Stigma, the penultimate episode of the original series of A Ghost Story for Christmas, marked a turning point, as it the first based on an original screenplay and the last directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Written by Clive Exton, it is set in the present day and feels notably different in tone from its predecessors.
The story sees a family moving to the countryside and unleashing a curse when they decide to move an ancient stone monolith - part of a nearby stone circle - from the garden of their new home. From the moment the stone is first dislodged, wife and mother Katherine starts bleeding, initially from her hands and later from her torso, even though she has no visible wound. When the monolith is finally lifted free, the skeleton of a witch pierced by blades corresponding to the sites of Katherine's bleeding is revealed; the inevitable dark ending makes it clear that Katherine has paid the price for disturbing the family disturbing the witch's rest.
The modern day setting immediately makes Stigma stand apart from the M. R. James and Charles Dickens adaptations of the previous years, although its folk horror themes hardly divorce it from them entirely. The main problem with the episode is that it simply isn't as creepy as the rest of the series. Nevertheless, it isn't bad by any means, even if it is usually seen as the point at which A Ghost Story for Christmas lost its way. Kate Binchy gives a convincing performance as Katharine, who becomes increasingly frantic as she desperately examines her body for the source of the blood. So too does the great Peter Bowles as Peter, especially when he panics after finding his unresponsive wife in a pool of blood. Despite the short run time, the two main characters work well enough, although Maxine Gordon's vaguely rebellious teenager Verity remains undeveloped.
Importantly, it also benefits from Clark's flair for directing, one final time. As usual, he makes great use of starkly beautiful location filming (including the stone circle Avebury), and provides some memorable visuals: the shot of the picture cracking and the close-up of the fly all work really well. In Clark's hands, even a raw onion can seem strangely unnerving. The effect used to create the wind unleashed when the stone is lifted is coupled with haunting music and sound effects to eerie effect; the juxtaposition with the Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper" is quite striking.
Stigma might not entirely capture the same atmosphere as the rest of A Ghost Story for Christmas, but its tale of unstoppable forces unleashed by those who dare to meddle in the English countryside and its dark ending mean it certainly sits alongside them fairly comfortably. It is also a respectable enough swansong for Lawrence Gordon Clark, whose work on the program is undoubtedly one of the main reasons both for its success and its enduring appeal. The following - and final - episode of the nineteen-seventies would see another director take over the reins, and the difference would prove to be immediately and painfully obvious.
The story sees a family moving to the countryside and unleashing a curse when they decide to move an ancient stone monolith - part of a nearby stone circle - from the garden of their new home. From the moment the stone is first dislodged, wife and mother Katherine starts bleeding, initially from her hands and later from her torso, even though she has no visible wound. When the monolith is finally lifted free, the skeleton of a witch pierced by blades corresponding to the sites of Katherine's bleeding is revealed; the inevitable dark ending makes it clear that Katherine has paid the price for disturbing the family disturbing the witch's rest.
The modern day setting immediately makes Stigma stand apart from the M. R. James and Charles Dickens adaptations of the previous years, although its folk horror themes hardly divorce it from them entirely. The main problem with the episode is that it simply isn't as creepy as the rest of the series. Nevertheless, it isn't bad by any means, even if it is usually seen as the point at which A Ghost Story for Christmas lost its way. Kate Binchy gives a convincing performance as Katharine, who becomes increasingly frantic as she desperately examines her body for the source of the blood. So too does the great Peter Bowles as Peter, especially when he panics after finding his unresponsive wife in a pool of blood. Despite the short run time, the two main characters work well enough, although Maxine Gordon's vaguely rebellious teenager Verity remains undeveloped.
Importantly, it also benefits from Clark's flair for directing, one final time. As usual, he makes great use of starkly beautiful location filming (including the stone circle Avebury), and provides some memorable visuals: the shot of the picture cracking and the close-up of the fly all work really well. In Clark's hands, even a raw onion can seem strangely unnerving. The effect used to create the wind unleashed when the stone is lifted is coupled with haunting music and sound effects to eerie effect; the juxtaposition with the Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper" is quite striking.
Stigma might not entirely capture the same atmosphere as the rest of A Ghost Story for Christmas, but its tale of unstoppable forces unleashed by those who dare to meddle in the English countryside and its dark ending mean it certainly sits alongside them fairly comfortably. It is also a respectable enough swansong for Lawrence Gordon Clark, whose work on the program is undoubtedly one of the main reasons both for its success and its enduring appeal. The following - and final - episode of the nineteen-seventies would see another director take over the reins, and the difference would prove to be immediately and painfully obvious.