Sherlock boss Mark Gatiss's BBC Christmas show casts Kit Harington

Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss is set to launch a new Christmas ghost story on the BBC, with Kit Harington on board to star.

Gatiss will adapt Arthur Conan Doyle horror short story Lot No 249 for BBC Two, marking another dive into the author's work following his work adapting Sherlock Holmes.

Game of Thrones star Harington will take on the role of Abercrombie Smith in the story, which "revolves around a group of Oxford students, one of whom undertakes research into the secrets of Ancient Egypt which become the talk of the college".

Related: Game of Thrones' Kit Harington recalls shock at learning real name aged 11

"Can these experiments truly breathe life to the horrifying bag of bones which is the mysterious Lot No 249?" the synopsis adds.

Lot No 249 will also star Slow Horses' Freddie Fox as Edward Bellingham, while the wider cast includes Boundless' Colin Ryan, Dracula's John Heffernan, Stopmotion's James Swanton, Father Brown's Jonathan Rigby and Slotherhouse's Andrew Horton.

"It’s a serious delight for me to delve once again into the brilliant work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this time for the Christmas ghost story," Gatiss said (via Radio Times).

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"Lot No 249 is personal favourite and is the granddaddy (or should that be mummy?) of a particular kind of end of empire chiller: a ripping yarn packed with ghastly scares and who-knows-what lurking in the Victorian closet…".

Gatiss has previously adapted a number of ghost stories for the BBC, including The Dead Room, Martin’s Close, The Mezzotint and Count Magnus.

Harington has been keeping busy since starring as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, which came to an end in 2019, and will next be seen in movie Blood for Dust, set to premiere next month.

Lot No 249 will air this Christmas on BBC Two.

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