Christmas gets creepier every year, thanks in large part to Mark Gatiss and his annual ghost stories. be this year men’s league Co-authors Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton get into action with a spooky special edition of their phantasmagoric anthology. Inside #9.
“Bones of Saint Nicholas” Exactly what I wanted from a spooky Christmas story. It was disturbing, but not frightening, and – hallelujah – there was absolutely no blood. Instead, Shearsmith and Pemberton conjured up slowly building fear tinged with hysterical humor. It was a reference to the origin of the 19th century Christmas ghost story made famous by writers such as M. R. James and, of course, Charles Dickens.
The episode took place on Christmas Eve in the old creaky chapel where the doctor worked. Jasper Parkway (Pemberton) was going to enjoy “champing” (it’s “church camping”. I looked, and yes, it’s a thing).
But there was a double booking. His thoughts are interrupted by the annoyingly chatty couple Pierce (Shearsmith) and Posey (Shobna Gulati). They were soon joined by the chatty church leader Dick (Simon Callow, riper than an orange in a Christmas stocking).
The caretaker revealed that the building was rumored to be the resting place of the stolen jaw of Sinterklaas, the real Santa Claus. That wasn’t all Dick wanted to say. As he drank, he remembered his unsettling encounter with the jawless ghost of Old Saint Nick.
Dick recalled that he was a sad Santa Claus with kind eyes and a black tongue hanging from a jawless face. “His restless spirit wanders… yearns to be whole again,” he warned.
Pierce and Posey were devastated by the loss of their unborn child in a traffic accident 18 years ago. Pierce’s tough friendliness was just a front. Beneath it all, he and Posy harbored unbearable mental pain.
A personal tragedy and a supernatural Santa provided the perfect material for a solid ghost story, and the perfectly choreographed performances added to the intrigue. Pemberton Parkway had the petulant menace of horror villain Hammer, while the disturbingly chatty Callow sounded like he stepped out of a pub. Wicker man.
And then came the final turn. The night she lost her baby, Posey had a vision of the future in which she saw her mother mourning the coming tragedy. “It wasn’t a ghost,” she admitted to Pierce. “That was a warning.”
Parkway experienced a similar finger wiggle in a more distant timeline. Earlier in the evening, he spotted a figure in the shadows and heard a noise on the church belfry. It soon became clear that he was not a happy champion at all, but a ruthless archaeologist who found a lost jaw.
Wearing red robes and pretending to be the ghost of Saint Nicholas to scare Pierce and Posey away, Parkway climbed the clock tower where he attempted to knock the jawbone out of its resting place. But these supernatural premonitions overtook him when he lost his balance and choked on a stray hook. The creaks and moans he had heard earlier that evening echoed his own death rattle.
Cozy Horror is a genre that’s perfect for Christmas. There is nothing better than the chills you get from sitting on the couch on a cold winter night. This is exactly what Shearsmith and Pemberton filed. Gatiss will try to outdo them with his own ghost story, Count Magnus, tomorrow night. But for now it was Christmas cooler.
Source: I News
I am Harvey Rodriguez, an experienced news reporter and author with 24 News Reporters. My main areas of expertise are in entertainment and media. I have a passion for uncovering stories about the people behind the scenes that bring the entertainment world to life. I take pride in providing my readers with timely and accurate information on all aspects of the entertainment industry.