This year, Mark Gatiss, known for his roles in Doctor Who and Sherlock, and a drama graduate from Bretton Hall College near Barnsley, is bringing some festive chills with A Ghost Story For Christmas: Lot No.249. Based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story Lot No. 249, the production stars Kit Harington from Game Of Thrones, Freddie Fox from White House Farm, and follows a group of Oxford students. Fox’s character, Edward Bellingham, is engrossed in researching ancient Egypt, particularly the enigmatic Lot No.249.
The ensemble cast includes James Swanton from Frankenstein’s Creature, John Heffernan from Dracula, and Colin Ryan from Leonardo, among others.
This marks Gatiss’s latest addition to a series of Christmas ghost stories on the BBC, following previous works like The Mezzotint in 2021, Martin’s Close in 2019, The Dead Room in 2018, The Tractate Middoth in 2013, and Crooked House in 2008.
Why Is Lot No. 249 A Good Ghost Story For Christmas?
Lot No. 249 is considered a compelling ghost story for Christmas by Gatiss due to its status as the original “mummy” story, being one of the earliest tales featuring a mummy seeking revenge. According to Gatiss, it serves as the foundation for the mummy archetype in Hollywood and Hammer films, making it a delightful Christmas treat with its outstanding cast.
What Is Lot No. 249 About?
In terms of plot, Lot No. 249 is an Arthur Conan Doyle short story set in 1881 at an Oxford college. It revolves around a group of students, including a Victorian hero, a foreign student from Siam, and Edward Bellingham, a scholar of Eastern languages with a morbid fascination for reviving the dead.
The narrative unfolds as Bellingham acquires an auction lot containing a mummy—Lot No. 249.
You Have Adapted Sherlock Holmes Stories For TV previously. Was There A Big Difference Stylistically Between This And Holmes’s Stories?
Mark Gatiss expresses his perspective as both a fan and scholar of Arthur Conan Doyle. Occasionally, he encounters stories that bear a resemblance to Sherlock Holmes tales, discerning specific stylistic and linguistic elements that unmistakably signify Doyle’s authorship.
For someone intimately familiar with Sherlock Holmes narratives, delving into a story devoid of Holmes evokes a sensation akin to encountering a missing chapter—a peculiar pleasure accompanies this experience.
What Was It Like Working With The Cast?
Working with the cast, Gatiss expresses joy, having collaborated with actors like John Heffernan on Dracula and James Swanton on The Quatermass Experiment at Alexandra Palace.
A Ghost Story For Christmas: Lot No.249 will be broadcast on BBC Two and available on the iPlayer starting at 10 pm on December 24.
Source: The Yorkshire Post
