Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Dover Publications (2011), Edition: New edition, 176 pages
Description
Fiction. Horror. Short Stories. Suspense. HTML: Looking for some spooky stories to read on a camping trip, at a Halloween party, or at home with the family in front of a roaring fire? The works of medieval scholar M.R. James should fit the bill. James often said that he wrote his stories to be read aloud, so snuggle up and lose yourself in their slow-building suspense and lulling language..
User reviews
LibraryThing member MyopicBookworm
A classic of the genre. The stories typically involve a studious bachelor gentleman staying in a slightly shabby hotel or country house, who through his antiquarian researches into an old book, print, inscription, or artefact, accidentally encounters some threatening manifestation of the occult,
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typically in a repellent, humanoid or quasi-animal form. The style may now be rather dry and dusty for modern taste (though familiar enough to readers of 19th century novelists such as Walter Scott or George MacDonald), but if you can match James's imagination with your own, this is well worth reading, preferably on a windy night in an old house. MB 15-iii-07 Show Less
LibraryThing member GrazianoRonca
CANON ALBERIC’S SCRAP-BOOK
‘They were in the sitting-room of the house, a small, high chamber with a stone floor,
full of moving shadows cast by a wood-fire that flickered on a great heart.’ (p.13)
Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book was first published in 1904, although it was written in 1894.
The
An English tourist is photographing the interior of the cathedral of Saint-Bernard-de-Comminges at the foot of Pyrenees, when the cathedral’s sacristan tries to sell him a strange book. The Englishman is impressed by a drawing in the book. After buying it, he returns to his room, and …
‘his attention was caught by an object lying on the red cloth just by his left elbow. …
A pen wiper? No, no such thing in the house.
A rat? No, too black.
A large spider? I trust to goodness not - no. …
God! a hand like the hand in that picture!’ (p. 23-4)
‘They were in the sitting-room of the house, a small, high chamber with a stone floor,
full of moving shadows cast by a wood-fire that flickered on a great heart.’ (p.13)
Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book was first published in 1904, although it was written in 1894.
The
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story is set in southern France. An English tourist is photographing the interior of the cathedral of Saint-Bernard-de-Comminges at the foot of Pyrenees, when the cathedral’s sacristan tries to sell him a strange book. The Englishman is impressed by a drawing in the book. After buying it, he returns to his room, and …
‘his attention was caught by an object lying on the red cloth just by his left elbow. …
A pen wiper? No, no such thing in the house.
A rat? No, too black.
A large spider? I trust to goodness not - no. …
God! a hand like the hand in that picture!’ (p. 23-4)
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LibraryThing member Finxy
Full review from Badelynge
I love a good ghost story. M.R.James is one of the best at the short form of the genre. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is packed with some of his best. All the stories here were written between 1894 and 1904 and were originally read to the author's friends at Christmas at
I love a good ghost story. M.R.James is one of the best at the short form of the genre. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is packed with some of his best. All the stories here were written between 1894 and 1904 and were originally read to the author's friends at Christmas at
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Kings College, Cambridge where James was a noted British medieval scholar. I'd guess the best way to experience these chilling little stories would be to have them read to you on a dark night, in the depths of winter, perhaps on Christmas Eve itself. It is probably easier to imagine, listening to the words, that the story is being told to you by someone who has heard the story from another, and that such a tale might be true - just for a short time anyway. James usually cleverly distances the storyteller from the actual protagonists who are often of a scholarly type, quite sanguine (at least at first) in their rejection of the supernatural. Show Less
LibraryThing member dulac3
This volume contains eight tasty little nuggets of supernatural horror that I found very satisfying. In each of them the story is told second or even third hand by a genial narrator whose acquaintances, who are themselves of a decidedly scholarly bent, have been the victims of supernatural
“Canon Alberic's Scrap-book” – An antiquary discovers a scrap-book of ancient manuscripts compiled by the titular Canon Alberic in the 17th century that is in the keeping of the sacristan of a church in France that he is studying. One picture, “The dispute of Solomon with a demon of the night”, proves to be particularly compelling…and why is the sacristan so eager to get rid of a book so obviously of great value? Great evocation of mood and the way in which the supernatural creature manifests itself was suitably creepy.
