‘Chilling’ ghost story based on horror classic showing on BBC on Christmas Eve

A Ghost Story for Christmas is back!

It is Mark Gatiss' seventh Ghost Story for Christmas and it sees him bring to life E. Nesbit's chilling short story, Man-Size in Marble.

In her final days, author Edith Nesbit recounts the chilling tale of newlywed Victorians Jack and Laura. 

The couple are settling into a small cottage in a quiet village when their idyll is overshadowed by the superstitious warnings of their housekeeper, Mrs Dorman, and the legend of the village church’s tomb effigies - a pair of marble knights who are said to rise from their slabs on Christmas Eve.

Written and directed by Gatiss, A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone is being broadcast on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer at 10.15pm on Christmas Eve.

The show stars Eanna Hardwicke as Jack and Phoebe Horn as Laura.

Speaking about his decision to base his latest Ghost Story for Christmas on Nesbit's classic, Gatiss said: "E. Nesbit’s Man-Size in Marble was the first ghost story I ever read, and it left a profound impression on me. I even referenced it in an episode of Doctor Who which I wrote for Peter Capaldi! 

"I’ve wanted to adapt it before but the cost of constructing the marble tomb effigies was always slightly beyond us. Happily, this year we got a little cash injection which made it possible."

He went on to say: "Nesbit was an incredible woman and a fascinating writer. The adaptation is called Woman of Stone as I’ve tried to draw out what I think are the themes of the story."

Hardwicke who plays the character of Jack admitted he knew nothing about E. Nesbit prior to reading the script.

He said: "When I was reading about her before shooting I discovered how prolific she was. She worked across just about every form you could imagine: novels, essays, short stories, children’s stories, ghost stories.

"It’s a proper ghost story - mysterious, chilling, truly frightening. I love ghost stories that land in that in-between space; we don’t know whether we believe or not, we don’t know if they’re of our own creation or inexplicably real."

Horn who plays Laura spoke of what it meant to work with Gatiss again after working with him previously in a theatre setting.

She said: "Mark is a very special person. From the moment we met on The Motive and the Cue, I felt scooped up and entirely supported by him. And the feeling was tenfold on Woman of Stone. Watching him expertly and graciously lead his communities through both has been such an honour."