10 British Horror TV Shows You've Probably Never Seen
With Halloween stalking every closer, now is the time to unearth these British chillers.
Though the world seems scary enough at times presently, it is officially Spooktober and there's no better time to immerse yourself in all that's unholy for the next few weeks. However, rather than the usual offerings of films and television, most of which hails from the United States, there are a number of overlooked UK chillers lying in wait to be rediscovered this Halloween.
When it comes to British Horror, you could turn to such cracking indie films as Borderlands or Kill List, but you would be forgiven if you struggled to name British television offerings of the horror persuasion. That, of course, is where this list comes to the rescue. From ghost stories to nuclear war, from the 1960s to the 2010s, British TV has proven, time and again, that it should not be overlooked by discerning horror fans.
What's better is that despite the relative lack of attention these titles usually get, all are readily available to those who would seek them out, from online streaming to DVD and even Blu Ray editions.
Here then are 10 slices of quality British TV horror to scare yourself senseless with over the next few weeks.
10. Whistle And I'll Come To You (1968)
Jonathan Miller's adaption of the M.R. James short story 'Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad' is arguably one of the best films ever commissioned by the BBC.
Updating the story to a then-contemporary setting, Michael Hordern's bumbling academic Professor Parkin takes an offseason holiday somewhere on the English east coast. Finding a bone whistle in a derelict graveyard one day, Parkin believes himself being followed by a far-off figure as he walks down the beach back towards his hotel.
Miller's adaptation has been praised ever since broadcast, with the power of his economical horror having hardly diminished in fifty two years. Of especial note must be Hordern's performance, humanising a character who is largely an academic stereotype in the original story. This core human element around which the atmosphere and horror is woven not only makes Whistle And I'll Come To You particularly engaging, but also accentuates the fear.
The story was adapted again in 2010 by the BBC, though this version was generally disregarded as being inferior to the original, despite excellent work by John Hurt. True horror fans would be hard pressed to find a finer ghost story than the original 1968 version.