Book Description
Stories by a visionary master of supernatural fiction

The second volume of the only annotated edition of M. R. James's complete writings currentlyavailable, this book brings together tales from James's final two volumes, A Thin Ghost andOthers and A Warning to the Curious. I n these stories, James continues histransformation of the ghost story from its nineteenth-century heritage. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

so so
There are some scary elements to these stories.but they are told in a breezy disinterested manner.the intro warns the reader that this isnt MR James best stuff. I would have to agree.

Great Victorian Ghost Stories
If you like the style of Victorian ghost stories, in the best English tradition, you'll greatly enjoy this collection of stories by M.R. James, and it's companion volume, Vol. 1.In most of the stories the horror is oblique, but present and able to deliver delicious shivers on dark stormy nights (or on bright, sunny afternoons, for that matter).If you like Arthur Conan Doyle's ghost stories, you'll definitely enjoy this collection. ... Read more

Book Description
The only annotated edition of M. R. James’s writings currently available, Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories contains the entire first two volumes of James’s ghost stories, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. These volumes are both the culmination of the nineteenth-century ghost story tradition and the inspiration for much of the best twentieth-century work in this genre. Included in this collection are such landmark tales as “Count Magnus,” set in the wilds of Sweden; “Number 13,” a distinctive tale about a haunted hotel room; “Casting the Runes,” a richly complex tale of sorcery that served as the basis for the classic horror film Curse of the Demon; and “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad,” one of the most frightening tales in literature. The appendix includes several rare texts, including “A Night in King’s College Chapel,” James’s first known ghost story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Academic and Exciting Ghost Stories
M.R. James' scholarship in the areas of medieval manuscripts and church history manifest themselves in appreciable ways throughout his many stories. The stories range from definitively supernatural (Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book) to those that really allow you to question the reality of the events described ("'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad'"). James has a wonderful grasp of just how much background story is necessary to create story and character depth, while at the same time establishing a mood conducive to truly spooky and chilling revelations.

Jame's training and knowledge allow him to tap into real history and geography, as well as invent things which seem utterly plausible - the Penguin notes are helpful in circumventing extensive research to determine whether a place is real or not, and what historical relevance there might be for the story. However, those not interested in this may grow tired of the notes and those pursuing studies will find the recommended reading of far more pertinence.

This is a nice, portable introduction to M.R. James' ghost stories and is highly recommended to those that are interested in the gothic and to anyone who enjoys a good short story.

More fantastic Victorian ghost stories
M.R. James is one of the masters of Victorian ghost stories. All of them are extremely plausible and none require you to make a leap of faith to accept the premise of the story.The companion volume, Vol. 2 is just as delightful.If you enjoy the ghost stories of Edith Wharton and Arthur Conan Doyle, you'll love this collection. (If you have explored Wharton's and Doyle's ghost stories, you don't know what you're missing).James is undoubtedly one of the masters of Victorian ghostly fiction.

Good edition -- just not enough of James' stories
I fully concur with Mr. Zajac's observation that Penguin shortchanges the reader with this edition of M.R. James' stories of the supernatural. I also agree that the far better edition to purchase is the Oxford World Classics edition. In addition, one can buy an imported (British) complete stories but I wouldn't recommend it as it is an inferior version, in terms of paper quality and overall durability. It is, in a word, a cheap mass market paperback. I noticed, however, that Penguin calls this "The Complete Stories of M.R. James, vol.1," from which I infer that there is the intention to issue another volume. This will address Zajac's point but there is really no reason why Penguin could not compile all his stories in one big volume. After all, it was done by the same publisher in the 1980s. My guess is that Penguin felt it could milk the book-buying public for more money by releasing his collected works in several volumes.

As for the content, I have no qualms with Joshi's erudite annotations. He has, as with the Penguin Lovecraft, Dunsany, and Blackwood volumes, done his usual masterful job. The notes are worth the rating alone if you're of a scholarly bent. If you aren't a fan of footnotes then you probably shouldn't be reading M.R. James to begin with. Better to stick with Dean Koontz or Stephen King.

