{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"A GHOST STORY FOR CHRISTMAS (1968, 1973, 1976) \u2013 Episode 231 \u2013 Decades of Horror 1970s","description":"\u201cGhosts? That\u2019s a rather sticky one, isn\u2019t it? I\u2019m not quite certain what you mean, I mean, I\u2019m never quite certain what we are invited to believe, I mean, when anybody asks me a question like that. I\u2019m not even quite certain what I\u2019m being invited to disbelieve.\u201d Ah, yes. British ghost stories. And on Christmas. What could be better? Join your faithful Grue Crew \u2013 Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr \u2013 as they create a makeshift anthology from the 1970s BBC series,&amp;nbsp;A Ghost Story for Christmas! Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 231 \u2013&amp;nbsp;A Ghost Story for Christmas&amp;nbsp;(1970s) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https:\/\/youtube.com\/gruesomemagazine Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https:\/\/wickedhorrortv.com\/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. A Ghost Story for Christmas  \u201cWhistle and I\u2019ll Come to You,\u201d&amp;nbsp;Omnibus S1.E17&amp;nbsp;( May 7, 1968)&amp;nbsp;  Synopsis:&amp;nbsp;A skeptical professor on vacation in Norfolk finds a cursed whistle. Directed by:&amp;nbsp;Jonathan Miller Writing Credits:&amp;nbsp;M.R. James&amp;nbsp;(story \u201cOh, Whistle, and I\u2019ll Come to You, My Lad,\u201d ); Jonathan Miller (adaptation) Selected Cast:  Michael Hordern&amp;nbsp;as Professor Parkins Ambrose Coghill&amp;nbsp;as Colonel George Woodbridge&amp;nbsp;as Hotel Proprietor Nora Gordon&amp;nbsp;as Proprietress Freda Dowie&amp;nbsp;as Maid     \u201cLost Hearts\u201d (Dec 25, 1973)  Synopsis:&amp;nbsp;A young orphan, Stephen, is sent to live with his strange, much older cousin at his remote country house. Once there, Stephen experiences terrible dreams in which he sees a young girl and boy. Directed by:&amp;nbsp;Lawrence Gordon Clark Writing Credits:&amp;nbsp;M.R. James (story);&amp;nbsp;Robin Chapman&amp;nbsp;(dramatization) Selected Cast:  Simon Gipps-Kent&amp;nbsp;as Stephen Joseph O\u2019Conor&amp;nbsp;as Mr. Abney James Mellor&amp;nbsp;as Parkes Susan Richards&amp;nbsp;as Mrs. Bunch Christopher Davis&amp;nbsp;as Boy Michelle Foster&amp;nbsp;as Girl Roger Milner&amp;nbsp;as Vicar Carina Wyeth&amp;nbsp;as Girl \u2013 Flashback Scenes (uncredited)     \u201cThe Signalman\u201d (Dec 22, 1976)  Synopsis.&amp;nbsp;A lonely Signalman is visited by a stranger. Directed by:&amp;nbsp;Lawrence Gordon Clark Writing Credits:&amp;nbsp;Charles Dickens&amp;nbsp;(story);&amp;nbsp;Andrew Davies&amp;nbsp;(adaptation) Selected Cast:  Denholm Elliott&amp;nbsp;as The Signalman Bernard Lloyd&amp;nbsp;as The Traveller Reginald Jessup&amp;nbsp;as The Engine Driver Carina Wyeth&amp;nbsp;as The Bride      The Grue-Crew assembled their own anthology for this holiday episode and cheated a bit on the decade. They discuss three ghost stories from the United Kingdom. Two are based on stories by M.R. James and one by Charles Dickens; two tales are taken from the 1970s BBC series&amp;nbsp;A Ghost Story for Christmas&amp;nbsp;and the third is the 1968 inspiration for the series. The subjects of this episode are:  \u201cWhistle and I\u2019ll Come to You,\u201d Omnibus S1.E17, M.R. James ( May 7, 1968) \u201cLost Hearts,\u201d A Ghost Story for Christmas, M.R. James (Dec 25, 1973) \u201cThe Signalman\u201d A Ghost Story for Christmas, Charles Dickens (Dec 22, 1976)  The 70s crew are divided on one of the shorts but unanimously enthusiastic on the other two. The Brits do ghost stories very well, don\u2019t they? At the time of this writing, all episodes of&amp;nbsp;A Ghost Story for Christmas&amp;nbsp;(1970s) are available to stream from Shudder. They are also available on physical media on six Blu-ray formatted discs contained in&amp;nbsp;Ghost Stories for Christmas,&amp;nbsp;Volumes 1 &amp;amp; 2, from BFI (may not play on most DVD\/Blu-Ray players sold in the US due to region encoding incompatibility).&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Gruesome Magazine\u2019s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Chad, will be&amp;nbsp;Eyes of Laura Mars&amp;nbsp;(1978), with a script co-written by John Carpenter and starring Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Rene Auberjonois, Brad Dourif, and Raul Julia. Hmmm. What will they think? We want to hear from you \u2013 the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com. ","author_name":"Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio","author_url":"http:\/\/docrotten.libsyn.com","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/34666785\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/182877685"}