Mystery and Imagination

Mystery and Imagination was an ITV anthology series that aired five series of classic horror and supernatural dramas between 1966 and 1970. Produced first by ABC and later by Thames Television, the show adapted works from authors including Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and Edgar Allan Poe. For the first two series, David Buck played Richard Beckett—a narrator character created for the series—who also stepped into roles from the original tales. These two series were recorded as a single production block but broadcast separately. The only episode without Buck as the lead, “The Open Door,” featured Jack Hawkins. Unlike BBC dramas of the time, exterior shots were recorded on video tape instead of 16mm film, giving a more consistent look; the first three series were shot in black-and-white, while the fourth and fifth series were shot in colour. Of the ABC-era episodes, only “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Open Door” survive. All other episodes from the first three series are lost, though the Thames episodes from series four and five remain. A brief clip from “Casting the Runes” also exists, and domestic audio recordings of six missing episodes have been uploaded to YouTube. In 2010, Network released the eight surviving episodes on DVD, along with the “Casting the Runes” clip. Kaleidoscope/TV Brain has also released some of the off-air audio recordings. Critics praised the series: Jon E. Lewis and Penny Stempel called it “spine-chillingly scripted and shot,” while Kim Newman of Empire gave it four stars, noting strong writing and acting despite occasionally shaky sets. Laurence Marcus of Television Heaven described the stories as having “original magic and power.”