[1][2] Set in 1863, it stars Jason Watkins as Mr. Wraxhall, a British travelogue writer who visits Sweden whilst writing a guidebook to the country and who becomes fascinated by the story of Count Magnus, a 17th-century landowner who was known for his brutality to his tenants.

He becomes fascinated by the story of the long-dead nobleman Count Magnus, who, it is said, was a "merciless" character known locally for being a harsh landowner, who branded his tenants if they were late with their rent and who burnt down their houses if they were built too near his lands - with them in them.

[5] Nielsen, the village innkeeper, has tales to tell about Count Magnus, including that of his journey on a "Black Pilgrimage" to the Holy Land "on most unholy business", bringing something – or someone – back with him.

Of Gatiss's adaptation, Lucy Mangan of The Guardian giving the production 2 stars out of 5, wrote, "The plot is slight, it's far from visually engaging and it manages one paltry jump scare.

",[3] while Orlando Bird of The Daily Telegraph gave it 3 stars, writing, "Mark Gatiss's MR James ghost stories have become a pleasurable Christmas TV staple, even if this offering tickled rather than thrilled.