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Ghost Stories of an Antiquary #1
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is the first Horror short-story collection by British writer M.R. James (AKA: Montague Rhodes James) published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in magazines). Some later editions under this title contain both the original collection and its successor, More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911), combined in one volume. This collection features some of M.R. James’ greatest tales of the supernatural world crossing over into our own. In Number 13, an inn that previously belonged to an alchemist changes dimensions in the night. The Mezzotint features a painting of a house reenacting a gruesome scene from the house’s history. In The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, an antiquary who has discovered the location of a treasure gets far more than he bargained for.
There are eight classics by great Edwardian scholar and storyteller. "Number Thirteen," "The Mezzotint," "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook," and more. Renowned for their wit, erudition and suspense, these stories are each masterfully constructed and represent a high achievement in the ghost genre. Montague Rhodes James (1862–1936) was a medieval scholar; Provost of King's College, Cambridge. He wrote many of his ghost stories to be read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. His stories often use rural settings, with a quiet, scholarly protagonist getting caught up in the activities of supernatural forces. The details of horror are almost never explicit, the stories relying on a gentle, bucolic background to emphasize the awfulness of the otherworldly intrusions. He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.
There are eight classics by great Edwardian scholar and storyteller. "Number Thirteen," "The Mezzotint," "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook," and more. Renowned for their wit, erudition and suspense, these stories are each masterfully constructed and represent a high achievement in the ghost genre. Montague Rhodes James (1862–1936) was a medieval scholar; Provost of King's College, Cambridge. He wrote many of his ghost stories to be read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. His stories often use rural settings, with a quiet, scholarly protagonist getting caught up in the activities of supernatural forces. The details of horror are almost never explicit, the stories relying on a gentle, bucolic background to emphasize the awfulness of the otherworldly intrusions. He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.
157 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
About the author
M.R. James
1,345 books843 followersMontague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. James, was a noted English mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
M.R.^James
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
M.R.^James
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 507 reviews
August 23, 2024
Spooky!
A collection of short stories by renowned M.R. James, considered, along with Poe and Lovecraft, one of the founding fathers of modern horror. His introductions tend to be kinda tedious, and he is not exactly easy to read, but he's a true master of eeriness.
Go for the Best, consider the Good, whatever the Meh.
The Best :
★★★★☆ “The Mezzotint.” [4.5]
★★★★☆ “Canon Alberic’s Scrap Book.” [3.5]
The Good :
★★★☆☆ “Lost Hearts.” [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “Number 13.”
★★★☆☆ “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad.” [2.5]
★★★☆☆ “The Ash-Tree.” [2.5]
The Meh :
★★☆☆☆ “Count Magnus.”
★☆☆☆☆ “The Treasure of Abbot Thomas.”
It’s public domain, you can find it HERE
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1904] [157p] [Collection] [Partly Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★★☆ The Mezzotint [4.5]
★★★☆☆ Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
-----------------------------------------------
¡Qué miedo!
Una colección de cuentos cortos por el renombrado M.R. James, considerado, junto a Poe y Lovecraft, uno de los padres fundadores del horror moderno. Sus introducciones tienden a ser algo tediosas, y no es exactamente fácil de leer, pero es un verdadero maestro de lo escalofriante.
Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, loquesea lo Meh.
Lo Mejor :
★★★★☆ “El Grabado.” [4.5]
★★★★☆ “El Album del Canónigo Alberico.” [3.5]
Lo Bueno :
★★★☆☆ “Corazones Perdidos.” [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “La Habitación Número 13.”
★★★☆☆ “Silba y Acudiré.” [2.5]
★★★☆☆ “El Fresno.” [2.5]
Lo Meh :
★★☆☆☆ “El Conde Magnus.”
★☆☆☆☆ “El Tesoro del Abad Thomas.”
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1904] [157p] [Colección] [Parcialmente Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
A collection of short stories by renowned M.R. James, considered, along with Poe and Lovecraft, one of the founding fathers of modern horror. His introductions tend to be kinda tedious, and he is not exactly easy to read, but he's a true master of eeriness.
Go for the Best, consider the Good, whatever the Meh.
