Do you remember the annual showings of A Ghost Story for Christmas? Have you read MR James's A View From a Hill, which the new drama is based on? Send us your thoughts using the form on the right and we will publish a selection below.

It is surely time the BBC released all the MR James stories on DVD as a box set. They are classic and unique. I remember my flesh creeping on watching A Warning to the Curious, and the horror of the gypsy children in Lost Hearts is unforgettable. Tonight's A View From a Hill continued the excellent tradition - the chill was still there. So please release them!
Andrew Dale, Divonne, France

Congratulations for helping to keep alive the tradition of the great English ghost story. It is encouraging to see new adaptations for TV of this genre and a refreshing break from the endless reality drivel which is endlessly broadcast. Hopefully this will introduce people to a whole new, far more imaginative and sinister world where nothing is what it seems. Our sensibilities have been so battered over the years that I often wondered if anyone understood subtlety anymore. I am glad to see that this is not the case - perhaps this is the backlash to the mindless dross we are bombarded with?
Wayne Noble, Manchester

Oh please repeat Schalken the Painter! It led to many a broken nights sleep when I saw it in the early 1980s.
DC, Dundee

Well done to BBC Four for reviving the traditional Christmas ghost story - what a joy. I especially loved watching The Signalman again - that was genuinely unsettling. I look forward to BBC Four continuing this tradition in the coming years.
Adele, Burgess Hill, West Sussex

Great to see these mostly well-made programmes being aired again, although I thought The Green Man had not worn well since 1990, when I really enjoyed it. Now the uneven tone leaves me not quite sure whether they were playing for laughs or not. Any new MR James story is good news, though nothing quite matches the pictures on your own imagination which he manages to conjure when you read his work! It's hard to envisage any broadcaster other than the BBC making these stories, so keep going please.
Anthony White, London

Great to see these classic programmes on BBC Four but why did the continuity announcer tell us they are all the MR James adaptations made by the BBC? An Episode In Cathedral History was also made by the BBC in the 1970s but not included in the season.
Trevor Markworth, Norwich

I was too young to catch these adaptations of MR James' stories the first time around, so my first experience of TV versions of some of my favourite fiction was Christopher Lee's readings. My father's ancient video recording of Lost Hearts whetted my appetite for the older adaptations, and your showing of several of these over two Christmases has been very rewarding. I await your new adaptation with profound glee, and hope that further adaptations and even remakes will follow - antiquarians still exist in odd corners of the UK, and we are happy to miss a night down the pub for a first-rate MRJ dripping with atmosphere! Keep up the chilling work.
Jonathan Monk, Durham

Great to see these classic programmes on BBC Four but why did the continuity announcer tell us they are all the MR James adaptations made by the BBC? An Episode In Cathedral History was also made by the BBC in the 1970s but not included in the season. How come? Are the programmes with stories read by Robert Powell available on DVD or do you have any plans to repeat them? These were shown on BBC about 10 years ago.
Trevor Markworth, Norwich

Now, don't get me wrong - I am absolutely delighted that this season is being shown, I thoroughly enjoyed last night's opening programmes and look forward to an excellent week of entertainment - BBC Four is the home of quality programming these days, and no other channel can touch it.

But can you take a little constructive criticism? Not knowing the story of The Signalman, I was absolutely horrified to hear the ending being given away in the preceding documentary (The Story of the Ghost Story) and this spoiled my enjoyment of the Dickens adaptation. Similarly, in Jeremy Dyson's introduction to The Ash Tree, clips of the climax, which again gave the game away, were shown. Are you making the assumption that everyone watching already knows these stories? Please, please take more care in future.
Kevin Cooke, London

Is my memory playing tricks or do I remember an older b&w version of this story which was wonderfully frightening? The version just shown is truly dreadful, appallingly lit so that any atmosphere is blasted out of existence. The ghost children in panto make-up make banally corporeal appearances. By the way, you showed the wrong intro (Ash Tree); and while on that subject why do you need an intro? The one for the Ash Tree only took away the clunky surprise delivered at the end. I am a major James fan but these two dramatisations really should be binned. Bring on Whistle... and A Caution...
Huntley Hedworth, Bristol

Two further recommendations for repeats: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Schalken the Painter and Susan Hill's The Woman In Black, both of which maintained the high standards of the M R James adaptations.
Neil Foxlee, Lancaster

How wonderful and refreshing to resurrect and preserve the Ghost Story at Christmas. I'm enjoying the late evening's viewing and then that brief and fearful hesitation before turning off the light before bed.
Ben Grove, Manchester

I was scared as a child when these were first aired, my imagination was kicked into overdrive and has remained so ever since - fear: the gift that lasts. Lost Hearts caused many sleepless nights; I hope it does so for another generation.
Adrian Lloyd, Coventry

This was excellent. One very minor flaw however - Denholm Elliott whistles Tit-Willow from The Mikado. The Signalman first appeared in a journal in 1866, but The Mikado did not open until 1885.
Colin Shepherd, Bulkington

I remember being allowed to stay up to watch MR James' Ghost Stories in the 1970s, when I was about 10 or 11, and was always terrified but thrilled by them. Lost Hearts is the most terrifying, and I think will still scare a jaded modern audience. Thanks for repeating the MR James documentary, which was excellent and informative.
John Allison, Chorley

I thank the BBC for turning me into an avid lover of MR James' ghost stories. This year I have my viewing and recording itinerary planned to the 'nth degree.
James G Conn, Airdrie, Scotland

