Whistle And I'll Come To You (Directed by Jonathan Miller) 1968

Okay, so some of you horror movie buffs might snort that this is not a film - and you'd be right, this was a short adapted and directed by Jonathan Miller from the works of classic ghost story writer M.R. James. The original story was first published in 1904, but this adaption for the BBC was first broadcast as part of 'Omnibus', and like so many of these type of shorts, it has stood the test of time, and remains far more chilling and atmospheric than a majority of horror/supernatural movies that have been made. I had no hesitation in including 'Whistle...' in my Top 100 because as a short, black and white film it inspires such as dread and tells the story of an academic chap, a Professor Parkin (played brilliantly in bumbling fashion by Michael Horden) who, whilst on a visit to the English coast, stumbles upon an old type of whistle partly submerged in the sand. When Parkin returns to his hotel he cleans the whistle up and gives it a blow, not realising of course that somewhere, out in the wilderness of the mind, he has evoked some type of spectre that decides to come looking for him - cue several eerie scenes of Parkin being pursued along the windswept beech by an unnerving wraith.

From then on Parkin is plagued by the ghoul, especially at night as he attempts to rest, only to hear the sound of the adjacent bed, in his room, being disturbed as if someone else is sleeping in it. Due to being academically minded Parkin is keen to scoff at such an entity until again he is pursued along the beech. So tormented is he by his nightmares that he believes that surely he must be dreaming only to have a disturbing experience when some type of phantom accosts him in his room. The night terror is only relieved from him when another hotel guest barges into his room wondering what the commotion is.

'Whistle...' is without doubt one of the best ghost stories ever to be adapted, and its slow pace and the wonderful yet oaken presence of Horden gives it an antiquarian charm. The horror, just as in James' original, is fleeting, a menace out of the corner of the eye that eventually leaves us asking whether it existed in the first place outside of Professor Parkin's busy mind. For me, this is a true ghost story that oozes atmosphere, and proof that those set in the past are far more atmospheric than any of today's garbage. People expecting a bump in the night fest' will be sorely disappointed, but those in the know will find this to be extremely chilling in its suggestion.