'Lot No. 249' Brings Back Ghosts of Christmas Past, Good & Bad

A tradition that began with the original run from 1971-78, the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas series has now steadily released annual entries since 2018 (minus the first year of the pandemic). Unlike the classically structured short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, this adaptation of his Lot No. 249 begins in medias res, with a terrified Abercrombie Smith (Kit Harington) banging on a friend’s door and begging to be let inside. From there, this period piece, set in the 1880s, features a ghost story framework where the main character tells his fantastical tale to a close confidant. Effective and engaging, Lot No. 249’s one misstep is a heavy reliance on a style of old-school queer coding.

It isn’t explicitly stated, but the story occurs at the University of Oxford and centers on three students living in the same dormitory: Smith, Bellingham (Freddie Fox), and Monkhouse Lee (Colin Ryan). Bellingham is a student of Egyptology, where Smith and Lee are doctors in training. One night, a frantic Lee urges Smith to Bellingham’s room. Lee is worried he’s dead, but Smith concludes Bellingham has only fainted, possibly from narcotic use. Smith slaps Bellingham to roust him, then slaps him once again when Bellingham can’t stop giggling hysterically.

Already, there is a contrast made between Smith’s take-charge, authoritarian masculinity and Bellingham’s subordinate status (read as female) of someone in need of reviving. Bellingham’s vast private collection of Egyptian artifacts, which makes his room appear a museum, already paints him as obsessive and unusual; his feminine-tinged laughter and delicate nervous system further signify unmanly tendencies.

While helping Bellingham back to his senses, Lee reveals his secret: he shows Smith an ancient Egyptian mummy Bellingham has acquired at auction. Bellingham says it has no name other than “Lot 249.”

The following day, Bellingham thanks Smith for his help while wearing the most flamboyant “conservative” outfit: a royal blue three-piece suit with purple filigree accents on the vest. By comparison, the other men on campus wear black or grey suits with no embellishments. Bellingham makes a suggestive comment while watching his fellow classmates run a race, one that is decidedly not in the original text.

It is heavily insinuated that Bellingham and Lee were in a relationship that soured. “Bellingham dazzled me,” Lee says. “He showed me a world of culture, and mystery. And pleasure.” Lee’s sexuality is hinted at from his first introduction, when he appears to be wearing lipstick and declines an alcoholic drink for “religious” reasons. Smith also decides not to partake to make him more comfortable, but the implication is that real men drink brandy.

Strikingly, there are no women in this at all. This is a story of men, by men. You can spot exactly two ladies in the periphery because this is set in the men’s world of academia, and women are not welcome. The original text had Bellingham engaged to Lee’s sister; that has been removed from the plot entirely in favor of the implied homosexuality between them.

The mummy begins to attack Bellingham’s enemies. Though initially skeptical, Smith and the audience see the mummy walking around with their own eyes. Smith witnesses the mummy appear then disappear, and there is no question about his sanity.

Bellingham is the mummy’s devious puppeteer. Coding him as gay is a bit problematic: it draws an uncomfortable parallel between being gay and being evil. There’s a particular scene where Smith accuses Bellingham of being a witch and swears he’ll see him hanged if anyone is murdered. Then there’s the not-so-subtle gay bashing: “Your filthy Egyptian tricks won’t answer in England!” Although the line is directly from the source material, it takes on a whole new meaning when paired with Bellingham’s characterization. It's a fascinating re-interpretation of Doyle's story to see it as early "gay panic." But taken as a face-value addition, it feels uncomfortable.

Lot No. 249 still manages to entertain despite the missteps. The atmosphere is well drawn, the mummy can be genuinely terrifying, and Freddie Fox’s portrayal of Bellingham is hammy fun. The new ending for this story makes things bleaker for the main character, which is a good change, especially for a modern audience well-versed in horror. 

Speaking of modern, there’s a post-credit stinger. There are also cute Sherlock Holmes Easter eggs: Smith’s unnamed pipe-smoking friend is imminently logical, dismissing Smith’s supernatural tale with level-headed explanations. He then refers to his upcoming move to a suite of rooms on Baker Street and jokes about how a doctor would make an excellent companion. Given Gatiss’s connection to Doctor Who, the reference to a companion is probably not a coincidence either.

Lot No. 249 is streaming in the U.S. on BritBox starting Sunday, December 24, 2023.