"Lost Hearts" – A rather moving tale of revenge from beyond the grave and the perils of devoting oneself to the arcane teachings of the ancients in the hopes of gaining eternal life. I knew where this one was going pretty much after the first paragraph, but I heartily enjoyed the ride.
"The Mezzotint" – I really liked the interesting way in which the artifact in question here, the mezzotint of the title, manifested the supernatural and the foreboding sense of a quiet yet unstoppable horror that was the result.
"The Ash-tree" – A nobleman and his descendants find that being the star witness in a witch trial probably isn’t a good idea. Good creepy/gross factor with the creatures invoked for vengeance.
"Number 13" – What happens when you book a room in an inn that used to belong to a man accused of having been an alchemist and magician several generations ago? Nothing good, especially if you rent the room right next to the one in which he mysteriously died. Space and time have a funny way of bending and twisting when the undead get involved.
"Count Magnus" – The titular count reminded me a bit of Vigo the Carpathian from Ghost Busters 2; he was a mean-spirited son of a bitch who liked to torture people in his spare time and go on trips with names like “the Black Pilgrimage”. Perhaps it’s wisest if you’re a travel writer getting good copy from his native village to leave the crypt where he’s entombed alone. Just sayin’.
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" – Ah skeptics…they always learn their lesson in the end, don’t they? Well, they do in these kind of stories anyway. If you’re kind of a priggish and pedantic professor going on a holiday to sharpen up your golf game (golf is a re-occurring motif in these stories and I don’t think James was a fan) don’t promise to do some investigating of the local Templar preceptory for a colleague, and if you do for God’s sake don’t muck around with anything you find there. If you’re lucky you’ll run into an old military type who doesn’t trust papists.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" – When the Abbot of a 16th century monastery basically dares you, though the enciphered clues he left behind in some striking stained glass windows, to uncover his hidden treasure don’t do it. Trust me on this.
I like the way in which James gives us enough of a glimpse at the ghosts and undead horrors he unleashes in his stories to avoid Lovecraft’s almost laughable (to me at least) approach of “oh, it was so horrible I can’t even begin to describe it, just trust me it was really, really, really, mind-crushingly horrible!” and yet was sufficiently vague to leave enough of the horror to the imagination of the reader. The charming, almost homely, voice of the narrator was also a nice contrast to the ultimate invocation of otherworldly menace in the tales. All in all a really solid collection of old-school ghost stories that may not leave you cringing in terror, but you may end up looking over your shoulder from time to time. And you’ll definitely take greater care the next time that weird old manuscript seems to fortuitously land in your lap.
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intrusion into our world. Often the stories revolve around an ancient artifact able to invoke the otherworldly that is discovered by these particularly luckless individuals (though they often feel themselves lucky indeed when they first make their discoveries). The tales are all good, but my favourites were “Canon Alberic's Scrap-book”, “Lost Hearts”, “”The Mezzotint”, and “Count Magnus”. I found myself thinking of both Lovecraft (in James’ use of made-up manuscripts and a reliance on protagonists of a learned bent whose curiosity proves to be their bane) and Clark Aston-Smith (though with prose that was a little less flowery) though I think James is a much better stylist than the former and a little less given to the more extreme flights of fancy of the latter.“Canon Alberic's Scrap-book” – An antiquary discovers a scrap-book of ancient manuscripts compiled by the titular Canon Alberic in the 17th century that is in the keeping of the sacristan of a church in France that he is studying. One picture, “The dispute of Solomon with a demon of the night”, proves to be particularly compelling…and why is the sacristan so eager to get rid of a book so obviously of great value? Great evocation of mood and the way in which the supernatural creature manifests itself was suitably creepy.