The Best :
★★★★☆ “The Mezzotint.” [4.5]
★★★★☆ “Canon Alberic’s Scrap Book.” [3.5]
The Good :
★★★☆☆ “Lost Hearts.” [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “Number 13.”
★★★☆☆ “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come To You, My Lad.” [2.5]
★★★☆☆ “The Ash-Tree.” [2.5]
The Meh :
★★☆☆☆ “Count Magnus.”
★☆☆☆☆ “The Treasure of Abbot Thomas.”
It’s public domain, you can find it HERE
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1904] [157p] [Collection] [Partly Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★★☆ The Mezzotint [4.5]
★★★☆☆ Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
-----------------------------------------------
¡Qué miedo!
Una colección de cuentos cortos por el renombrado M.R. James, considerado, junto a Poe y Lovecraft, uno de los padres fundadores del horror moderno. Sus introducciones tienden a ser algo tediosas, y no es exactamente fácil de leer, pero es un verdadero maestro de lo escalofriante.
Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, loquesea lo Meh.
Lo Mejor :
★★★★☆ “El Grabado.” [4.5]
★★★★☆ “El Album del Canónigo Alberico.” [3.5]
Lo Bueno :
★★★☆☆ “Corazones Perdidos.” [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “La Habitación Número 13.”
★★★☆☆ “Silba y Acudiré.” [2.5]
★★★☆☆ “El Fresno.” [2.5]
Lo Meh :
★★☆☆☆ “El Conde Magnus.”
★☆☆☆☆ “El Tesoro del Abad Thomas.”
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1904] [157p] [Colección] [Parcialmente Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
April 27, 2018
This is M. R. James first book of ghost stories, containing eight of his best. I believe six of these eight are among the twenty best tales of ghostly terror ever written--and the other two tales are very good too. If you like traditional ghost stories that unnerve the reader subtly by suggestion and indirection, this is a book you should read.
February 12, 2024
A Ghostly Satisfaction! 👍🏽
A very good collection of old-school ghost stories. No blood. No gore. Just good ol’ old fashioned scares.
A great collection!
Worth four stars. ✨✨✨✨
A very good collection of old-school ghost stories. No blood. No gore. Just good ol’ old fashioned scares.
A great collection!
Worth four stars. ✨✨✨✨
October 4, 2022
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is the first collection of stories by M.R. James, published in 1904, although some had been previously published in magazines. The next collection from 1922 is often nowadays combined with this volume. Montague Rhodes James was a noted medieval scholar and provost of Kings College, Cambridge. His scholarly work remains highly respected in academic circles.
Interestingly one incident in M.R. James's life could have come straight from his stories. His discovery of a manuscript fragment led to excavations in the ruins of the abbey at Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk, in 1902, in which the graves of several twelfth-century abbots were rediscovered, having been lost since the Dissolution.
Nowadays however, he is best remembered for his short stories, which he published as M.R. James. These are classic understated Victorian ghost stories. Many of them were written to be read aloud, as there was a tradition in Victorian families of reading spooky tales aloud on Christmas Eve.
Mood and atmosphere are paramount in M.R. James's short stories. His work could be seen as a restrained English version of Edgar Allan Poe. Everything is understated; where there is horror it is rarely explicit. The terror lies in the power of suggestion and foreboding.
There is often a quiet scholarly person as the main protagonist, and the settings are often rural, or a musty old library or church. This lulls the reader into a false sense of security thereby emphasising the horror of the supernatural forces which are inevitable in an M.R. James story. The situation is usually quite prosaic to start with, and the author moves very slowly piling on his tension step by step.
This collection comprises:
"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"
The second collection entitled "More Ghost Stories" comprises:
"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"
Edited:
Some stories from Ghost Stories of an Antiquary are reviewed separately. Here are links to my reviews of these:
Lost Hearts
The Mezzotint
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
The Tractate Middoth
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
Here are links to my reviews of other stories by M.R. James:
A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
A Warning to the Curious (the individual story)
Interestingly one incident in M.R. James's life could have come straight from his stories. His discovery of a manuscript fragment led to excavations in the ruins of the abbey at Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk, in 1902, in which the graves of several twelfth-century abbots were rediscovered, having been lost since the Dissolution.
