Sunday Mornings with Mulder and Scully – How the Ghosts Stole Christmas

The X-Files didn’t always acknowledge the time of year episodes take place or even if there was a holiday involved, but it did occasionally do a Christmas episode. Normally these episodes revolved around Scully’s faith, whether it was because of her cancer or because she found out she had a biological daughter. In season six, however, the show did a Christmas themed episode that was simply a ghost story that Mulder and Scully stumbled into thanks to Mulder’s need to investigate the paranormal. It also happened to guest star Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner.

How the Ghosts Stole Christmas begins as Scully reluctantly agrees to Mulder’s Christmas Eve request to investigate a house rumored to be haunted by ghosts who died in a suicide pact in 1917. He believes their love still remains as the haunt the house together all these years later. While she wasn’t willing to enter the house at first, she finds she must go in anyway to retrieve her keys from Mulder who was already inside.

Once inside, the door slams shut and the agents see strange shadows and hear creaking from the floor above. When they investigate they find a large library with two corpses that wear the same clothing as themselves. Weird, right? I would have been out of their in a heartbeat. I’ve seen enough haunted house movies to know that is never a good sign. The agents, however, decide to search the other rooms. And they SPLIT UP. Never split up, agents. Rule number one of haunted houses. STAY TOGETHER.

Now separated, they each encounter the ghosts in question. Maurice (Ed Asner) and Lyda (Lily Tomlin) manage to turn the agents against each other which leads to guns being pulled and bullets flying. Scully passes out and it is revealed that Lyda is actually the one carrying out the actions Mulder and Scully are witnessing – meaning Scully was seeing Mulder instead of Lyda. Mulder finds Scully bleeding and she ends up shooting him. Now it is Lyda pretending to be Scully.

The two seemingly injured agents make it downstairs wanting to get outside. They each claim that the other shot them. It is Mulder who realizes what has really happened and stands up, the illusion broken. Neither of them are injured and they leave the house. Inside, the two ghosts sit by the fire talking about how they almost had the two agents who are now in Mulder’s apartment exchanging the gifts they had previously agreed not to exchange.

As far as Christmas episodes go, this one is great all around. Not just for The X-Files, but for television in general. While past holiday episodes on this show had links to some of the mythology that runs throughout, this one is a stand alone. Not a real case per say, but an event that Scully reluctantly went along with because her friendship with Mulder meant a lot to her during the holiday season. It shows how close to two agents have become, like family. They exchange gifts even though they said they wouldn’t, something that I’ve done with a few friends and family over the years. We say we aren’t going to, but the spirit of giving wins out and we end up doing it anyway.

For me what elevates the episode is getting Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner to guest stars as the ghosts. Their dialogue while trying to manipulate Mulder and Scully into killing each other is great, though the way the agents flee the house afterwards is funnier than probably intended. I love this episode, but why these two ghosts needed Mulder and Scully to die is left up in the air for the most part. Would it have brought them back to life – stealing the essence from the agents? Would it have made the house heal in some capacity? Perhaps knowing this would have given the episode a more sinister tone.

Composter Mark Snow, who I admittedly haven’t mentioned much thus far on the blog, used a harpsichord for the score, something he admitted to borrowing from Joseph Haydn’s “Toy” Symphony. This particular score reminded me of the series Hannibal where Hannibal Lecter often uses the instrument. While that particular series is not holiday themed, a large portion of it does take place during cold, snowy weather so the mood goes with the instrument.

As far as haunted house themed stories go, this episode reminds me of the book Burnt Offerings by Robert Morasco. The story takes place during the summer, but the family staying in the house soon begins to fall ill as the house begins to heal itself. This novel is one of my all-time favorites and I highly recommend it. The book was adapted into a movie of the same name that is equally good. It stars Karen Black, Oliver Reed, and Bette Davis who was nearing the end of a prolific acting career. I thought of this particular story because I wish the ghosts had something more sinister in mind other than just getting the agents to kill themselves. In Burnt Offerings, the house gets visually more beautiful and stronger as the family weakens and, in some ways, begins to turn on each other. This one thing could have made this episode one of the series top ten best, even if I love it the way that it is.

Until next week, the truth is out there. And Merry Christmas in August because I’ll forget to mention it a few months from now when I’m languishing in season seven.