"Lost Hearts" – A rather moving tale of revenge from beyond the grave and the perils of devoting oneself to the arcane teachings of the ancients in the hopes of gaining eternal life. I knew where this one was going pretty much after the first paragraph, but I heartily enjoyed the ride.
"The Mezzotint" – I really liked the interesting way in which the artifact in question here, the mezzotint of the title, manifested the supernatural and the foreboding sense of a quiet yet unstoppable horror that was the result.
"The Ash-tree" – A nobleman and his descendants find that being the star witness in a witch trial probably isn’t a good idea. Good creepy/gross factor with the creatures invoked for vengeance.
"Number 13" – What happens when you book a room in an inn that used to belong to a man accused of having been an alchemist and magician several generations ago? Nothing good, especially if you rent the room right next to the one in which he mysteriously died. Space and time have a funny way of bending and twisting when the undead get involved.
"Count Magnus" – The titular count reminded me a bit of Vigo the Carpathian from Ghost Busters 2; he was a mean-spirited son of a bitch who liked to torture people in his spare time and go on trips with names like “the Black Pilgrimage”. Perhaps it’s wisest if you’re a travel writer getting good copy from his native village to leave the crypt where he’s entombed alone. Just sayin’.
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" – Ah skeptics…they always learn their lesson in the end, don’t they? Well, they do in these kind of stories anyway. If you’re kind of a priggish and pedantic professor going on a holiday to sharpen up your golf game (golf is a re-occurring motif in these stories and I don’t think James was a fan) don’t promise to do some investigating of the local Templar preceptory for a colleague, and if you do for God’s sake don’t muck around with anything you find there. If you’re lucky you’ll run into an old military type who doesn’t trust papists.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" – When the Abbot of a 16th century monastery basically dares you, though the enciphered clues he left behind in some striking stained glass windows, to uncover his hidden treasure don’t do it. Trust me on this.
I like the way in which James gives us enough of a glimpse at the ghosts and undead horrors he unleashes in his stories to avoid Lovecraft’s almost laughable (to me at least) approach of “oh, it was so horrible I can’t even begin to describe it, just trust me it was really, really, really, mind-crushingly horrible!” and yet was sufficiently vague to leave enough of the horror to the imagination of the reader. The charming, almost homely, voice of the narrator was also a nice contrast to the ultimate invocation of otherworldly menace in the tales. All in all a really solid collection of old-school ghost stories that may not leave you cringing in terror, but you may end up looking over your shoulder from time to time. And you’ll definitely take greater care the next time that weird old manuscript seems to fortuitously land in your lap.
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LibraryThing member Rumpeltje
Even when reading this book for the second time the stories are good. Most of the time the ghosts or supernatural beings are not described in any detail or not at all because they stay unseen. Often this is more effective than describing every detail of horror and gore as is often the case with
At times the language is old fashioned and often more so because the narrator quotes even older texts.
Personally, I didn't find the stories scary, but I'm not easily scared.
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modern ghost/horror stories.At times the language is old fashioned and often more so because the narrator quotes even older texts.
Personally, I didn't find the stories scary, but I'm not easily scared.
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LibraryThing member isabelx
"Perhaps," said the landlord, with hesitation, "you gentlemen would like another room for to-night — a double-bedded one?"
Neither Jensen nor Anderson was averse to the suggestion. They felt inclined to hunt in couples after their late experience. It was found convenient, when each of them went
Canon Alberic's Scrap-book and Lost Hearts
James' protagonists tend, like himself , to be academics with antiquarian interests, who find that their interests lead them into trouble. The book starts out with three stories that didn't particularly scare me, although I seem to remember that I found them more unnerving the first time I read them. Canon Alberic seems to get off lightly in the end, and I don't believe that anybody reading Lost Hearts will be unhappy with what happens at the end. Some people deserve whatever fate vengeful ghosts may have in mind for them.
The Mezzotint
Although the events of this story are creepy, the protagonist has his friends to keep him company and reassure him that he is not going mad, and the portrayal of past events never seems likely to escape the confines of the picture and affect the protagonist and his friends directly. In fact, this story is quite humorous in places, with James indulging in inter-university rivalry and poking fun at golf-loving Oxford academics.