Huge fan....
I am a massive fan of M. R. James and to come across a new printing last year of some of his eerie stories was a treat indeed. No one quite writes the ghost story like James. You should also check out Sheridan Le Fanu....my all time favourite.

If you indeed want some grand mysterious edwardian ghost stories, this is the volume to start! So many of his works are hard to find and expensive so I am excited Penguin is doing this reprint! Now when is Volume 2 coming out?!

Not as Comprehensive as the Oxford World Classics _Casting The Runes_
I realize that no one will probably put out a book to rival the amazing and beautiful _A Pleasing Terror_ put out by Ash-Tree Press several years ago, but Amazon's description of _Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories : The Complete Ghost Stories of M. R. James, Volume 1_ (Penguin Classics) made it out to sound much better than it actually is, since it was listed at being 400 pages long, but is in reality a far slimmer tome of 288 pages. Very disappointing.

The book does have a nice sized font, but suffers from a thin cover (albeit with a great cover illustration), and a bit floppy overall.

The 15 stories included are among the best ghost stories ever written. But with so many book containing the works of M. R. James, I try to be a bit more discerning. This edition is brief and of decent publishing standards.


The Contents:
Introduction by S. T. Joshi
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Text

Canon Alberic's Scrap Book
Lost Hearts
The Mezzotint
The Ash-Tree
Number 13
Count Magnus
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad"
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
A School Story
The Rose Garden
The Tractate Middoth
Casting the Runes
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Martin's Close
Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance

Appendix
Ghost Stories
A Night in King's College Chapel
Preface to Ghost-Stories of an Antiquary
Preface to More Ghost-Stories of an Antiquary

Explanatory Notes


If you want more (More, you say?) M. R. James ghost stories in one volume, you may opt instead for _Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories_ (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback) ISBN: 0192837737.

It's cheaper, and includes all the stories listed above, as well as:

The Diary of Mr Poynter
An Episode of Cathedral History
The Uncommon Prayer-book
A Neighbour's Landmark
A Warning to the Curious
Rats
The Experiment
The Malice of Inanimate Objects
A Vignette

(And it also has the excellent John Atkinson Grimshaw painting on the cover entitled "Where the Pale Moonbeams Linger"). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

ghost story master
james didn't stretch his stories too far, and he didn't have to. he knew how much could be done with subtle changes. the stories here are written traditionally, but somehow varies. excelolent at details, with an excellent writing style. the stories develops nicely, never flawed.

The ultimate ghost story collection
To my mind, this is the ultimate ghost story collection by the ultimate ghost story writer. Every story in this book is a masterpiece of M.R. James' art -- these are classics of their genre. If you like British Edwardian ghost stories, track this book down and read it -- it's the perfect companion for a dark night by the fire. ... Read more

Book Description
This selection of twenty-one short stories by M.R. James--a first-class writer of supernatural fiction--represents his best work, including "Count Magnus," "The Rose Garden," "The Uncommon Prayer-book," "Rats," "The Malice of Inanimate Objects," and "A Vignette," as well as the title
story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

The Mood of the Macabre
M.R. James is the quintessential, literary ghost story writer. His stories begin with such dark innocence, the reader wanders along, enjoying the prose, while the atmosphere thickens with the macabre. He is very Victorian in his approach, his paragraphs are skillyfully crafted. The only trouble the novice reader will encounter is adapting to his scholarly attention to detail. His prose is magnificent but heavy. The thrill is in the patient reading of his stories. Think of reading M.R. James in terms of drinking port... you sip port, you linger with it, you appreciate its aromas, its texture. You wouldn't think of knocking back a beautiful glass of port? No...Pick this book up, indulge yourself slowly with these stories and soon enough, ghostly memories will fill your imagination. The moods he casts heightens the pleasures of both the mind and the spirit.

