View source for Stigma (1977 film)



{{Infobox television
| related        = ''[[A Ghost Story for Christmas]]''
| image          = Stigma (BBC title screen).jpg
| caption        = Title screen
| director       = [[Lawrence Gordon Clark]]
| writer         = [[Clive Exton]]
| producer       = Rosemary Hill
| released       = {{Start date|1977|12|29|df=yes}}
| runtime        = 31 minutes
| starring        = {{unbulleted list|
* Kate Binchy as Katharine
* [[Peter Bowles]] as Peter
* [[Maxine Gordon]] as Verity
* [[Jon Laurimore]] as Dr. Hall
* [[Christopher Blake]] as Richard
* John Judd as Dave}}
}}
'''''Stigma''''' is a [[short film]] which is part of the [[Television in the United Kingdom|British]] [[Supernatural film|supernatural]] [[anthology series]] ''[[A Ghost Story for Christmas]]''. Written by [[Clive Exton]], produced by Rosemary Hill, and directed by the series' creator, [[Lawrence Gordon Clark]], it first aired on [[BBC One|BBC1]] on 29 December 1977 (delayed from 28 December), the latest airdate in the series relative to [[Christmas]]. At 31 minutes 47 seconds, it is the shortest episode in the original series.

The story concerns a family consisting of Katharine (Kate Binchy), Peter ([[Peter Bowles]]), and Verity ([[Maxine Gordon]]) who move to a rural cottage from the city. Workmen are brought in to try and remove a large stone which is embedded in the grass outside the cottage, but their attempts appear to unleash a supernatural force which causes Katharine to start bleeding from invisible wounds.

"Stigma" is the first instalment in the series not based on a pre-existing work, and the last to be directed by Clark. Hill, who had been brought on as producer in 1973, favoured contemporary stories as opposed to the [[Historical drama|period]] adaptations which had been the norm for the series. Clark's ambivalence to this direction led to his departure, and the series' original run would only last another year before ending. Critical and audience response was likewise negative, though in recent years it has been reassessed as a worthy piece of [[folk horror]] and [[body horror]] that stands alongside supernatural [[Television play|television plays]] of the decade such as those produced for ''[[Play for Today]]''.

==Plot==
The film concerns a family who have just moved into a cottage in the countryside. The cottage is situated near an ancient megalithic [[stone circle]], and one of the stones is in the garden of the cottage. The family arranges to have the stone moved. However, as two workmen attempt to lift a large, heavy stone from their garden, an ancient curse is unleashed which causes the mother to bleed uncontrollably, despite having no wounds. Once the stone is finally moved, a skeleton is found buried there. The implication is that the mother's body is re-enacting the ritual execution of a witch who was buried under the stone centuries earlier.<ref>Helen Wheatley, ''Gothic Television'', 2006 p. 55</ref>

==Cast==
* Kate Binchy as Katharine
* [[Peter Bowles]] as Peter
* [[Maxine Gordon]] as Verity
* [[Jon Laurimore]] as Dr. Hall
* [[Christopher Blake]] as Richard
* John Judd as Dave

==Production==
[[File:Avebury.jpg|250px|thumb|left| The prehistoric stones of [[Avebury, Wiltshire|Avebury]] where the production was filmed]]The production was filmed at [[Avebury, Wiltshire]], which had also been the location used for the ITV series ''[[Children of the Stones]]'' (screened earlier the same year). The production is unlike the previous films in the ''Ghost Story For Christmas'' [[Anthology series|strand]] in several ways; it is the first to be an original story and the first to be set in the then-present day. Critical opinion is decidedly mixed, with the decision to move away from adaptations of classic ghost stories the main concern. David Kerekes, author of ''Creeping Flesh: The Horror Fantasy Film Book: Volume 1'', suggested that "the problem is that this is not a ghost story. "Stigma" is a straight down the line horror story. Although it's a perfectly competent television production, it just doesn't fit in with the feel of what a Christmas ghost story should be."<ref name="kerekes">David Kerekes, ''Creeping Flesh: The Horror Fantasy Film Book: Volume 1'' p. 36</ref>

==Home video==
In 2012, to mark the 150th anniversary of [[M. R. James]]' birth, "Stigma" was released on [[DVD]] by the [[British Film Institute|BFI]] alongside "[[The Signalman (A Ghost Story for Christmas)|The Signalman]]" (1976) and "[[The Ice House (A Ghost Story for Christmas)|The Ice House]]" (1978) in the same release, and the entire run of ''A Ghost Story for Christmas'' from 1971-2010 was released in a DVD box set, which was updated the following year to include additional material.<ref>[http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/179 BFI press release] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511215432/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news/179|date=11 May 2012}}, Retrieved 2012-5-18</ref><ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk//blu-rays-dvds/ghost-stories-christmas-expanded-six-disc-collection BFI releases], retrieved 2014-1-21</ref> All three releases featured an essay on "Stigma" by professor Helen Wheatley and a filmed introduction by Lawrence Gordon Clark.

In 2023 it was remastered in [[2K resolution|2k resolution]] by the BFI and released on [[Blu-ray]] alongside "[[The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (A Ghost Story for Christmas)|The Treasure of Abbot Thomas]]" (1974), "[[The Ash Tree (A Ghost Story for Christmas)|The Ash Tree]]" (1975), "The Signalman", "The Ice House", "[[A View from a Hill (A Ghost Story for Christmas)|A View from a Hill]]" (2005), and "[[Number 13 (A Ghost Story for Christmas)|Number 13]]" (2006) as ''Ghost Stories for Christmas - Volume 2''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ghost Stories for Christmas: Volume 1 |url=https://shop.bfi.org.uk/ghost-stories-for-christmas-volume-one-blu-ray.html |access-date=4 December 2022 |website=BFI}}</ref> This included Helen Wheatley's essay, the Lawrence Gordon Clark introduction, and a newly-recorded [[Audio commentary|commentary]] by critics [[Kim Newman]] and Sean Hogan.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb episode|0217821}}

{{A Ghost Story for Christmas}}

[[Category:1977 horror films]]
[[Category:1977 films]]
[[Category:1977 television films]]
[[Category:BBC television dramas]]
[[Category:British supernatural television shows]]
[[Category:1970s ghost films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Clive Exton]]
[[Category:Films about curses]]
[[Category:Films set in 1977]]
[[Category:Films shot in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:British ghost films]]
[[Category:A Ghost Story for Christmas]]
[[Category:1977 British films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Stigma (1977 film)|access_date=2026-03-06}}