They reflect James’ own view of apparitions: “The ghost should be malevolent or odious: amiable and helpful apparitions are all very well in fairy tales or in local legends, but I have no use for them in a fictitious ghost story.” Few of the ghosts of M.R. Whether linked to biblical references, runic scripts or medieval artefacts, out from the shadows they come, unholy spirits hungry for revenge. Has the researcher looked a little too deeply into places where he – almost invariably, a he – should not have looked? In the words of one of the characters in his story “Count Magnus”, there are “persons walking who should not be walking. There, in the dim candle-lit world of scholars, librarians and antiquarians, things are lurking, half-seen, half-felt. Acknowledged by many to be the master of the English ghost story, the work of Montague Rhodes James (1862 – 1936) provides the perfect antidote to anyone wanting to escape from the rowdy high-jinks of Halloween or the relentless sociability of Christmas for a few hours. James, “The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral.”Īs the northern hemisphere moves into its dark season, lovers of ghost stories turn with anticipation once again to the works of M.R. It came as a shock: I find that I absolutely shrink from the dark season.” – M. – Candles lit in the choir for the first time at evening prayers.
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