| "Lost Hearts" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A Ghost Story for Christmas episode | |||
Title screen, depicting the fog in which the carriage carrying young Stephen arrives |
|||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
||
| Directed by | Lawrence Gordon Clark | ||
| Written by | M. R. James (story) Robin Chapman (adaptation) |
||
| Original air date | 25 December 1973 | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
|
|||
"Lost Hearts" is a ghost story by M.R. James, found in his 1904 book Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. The tale tells the story of Stephen, a young boy who is sent to stay with his uncle at a remote country mansion. His uncle is a reclusive alchemist obsessed with making himself immortal. Stephen is repeatedly troubled by visions of two gypsy children with their hearts missing, and he soon realises that their appearances are a warning to stay clear of his uncle.
It was adapted by Robin Chapman in 1973 as part the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas strand, directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. The shortest of the adaptations, it was first broadcast on Christmas Day 1973 at 11.35pm.[1] It starred Simon Gipps-Kent as Stephen and Joseph O'Conor as the uncle. The adaptation is noted for the distinctive hurdy-gurdy music that accompanies appearances of the two ghostly children. Ralph Vaughan Williams's English Folk Song Suite is also featured.
|
|||||