Full disclosure this is the first of the brand new Ghost Story for Christmas episodes I’ve managed to catch.
From the mind of Arthur Conan Doyle comes Lot No. 249, following Kit Harrington’s Abercrombie Smith, who starts to notice a change in an Egyptology student who has acquired the titular load which contains a certain mummy. Freddie Fox plays the student Edward Bellingham, and carries a quiet menace, as a foil to his new discovery.
Written and directed by Mark Gatiss, Lot No. 249 drips with gothic dread and also contains a handful of unnerving shots, including a chase between the former Jon Snow and a mummy.
Harrington is clearly revelling in the role of the scholar instead of a moody Northerner from Westeros, and we get an appearance from genre stalwart James Swanton as the mummy, who can chill with just the shift of his eyes under the heavy makeup.
Given its author we also get a cameo from a famous detective, but it doesn’t attempt to eclipse the story or Smith as the lead.
At a brisk 29 minutes Lot No. 249 doesn’t outstay its welcome, its lean and mean and a perfect watch for the most chilly time of the year.
Lot. No. 249 is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer and BritBox.
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