The Ash Tree
The rest of the stories in this book are rather more frightening. The Ash-Tree reminded me of one of those horror movies that has you are yelling at the screen when the characters do something particularly stupid and likely to get them killed. When Sir Richard (CHECK NAME) decides to move bedrooms, he finds reasons for turning down all the rooms suggested by his housekeeper, but isn't bothered by the room his grandfather died in being dark and prone to damp due the the enormous ash-tree outside.When I was a child I had a dream about spiders covering the ceiling of our playroom and streaming down the walls, so this story made me shudder in recognition.
By this point in the book, I had decided that M. R. James must have really liked Queen Anne houses, as they feature in three of the first four stories, and the other story is set in France.
Number 13
This story is set in a hotel in Viborg in Denmark, which may or may not have a room 13. I liked the way the room stole physical space from the rooms on either side, although their occupants seemed strangely unobservant about the change in their rooms changed size and lost one of their three windows. The source of the haunting seems to have been discovered, but the English traveller then leaves the hotel and the reader doesn't find out whether room 13 is ever seen again. The hotelier mentions having heard the unearthly shriek that comes form room 13 once before, but none of his previous guests have ever mentioned room 13 to him, so I don't think it can have appeared very often.
Count Magnus, Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad and The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
The last three stories return to the theme of Canon Alberic's Scrap-book, with the protagonist accidentally awakening something that would be better left undisturbed. Sometimes it leads him inexorably towards his doom, but in other stories a very frightening haunting can be stopped quite simply, so the reader can tell whether there will be a happy ending or not. In Count Magnus, the protagonist is passing the place the Count is buried when he idly says he wishes he could meet him, and takes no notice of the warning signs that follow. In the next story, a professor of ontography (the study of the essence of things) who is strongly against the occult superstitions of all types, tempts fate by blowing a whistle he finds buried in the ruins of a Templar preceptory, while the treasure hunter in the final story ignores warnings that the treasure has a guardian, even though he thinks their may be some substance in them.
My favourite story is Number 13, with The Mezzotint and Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad making up my top three, while my least favourite is the Ash Tree.
Neither Jensen nor Anderson was averse to the suggestion. They felt inclined to hunt in couples after their late experience. It was found convenient, when each of them went
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to his room to collect the articles he wanted for the night, that the other should go with him and hold the candle.Canon Alberic's Scrap-book and Lost Hearts
James' protagonists tend, like himself , to be academics with antiquarian interests, who find that their interests lead them into trouble. The book starts out with three stories that didn't particularly scare me, although I seem to remember that I found them more unnerving the first time I read them. Canon Alberic seems to get off lightly in the end, and I don't believe that anybody reading Lost Hearts will be unhappy with what happens at the end. Some people deserve whatever fate vengeful ghosts may have in mind for them.
The Mezzotint
Although the events of this story are creepy, the protagonist has his friends to keep him company and reassure him that he is not going mad, and the portrayal of past events never seems likely to escape the confines of the picture and affect the protagonist and his friends directly. In fact, this story is quite humorous in places, with James indulging in inter-university rivalry and poking fun at golf-loving Oxford academics.
The Ash Tree
The rest of the stories in this book are rather more frightening. The Ash-Tree reminded me of one of those horror movies that has you are yelling at the screen when the characters do something particularly stupid and likely to get them killed. When Sir Richard (CHECK NAME) decides to move bedrooms, he finds reasons for turning down all the rooms suggested by his housekeeper, but isn't bothered by the room his grandfather died in being dark and prone to damp due the the enormous ash-tree outside.
By this point in the book, I had decided that M. R. James must have really liked Queen Anne houses, as they feature in three of the first four stories, and the other story is set in France.
