This was great. Yes, it was weird, but it was also fun and managed to be suitably Christmassy without overloading on schmalz as so many Christmas specials have been known to do. There really can't be that many new directions a ghost story can be taken in, so the only thing to do is what this episode did: revel gleefully in the clichés, sending yourself up at the same time as you send up the ghost story genre. This was where a lot of the fun came from, clichés like "the dark Gothic manor, the omnipresent low fog hugging the thicket of overgrowth - wait! Is that a hound I hear baying out on the moors?" Mulder's introductory speech established the clichés perfectly and this was followed up with more of the same, like the lightning strikes at the end of many scenes, and Mulder's revelation about the double murders being followed by lightning and doors slamming shut.

I loved the music in this episode. Again, the Gothic organ (Teletext said it was an organ but it sounded a bit like a harpsichord, maybe it was a synthesised cross between the two) was cliched but it worked perfectly, especially right at the beginning as it played over the shot of the house. Speaking of which, the house looked fantastic and the sets were great.

The discovery of the corpses was genuinely creepy. I loved the way they did this bit, showing the man first, then the woman whose hair was very obviously red. Then the realisation, in case the viewer hadn't noticed, that she's wearing Scully's outfit. I think the viewer was probably supposed to realise who the bodies were before Mulder and Scully did, and it was slow enough to allow this without dragging it out.

The ghosts' psychoanalyses (is that the plural of psychoanalysis? Hope so) were just brilliant. I'm going to start with Maurice's analysis of Mulder, which, it has to be said, was scarily accurate, if exaggerated!

Mulder is, apparently, a "narcissistic, over-zealous, self-righteous egomaniac" on a "descent into total wacko breakdown." Note that Mulder didn't deny this! Maurice's insights were accurate: he told Mulder "you've probably convinced yourself you've seen aliens" and, knowing that Scully was reluctant to be there, asked "How'd you get her to come with you, steal her car keys?" Basically, Maurice was trying to convince Mulder of the meaningless of his life, and what succeeded in doing this was probably "You're a lonely man, chasing paramasbatory illusions that you think will give your life meaning." Again, Mulder didn't deny it. Maurice had obviously tapped into Mulder's own self-image.

While Mulder's reaction to Maurice was fairly calm, Scully saw Lyda and panicked. Throughout the episode, Scully tried to remain calm and suppress her fear (and to be fair, walking through a big old abandoned house in the middle of the night would be pretty scary), very near the beginning she admitted, "alright I'm afraid. But it's an irrational fear." Here her first reaction was to scream but she attempted to regain control of herself, I loved the understatement of "I'm a little on edge." She again denied and tried to block out what was happening, just look how quickly she closes the door on the brick wall.

Lyda's analysis of Scully is also accurate but exaggerated, again preying on Scully's insecure (at least then) self-image: "You must have an awful small life. Spending your Christmas with him, running around chasing things you don't even believe in." The line which cut closest to the bone was probably "Your only joy is proving him wrong."

When Maurice appeared, Scully again tried to pretend she was in control, telling the ghosts to "move over there." All of these attempts to keep control were typically Scully. I'm not sure why, but Scully fainting didn't quite work for me. Maybe I just thought she'd seen enough weird, gory and frightening things to be able to keep control. That's probably just me though.

Maurice and Lyda's mind games with Mulder and Scully were great, more psychoanalysis as the ghosts tried to convince each agent that the other would shoot them. When Mulder burst in and started shooting, it was a genuine surprise and very dramatic. My only problem with this was David Duchovny's acting. He was trying to be manic, and in an episode like this I could understand being deliberately over the top, but that wasn't what he was doing. He just seemed unconvincing and almost cringe-worthy. Scully being shot, though, was suitably over the top without being painful to watch. Scully shooting Mulder was also very effective, and Lyda's glee at the shootings was fantastic!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was great use of music. The X Files often does this, putting what seems to be an unsuitable or inappropriate piece of music over a scene with which you wouldn't expect it to fit. But this was really good for the scenes in which Mulder and Scully were dying, very poignant.

I wasn't sure how Mulder figured out it wasn't real. How did he realise he was dying of a psychosomatic gunshot wound?

The final scene with Lyda and Maurice was very good as they clasped each other's hands. It was very sweet, showing their devotion to each other - very Christmassy! This was a fitting final scene for the ghosts who were so well played by Lily Tomlin and Edward Asner.

Mulder and Scully's final scene was also great as they examined their motives, making references to the ghosts' analyses, which implied they were rather too accurate for comfort. Interesting that Scully denied what Lyda said, while Mulder conceded that he was being narcissistic and over-zealous. I really wanted to know what presents they'd got each other though!

BBC scheduling meant that this episode was more like "How The Ghosts Stole The Middle Of February" but the last scene was full of Christmas spirit and I think this would be a great episode to see when "the halls are decked."

Scully: If I heard Silent Night one more time I was going to start taking hostages.

Scully: She's wearing my outfit.

Mulder: How embarrassing!

Maurice, to Mulder: Most people would rather stick their fingers in a wall socket than spend a minute with you.

Maurice: Of all days, why did you pick Christmas? Why not Hallowe'en?

Lyda: Who is filled with hopelessness and futility at Hallowe'en?

Lyda: I don't show my hole to just anyone.

Scully: Not that my only joy in life is proving you wrong.

Mulder: When have you ever proved me wrong? (Um, a case of selective memory?)

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