A Ghost Story for Christmas - "Remember to Die", "Memento Mori"

#ghoststory #mrjames #ghosts #ghoststories #medievalhistory #medieval #uncanny #creepy #ghosts #christmas #christmastradition #ghost
Dr Robert Whiteford is a medievalist academic, who in the pursuit of rest and his research visits the Lincolnshire Wolds and the site of a medieval monastery. While there he has a terrifying ghostly encounter in the middle of the night that transports him back to the Middle Ages. This ghost story for Christmas, inspired by the ghost stories of M. R. James ends with an unexpected and horrifying plot twist.
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[@ghjgbnhjjghjthknvf6379]

Funny I worked at a hospital as a young man, it was a victorian building and had many parts that hinted at its age. Such as a 8ft high ww1 memorial with statues. One task we had was to wash and shroud patients bodies who had passed away. I will always remember a very cold December night when we had a elderly patient pass and we went to their room opposite the ww1 memorial to prepare the persons body. The member of staff I was with had many years of experience and a scientific back ground. But before we started our task this member of staff opened a window as a way to allow the spirt of the person to escape. After this night I asked and other staff did this as well in other hospitals all over this country. Some believing that it helped hospitals avoid spirits hanging around. Not sure if this is appropriate here, but I thought it was an interesting insight into organisational belief/ spiritual superstition.

[@anne-marie2972]

In Finland we open window too that spirit can escape. It is a very beautiful tradition.

[@isobellea1540]

I did this with my beloved husband who passed away in my arms, the Nurses looked at each other and nodded their approval. It felt right instinctually.

[@Bus_Driver_Jay]

My grandmother actually died the weekend before last and our first act was to cover the mirrors I’m the room, and open the window.

[@tarmach523]

We do this in long term care as well, to let the spirit or as I believe, the soul go free.

[@medievalwolfgrrl]

Love this! I must say, I usually avoid ghost stories, I am a Funeral Director and don't wish to invite anything supernatural into my world but, I loved this one. Thank you for sharing your work with us and I hope you have a Merry Chrustmas!

[@allanbarton]

No I don't blame you, you are probably safe, maybe!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it and Happy Christmas Lorrie Ann.

[@Cornet_Tooter]

I have the same sentiments!

[@timmarshall4881]

I love a ghost story. M. R. James is a favourite of mine. My best. Tim Marshall

[@robertfletcher3421]

As you started to tell this story I could picture in my mind MR James sitting around the fire with his students as he told his ghost stories. This is certainly in his style. Thank you, Allan and best wishes for Christmas.

[@jeanneshultz772]

Perfect tale for this incredibly, unusual, cold Christmas Day. Happy Christmas!

[@bieuxyongson]

Happy Christmas from across the pond. I love a good Christmas ghost story. Which is probably why The Christmas Carol is my favorite holiday story. Thank you so much. This was wonderful!

[@dyanalayng5507]

A wonderful tribute to M.R. James's stories! Thank you from a Canadian reader of those terrifying tales.

[@deniseatkins9407]

Wow that was great makes me want to find the place. Merry Christmas and let's hope 2023 is much better year for all

[@susangridley8354]

Nothing like a creepy ghost story for Christmas. Loved it! Happy Christmas to you and yours, Allan!

[@allanbarton]

Thank you Susan and Happy Christmas to you and your family too.

[@prarieborn6458]

Merry Christmas , Dear Antiquarian! Your story has quite a twisty turn at the end. I have read all of MR James’ ghost and supernatural stories and many of his other writings, but I can say they have never grabbed my imagination the way this one has. 🙀 Ave Maria, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. 💕✝️…..

[@ivettearnaud2770]

Wonderful Story! I enjoyed listening to this great and spooky story! Merry Christmas.

[@TuckerSP2011]

Thank you Allan, Merry Christmas to you! This story reminds me of our Parish priest who used to remind us constantly when I was young that we were going to die and that we should always try to remember that and live our lives accordingly. Unfortunately they don't seem to preach this anymore and it's so important. Have a very merry Christmas.

[@mnfrench7603]

It is preached, just a different phrasing. Live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse.