Number 13
This story is set in a hotel in Viborg in Denmark, which may or may not have a room 13. I liked the way the room stole physical space from the rooms on either side, although their occupants seemed strangely unobservant about the change in their rooms changed size and lost one of their three windows. The source of the haunting seems to have been discovered, but the English traveller then leaves the hotel and the reader doesn't find out whether room 13 is ever seen again. The hotelier mentions having heard the unearthly shriek that comes form room 13 once before, but none of his previous guests have ever mentioned room 13 to him, so I don't think it can have appeared very often.
Count Magnus, Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad and The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
The last three stories return to the theme of Canon Alberic's Scrap-book, with the protagonist accidentally awakening something that would be better left undisturbed. Sometimes it leads him inexorably towards his doom, but in other stories a very frightening haunting can be stopped quite simply, so the reader can tell whether there will be a happy ending or not. In Count Magnus, the protagonist is passing the place the Count is buried when he idly says he wishes he could meet him, and takes no notice of the warning signs that follow. In the next story, a professor of ontography (the study of the essence of things) who is strongly against the occult superstitions of all types, tempts fate by blowing a whistle he finds buried in the ruins of a Templar preceptory, while the treasure hunter in the final story ignores warnings that the treasure has a guardian, even though he thinks their may be some substance in them.
My favourite story is Number 13, with The Mezzotint and Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad making up my top three, while my least favourite is the Ash Tree.
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LibraryThing member mstrust
First published in 1904, this is a collection of spooky stories with a very Gothic feel. Several of the stories involve a traveler doing research in Scandinavia and finding that long-ago myths are real. My favorites are "Number 13", in which the traveler staying in a pleasant hotel finds that his
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room, number 12, sometimes has a noisy neighbor next door in 13, though the hotel owner insists there is no room 13. The most effective is "Mezzotint", in which a University student is sent a tint of an old, nameless house, but finds sinister changes to the photo every time he returns to his room. Show Less
LibraryThing member nsenger
I read Ghost Stories of an Antiquary over the course of an entire year as part of the Deal Me In Short Story Challenge. Each week I would draw a card from a deck of playing cards, and if it turned up spades, then I knew I was in for another creepy story from M.R. James. The Kindle edition I read
Each and every story in this anthology was top-notch. James is a master of atmosphere, setting his tales in churchyards, labyrinths, and spooky old mansions. Many of the stories revolved around antique manuscripts or objects. According to the Wikipedia entry for M.R. James, "James perfected a method of story-telling which has since become known as Jamesian," and which includes the following elements:
1. a characterful setting in an English village, seaside town or country estate; an ancient town in France, Denmark or Sweden; or a venerable abbey or university
2. a nondescript and rather naive gentleman-scholar as protagonist (often of a reserved nature)
3. the discovery of an old book or other antiquarian object that somehow unlocks, calls down the wrath, or at least attracts the unwelcome attention of a supernatural menace, usually from beyond the grave
That describes this collection perfectly.
Coincidentally, two of the stories appeared in Alfred Hitchcock anthologies I was also reading for the Deal Me In Challenge, which gives you some idea of their quality and content. Don't pass this collection up. I especially recommend the Open Road Kindle edition, which is only 99 cents, and which has excellent formatting. You can also find these stories available online for free at Project Gutenberg.
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from Open Road Media contained both the eight tales from Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904) and the seven tales from More Ghost Stories (1911).Each and every story in this anthology was top-notch. James is a master of atmosphere, setting his tales in churchyards, labyrinths, and spooky old mansions. Many of the stories revolved around antique manuscripts or objects. According to the Wikipedia entry for M.R. James, "James perfected a method of story-telling which has since become known as Jamesian," and which includes the following elements:
1. a characterful setting in an English village, seaside town or country estate; an ancient town in France, Denmark or Sweden; or a venerable abbey or university
2. a nondescript and rather naive gentleman-scholar as protagonist (often of a reserved nature)
3. the discovery of an old book or other antiquarian object that somehow unlocks, calls down the wrath, or at least attracts the unwelcome attention of a supernatural menace, usually from beyond the grave
That describes this collection perfectly.
