| The Tractate Middoth | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Tractate_Middoth_title_2013.png) Title screen | |
| Based on | "The Tractate Middoth" by M. R. James |
| Written by | Mark Gatiss |
| Directed by | Mark Gatiss |
| Starring |
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| Production | |
| Producer | Susie Liggat |
| Running time | 36 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Release | 25 December 2013 |
| Related | |
| A Ghost Story for Christmas | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Tractate Middoth is a short film which is part of the British supernatural anthology series A Ghost Story for Christmas. Produced by Susie Liggat, it is the first instalment to be written and directed by Mark Gatiss,[1] who has helmed every subsequent episode as of 2023. It is based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James, first published in the collection More Ghost Stories (1911), and first aired on BBC Two on 25 December 2013.[2]
It stars Sacha Dhawan as William Garrett, a student working part-time at a university library, who is pulled into a conflict between cousins Mary Simpson (Louise Jameson) and John Eldred (John Castle) involving their uncle's inheritance. John's search for an elusive Mishnaic tractate in the library proves to be a vital clue, though William quickly discovers there's more to it than meets the eye.
Gatiss had been heavily influenced by the original 1971-1978 run of A Ghost Story for Christmas, the majority of episodes having been based on stories by James. Having hosted the BBC documentary series A History of Horror (2010), Gatiss had been approached to host a documentary about James, but turned it down until it was agreed he could make a new episode of A Ghost Story for Christmas to accompany it. The series had returned in 2005, though only sporadically, with this being the first instalment since "Whistle and I'll Come to You" (2010). Gatiss chose "The Tractate Middoth" due to it being one of his favourite James stories.[3]
- ^ The Tractate Middoth (2013), British Film Institute (BFI) database
- ^ "The Tractate Middoth", BBC online
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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