Horror, Lite
More than at any other time since the era of the gladiators, entertainment in America today seems obsessed with murder, mayhem and gore. The Chainsaw Disembowelment Scene has been used in so many movies that it's almost a cliché.

How different are these stories by M. R. James. There are no monsters such as in H. P. Lovecraft, and the spectres which do appear never get to perform any injury - it's always a close call.

The focus here is on suspense. Not, though, that there are any surprises. We know that the strange old tome will yield its dreadful secret; that room 13 of the inn will be infested with demons; that the druid slide-whistle will summon some ghastly phantasm.

The pleasure of reading the work of M. R. James lies in his pretty writing - the lost art of the English language in its perfected form. Reading these stories is analogous to listening to a great musician perform florid music which is always in a minor key.

Write a Review, and I'll Come to You, My Lad.
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad;
Tho' father and mither should baith gae mad,
O whistle, an' I'll come to you, my lad.
(Burns.)

Over the last Twenty years I've purchased many books and got rid of many (After reading them then donating them to charity shops), but this is the only one I've repurchased.
I could never get the scenarios and characters out of my head, the way M R James succinctly describes a scene or a, "terrifying agent of supernatural malice" have resided in my head as much as I would have liked them to leave.
If lots of Gore is your thing you may be disappointed by these stories, but for those of us who like a well written story told with panache and subtlety, then these are for us.
~~~~
For several years in the early 70's when the BBC made "A Ghost Story for Christmas" it was always the M R James stories that disturbed me the most. But even though I was disturbed by them I was always too fascinated to switch the TV off, and whilst the BBC interpretations were good they never quite captured the atmosphere of the written page.
Most of the "Heroes" (For want of a better word) of these stories are intellectuals from the dusty halls of some Academy or other, who are afflicted by intellectual pride or the even graver sin (In M R James stories)of curiosity! They investigate things that should be left well alone.
~~~~
My personal favourites are "The Mezzotint", and "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to you, my Lad".
The endings of a few of these stories are not completely resolved, and it's because of that, they stay in the mind longer.
It has always amused me that some of the most creepy and ungodly stories ever written in the English language were written by this most devout Christian of men.
For maximum effect to be read late on a stormy night, and by candlelight!

Spooky as all get up
I bought this book in Paris. It was the cheapest most interesting book in English, so I grabbed it for the flight. It's one of the best book buys I've ever had.
This stuff is genuinely spooky. There are images here
that will stick with you for a long time, and this guy puts in a lot of interesting historical details that make
the stories seem all the more plausible. Can't
recommend this book enough.

Perfect
I first read these stories when I was 13, and after 40 years, they still flash into my mind if I have to walk a dark road at night. Where authors like King and Straub (excellent in their own ways in the genre)need to float gruesome stuff our way to be effective, James does it all with mood.Even if ghost stories are not something you like, these are worth reading just to observe his beautiful use of the English language.I recommend this collection highly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Diamonds in the mud
As what was to become known as the Christian church split from its Jewish roots, it was decided to "leave out" several books, the content of which was considered too challengingor perplexing for those new to the faith. These volumes include a mind-expanding description by the apostle John of how he spent the middle hours of the crucifixion, and the (purloined) transcripts of the Roman trial of Jesus. Wide publication of these documents would have eliminated the power base of the nascent Roman Catholic Church... which subsequently both banned the volumes for general circulation and, when they WERE published, included any "genuine" forgery or heresy to come along. Thus, the book as it now appears is over 90% nonsense... some of it dangerous nonsense. Nonetheless, the diamonds which the Church attempted to bury in this fashion continue to glisten with the light of Truth.... the same Truth that illuminates the rest of Scripture. ... Read more