[@PaulSmith-nd7dj]

Brilliant, simply brilliant

[@pjk1714]

Happy Christmas and thank you for taking the time to share this story. Hope you enjoyed your day.🎄

[@monicacall7532]

Bravo, Allan! MR James is my favorite writer of ghost stories. Who needs to read modern horror writers when you have his STILL incredibly scary ghost stories? They’re terrifying even in these more “modern” times without the need for buckets of blood and a gore fest. Psychological horror is so much more frightening! (That’s why Alfred Hitchcock’s films are so successful.) Just yesterday I watched Mark Gatiss’ latest MR James Christmas ghost story production “Count Magnus” on Britbox. How did the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve come about? Does it have pagan origins due to Christmas being celebrated at the darkest time of the year or did it begin later on? At the girls’ summer camp that I attended every year as a teen we told ghost stories on the first night to scare the new campers out of their wits and usually did an estimable job of making sure that they wouldn’t sleep well for a night or two. The next year these same girls would be telling the same stories to a new group of campers. How I wish that I’d known about MR James’ stories and your own one back then! Merry Christmas!🎄🎁

[@dyanalayng5507]

Absolutely terrifying! Even reading the M R James stories in daytime will leave "things" moving just out of your sight.

[@monicacall7532]

Diana, absolutely true! MR James is to me now what the gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” was to me as a kid. His stories always have me looking around “just to be sure that I’m safe” after I finish reading them.

[@dyanalayng5507]

@@monicacall7532 I always found "The Mezzotint" terrifying. The one he wrote for the Boy Scouts I found really scary. It wasn't written as well, but for some reason, because it took place in daylight, it seemed scarier. No idea why.

[@monicacall7532]

Dyana, I also find “The Mezzotint” frightening as well as the Boy Scout story. I was actually glad when the bully Scout got his frightening come uppance. Have you seen Mark Gatiss’ recent short film of “The Mezzotint”? It’s equally scary.

[@chazzyb8660]

Thank you Allan, what a great tail-piece to our Community Christmas Lunch in the church which lies just across from my windows here. Slipped down well with a mince pie and brandy butter. Thanks for all the brilliant videos this year, I even adapted your story of Father Christmas for my card this year. Many thanks.

[@hugolandheer7008]

I love your story.... You should do more of those! England must have a lot of ghost stories! And ofcourse a very scary uuuh sorry merry Christmas to you and yours too!

[@anne-marie2972]

Yes I would love to hear more ghost srories

[@idreamofparis7233]

Thank you for sharing a creepy and terrific story.

[@stepps511]

Thank you for a fantastic story! I hung on every word, and your whispering might qualify you for the position of "ghost" in any theatre production! A very blessed and joy-filled Christmas to you, Allan. And a wonderful New Year to follow!

[@cherrytomato6139]

Nothing like a glorious, scary, well illustrated ghost story for Christmas! What a fabulous present! Thank you so much. Could you please kindly repeat the name of the writer of ghost stories you recommended?

[@doctorfoster1968]

M.R .James

[@brooksiefan]

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a new year full of precious findings.

[@allanbarton]

You too Louis, happy Christmas.

[@kaeten838]

Thoroughly enjoyed the story Allan, thank you. The photos are lovely; I'd take my chances and stay there! Looking forward to next year's ghost story for Christmas.

[@MegaMesozoic]

Hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Allan and wishing you a happy ghost-free year! (Except for those coming from imagination!) H R James is a favourite author of mine too!

[@antonyhorner4326]

Probably not the best thing to watch late at night just before going to bed, but a great story :) really enjoy your videos

[@allanbarton]

Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@ButterBobBriggs]

Great story, well told. Thanks, Allan, and Merry Christmas ☦️. Christ is born, Glorify Him.

[@maggiemontgomery8400]

Yes indeed !

[@lenac7352]

Loved it! Thank you so much ! A new Christmas Day tradition for me I hope!

[@allanbarton]

I am glad you enjoyed it Lena, thank you. A new tradition for me too, I really enjoyed making this.

[@TerryC69]

Hi Allan! A gripping story indeed. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[@alexisl4158]

Wow! Wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.

[@valbrumby1068]

So enjoyed his! Especially with all the beautiful ,seasonal landscape , appropriate architecture and medieval imagery. M.R. ghost stories are my yardstick for the sort of ghost tales I most respond to and love. A scholar on a quest , researching the past when unexpectedly he stumbles upon the unimaginable. I hope you will make more like this. One of the best things I have seen/ heard during this Yuletide season. Excellent.