Thank you very much for finally repeating The Ash Tree, which seems to have been ignored for 30 years. Let's hope we can see a clear picture after all decaying moss and cobwebs have been dusted off the film (joking). Thanks again
Michael Sanderson, Thirsk

I am really looking forward to seeing The Signalman again. I still shout 'hello below' when on bridges or high ground - it stuck in my mind so much.
Barbara Raynor, Nottingham

Absolutely brilliant selection last year, and really exciting (a new one) this year. Thank you BBC for making these the best Christmases since, oh, the 1970s? I really am very pleased that BBC Four has decided to celebrate this time of year in real spooky style.
N R, Cornwall

I am very excited by the new adaptation of the MR James story A View From A Hill. It is wonderful that the BBC is continuing with a tradition that I remember as a child of showing ghost stories at Christmas.I sincerely hope there are more in the pipeline.
Patricia Roberts, Lewisham

My introduction to MR James's ghost stories was through the TV adaptations screened thirty years ago. I've been a fan of the stories and of those adaptations ever since. Full marks to BBC Four, who are giving them another airing. The one I missed the first time around, The Ash Tree, will have me glued to the set this weekend. The readings of MR James stories with Christopher Lee, broadcast a few years ago, are also excellent.
John Casey, Middlesbrough

Firstly, well done on providing a new adaptation of A View From A Hill. The Ghost Story For Christmas series in the 1970s was always eagerly looked forward to in my house. However - why show them in the week running up to Christmas and not over the Christmas period itself? They are also scheduled very late in the evening and some of us have to get up to go to work the next day. I do hope you continue with another MR James adaptation next year - but please screen it on Christmas Eve!
Ralph Lambert, Leicester

I can't wait to see The Ash Tree as I've read about it many times but never seen it, unlike the others, of which my favourite is A Warning to the Curious, where atmosphere, music and pace win over the special effects approach of today. And no-one should miss the evocative sound of the hurdy-gurdy from Lost Hearts, showing this year. These adaptations deserve to be regarded as classics, as are the original stories. I hope A View from a Hill does justice to the series – it has a good pedigree to follow.
John Stuart, UK

I would like to thank BBC Four for the first new adaptation of MR James in many, many years and I hope this becomes a tradition every year. It's also nice that a TV station is actually listening to the public, ie The Ash Tree and Lost Hearts showings, one of which has never had a repeat on UK TV since its first showing in 1975. It will be great to view this flawed classic adaptation. I hope A View From a Hill goes well and sends a shiver up the spine.
Duncan Taylor, Greater Manchester

BBC Four: Last Christmas we showed a series of adaptations of the eerie short stories of MR James as well as a documentary about the writer. Here's your thoughts on whether they were chilling or risible.

Many thanks to BBC Four for showing some Christmas ghost stories - a welcome relief from the usual dross on at this time of the year. It's a pity though that you decided to show two stories which have been released on DVD. It would have been better to have shown some that have not been repeated such as The Ash Tree, which I consider to be one of the best. It also would have been nice to show some of the non M R James stories such as Stigma and The Icehouse as they carried on this great 1970s tradition, though to lesser effect. Guess I will have to watch my old videos, but must thank you again for a chance to view The Stalls of Barchester again as it is superb.
Duncan Taylor, Manchester

BBC Four: The Ash Tree will be broadcast during the 2005 season of Ghost Stories on Sunday 18 December.

I haven't read any M R James, but I suspect that the horror lies in the skill of the writer and in the reader's imagination. This was brilliantly directed by Jonathan Miller and superbly acted by the late Michael Horden, but it wasn't remotely frightening. Last night I watched the second dramatisation. Again, wonderful acting and directing and a gripping story which fell flat at the end. Nevertheless, I look forward to more classic drama from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s. How about Edna the Inebriate Woman?
Eleanor Dent, Cardiff

Being a fan of ghost and horror stories, I watched the M R James classic Whistle and I'll Come to You the other night and found the hairs standing up on the back of my neck! Great story, great acting from Michael Horden, and again very cleverly filmed, a must-watch short film for all those who think you need millions of pounds and massive casts to produce a cinematic masterpiece. Not at all, but be careful when you sleep in a strange bedroom with more than one bed...
Jonathan Fletcher, Burton upon Trent

My first encounter with this was on Channel 4's Top 100 Scary Moments last year. At first I didn't think it was going to be really scary, but with a combination of excellent direction from Jonathan Miller and clever camera work, I too was feeling the fear at the end of the programme (I watched it with the light off as well).

I am really impressed with BBC Four's commitment to showing classic archive television; I really liked your Time Shift series back in the summer - especially the episode of Z Cars with Judi Dench - and Doctor Who: The Web of Fear (especially as it was the re-mastered, vid-fired version). Keep up the good work.
Paul Davidson, Carlisle

Why oh why did you not show Lost Hearts by M R James in the recent season over Xmas. Could you not have given us one last look at the hurdy-gurdy players? The rest were brilliant but the hurdy-gurdy scene would have made my Xmas. You mentioned it in the Muriel Gray introduction and showed a clip Why didn't you show the whole thing? You can't even get it on video!
Darren Morley, Norwich

BBC Four: Rejoice! Lost Hearts will be shown as part of the Ghost Stories season on Monday 19 December.

Great to see these again. How about some Algernon Blackwood? He was a BBC regular in the 1940s! There's more information on his webpage.
Susan, Chelmsford, Essex
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