Nowadays however, he is best remembered for his short stories, which he published as M.R. James. These are classic understated Victorian ghost stories. Many of them were written to be read aloud, as there was a tradition in Victorian families of reading spooky tales aloud on Christmas Eve.
Mood and atmosphere are paramount in M.R. James's short stories. His work could be seen as a restrained English version of Edgar Allan Poe. Everything is understated; where there is horror it is rarely explicit. The terror lies in the power of suggestion and foreboding.
There is often a quiet scholarly person as the main protagonist, and the settings are often rural, or a musty old library or church. This lulls the reader into a false sense of security thereby emphasising the horror of the supernatural forces which are inevitable in an M.R. James story. The situation is usually quite prosaic to start with, and the author moves very slowly piling on his tension step by step.
This collection comprises:
"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"
The second collection entitled "More Ghost Stories" comprises:
"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"
Edited:
Some stories from Ghost Stories of an Antiquary are reviewed separately. Here are links to my reviews of these:
Lost Hearts
The Mezzotint
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
The Tractate Middoth
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
Here are links to my reviews of other stories by M.R. James:
A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
A Warning to the Curious (the individual story)
February 21, 2024
This is the best ghost story collection you'll ever read.
It was the year 2002 and I had never heard about Montague Rhodes James. I lived in Hastings, England, and I was good friends with a clever girl called Sarah, who'd pay me visits from time to time.
We both loved exploring second hand shops, and in my least favourite one (what a coincidence!), we found one of those revolving book display cases with its assorted collection of paperbacks. We were talking about horror authors, name dropping, not paying much attention to the books on the display. I chose one book, she chose none, I made my purchase and we exited the shop.
In the street, we carried on with our conversation, and she finally mentioned James. I told her he was unknown to me, and she said: 'But his book was right in front of us, you even picked it up.'
Back to the shop we went, I spotted the book, looked at its eerie cover and bought it. If she hadn't mentioned James, I would have carried on for at least another decade without knowing anything about him. Thank you, Sarah.
I got home and I started reading and I was immediately hooked; what a find! Every story is wonderful, wonderfully written, imaginative, creepy, shocking, mysterious and fun! My favourite was The Ash Tree, but Lost Hearts and The Mezzotint are also fantastic. But forget about favourites: honestly, hand in heart, all the stories are amazing. One doesn't write a handful of scary tales and becomes a paragon of English literature by being mediocre.
I think the reader can easily tell how much love and care James put in the writing of these stories... back then, writing was still a craft.
So, if you like horror, read this book. If you like literature, read this book. If you like history, read this book. If you are a curious person with imagination and passion, read this book. I you are none of these things, read this book; you might learn something.
It was the year 2002 and I had never heard about Montague Rhodes James. I lived in Hastings, England, and I was good friends with a clever girl called Sarah, who'd pay me visits from time to time.
We both loved exploring second hand shops, and in my least favourite one (what a coincidence!), we found one of those revolving book display cases with its assorted collection of paperbacks. We were talking about horror authors, name dropping, not paying much attention to the books on the display. I chose one book, she chose none, I made my purchase and we exited the shop.
In the street, we carried on with our conversation, and she finally mentioned James. I told her he was unknown to me, and she said: 'But his book was right in front of us, you even picked it up.'
Back to the shop we went, I spotted the book, looked at its eerie cover and bought it. If she hadn't mentioned James, I would have carried on for at least another decade without knowing anything about him. Thank you, Sarah.
I got home and I started reading and I was immediately hooked; what a find! Every story is wonderful, wonderfully written, imaginative, creepy, shocking, mysterious and fun! My favourite was The Ash Tree, but Lost Hearts and The Mezzotint are also fantastic. But forget about favourites: honestly, hand in heart, all the stories are amazing. One doesn't write a handful of scary tales and becomes a paragon of English literature by being mediocre.
I think the reader can easily tell how much love and care James put in the writing of these stories... back then, writing was still a craft.
So, if you like horror, read this book. If you like literature, read this book. If you like history, read this book. If you are a curious person with imagination and passion, read this book. I you are none of these things, read this book; you might learn something.