Book Description
From "The Ash Tree": Everyone who has traveled over Eastern England knows the smaller country-houses with which it is studded -- the rather dank little buildings, usually in the Italian style, surrounded with parks of some eighty to a hundred acres. . . . I have to tell you of a curious series of events which happened in such a house as I have tried to describe. It is Castringham Hall in Suffolk. I think a good deal has been done to the building since the period of my story, but the essential features I have sketched are still there -- Italian portico, square block of white house, older inside than out, park with fringe of woods, and mere. The one feature that marked out the house from a score of others is gone. As you looked at it from the park, you saw on the right a great old ash tree growing within half a dozen yards of the wall, and almost or quite touching the building with its branches. I suppose it had stood there ever since Castringham ceased to be a fortified place, and since the moat was filled in and the Elizabethan dwelling-house built. At any rate, it had well-nigh attained its full dimensions in the year 1690. In that year the district in which the Hall is situated was the scene of a number of witch-trials. * Also includes the classic M.R. James tales, "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook," "Lost Hearts," "The Mezzotint," "Number 13," "Count Magnus," "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'," and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Ghostly Tales from a Scholar of Medieval Manuscripts
Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), Vice-Chancellor at Cambridge, Director of the prestigious Fitzwilliam Museum, and later Provost of Eton, was possibly the world's greatest authority on medieval manuscripts. He is thought to have studied nearly twenty thousand documents. He also wrote ghost stories.

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was published in a limited edition in 1904 and reprinted nine times in the next decade. He subsequently published three other collections - More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911), A Thin Ghost and Others (1919),and A Warning to the Curious (1926). M. R. James greatly admired the supernatural fiction of J. Sheridan LeFanu and thought of himself as simply a follower in LeFanu's footsteps.

In the interesting introduction to this Dover edition E. F. Bleiler writes that the "evil that dieth not, but lieth in wait" is a common theme in these chilling stories.This evil that dieth not is best left undisturbed.The curious ones, those seekers of forgotten lore, often discover that knowledge comes at a high price. And the reader may find that sleep comes less easy.

I quite enjoyed this short collection and I am sure that it will appeal to any reader of Victorian ghost stories. A few may seem somewhat familiar as undoubtedly the tales of M. R. James have long served as a source of inspiration for later stories and screenplays.

The stories in this collection include Canon Alberic's Scrap-book, Lost Hearts, The Mezzotint, The Ash-tree, Number 13, Count Magnus, Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad, and The Treasure of Abbott Thomas.

Truly scary stories
If you don't find "horror" fiction frightening, this is for you. These stories scare everyone. This edition also has a very charming cover.

First collected stories of M. R. James
The ghost stories of M.R. James (MRJ) are widely considered to be the best supernatural literature ever written."Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" was his first collection of short stories to be published (Arnold 1904) and is a fine introduction to this chilling, scholarly author.

However, you might want to spend a bit more money and buy the "The Penguin Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James."If you completely succumb to the refined but potent horror of this author's writings, only "A Pleasing Terror" (Ash Tree Press 2001) will then do.This book contains all of MRJ's supernatural literature, including story fragments that were never completed, biographies, bibliographies, commentary, and his fantasy novelette, "The Five Jars."

"Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" consists of the following stories:

"Canon Alberic's Scrap-book"--The original title for this story was 'A Curious Book,' and it is one of 'the' classical MRJ invocations of a scholar who unwittingly opens the wrong book and pays horribly for his misadventure.This story and the following "Lost Hearts" were originally read aloud at an 1897 meeting of the Cambridge Chitchat Society, a literary gathering which met for "the promotion of rational conversation."

"Lost Hearts"--This story is unusual for MRJ in that the ghosts participate in an actual physical assault on the villain who had murdered them. It is narrated in the third person by a little boy who is orphaned and goes to live with his elderly cousin at Aswarby Hall (an actual estate in Lincolnshire, now largely demolished).Slowly he begins to realize that there were two other children who had lived with his cousin before him.

"The Mezzotint"--A collector of topographical pictures purchases a mezzotint that shows a view of a manor-house from the early part of the eighteenth century.The picture slowly evolves through a story of murder and revenge from beyond the grave.

