The scary atmosphere mingled with London fog is the best combination for Christmas. The Woman in Black hoists the flag of festive ghost stories high due to its slow-burning scare which Britain is still petrified of to date.
A quintessential element of British culture is the amalgamation of festive nostalgia and terror. Be it the UK’s scarecrow festival with the dread of scarecrows, British television has never stopped capturing the essence of terror with its cinematic outcomes.
It is for this reason that movies like The Wicker Man (1973) leave a mark on the viewer’s minds after which they cannot stop merging festivals with fears, certainly a unique blend only emerging in Britain.
The Woman in Black is a TV adaptation that came out in 1989, directed by Herbert Wise. It was based on Susan Hill’s novel by the same name, authored in 1983. The fable unfurls when a determined lawyer, Arthur Kidd, is assigned to the haunted house and unwinds the mysteries surrounding the inexplicable deaths of children in the local town of Crythin Gifford.
Historical roots of Christmas ghost stories
The tradition of Christmas ghost stories is quite old, even dating back to 1843 when Charles Dickens produced a literary masterpiece named ‘A Christmas Carol’. It had the same fusion of ghost storytelling and Christmas.
The story unfolds about an elderly miser who constantly receives visits from a ghost of his ex-business partner and in the process, becomes kinder, wiser and gentler human. Although, not as scary, the storyline elevates the spirit of Christmas with the theme of festive charity for unfortunate ones.
However, this might not be the same in the case of The Woman in Black. Still, preserving the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas, the adaptation still scares the hell out of Britain, and the rest of the world.
The legacy of fear
The inherited gothic feel is deeply ingrained within British culture, evident from the story of The Woman in Black. It is the scrupulous and enduring cultural significance that left a lasting impression of fear.
It is even interesting to note the role of nostalgia in sustaining the legacy of fear The Woman in Black has had over Britain for decades. Since its inception, either the novel or TV adaptation, the plot continues to instil nostalgia, which modern-day cinema has been doing meticulously.
For example, certain things remain popular due to an emotional tie with the people who watch and experience it. This is where the intertwining of Christmas festivities, which is all about bonding and celebration, and fright-inducing storytelling come to play their part.
The Victorian ideologies of motherhood in the form of the titular female role, played by Pauline Moran in The Woman in Black, have stayed in our minds for as long as we can remember. She never uttered a word but still gave the chills to bones to those who have watched it.
The 1989 television adaptation
The Woman in Black is a true English movie, precisely set in the mentioned time period. It gives the same feel, showing London carriages and country markets, and no exaggerated glamour.
The authenticity is meant to capture the audience’s attention with the raw and natural location, especially the marsh, beside which the Eel Marsh estate was located. They hold the fundamental place in the plot, to create apprehension and fear, rightfully needed.
This atmospheric storytelling, done just right with the sea mists, erratic light effects and the haunting incidents of child deaths are all the undeniable characteristics that engulfed hitherto Britain in fear.
With the available technology at that time, the TV adaptation was one of a kind. A major credit goes to Moran herself as she revealed in an interview once that she made the “unholy sound” of Jennet, the real Woman in Black, from her own throat with zilch artificial sound effects.
She explained that she made it from the “very roof” of her “throat” along with the deathly stare with which she was meant to scare Adrian Rawlins (who played the role of Arthur in the movie).
She knew that she had to make the character a fright for the viewers for the rest of their lives, which it actually did. She did justice to her role by making movements, appearing to be hovering towards Adrian with peculiar gritting of teeth, forcing Adrian to scream his lungs out. She was happy that she did her “job well”.
Despite appearing only five times in the movie, her chilly ghost kept the viewers haunted for years. No wonder, even if it was released on Christmas and you are to watch with a great gathering of close ones at night, it would still crawl one layer underneath your skin to give you goose pimples all over.
Why is The Woman in Black still a hair-raising nostalgia?
Certain reasons contribute to the movie’s psychological depth and the eerie primal fears that keep intact the unresolved trauma thus far.
Universal themes of loss and vengeance
The ghost of Jennet represents a mother’s loss and the consequential vengeance, which ineluctably, yet emotionally, resonated with the audience. Parental fear instantly arose with numerous deaths of children, creating an atmosphere of dread and panic.
A relentless and malevolent spirit
The Woman in Black was here for a reason: to haunt, take revenge and seek closure for injustice. She is a figure known for redemption that casts a curse transfusing nothing but helplessness.
Psychological horror over jump scares
The creeping realisation in the presence of The Woman in Black built the tension, without any ‘cheap thrill’ tactics, giving a genuineness to the movie’s aura. The viewers were left with no choice but to bear the unrelenting nature of Jennet with a lasting sense of fear.
The haunting atmosphere
The location selection mattered. It not only had to match with the novel’s settings but Eel Marsh itself amplified the entire thrill. The uncanny experiences coming from mist, water and oppressive silence were a spine-chilling trap for the audience.
The power of suggestion
The substantial fear lies in what is unseen. With the minimal use of props, the story already filled the viewer’s imagination, was bound to run wild and stay fearfully apprehensive of her curse.
The timeless fear of the supernatural and shared cultural fear
People who saw it in the 1980s would still be able to live the fear of The Woman in Black in their memories and the family traditions of Christmas in that era. It is a ‘horror classic’ with its long-standing presence in British culture.
The immersive power of theatre and media
Standing true to its reputation, the intimidating power of The Woman in Black is what defines the haunting aesthetic of theatre and media. Keeping the story afresh, even for the new generations, is indeed a great enhancement for the haunting portrayal of Jennet.
Why it’s the perfect Christmas ghost story?
The true verve of the vengeful spirit has made the story timeless and rightfully, creepy. It impressively combines emotional depth, psychological tautness and trepidatious terror.
With the perfect misty evening and long hours of darkness, Christmas remains an apt time for ghostly stories like The Woman in Black. Families sitting in front of the blazing fireplace with a sense of mystery in the air is an unerring occasion for The Woman in Black to unleash its powerful grip this Christmas.