March 15, 2019
Classic set of superb ghost stories. From a mysterious figure in a print, to the content of an ashtree, a mysterious room in a hotel up to Count Magnus and a whistle with a very strange quality. The author is extremely talented and crafts out a very enjoyable set of 8 stories (I liked them all). If you have a faible for antiquaries and like a carefully plotted story with a certain amount of horror at the middle you're absolutely right here. The stories are very English by the way. If you like reading Latin (don't worry, there is a translation given) it won't cause no harm. Paradigmatic ghost stories I can highly recommend. This was M.R.James' first colection of short stories and it's a great starter for his works.
August 10, 2017
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 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 Ashton-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 fun little 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, through 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 of 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.
Also posted at Shelf Inflicted
'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 fun little 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, through 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 of 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.
Also posted at Shelf Inflicted
September 28, 2024
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 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.
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 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.
January 14, 2021
I'm probably the only one here who wasn't too impressed by M.R. James's stories. Nothing shocked me, nothing managed to scare me at all. Besides, I was having trouble understanding the Biblical connections and citations and each time had to go look at the notes at the back of the volume I read the stories from. But I do insist that he's an excellent storyteller, never resorting to flowery descriptions in order to build the atmosphere or to induce fear. He seems to be a man of few words and because of that, we could've gotten along so well!! *sighs* Never mind.
Individual ratings:
• Canon Alberic's Scrapbook: 3.5 stars
• Lost Hearts: 2 stars
• The Mezzotint: 3 stars
• The Ash-Tree: 3 stars
• Number 13: 3.5 stars
• Count Magnus: 2 stars
• 'Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad': 2.5 stars
• The Treasure of Abbot Thomas: 3.75 stars
Ratings averaged to 3/5 stars
Individual ratings:
• Canon Alberic's Scrapbook: 3.5 stars
• Lost Hearts: 2 stars
• The Mezzotint: 3 stars
• The Ash-Tree: 3 stars
• Number 13: 3.5 stars
• Count Magnus: 2 stars
• 'Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad': 2.5 stars
• The Treasure of Abbot Thomas: 3.75 stars
Ratings averaged to 3/5 stars
April 16, 2019
Mark Fisher, in his erudite examination of horror, The Weird and the Eerie, notes that eeriness is characterized either by “a failure of absence or a failure of presence”. I would posit that M.R. Jame’s arguable opus, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, is full of textbook examples of each. It would be spoiling the book to note which stories failure absence or presence, but it must be noted that this book could be taken as a master course in the eerie. It must also be noted that Jame’s (intentional?) elimination of summary explanations in (or about) his stories is part of what gives these tales this nearly-mystical feeling. You won’t find stories here that are neatly tied off, for the most part, with a “big reveal” that provides that opium for the masses of readers: closure. No, you will find that many of these stories are unresolved. They end, simply, as matters of observed facts. You might construct an explanation in your own mind of what happened, who did what and why, and what went horribly wrong. But all of these explanations happen, as they do with all good literature, in your head. You will become a participant in these stories. You, like many of the characters therein, will be haunted by the experience. Let’s draw up our salt-circle (or not) and summon the ghosts:
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" had to inspire many of Lovecraft's stories. Antiquarian book? Check. Occult rituals? Check. Suspicious-seeming natives? Check. Creepy noises in the dark? Check. "Journal entries" (marginalia, really)? Check. Investigation of strangeness with academic undertones? Check. Freaky creature? Check. Just add tentacles and hyperbole. I liked this a lot more than most of the Lovecraft I've read, but I'm a little burned-out on the Mythos, to say the least. I grow tired of Lovecraft and his imitators. Give me four eerie stars, without tentacles, please! In all seriousness, if someone with a mind like Sandy Peterson’s had picked this story to create an investigative roleplaying game, we might not have Call of Cthulhu now, we might have Call of Canon Alberic! Of course, if you're looking for ghostly roleplaying of the Jamesien variety, look no further than English Eerie. I recommend it. And now, we return from our commercial break . . .
