The Room in the Tower: Tobias Menzies Ghost Story Review

The BBC’s annual “Ghost Story for Christmas” has become a reliably quaint tradition, a bit of televised Yuletide spookiness that’s less about genuine scares and more about signaling a certain cultural sensibility. It’s a brand now, carefully curated by Mark Gatiss, and this year’s offering, “The Room in the Tower,” adapted from E.F. Benson, continues that pattern. The real story isn’t necessarily the ghost story itself, but the BBC’s consistent investment in this niche – a signal to a specific demographic that public broadcasting still values atmospheric, literary adaptations.

Gatiss’s choice of Benson, known more for the Mapp & Lucia novels, is interesting. It’s a deliberate move to showcase breadth, to demonstrate that the “Ghost Story for Christmas” isn’t *just* about MR James. The adaptation itself, with its layered dream sequences and subtle shifts in reality, leans into psychological horror rather than jump scares. This is a smart play; it broadens the appeal slightly without alienating the core audience who expect a certain level of literary fidelity.

The casting of Tobias Menzies is particularly astute. He excels at understated dread, a quality perfectly suited to a story built on atmosphere and suggestion. The narrative structure, framing the ghost story within a wartime encounter, adds a layer of melancholy and isolation that resonates with current anxieties. It’s a subtle but effective way to ground the supernatural in a recognizable emotional landscape.

Ultimately, “The Room in the Tower” feels less like a terrifying ghost story and more like a comforting ritual. It’s a reliably well-crafted piece of television that fulfills its brief without pushing any boundaries. The BBC knows exactly what it’s doing here: providing a dose of seasonal escapism that reinforces its brand identity as a cultural curator. And in a media landscape increasingly dominated by blockbuster franchises, that’s a valuable position to maintain.