk/in-dreams-are-monsters