Collected Ghost Stories (Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural)

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In Count Magnus, Jason Watkins (W1A, The Crown) plays Mr Wraxhall, an inquisitive character who becomes fascinated by the long-dead founder of a Swedish family and discovers that the dreaded aristocrat may not lie easy in his tomb. Leaving his ill and ageing wife in a care home, a retired astronomer revisits one of their old coastal haunts, but after discovering a ring on the beach is soon haunted himself. [36] Kit Harington to star in BBC Christmas ghost story from Mark Gatiss". Radio Times. 19 October 2023. a b c d e f Pardoe, Rosemary (2001). "The James Gang". Meddling with Ghosts: Stories in the Tradition of M. R. James. London: British Library. pp. 267–87. ISBN 0-7123-1125-4

M.R. James was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge when war broke out in 1914. By October 1915, when he resigned from the post, he knew that “more than four hundred and fifty Cambridge men have fallen: a hundred and fifty of them, at least, should have been undergraduates still”. In 1918, James left Cambridge to return to his old school Eton as Provost, where he was responsible for the creation of memorials for the former pupils of the school who had been killed during the war. He died there in 1936 as the choir was singing the Nunc Dimittus: “Now, Lord, let your servant depart in peace, as you promised”.

James held strongly traditional views about literature. In addition to ghost stories, he also enjoyed reading the work of William Shakespeare and the detective stories of Agatha Christie. [23] He disliked most contemporary literature, strongly criticising the work of Aldous Huxley, Lytton Strachey and James Joyce (whom he called "a charlatan" and "that prostitutor of life and language"). [3] [4] [23] He also supported the banning of Radclyffe Hall's 1928 novel about lesbianism, The Well of Loneliness, stating, "I believe Miss Hall's book is about birth control or some kindred subject, isn't it? I find it difficult to believe either that it is a good novel or that its suppression causes any loss to literature." [23] I think perhaps I ruined myself for these stories by also watching quite a lot of horror films at the same time. It's easy enough to get the heart-racing with a film: just ratchet up the tension with music and then deploy a loud noise for the jump-scare. But James's stories are sinister for what they leave out, rather than what they put it. He prompts the reader to use their own imagination to scare themselves. There's one technique that James uses multiple times – I would begin to feel my hairs standing up whenever he did it – during a seemingly innocent and mundane preamble the narrator would say something offhandedly like 'but of that subject I cannot bring myself to speak, for reasons you will understand later' or something along those lines. And of course, the reader immediately wonders what the unspeakable mystery could be. This kind of suspense works best when you are really paying attention and thinking about the story. It is not helped by deadening your imagination with latex Hollywood monsters and racing through the story with a 'what happens next?' mentality. In fact, although some of his stories were first published as “Ghost Stories of an Antiquary” and “More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary”, it could be argued that they are tales of terror rather than traditional ghost stories. James greatly admired the work of both Sheridan Le Fanu and Walter Scott, and along with the horror his stories contain a strong element of the weird, in its original sense of uncanny. Benson, Edward Frederic (1920). Our Family Affairs, 1867–1896. London, New York, Toronto, and Melbourne: Cassell and Company, Ltd. p. 231.

It’s an absolute thrill to be bringing one of M.R. James’ most beloved tales to life for this year’s ghost story. M.R James era un erudito, pero muy vivido (al igual que el maestro Heinlein y Hodgson) que había practicado la Arqueología, excavando y descubriendo Murales y otros hallazgos, restaurado capillas, catalogado valiosos manuscritos Medievales, realizado estudios históricos vitales y traducido cuentos de los Andersen y textos Evangélicos, entre otros. Su afán insaciable de búsqueda natural, precisamente logró que fuera tan soberanamente bueno en su labor literaria. Todos sus relatos son evocadores y misteriosos, crean una tensión subliminal y un interés desde la primera página en el lector. Casi todos sus personajes se mueven en entornos sofisticados (muy dado en la época victoriana y Barroca en la literatura), poseen profesiones eruditas o las practican. Son un poco el Alter Ego del mismo autor, pero derivando en el horror que destapan mediante sus investigaciones por otros casuales colaterales. James, M. R. (1917). "Two Lives of St. Ethelbert, King and Martyr". The English Historical Review. 32 (126): 214–244. doi: 10.1093/ehr/XXXII.CXXVI.214. JSTOR 551656.

Serena pero desasosegante historia sobre profanaciones y custodias infernales, muy sugerente y tétrica, sublime en horror. Ni el mismísimo Lovecraft destilaba tanta tensión ni era tan siniestro, siendo elegante al mismo tiempo. M.R James dosifica el horror como nadie. He aquí un excelente ejemplo de su maestría.

Mr. Williams está catalogando nuevo material histórico para un museo en Cambridge, cuando recibe un inusual y cotizado grabado que se auto modifica constantemente. Fisher, Mark (15 April 2007). "Bleak and Solemn ..." abstractdynamics.org. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010 . Retrieved 22 August 2010. Astuto relato acerca de las maldiciones y venganza generacional, que mezcla Iglesia, cuerpo y anti espíritu. Nótese la relevancia del arbusto en cuestión que da título a la historia; de mucha relevancia y enclave demoníaco en boca de supersticiosos. M.R James sabía aunar realidad y ficción como nadie. Historia tensa, crepuscular y claustrofóbica, sin dejar la acción de lado. Con toda probabilidad precursoras del género Zombie (aunque en significado argumental vaya por otros derroteros).

James, M. R. (1925). Eton and King's. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 151–153; ISBN 978-1-108-03053-3 Annotation 14 from "A Warning to the Curious" in "A Pleasing Terror, The Complete Supernatural Writings" (Kindle Edition), Editors: C Roden & B Roden; Ash-Tree Press 2012 A Warning to the Curious, The Signalman and Miller's Whistle and I'll Come to You were released as individual VHS cassettes and Region 2 DVDs by the British Film Institute in 2002 and 2003. [57] [58] A number of the adaptations were made available in Region 4 format in Australia in 2011 and The Signalman is included as an extra on the Region 1 American DVD release of the 1995 BBC production of Hard Times. For Christmas 2011, the BFI featured the complete 1970s films in their Mediatheque centres. [59]