"The Ash-tree"--If your Bible falls open to the verse, "Thou shalt seek me in the morning, and I shall not be" do not, I repeat DO NOT sleep in Sir Matthew's old bedroom next to the ancient ash-tree.This story is a unique reworking of the "executed witch's revenge" theme.

"Number 13"--A scholar settles into a Danish hotel to research the town's ecclesiastical history and learns more than he ever wanted to know about a bishop who sold his soul to Satan.

"Count Magnus"--Another story (along with "Number 13") that may have had its origin in MRJ's trips to Scandinavia.Mr. Wraxall, the scholarly hero of this tale dooms himself by reading a forbidden treatise of alchemy and expressing a wish to meet its long-dead (or not so dead) Swedish author.This tale is definitely not for the faint-hearted, especially the scene in the mausoleum of Count Magnus, when the locks start popping off of the sarcophagus.

"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad"--A Professor takes a golfing vacation on England's East Coast, and agrees to take a look at the site of an ancient Templars' preceptory for an archeologically-inclined friend of his.He scratches around in the ruins and finds a whistle with a Mediaeval Latin inscription on it that can be translated (according to Jamesian scholar Jacqueline Simpson) as: "O thief, you will polish it, you will blow it twice, you will regret this, you will go mad."I think this is the first M. R. James story I ever read, and it terrified me.I can't remember how long I had to sleep with the lights on after reading it.

"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas"--Mr. Somerton deciphers a text from the medieval Latin 'Sertum Steinfeldense Norbertinum,' and an inscription in the painted-glass window of a private chapel, then goes on a treasure hunt to Germany.What he finds, and what throws its arms around his neck while he... All I will further state is that if you should happen upon a German well that has seven eyes carved on one of its stones, under no circumstances should you climb down into that well, most especially not after dark.

beware of james
noone could evre make as much out of the traditional ghost story than MRJ. angles, details, objects. by changing one thing, focusing on something else, etc., james shows the potential in the classic elements. he doesn't stretch it too far, and he doesn't have to. he plays around with subtle changes, but his writing is serious. great descriptions, excellent at details, james is considered the ghost story master by a great many. check out how he carries out the details in Canon Alberic with the mysterios book, the descroptions in Ash-tree, the mysterious lurking fear in Count Magnus, or the plot in Oh whistle.....

Best ghost stories by best reader
M.R. James is one of the greatest writers of ghost stories ever; we all know that.Add Nigel Lambert as reader.I enjoy audio books almost as much as print, but never have I heard such a perfect combination of voice and material as in this collection.Lambert masters accents and voices of every kind.This--and the companion volume," A Warning to the Curious" are an unending delight, well worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
M.R. James is probably the finest ghost-story writer England has ever produced. These tales are not only classics of their genre, but are also superb examples of beautifully-paced understatement, convincing background and chilling terror.
As well as the preface, there is a fascinating tail-piece by M.R. James,Stories I Have Tried To Write , which accompanies these thirty tales. Among them are 'Casting the Runes', 'Oh, Whistle and I'll come to you, My Lad', 'The Tractate Middoth', 'The Ash Tree' and 'Canon Alberic's Scrapbook'.
There are some authors one wishes one had never read in order to have the joy of reading them for the first time. For me, M.R. James is one of these . Ruth Rendall ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Haunted by Greatness
I find James's tales deeply compelling, yet at times unsatisfying.He is unmatched in my experience at providing atmosphere and 'setting a stage'.With most of the works included here I was quickly drawn into a delicious world of Victorian academics and antiquaries afield in remote, small towns; along lonely seashores; or about routine pursuits -- all of which were overhung by exquisite melancholy and an expectation of the strange or the perilous.Too often, however, the denouement proved awkward or disappointing.Where he might better leave the instrument of a curse or haunting unseen, James instead resorts to goblin-like runts who crawl out of holes, do their wickedness, and then retreat.I have always preferred ghost stories which relied on what has been called the 'numinous', a quality by which the haunting presence, though unable to affect our physical world directly, may yet arouse such dread in the living that harm indeed results, but only through panic and ensuing accident.Still, not all of James's stories fall short so, and some of his best are concentrated in the third quarter of this collection.I am confident I shall re-read many with great pleasure, and there is always a certain inimitable virtue to fiction written in or near the period it depicts.

