Count Magnus (film)

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Count Magnus is a 30-minute British supernatural short film in the A Ghost Story for Christmas series. It was written and directed by Mark Gatiss, produced by Isibeal Ballance, and based on M. R. James’s 1904 ghost story “Count Magnus.” It aired on BBC Two on 23 December 2022.

Set in 1863, a British travel writer named Mr Wraxhall visits Sweden to research a guidebook and hears about Count Magnus, a brutal 17th‑century landowner. Local stories tell of the Count’s harsh punishments and a mysterious “Black Pilgrimage” to the Holy Land that supposedly brings back something—or someone. As Wraxhall investigates, Gatiss adds a twist: the narrator is actually Count Magnus, who remains alive through a pact with the “Prince of the Air” and tells his story from within a locked tomb. Filming took place in England at Hall Barn in Beaconsfield; no Sweden filming was done due to budget limits.

Cast includes Jason Watkins as Mr Wraxhall, MyAnna Buring as Froken de la Gardie, Krister Henriksson as the Narrator, Max Bremer as Nielsen, Allan Corduner as the Deacon, and Jamal Ajala as Gustav.

Reception was mixed. The Guardian gave it 2 out of 5 stars, calling the plot slight and not very scary, while The Daily Telegraph gave 3 out of 5 stars, noting Gatiss’s faithful but modest take on the MR James ghost story.