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it! I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for watching.

[@YorkistRaven]

Blessed Christmas to you: serenity, peace, happiness and feeling close to G-d. What a great ghost story, and true as there is a valuable lesson in it. Thank you! 👻🙏😇

[@tarmach523]

Loved it! I would have slept with the light on after the first whisper, after the second awakening that would have been it for me, bye bye!! Great chilling story indeed!

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lizzietheoldbiddy262]

Wonderful story. I was hanging in your every word. Happy Christmas

[@SkipMDMan]

Well done with the story.

[@Jennifer-qo4kz]

Neat story. Thank you.

[@Nancy-SF]

Great story, much appreciated. Happy Holidays!

[@janedee6488]

Loved it. Thanks

[@Lisette777]

I thought ghost stories were the province of All Hallows Eve...? Regardless, wishing you and yours a warm, safe, and wonderful Christmas!

[@pamburt]

Not here in the UK! Ghost stories at Christmas are a very old tradition, and not just for Halloween ( which is a much newer tradition in this country than in the USA).

[@Lisette777]

@@pamburt I see! Thanks for sharing that. Here in Canada, I don't think the scary stories are a thing for Christmas - although I may be wrong, as I only have my own experience to fall back on!

[@deeparks3112]

SUCH a fetching story! Thank you.

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!

[@jaceek2030]

Ghost stories are my faves..this one did not disappoint. Thanks for sharing!

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@cindys2617]

That was a hoot! Thanks!

[@pixbychris3182]

Happy Christmas thank you for this and all you do. Have an excellent 2023.

[@charleswray404]

Thank you for a great story more please. Have a Merry Christmas and New Year's.

[@EllenCFarmGirl]

Love this! Thank you! Boo🧖🏼‍♀️

[@Sorrely1]

Like M R James but better. Perfect for Christmas. Thank you for this. Every good wish for 2023.

[@maggiedaniels9562]

Happy Christmas. I do love your channel, and your photos are great. I learn so much.

[@agathavandoesburg7297]

Brilliant story, Best wishes to you too❤️😊

[@erikagargis2533]

Thank you🌲

[@nickimontie]

Merry Christmas to all!

[@allanbarton]

Merry Christmas Nicki

[@Lucius1958]

Merry Christmas! _Sic: morituri sumus omnes._ We can only hope to live as well as we can, in this brief span...

[@robcat92234]

Thank you for this wonderfully eerie ghost story. As I'm slightly hard of hearing I often watch your videos, and others, with the closed caption feature on. The results are sometimes hysterically amusing. One appeared during this story! I enjoy your videos immensely!

[@allanbarton]

Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it!

[@dianetheisen8664]

Pooh scary. I expected the 'true story' at the end.

[@marypalmer1062]

Loved

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@annettewillis2797]

Allan, that was such a wonderful, perfect story with an antiquarian twist! Many thanks for all your rambles and exposition. Happy Christmas to you and your family. Here's to more great rambles, stories and history in 2023!

[@michaelhealy1590]

Great Story! Thanks.

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@broadswordminiatures8008]

Thanks for a pleasing terror. I watched Count Magnus earlier today, so am in a Jamesian mood. A Happy New Year to you and your family.

[@allanbarton]

A happy new year, thank you very much!

[@David.M.]

Thanks Allen, this was wonderful.

[@allanbarton]

You're very welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@lorihenderson673]

Excellent thanks

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!

[@the_birthday_skeleton]

Fantastic! I love it - turns out I had listened to this before. If you ever come out with a book of stories I’d love to do some illustrations for it or even submit a antiquarian ghost story or two 🙏✨

[@morgs456]

Chilling

[@allanbarton]

😆

[@JosMorn1]

THAT's a great story!

[@allanbarton]

Thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@izvestia03]

I did enjoy thank you ! Love the imagery too! Merry Christmas from Canada !

[@allanbarton]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching and a happy new year to you!

[@Westeross]

Great storytelling Allan…Merry Christmas 👍🏻🇦🇺👍🏻

[@downtonviewer]

Happy Christmas, Allan!

[@allanbarton]

Happy Christmas.

