EXCERPT On the evening of December 25, 1972, the BBC celebrated the birth of Christ by scaring its viewers to death. Families learned that their fireplaces could be resonating with discarnate traumas absorbed over centuries, that the walls themselves have been listening, recording, screaming. Scripted by Nigel Kneale, The Stone Tape concerns a British electronics company trying to beat Japan in the development of a super washing machine, while also researching a new recording technology involving the magnetic susceptibility of minerals. The bickering scientists at Ryan Electrics serve as geo-VCRs for the worst in history’s nature. Haunting is the new playback…