Good evening, ghouls and ghosties,

Na na, na na na na na na na na na, giant inflatable pumpkin…

(Thanks Beth!)

Some big hubbub in the folk horror community today! Turns out that the prop whistle from the 1968 “Whistle and I'll Come to You” short film (42 mins) appeared on Antiques Roadshow earlier this week, where it was appraised at a mere £100. (Far too low, according to the viewing fans, one of whom described it as a “hauntological cornerstone” - correctly, in my opinion.)

If you’re not familiar, the Omnibus episode is based on the ghost story "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" by M. R. James, a tale of a fussy professor who goes on a holiday to the coast, only to find (after blowing a mysterious whistle that he discovers in a crevice) that his steadfasat belief in the scientific world is shakier than he thought.

(M.R. James stories tend to be more about the slow buildup of an eerie atmosphere than any sort of jump scares, fwiw. But it is spooky! So is the short story. I actually think it would really slap as a stop-motion animation too. (Producers, call me.))

Anyhow, the 1968 version is iconic and hugely influential on a bunch of people who caught it on late night TV and grew up to make other scary things - and so is the whistle from it. I will be very interested to see how much the whistle actually sells for…because for folk horror fans, it’s priceless.

Some nice pixel art from @anasabdin:

Til tomorrow,
Laura

October 26, 2026