"Lost Hearts" is another tale that evokes Lovecr. . . Wait - I see what you did there with the title, James! You sly old dead dog, you. I love this little ghostly/occult tale. I would love to see it rewritten to show what would happen had Mr Abney succeeded . . . that could make another terrifying tale, possibly overshadowing the origi. . . Hmm . . . I've got some paper and a pen. Hmm . . . first let me draw these four stars. I'm never going to get this review done, at this rate.
I've read "The Mezzotint" before, and heard a fantastic audio adaption of it on what has become my favorite podcast, of late, and yet, despite all my familiarity, it still does not fail to make on shiver. One of the best "weird" stories written. This one has staying power, with latent images that only partially fade over time. The imagery is burned on the lens of my mind. And my mind created it, prompted by James' words that I read with my eyes, or rather, my mind transformed the words - it is a strange thing to think about. Where do these creations of the mind come from? What makes words form images in my brain? I will meditate upon these five stars and give it more thought.
Ew, ew, ew, eeeewwwww!! "The Ash-Tree" = #nopenopenope. Just. No. And not the most effective story thus far, but still better than most other strange stories of a similar ilk. But this story gives me the jibblies for fifteen minutes straight. In all seriousness, this pushes too far into gross territory for me. I'm not about gross or gory. Creepy is not the same as gross. Four slightly disgusted stars.
"Number 13" is a great little mystery. Not the strongest story so far, but by no means weak. If you wonder where Mephistopheles took Faust, this might give an indicator. And it's closer than you think. In fact, it might be right next door. The trick is to find the door . . . and avoid it at all costs! Four stars cast the shadow of Danielewski’s House of Leaves.
At first, I thought "Count Magnus" was a novella. We need more novellas in the world. Many, many more. I wish the majority of published works were novellas. But I'm a snob that way. Then, after skimming ahead a second and third time, I discovered that "Count Magnus" is NOT a novella: Whomever did layout on this edition (Good Port) done screwed up! After this story, we have "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas". The layout is so screwed up, in fact, that these last two don't even appear in the table of contents. So if layout is your thing, best pick a better port than Good Port.
"Count Magnus" is the most evocative story in this collection. By "evocative," I mean that it is . . . well, not subtle, but not "in your face," either. It's more creepy than horrific, and that's the sort of thing that I love. This could easily be a Twilight Zone episode! And, like my favorite TV show (the ORIGINAL Twilight Zone, or OTZ), this story gets five stars.
My first note on the next story: "*Sigh* you had to go and blow the whistle, didn't you, Parkins? This is the part where things go horribly, horribly wrong, I suppose."
And I supposed right.
Important safety tip: If you find something in a grave, don't play with it. Whatever you do , don't touch it to your lips! Yuck!
"Sinister" is the best word, I think, to describe the feeling of the story "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad". The apparition therein is the scariest of all in this book thus far. I did not sleep well the night I read it, all wrapped up in bed sheets. This story makes innocent bed sheets terrifying. Sleep tight! Five shuddering stars.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a textbook mystery marbled through with supernatural elements. The narrator's presentation is a well-played shell game of obfuscation and revelation. I would have liked a more consequential ending, but that trick was for later authors. Five stars, despite the flat-ish ending.
There is no doubt why this collection gets reprinted again and again (sometimes poorly, as you can see from my review). If there ever was one "classic" single-author collection of ghost stories, this is it.
Go.
Read.
Fear.
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" had to inspire many of Lovecraft's stories. Antiquarian book? Check. Occult rituals? Check. Suspicious-seeming natives? Check. Creepy noises in the dark? Check. "Journal entries" (marginalia, really)? Check. Investigation of strangeness with academic undertones? Check. Freaky creature? Check. Just add tentacles and hyperbole. I liked this a lot more than most of the Lovecraft I've read, but I'm a little burned-out on the Mythos, to say the least. I grow tired of Lovecraft and his imitators. Give me four eerie stars, without tentacles, please! In all seriousness, if someone with a mind like Sandy Peterson’s had picked this story to create an investigative roleplaying game, we might not have Call of Cthulhu now, we might have Call of Canon Alberic! Of course, if you're looking for ghostly roleplaying of the Jamesien variety, look no further than English Eerie. I recommend it. And now, we return from our commercial break . . .
