The X-Files: "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas"

Premiered December 13, 1998.

It's Christmas Eve, somewhere in Maryland.  FBI Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) has called his partner Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to a stakeout of an abandoned mansion.  Scully is a bit annoyed, since she has lots of Christmas presents to wrap. 

Mulder tells her that on December 24, 1917, two star-crossed lovers named Maurice and Lyda killed each other in a suicide pact.  Their ghosts haunt the mansion every Christmas Eve.  In fact, every couple that has lived in the house since then has all died tragically on Christmas Eve.  Scully doesn't believe in ghosts and dismisses Mulder's story.  

Once they enter the house, Scully notices a clock that is keeping perfect time.  They investigate further and notice a fireplace where the fire has just been extinguished.  The agents notice a creaking under the floor boards, so Mulder lifts up the boards and discovers two dead bodies.  Scully and Mulder realize that the bodies bear a strong resemblance...to themselves!  

When Scully runs out of the library, a door slams behind her.  Mulder opens it and discovers the doorway has been bricked over, trapping him.

Suddenly, a man (Ed Asner) appears and asks Mulder what he's doing there.  He analyzes Mulder, telling him that his quest to learn the truth will drive him insane and that he tolerates Scully's skepticism because he's desperately lonely. 

Elsewhere in the house, Scully encounters a woman (Lily Tomlin).  She says that Scully's life must be "awful," since she spends so much time with Mulder chasing after things she doesn't believe in.  The woman states that the only pleasure Scully gets out of life is proving Mulder wrong.  

Scully and Mulder soon learn that the people in the house are the ghosts of Lyda and Maurice.  Will Mulder and Scully make it out of the mansion alive? 

RigbyMel says:

I remember seeing this creepy and festive episode of The X-Files back when it originally aired.  It made quite an impression on me then and holds up well 20+ years later.  There are also some aspects of the episode that have an unexpected and interesting resonance in light of references to the 1917/18 flu pandemic and our current ongoing coronavirus situation. 

"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" is a Christmas cracker of a ghost story as well as a meditation on loneliness during the holiday season or otherwise.  It's also essentially a 4 person play with the not-necessarily benevolent spirits played by the delightful Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin wrecking pop-psych havoc upon Mulder and Scully's own loneliness and their fears about their worst impulses.  The quality of the acting makes or breaks an episode like this and all 4 actors are definitely up to the task. 

The Christmas season is literally the darkest time of the year and so we often celebrate with lights and warmth and feasting to counteract the darkness.  However, that darkness also manifests in the sense of loneliness and melancholy that many experience during the season. 

Moreover, there is a wonderful tradition of ghostly tales and stories associated with the holiday season with which "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" slots in nicely.  There are even some direct references to the granddaddy of all ghostly Christmas tales, A Christmas Carol -- we see a clip of the Alistair Sim version of the tale on Mulder's TV late in the episode.  Also, corpses under the floorboards really takes the whole tombstone with your name on it thing on it to another level in terms of Christmas Yet To Come!

Although Maurice and Lyda's analysis of our heroes has some truth to it, the ghosts miss the fact that ultimately Mulder and Scully's friendship/partnership is more important to them than their flaws as individuals.  When Mulder and Scully are able to actually communicate (in pools of blood) they are able to overcome the ghosts' head games and make their escape from the haunted mansion.  Their ghostly encounter leaves them with a new and deeper appreciation of their friendship and for the spirit of the holiday season.  They even exchange gifts with each other -- aww! 

I also guarantee that you will never hear Bing Crosby's version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in quite the same way after watching this episode.  

This X-Files episode is heartily recommended -- but not for the faint of heart. 

RigbyMel's rating:

4 candy canes! 

J.A. Morris says:

I'm mostly in agreement with my co-blogger here.  The X-Files was a show I usually watched when it aired and I remember enjoying this episode when it premiered.  

I'll echo what RigbyMel said about the light and darkness that are both present during the holiday season.  "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas" begins in an extremely dark place, with a story of two lovers who took their lives on Christmas Eve.  However, at the end of this episode, Mulder and Scully realize that there is more goodness than darkness in the world and that having each other (even if they drive each other crazy at times) is better than having no one.  

I'm a big fan of both Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin and they're great in "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas."  Both actors bring the perfect amount of humor and horror to their characters and they play well off Duchovny and Anderson.  

One thing I noticed while re-watching this episode:there are few traditional Christmas symbols to be found here.  No Christmas trees, no Santas, no wreathes, no Nativities.  We get a quick glance at Mulder and Scully's Christmas gifts at the end, but that's it.  Yet this is most definitely a Christmas episode in every other sense.  