Yawn
COLLECTED GHOST STORIES was first published in 1931. The thirty fictional "ghost stories" herein - more correctly, perhaps, stories of the supernatural - were written by author Montague Rhodes James at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. James was an English antiquarian, linguist, gentleman and scholar, so it's no surprise that each of the tales is usually about a fictional individual of similar capacities who's come across it while rummaging around in an old church, or among old books or letters, or has been told of it by a another who's had a direct experience with the paranormal. The plots take place in the 19th or late 18th century, and are mostly in a rural setting.

Compared to the writings of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, these yarns, while reasonably inventive, are decidedly not scary. Purists might assert these authors compose trash, while James's pieces comprise "classic" literature. Well, perhaps, but COLLECTED GHOST STORIES still put me to sleep in short order as I read them in bed at night.

The author's style includes the penning of interminable paragraphs that numbingly extend for one or two pages. And he sometimes includes Latin phrases or sentences that go untranslated. I guess genteel readers in those days were more robustly educated, or the author didn't expect the narrative to fall before such plebeian eyes as mine. (True, I took two years of the language in high school, but it evidently didn't stick.)

At times, the plot of an individual story seems overly contrived, as the one about the phantom conjured up by the unusual pattern in a new set of curtains. Worse, James occasionally and intentionally leaves out an element of the story that might have otherwise improved upon it, as the tale of a country doctor who falls victim to the evil machinations of a fellow physician:

"Annexed to the other papers is one which I was at first inclined to suppose had made its way among them by mistake. Upon further consideration I think I can divine a reason for its presence. ... It relates to the rifling of a mausoleum in Middlesex ... The account is blunt and terrible. I shall not quote it." Then why, pray tell, bring it up?

My favorite chapter was "A View from A Hill", which has as its chief prop an old and singular pair of binoculars filled with some sort of icky distillate, and which allowed one to see through the lenses landscapes and buildings from the past. My kind of high-tech gadget! (Sort of like the x-ray glasses I saw advertised as a kid becoming interested in girls, and which I thought would allow me to see through ... well, you know.)

I started this review with the intent of awarding three stars, but have worked myself up into a froth of dissatisfaction with the volume as a whole. So, two stars. The author's long dead anyway and not likely to care.

SPIFFING!
I wonder whether Mr John Major (remember him?) has read these stories. They are the English of the English (more than you could say for him I guess) and evoke the sort of idealised tranquil Albion that I suppose he was harking after when he tried to present a vision of spinsters cycling through the eventide and so forth. If he has I trust he found them not unsplendid, as I do. I myself am Scottish although I have lived most of my life in England, and I like to think that the peculiar sense of Englishness that I get from M R James is one that a semi-foreigner can feel with special force.

The mises-en-scene are cathedrals, canal boats, rural railways etc. It is partly these warm reassuring backgrounds that give the special thrill to James's glimpses of things old and sinister lurking in odd corners of the placid landscape. He never lays the effects on with a trowel as Lovecraft keeps doing, and to judge by other reviews I have read he is found all the more effective for that. I doubt that Lovecraft ever scared anyone, but for me James's Count Magnus is a candidate for the most flesh-creeping story I know, and when I told the story of Number 13 to my son aged c 7 or 8 at his own request and believing it to be innocuous, he forbade me for years even to mention it again. James's skill does not even depend on the degree of horror in the story. Count Magnus is horrific in the extreme, but what is probably James's best-known story? I would guess Whistle and I'll Come to You, where the story itself suggests that the apparition is one that only frightens not harms, and it frightens not a bit less for that. A lot of the trick is in introducing paganism into an ostentatiously C of E context, all archdeacons and vergers, and An Episode in Cathedral History is one of the best.

