A View from a Hill
Encyclopedia
A View From a Hill is a ghost story
by M. R. James
from his 1925 collection A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
. The story tells the tale of a historian who goes on holiday to visit his friend and has a disturbing experience after venturing up a notorious local landmark.
for BBC Four
's revival of the Ghost Story for Christmas
tradition. It stars Mark Letheren
as Dr Fanshawe.
Dr Fanshawe waiting at a railway station for his late train. He finally gives up and rides his bike to his friend, Squire
Richards' house. On the way, one of his bags falls off his bike. When he unpacks his luggage, he finds his binoculars
broken. Fanshawe borrows a pair from Squire Richards.
During a walk through the countryside, Fanshawe looks at a plain field through the binoculars and sees an abbey
/monastery
that is invisible to the naked eye. Next to it is the infamous Gallows Hill where evil people were hanged. Richards explains that it was the site of an abbey that was dissolved by Henry VIII and there is nothing left of it but a few stones. That night, Fanshawe goes alone to Gallows Hill. He hears rustling in the bushes and comes to the spot where the gallows
were slid into the ground. Fanshawe finally comes home.
At dinner, Richards' butler
Patten, explains to Fanshawe how their previous historian, Baxter, became obsessed with the old abbey and began sneaking off at night to dig up the bones of the hanged men and making the binoculars but bewitching them so that they show the abbey. And of how Baxter disappeared without a trace.
That night, Fanshawe has a nightmare
where he goes to the bathroom to get a drink, only to find that the water in the cup is cloudy and full of bits. Hearing the water in the bathtub stop dripping, Fanshawe turns around, only to be scared by a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness wearing a skull
mask
.
The next day, Fanshawe goes back to the old abbey site with the boiled bones and sketches, only to be physically assaulted by the spirits. Fanshawe wakes up at night, being dragged up Gallows Hill by the spirits to be hanged. Richards, Patten and a search party go looking for Fanshawe, and find his abandoned bike and sketches. They also spot a flock of birds gathering on top of Gallows Hill. Venturing up Gallows Hill to investigate, they are met with the horrifying sight of Fanshawe hanging.
The next day, Patten burns all of the sketches and boiled bones in a bonfire
and soon throws the binoculars in after them. Squire Richards accompanies Fanshawe to the railway station and then leaves. As Fanshawe sits on a bench waiting for the again-late train, he hears a loud rustling noise in the woods, implying that the ghosts are still after him. The film ends with Fanshawe breaking the fourth wall
and giving the audience a shocked look before it fades out to black.
Ghost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
by M. R. James
M. R. James
Montague Rhodes James, OM, MA, , who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge and of Eton College . He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre...
from his 1925 collection A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories is the title of M. R. James' fourth and final collection of ghost stories, published in 1925....
. The story tells the tale of a historian who goes on holiday to visit his friend and has a disturbing experience after venturing up a notorious local landmark.
BBC Adaptation
In 2005, it was adapted by Peter HarnessPeter Harness
Peter Harness is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. He grew up in Hornsea, East Yorkshire and attended Oriel College, Oxford where he studied English and graduated with a first. He is a former president of the Oxford Revue. He was one of Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow, 2007...
for BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
's revival of the Ghost Story for Christmas
A Ghost Story for Christmas
A Ghost Story for Christmas is a strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One from 1971 to 1978, and later revived in 2005 on BBC Four. With one exception, the original instalments are directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and the films are all shot on 16 mm...
tradition. It stars Mark Letheren
Mark Letheren
Mark Letheren is an English actor possibly best known for his roles as journalist Simon Kitson in ITV1s drama The Bill, as Ben Harding in the BBC1 drama Casualty and for his recurring role as DS Kevin Geoffries in Wire in the Blood.- Career :His large screen debut was in Restoration, with Robert...
as Dr Fanshawe.
Plot
The film opens with historianHistorian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Dr Fanshawe waiting at a railway station for his late train. He finally gives up and rides his bike to his friend, Squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
Richards' house. On the way, one of his bags falls off his bike. When he unpacks his luggage, he finds his binoculars
Binoculars
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
broken. Fanshawe borrows a pair from Squire Richards.
During a walk through the countryside, Fanshawe looks at a plain field through the binoculars and sees an abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
/monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
that is invisible to the naked eye. Next to it is the infamous Gallows Hill where evil people were hanged. Richards explains that it was the site of an abbey that was dissolved by Henry VIII and there is nothing left of it but a few stones. That night, Fanshawe goes alone to Gallows Hill. He hears rustling in the bushes and comes to the spot where the gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
were slid into the ground. Fanshawe finally comes home.
At dinner, Richards' butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
Patten, explains to Fanshawe how their previous historian, Baxter, became obsessed with the old abbey and began sneaking off at night to dig up the bones of the hanged men and making the binoculars but bewitching them so that they show the abbey. And of how Baxter disappeared without a trace.
That night, Fanshawe has a nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
where he goes to the bathroom to get a drink, only to find that the water in the cup is cloudy and full of bits. Hearing the water in the bathtub stop dripping, Fanshawe turns around, only to be scared by a shadowy figure lurking in the darkness wearing a skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
.
The next day, Fanshawe goes back to the old abbey site with the boiled bones and sketches, only to be physically assaulted by the spirits. Fanshawe wakes up at night, being dragged up Gallows Hill by the spirits to be hanged. Richards, Patten and a search party go looking for Fanshawe, and find his abandoned bike and sketches. They also spot a flock of birds gathering on top of Gallows Hill. Venturing up Gallows Hill to investigate, they are met with the horrifying sight of Fanshawe hanging.
The next day, Patten burns all of the sketches and boiled bones in a bonfire
Bonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...
and soon throws the binoculars in after them. Squire Richards accompanies Fanshawe to the railway station and then leaves. As Fanshawe sits on a bench waiting for the again-late train, he hears a loud rustling noise in the woods, implying that the ghosts are still after him. The film ends with Fanshawe breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
and giving the audience a shocked look before it fades out to black.
Cast
- Mark LetherenMark LetherenMark Letheren is an English actor possibly best known for his roles as journalist Simon Kitson in ITV1s drama The Bill, as Ben Harding in the BBC1 drama Casualty and for his recurring role as DS Kevin Geoffries in Wire in the Blood.- Career :His large screen debut was in Restoration, with Robert...
- Dr Fanshawe - Pip TorrensPip TorrensPip Torrens is an English actor.He was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He studied English Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge...
- Squire Richards - David Burke - Patten
- Simon Linnel - Baxter
External links
- A View from the Hill at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
.