During its run, The X-Files generally had two types of episodes:(1)"The Monster Of The Week" Episodes and (2) Episodes that built on the big conspiracy that lurked in the background of the series.  I always preferred the "Monster" episodes and this holiday episode certainly falls into that category.

"How The Ghosts Stole Christmas" is recommended to all fans of Christmas entertainment who like a little bit of darkness and horror to go with their eggnog and hot chocolate.  It's especially recommended for fans of Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 candy canes!

Popeye: "Fright To The Finish"

Premiered August 27, 1954.

"So beware this Halloween Eve, when the Earth will be haunted by spooks, ghosts, and hobgoblins."
-Olive Oyl

It's Halloween night and Olive Oyl (Mae Questel) is reading a book of spooky stories.  This sets Olive on edge and she is afraid that ghosts and hobgoblins will haunt her.

Popeye the sailor (Jack Mercer) and Bluto (Jackson Beck), Popeye's rival for Olive's affections, are bored by Olive's frightful tales.  Bluto wishes Popeye would leave so he can be alone with Olive, Popeye wonders why Bluto hasn't gone home already.

Bluto gets a fiendish idea.  He will scare Olive Oyl out of her wits and blame Popeye, which will send her into his arms.  Bluto perpetrates several Halloween tricks to further his plan.

Will Bluto succeed?

J.A. Morris says:
I grew up watching various Popeye cartoons and I've long been a fan of the spinach-eating sailor. Fright To The Finish was produced by Famous Studios.  Hardcore Popeye fans prefer the Fleischer Brothers shorts, but this Halloween toon is pretty good.  Fright To The Finish has great animation and is packed with sight-gags from start to finish.

It's full of great Halloween imagery like skeletons and jack o'lanterns.  The voice cast is also excellent.  Jack Mercer (who is also credited with writing Fright To The Finish) voiced Popeye for nearly five decades and he does a great job here.  Mae Questel (the definitive Olive Oyl voice actress) and Jackson Beck are also very good.

(A mild SPOILER below)

Fright To The Finish is a rare Popeye cartoon where the sailor man does not save the day by eating spinach.  I watched it several times before I noticed this departure from the formula.

This short can be found on a dvd called Popeye:The Sailor Man (75th Anniversary Collection) and it can also be streamed on Amazon.

Fright To The Finish is a very enjoyable Halloween cartoon and is highly recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Jack O'Lanterns!

RigbyMel says:

This is quite an enjoyable animated short.  

There is definitely an emphasis on the "trick" aspect of "trick or treat" on full display here,  as well as some rather wonderful sight gags -- particularly involving poor Olive Oyl's reactions to the appearance of various Bluto-created ghosties and beasties.    One almost has to admire Bluto's Halloween prank ingenuity.  

There were several bits of this short that reminded me a bit of the Brom Bones/Ichabod Crane rivalry as depicted in the 1949 Disney incarnation of the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow", but the dynamic is different enough not to detract from the fun.  

Popeye plans to get his own back with a little help from some of Olive's vanishing cream

I also love that we get a series of "vanishing cream" gags in this. I've always enjoyed the way cartoons will play with this notion since it's totally what little kids think of when they hear the term "vanishing cream."  

I  find it interesting to see the way that different signs and signifiers of the spooky season are deployed in this short -- we don't see children trick or treating, but we do get ghost story telling, pranks, skeletons, jack o'lanterns and even ghostly manifestations, after a fashion.   Halloween is not quite as strictly codified as other holidays and this makes for intriguingly varied pop cultural takes on the spooky season.

RigbyMel's rating:

4 Jack O'Lanterns!

Quantum Leap: "The Boogieman"

Premiered October 26, 1990

"When I was growing up, Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. "Trick or treat", we used to say. Of course, back then we always expected a treat, and if we did play a trick, it was always funny and harmless. But tonight there were no treats. There were no tricks. There was only death."
-Dr. Sam Beckett

In this episode from Season 3 of the series,  it is October 31st, 1964 somewhere in New England.

"Unbelievable.  I've leaped into the Addams Family!"

Our time traveling hero, Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) leaps into the body of second rate gothic horror novelist, Joshua Ray.   He is getting his bearings in a creepy old house with all sorts of arcane trappings when he is surprised by some people in masks and falls down the stairs.

It turns out the two masked individuals are Ray's fiancee Mary Greely (Valerie Mahaffey) and a teenaged boy named Stevie (David Kriegel).  They're getting the house ready to be part of the Church Spook House for the local Halloween festivities.

Strange things begin to happen at Ray's house.