Get an edition that is absolutely complete. Some of the stories, like A Neighbour's Landmark, read like ideas for stories rather than the final article, but the magic is there already and there are too few of them in total for anthologising to be sensible.

collect collected!
great stories from the master. excellent at details, truly chilling, great descriptions, noone can make as much out of the traditional ghost story. james no that one change is enough to make a completely different story. changing objects, persons, places, angles, james shows the complete potential of the ghost story. built up excellent, these stories are among the best read in horror. lurking evil, suggestive evil, warning of evil, sudden icy touches by ghostly hands. i have read a lot of horror, but james almost startles me. like that scene in the well, i could almost feel a hand on my shoulder.

Without a doubt the best collection of ghost stories
First published in 1931, Colected Ghost Stories is a collection of most of M.R. James much revered stories.These stories were all first written for publication in magazines or for his famous Christmas readings, and were subsequently collected into four seperate volumes: Ghoast Stories of an Antiquary (1904), More Ghost Stories (1911), A Thin Ghost and Others (1919), and A Warning to the Curious (1925).Three stories that were published in magazines following the first publication of this work, and do not appear in this reprint; they are: The Experiment, The Malice of Inanimate Objects, and A Vignette.

James' skill for conceiving and presenting ghost stories seems to have developed at relatively young age, and his reading of some of his stories at King's College at Christmastime was a quite popular event.But ghost stories were, unfortunately, not James' priority; he was an antiquarian, and much respected one at that.He was also a noted linguist, paleographer, medievalist and biblical scholar--fields that all influenced his stories.

While it is safe to say that these ghost stories are among the best ever written, their style and subject matter are still a matter of taste.So it is difficult to catagorically recommend this book, but I doubt that any lover of ghost stories will be able to put this book down without difficulty after sampling but a story or two. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Table of Contents (from the publisher's website)
Table of contents

Introduction by S. T. Joshi

I. Some Notes on Biography

Montague Rhodes James: 1862-1936 (1936) [5461], Stephen Gaselee
Montague Rhodes James (1966) [4653], Shane Leslie
The Strangeness Present: M. R. James's Suffolk (1986) [1784], Norman Scarfe
M. R. James and Livermere (1998) [2400], Michael Cox

II. General Studies

Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927) [extract] [1628], H. P. Lovecraft
The Art of Montague James (1934) [6413], Mary Butts
The Ghost Stories of Montague Rhodes James (1947) [4248], L. J. Lloyd
The Toad in the Study: M. R. James, H. P. Lovecraft and Forbidden Knowledge (1995-97) [17,616], Simon MacCulloch

III. Some Special Topics

On Not Letting Them Lie: Moral Significance in the Ghost Stories of M. R. James (1982) [4197], Michael A. Mason
Dark Devotions: M. R. James and the Magical Tradition (1984), Ron Weighell
M. R. James's Women (1993) [1926], David G. Rowlands
"The Rules of Folklore" in the Ghost Stories of M. R. James (1997) [8501], Jacqueline Simpson
"A Warning to the Curious": Victorian Science and the Awful Unconscious in M. R. James's Ghost Stories (1998) [5793], Brian Cowlishaw
"They've Got Him! In the Trees!": M. R. James and Sylvan Dread (1999) [2963], Steve Duffy
Homosexual Panic and the English Ghost Story: M. R. James and Others (2002) [5343], Mike Pincombe
"If I'm Not Careful": Innocents and Not-So-Innocents in the Stories of M. R. James (2007) [3524], John Alfred Taylor

