Casting the Runes (Mystery and Imagination)

ABC Television

Industry	Television production
Founded	1968
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Television shows

'"Casting the Runes" serves as the opening installment of the third season of the supernatural anthology series Mystery and Imagination, which was produced by ABC Television in 1968. With a duration of 50 minutes, this episode first aired on 22 March 1968. It is an adaptation of the 1911 ghost tale "Casting the Runes" authored by British scholar and writer M. R. James, representing its inaugural appearance on television. The principal cast features John Fraser portraying Dunning and Robert Eddison as Karswell.

Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of 1905, the story revolves around Julian Karswell, a volatile demonologist who is quick to anger and employs occult powers to exact vengeance. After an academic society dismisses his paper titled "The Truth of Alchemy," he directs his wrath toward Edward Dunning, the individual responsible for this rejection. Dunning soon encounters unsettling phenomena, such as a tram window displaying a memorial indicating his death scheduled a month in advance. When Karswell covertly hands Dunning a cursed rune, Dunning must devise a method to return it before their clash results in dire repercussions.

Cast

• John Fraser as Dunning
• Robert Eddison as Karswell
• Gordon Jackson as Gayton
• Michael Lees as Harrington
• Richard Huggett as Mason
• Basil Henson as Dr Ramsay
• Julie Wallace as Ellen
• Michael Rothwell as vicar
• Ronald Pember as conductor
• Neal Arden as driver
• Henry Kay as attendant
• John Barrett as coachman
• Robert Hunter as railwayman

Adaptation

The production was undertaken by ABC Television, with Evelyn Frazer responsible for the screenplay and Alan Cooke directing. Presently, only a brief segment lasting approximately three minutes from this episode is known to have survived.