[@pamburt]

Hi Allan , Merry Christmas! I caught up with your ghost story on Boxing Day, and I must say, your antiquarian expertise shines through in your storytelling. I too am a huge fan of the great M R James and have been so for 30-40 years. I highly recommend M R James’ ghost stories for those of your viewers who haven’t explored his works as yet, they’re missing some really great stuff! This was a wonderful hommage to James (who was an expert in medieval studies) and certainly knew what he was talking about!. Other authors have attempted to copy his subject matter, but your attempt was far more successful because like MRJ, your scholarship supports and enhances the antiquarian theme of the story ( and the Jamesian twist at the end!). Well done👍🏻

[@ceh5526]

Thank you for this - excellent for Christmas Day. And far more, thank you for all your work that you share with us. It has given depth and width to the worlds in which we inhabit

[@allanbarton]

That is much appreciated, thank you very much indeed.

[@amymahers2957]

Very interesting and once again the setting was so appropriate. You are a talented gentleman. Merry Christmas to you and yours. Keep up the good work!

[@allanbarton]

@@amymahers2957 thank you for such lovely encouragement.

[@marypalmer1062]

Keep doing the deep dive.

[@bobbibuttons8730]

Perfect for this time of year Allan. Thank you so much for your fabulous channel and your magazine which I look forward to each month. May I take this chance to wish you and your family all the best for the new year. May you be blessed with health, love and happiness. Xx

[@allanbarton]

Thank you so much! A very happy and blessed new year to you too.

[@AlecFlackie]

Great story but with the old if he didn't survive how do we know what happened issue.😄

[@Roheryn100]

Thank you , I enjoyed that story. I do have a small request….Does anyone remember a ghost story published by the Daily Telegraph at Christmas time sometime in the mid 1980’s to 1990’s ? It was about a small group of fell walkers who were lost near the Hardknott Pass (I think), and what they saw. I have been trying to track it down for years. I can’t find it online as it probably pre-dates the internet. Any clues would be appreciated !

[@davidd6171]

Wonderful work Allan!

[@anne-marie2972]

I love ghost stories.Thank you for sharing. Merry Chirstmas from Finland 🇫🇮🎄

[@Rocwallaby]

Merry Christmas 🎄

[@educanassa100]

Merry christmas

[@Wolf_Frak]

Honestly I didn’t even read the first half of the video title. I just saw “Memento Mori” and clicked expecting to see Unus Annus.

[@nadiabrook7871]

😱👻👍⛄🎅🎄💗

[@allanbarton]

Happy Christmas Nadia.

[@nadiabrook7871]

@@allanbarton A BLESSED and Happy Christmas to you and your family too, Allan!! May God continue to Bless and guide you all!!

[@ernestweaver9720]

I shall research this sir. If it is based on actual events... well then, Excellent job. Sorry however I do Not care for campfire ghost stories. Fictitious. You got a thumbs Up and a new subscriber. Factual events only please. Why is this important to me you ask? I love history. It's that simple. Thank you for the read.

[@thegreencat9947]

It's true...honest. Bob is my uncle.😁

[@cake94309]

I saw Memento mori and instantly thought of the game dead by daylight 😆

[@amyjones8114]

😳

[@jimcabezola3051]

Mele Kalikimaka from your friends in Hawai’i!

[@bmac5576]

So how do we know Bob saw this ghost?

[@allanbarton]

It’s a story!

[@bmac5576]

@@allanbarton Yes, but it’s so much more spooky if Bob disappears the next night after telling his story. Then we are left with the delicious possibility that it was true. 😁

[@allanbarton]

that's true - the next one is much more believable. @@bmac5576

[@bmac5576]

@@allanbarton The link, please? Love your work!

[@bobsburger2827]

First

[@allanbarton]

😂

[@davideames7469]

Brilliant!! My only criticism is that you're so erudite that I believe everything you say, and had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction! Or was it...

[@dianetheisen8664]

I know, right⁉️

[@sharonbland9061]

What a beautful place. I personally do not like modern furniture. Therefore i tend to buy good reproductions fir my abode.

[@allanbarton]

Most of our furniture is antique or vintage - it is much cheaper than modern furniture. The desk I'm typing at dates from around 1790.

[@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz]

New sub. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

[@allanbarton]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it! A merry Christmas season and happy new year to you too.

[@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz]

@@allanbarton Thanks, brother. Hope you and your family had/have the same. Cheers