"Lost Hearts" is another tale that evokes Lovecr. . . Wait - I see what you did there with the title, James! You sly old dead dog, you. I love this little ghostly/occult tale. I would love to see it rewritten to show what would happen had Mr Abney succeeded . . . that could make another terrifying tale, possibly overshadowing the origi. . . Hmm . . . I've got some paper and a pen. Hmm . . . first let me draw these four stars. I'm never going to get this review done, at this rate.
I've read "The Mezzotint" before, and heard a fantastic audio adaption of it on what has become my favorite podcast, of late, and yet, despite all my familiarity, it still does not fail to make on shiver. One of the best "weird" stories written. This one has staying power, with latent images that only partially fade over time. The imagery is burned on the lens of my mind. And my mind created it, prompted by James' words that I read with my eyes, or rather, my mind transformed the words - it is a strange thing to think about. Where do these creations of the mind come from? What makes words form images in my brain? I will meditate upon these five stars and give it more thought.
Ew, ew, ew, eeeewwwww!! "The Ash-Tree" = #nopenopenope. Just. No. And not the most effective story thus far, but still better than most other strange stories of a similar ilk. But this story gives me the jibblies for fifteen minutes straight. In all seriousness, this pushes too far into gross territory for me. I'm not about gross or gory. Creepy is not the same as gross. Four slightly disgusted stars.
"Number 13" is a great little mystery. Not the strongest story so far, but by no means weak. If you wonder where Mephistopheles took Faust, this might give an indicator. And it's closer than you think. In fact, it might be right next door. The trick is to find the door . . . and avoid it at all costs! Four stars cast the shadow of Danielewski’s House of Leaves.
At first, I thought "Count Magnus" was a novella. We need more novellas in the world. Many, many more. I wish the majority of published works were novellas. But I'm a snob that way. Then, after skimming ahead a second and third time, I discovered that "Count Magnus" is NOT a novella: Whomever did layout on this edition (Good Port) done screwed up! After this story, we have "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas". The layout is so screwed up, in fact, that these last two don't even appear in the table of contents. So if layout is your thing, best pick a better port than Good Port.
"Count Magnus" is the most evocative story in this collection. By "evocative," I mean that it is . . . well, not subtle, but not "in your face," either. It's more creepy than horrific, and that's the sort of thing that I love. This could easily be a Twilight Zone episode! And, like my favorite TV show (the ORIGINAL Twilight Zone, or OTZ), this story gets five stars.
My first note on the next story: "*Sigh* you had to go and blow the whistle, didn't you, Parkins? This is the part where things go horribly, horribly wrong, I suppose."
And I supposed right.
Important safety tip: If you find something in a grave, don't play with it. Whatever you do , don't touch it to your lips! Yuck!
"Sinister" is the best word, I think, to describe the feeling of the story "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad". The apparition therein is the scariest of all in this book thus far. I did not sleep well the night I read it, all wrapped up in bed sheets. This story makes innocent bed sheets terrifying. Sleep tight! Five shuddering stars.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a textbook mystery marbled through with supernatural elements. The narrator's presentation is a well-played shell game of obfuscation and revelation. I would have liked a more consequential ending, but that trick was for later authors. Five stars, despite the flat-ish ending.
There is no doubt why this collection gets reprinted again and again (sometimes poorly, as you can see from my review). If there ever was one "classic" single-author collection of ghost stories, this is it.
Go.
Read.
Fear.
August 8, 2020
My first encounter with the ghost stories of genre master Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was as a kid of about 11, reading Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories for Late at Night (my review of that one is here: (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ), which contained “The Ash Tree.” That tale stayed with me remarkably well over the decades, and it and William Hope Hodgson's “The Whistling Room” (which appears in the same anthology) were probably the two stories that, more than any others, gave me my enduring taste for the supernatural in literature. Over the years, I'd read several more of James' works, but none of his book-length collections, though I'd long wanted to. A common read this month in one of my groups of this, the first collection he published (in 1904) gave me that opportunity.
