Reading MR James has gotten to be a seasonal tradition with me. This year, my mother sent me a hardback collection of his ghost stories, which makes the experience of reading them even better. When you're reading stories about antiquarians poring over manuscripts and carvings and abnormal adornments in abandoned churches, it's nicer to do so on ( Read more... )

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I'm in the mood for ghost stories again, it being October, so I read "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" by MR James from 1904. The title comes from a 1793 Robert Burns poem, a poem about potential lovers, as you might guess from the title. This only remains a faint suggestion in the MR James story, which features another of his academic ( Read more... )

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And Merry Christmas, everyone. I've been hungry for ghost stories lately so, since ghost stories, and M.R. James stories in particular, were once traditional on Christmas, I read his story "Count Magnus" this morning.


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