IV. Studies of Individual Tales

The Nature of the Beast: The Demonology of Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" (2004), Helen Grant
A Haunting Presence (1999) [1475], C. E. Ward
"A Wonderful Book": George MacDonald and "The Ash-Tree" (2003) [2390], Rosemary Pardoe
Who Was Count Magnus? Notes towards an Identification (2001) [1581], Rosemary Pardoe
A Haunting Vision: M. R. James and the Ashbridge Stained Glass (2000) [1349], Nicholas Connell
A Maze of Secrets in a Story by M. R. James (1993) [8189], Martin Hughes
Thin Ghosts: Notes toward a Jamesian Rhetoric (2007) [7118], Jim Rockhill
Nightmares of Punch and Judy in Ruskin and M. R. James (1996) [1844], Roger Craik
An Elucidation (?) of the Plot of M. R. James's "Two Doctors" (1990) [8094], Lance Arney
Landmarks and Shrieking Ghosts (1997) [1887], Jacqueline Simpson [with an Addendum by Rosemary Pardoe]

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Refined but potent terror
The ghost stories of M.R. James (MRJ) are widely considered to be the best supernatural literature ever written."Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, Part 2: More Ghost Stories" was his second collection of short stories to be published (1911) and includes seven tales of the supernatural.

However, you might want to spend a bit more money and buy the "The Penguin Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James."If you completely succumb to the refined but potent horror of this author's writings, only "A Pleasing Terror" (Ash Tree Press 2001) will then do.The latter book contains all of MRJ's supernatural literature, including story fragments that were never completed, biographies, bibliographies, commentary, and his fantasy novelette, "The Five Jars."

'More Ghost Stories' consists of the following stories, plus a brief preface by the author:

"A School Story"--MRJ was a dean at King's College, Cambridge and he supposedly wrote this story to entertain the King's College Choir.I believe it is one of his shortest complete stories and it contains several ideas for further tales of the supernatural which were never followed up by MRJ himself.In this tale two middle-aged men are reminiscing about ghosts at boys' schools, and one relates a story of a schoolboy's revenge on a murderous master.

"The Rose Garden"--Features one of MRJ's less sympathetic female characters.The overbearing Mrs. Anstruther gets her supernatural comeuppance when she insists upon the removal of an old oak post in the rose garden.

"The Tractate Middoth"--The young Mr. Garrett is asked to find a copy of the "Tractate Middoth" in a "certain famous library" and stumbles upon a cobwebby mystery.Find yourself a quiet, unpopulated corner in the stacks of an old library and see if you can read this story without looking behind you.This is MRJ at his antiquarian best.

"Casting the Runes"--One of MRJ's most collected stories along with "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad."The villain of tale is sometimes assumed to be based on the self-styled 'Great Beast,' occultist Aleister Crowley.He and MRJ might have crossed paths at Cambridge University although there seems to be no proof that the scholarly Dean ever met the so-called 'wickedest man in the world.'At any rate, this is a tale of a man who unwittingly angers a sorcerer.

"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral"--This story begins with the obituary of the Venerable John Benwell Haynes, Archdeacon of Sowerbridge and Rector of Pickhill and Candley.He succeeded to his position upon the rather mysterious demise of Archdeacon Pulteney in 1810, but does not find much enjoyment in his new job.In fact, the archideacon's stall with its carvings of a cat, the King of Hell, and Death becomes a particularly haunting spot for the new prelate.

"Martin's Close"--The bit of land referred to in the story's title is "one of the smallest enclosures you are likely to see."It consists of a pond that is hedged all around with no gate or entrance.The tale of its haunting is told primarily through a court record from the time of Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys, he of the infamous 'Bloody Assize' that followed the Monmouth Rebellion.In spite of this rather awkward structure, it is a very frightening tale of supernatural revenge.

"Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance"--Once installed as the new master of his deceased uncle's estate, Mr. Humphreys discovers the plan to an overgrown maze on his property. He decides to investigate the old landscaping feature, which was erected by one of his most notorious ancestors.Mr. Humphreys also discovers a set of stone blocks that were once part of the maze.He reconstructs the inscription on them to read: "Penetrans Ad Interior Mortis." ... Read more

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