Sinister goat offs handyman!

Tully (Donald Hotton), the local handyman is on a ladder repairing windows when a goat arrives and knocks down the ladder.  Tully is killed instantly.  Ben Mathers (Paul Linke), the local sheriff, interviews Sam about the incident.  He tells them about the goat, but Mary points out that he doesn't own a goat and there is no farm for miles.  Masters, who also happens to be Mary's ex-boyfriend doesn't buy the goat story.

Usually, Sam leaps into people's lives to put right something that once went wrong with help from Al (in the form of a hologram) and Ziggy, the supercomputer that runs the Quantum Leap Project, but nobody can seem to figure out what is going on.  Sam presumes he leaped into Ray so he could save Tully.   Or maybe he is there to save Mary from being murdered and found in the Spook House on Halloween night?

Later that day, Dorothy Yeager (Fran Ryan), the town gossip brings over candle sticks for the spook house.  Dorothy is sad to hear about Tully's death, but not exactly surprised.

When Dorothy goes to the kitchen to get cider, she is suddenly killed by a black mamba snake!
Sam chases the snake away with a broom, but it slithers away.  Two people have died and Sam is furious.  He damands that Al get to the bottom of why he leaped into this tragic scenario.

The body count is mounting and strange things including, but not limited to, flying skulls and mysterious typewriter messages relating to recent events keep happening.  

Will Sam be able to save Mary so he can leap?  Or are more sinister forces at play here?   Is some primal evil trying to stop Sam from succeeding?

Note house number.  Oh dear!

RigbyMel says:

Full disclosure, I was/am a HUGE fan of Quantum Leap and remember watching this episode when it first aired and being thoroughly creeped out by it.  (At the time,  I was also rather smugly proud of figuring out a small "Kiss With History" surprise that occurs near the end of the episode before it was revealed.)   There is a great deal of spooky tension that is allowed to build and build and the solution to the mystery of the episode is genuinely unexpected.

Creepiest scarecrow ever?

The episode holds up pretty well generally, even if it comes off as perhaps a little overly dramatic in spots.  There are a lot of fun nods to horror movie/tv/book tropes as well that reward repeated viewing.

Joshua's young friend Stevie

There's also some rather creative staging as regards Al and the troubles with figuring out what exactly Sam's mission on this leap is.  I don't want to spoil too much of this episode for those that might not have seen it before, but watch closely in scenes featuring Al.  Speaking of Al,  Dean Stockwell gets to do some great unsettling work in this episode, hats off to him!

Interestingly, this episode of Quantum Leap has developed a bit of a reputation amongst fans.   Some believe the episode to be "cursed" and will not call the program by name, preferring instead to refer to it as "The Halloween Episode"  or "The Boogiem*n".    The episode is thought to have been responsible for weird mechanical failures of VCRs/cable boxes/TVs etc and apparently even uttering the name of the episode is thought to bring bad luck.   (Reminds me of theater people and superstitions about a certain Scottish Play by Shakespeare!)    

In any case, your intrepid bloggers have not had any episode name related misfortunes (so far -- *touch wood* -- after I typed this, we started having problems loading images to this post.  Spooooooky!).  That being said, this particular installment of Quantum Leap is well worth adding to your Halloween festivities.  

RigbyMel's rating:

4 jack o'lanterns!

Yikes!

J.A. Morris says:

Unlike my co-blogger, I was more of a casual fan of Quantum Leap than a regular viewer.  I hadn't seen this episode until recent years, but it's become part of my yearly Halloween viewing.

It has plenty of seasonal trappings such as black cats, pumpkins, skulls and paranormal activity.

Bakula is good as usual and Stockwell...well let's just say he stretches his acting a little more than usual in "The Boogieman."

Stevie and his dog...Cujo!

It's worth noting that Mary Greely is played by Valerie Mahaffey.  She has appeared in dozens of tv series and movies.  Most notably, Mahaffey made an impression as Eve on Northern Exposure.

Mary hisses at Sam/Josh.

On a personal note, the "Dracula" decoration seen in this episode caught my eye.

My parents bought this Halloween decoration in the early 1980s and it was displayed in our home every October for many years.

Sheriff Masters suspects Sam is responsible for the suspicious deaths; Sam believes Masters is hiding something.

This episode can be found on the season 3 dvd set of Quantum Leap.  It also currently streams on Netflix, iTunes and Amazon.

"The Boogieman" is a fun Halloween episode and is recommended.  I lack the nostalgic attachment to this episode that RigbyMel brings, so I rate it slightly lower than she.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 and a half pumpkins.