Coincidentally, two of the stories appeared in Alfred Hitchcock anthologies I was also reading for the Deal Me In Challenge, which gives you some idea of their quality and content. Don't pass this collection up. I especially recommend the Open Road Kindle edition, which is only 99 cents, and which has excellent formatting. You can also find these stories available online for free at Project Gutenberg.
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LibraryThing member Ron18
Ghost stories really don't get a heck of a lot better than many of these. I've listed my individual ratings for each of the 8 stories, rating some as low as 3 (surprisingly - one of which has a reputation for being among the best, The Mezzotint) - but they are all worthwhile. The particular mood
It is a pure joy to read someone write on a subject about which they are a seasoned professional (M R James being a paleographer and medievalist scholar) - and see them have a little fun with it. You can imagine the ideas coming to him as he poured over some ancient work or location and having his mind take a side trip, perhaps disturbing himself enough to encourage him to share the feeling.
Lost Hearts strikes me as a great vehicle for Tim Burton to get morbid and stylistic with. Number 13 inadvertently became a bedtime story for my 9yr old (she listened to the first 75%, then had me tell her the ending in the morning), and Oh, Whistle is among the best of the batch (illustrated in an overly-revealing way on the cover pictured).
As for anyone who finds the text too antiquated and bogged down with locations, history, and so forth - just trust it to pull you along, don't get hung up - context will give you all you need. If my 9yr old can follow enough to speculate on the resolution, we all can. Looking forward to more.
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" 5/5
"Lost Hearts" 4/5
"The Mezzotint" 3/5
"The Ash-tree" 4/5
"Number 13" 5/5
"Count Magnus" 3/5
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad''" 5/5
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" 3/4
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and atmosphere of the reading has an impact, I suspect - - as does whether or not you have read spoilers. It is a pure joy to read someone write on a subject about which they are a seasoned professional (M R James being a paleographer and medievalist scholar) - and see them have a little fun with it. You can imagine the ideas coming to him as he poured over some ancient work or location and having his mind take a side trip, perhaps disturbing himself enough to encourage him to share the feeling.
Lost Hearts strikes me as a great vehicle for Tim Burton to get morbid and stylistic with. Number 13 inadvertently became a bedtime story for my 9yr old (she listened to the first 75%, then had me tell her the ending in the morning), and Oh, Whistle is among the best of the batch (illustrated in an overly-revealing way on the cover pictured).
As for anyone who finds the text too antiquated and bogged down with locations, history, and so forth - just trust it to pull you along, don't get hung up - context will give you all you need. If my 9yr old can follow enough to speculate on the resolution, we all can. Looking forward to more.
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" 5/5
"Lost Hearts" 4/5
"The Mezzotint" 3/5
"The Ash-tree" 4/5
"Number 13" 5/5
"Count Magnus" 3/5
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad''" 5/5
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" 3/4
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LibraryThing member Charrlygirl
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James
A fantastic collection of creepy atmospheric horror tales written back in the day. I felt that these stories lost nothing with the passage of time. In fact, I appreciated the fact that these tales weren't gory at all. I guess I've gotten used to
A fantastic collection of creepy atmospheric horror tales written back in the day. I felt that these stories lost nothing with the passage of time. In fact, I appreciated the fact that these tales weren't gory at all. I guess I've gotten used to
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explicit scenes in my horror, and these shorts served to remind me that blood and guts don't necessarily have to play a part. My imagination often supplies something scarier than the author may have intended and I like that. I highly recommend this excellent, (free for Kindle), collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member Arkrayder
Enjoyed reading this. M.R. James knew how to write a good horror story. Subtle, but with enough going on to keep the reader interested.
LibraryThing member BookNookRetreat7
For classic ghost stories, these were not too bad, but a few of the stories I didn't know what was happening. I do have three favorites: Lost Hearts, The Ash-Tree, and Number 13. Nothing truly scary within these pages. Giving it three stars.
Subjects
Awards
Horror: The 100 Best Books (1904)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1904
Physical description
176 p.; 8.38 inches
ISBN
0486227588 / 9780486227580
UPC
800759227587
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