Of the eight stories in this book, I'd previously read three others besides “The Ash Tree”: “Lost Hearts,” which appears in Great Ghost Stories: 101 Terrifying Tales (my review of that book is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ; “The Mezzotint;” and “Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad,” which is included in Charles Keeping's Classic Tales of the Macabre. (I've commented on the M. R. James stories in both of the reviews I've linked to.) Contrary to my usual practice, however, after reading the new-to-me stories here, I reread three of the previously-read ones (skipping "Lost Hearts," because I'd read it just earlier this year).
James' day job was as a Univ. of Cambridge scholar of medieval and ancient literature, and he's still respected in that field. As the title of the collection puts it, he was an "antiquary" by profession, and that background characteristically flavors his stories. Old documents, which are connected to (and sometimes even a channel for!) sinister occult mysteries better left unplumbed are very often worked into the warp and woof of his plots, and spooky goings-on in the time-frame of the story are often rooted in a musty past history that's shown to be very far from dead and irrelevant. His protagonists are frequently university professors, and often antiquaries themselves. He also has a tendency to describe events that, even after the denouement, are not wholly explained --how or why something worked the way it did is still mysterious and impenetrable. A recurrent theme is the inadequacy of rationalist materialism to explain all of reality; characters comfortably cocooned in such a worldview invariably have it rudely shaken. (The author himself was a theologically conservative Anglican who was open to the possibility of the paranormal in real life. Asked, in later life, whether he believed in ghosts, he replied, "They exist, but we don't know the rules.")
Malevolence on the part of his supernatural entities was something he considered essential to the ghost story (though their "malevolence" may not be universal --they may be out for vengeance on a particular person or persons, and in at least one case here we might agree that it's justified). So the stories are horrific in nature; but the horror element doesn't depend on gore and gross-out. All of the tales are in the classic tradition, with restraint in the descriptions and a greater emphasis on psychological rather than physical horror. Plots are structured in a way that builds ominous unease in the reader --though the protagonists are often oblivious-- leading with mounting suspense to a denouement.
The four stories that were new to me here are: "Canon Alberic's Scrap Book;" "Number 13;" "Count Magnus;" and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas." There weren't any of the stories that I didn't like, and it's difficult to pick a favorite. "Lost Hearts" perhaps diverges the most from James' usual style in that the antiquarian element, while present, isn't as strong as it usually is, and the story has a child protagonist. The physical manifestation of the supernatural near the end is also gorier than in some James stories, but still understated (described in one sentence) and mild by modern standards. "The Ash Tree" is set against the background of the witch hysteria of the 16th and 17th centuries (and suggests, as do some other supernatural fiction story authors like Manly Wade Wellman, that not ALL of those executed as witches were necessarily slandered innocents....) Both "Number 13" and "Count Magnus" have well-evoked Scandinavian settings --I couldn't find a specific confirmation of travels by the author in Scandinavia, but he definitely traveled in Europe a lot, and the descriptions here suggest direct personal experience. As we might infer from the title, "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" deals with a quest for hidden treasure (but it might be better if it isn't found).
E. F. Bleiler, who was in his day one of very few literary scholars to actually appreciate and specialize in supernatural fiction, contributed an excellent though short (four pages) Introduction to the 1965 Dover edition, which is the one I read. He acquainted me with a good deal of information about James that I didn't know, and really brought him to life for me as a person.
Of the eight stories in this book, I'd previously read three others besides “The Ash Tree”: “Lost Hearts,” which appears in Great Ghost Stories: 101 Terrifying Tales (my review of that book is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ; “The Mezzotint;” and “Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad,” which is included in Charles Keeping's Classic Tales of the Macabre. (I've commented on the M. R. James stories in both of the reviews I've linked to.) Contrary to my usual practice, however, after reading the new-to-me stories here, I reread three of the previously-read ones (skipping "Lost Hearts," because I'd read it just earlier this year).
James' day job was as a Univ. of Cambridge scholar of medieval and ancient literature, and he's still respected in that field. As the title of the collection puts it, he was an "antiquary" by profession, and that background characteristically flavors his stories. Old documents, which are connected to (and sometimes even a channel for!) sinister occult mysteries better left unplumbed are very often worked into the warp and woof of his plots, and spooky goings-on in the time-frame of the story are often rooted in a musty past history that's shown to be very far from dead and irrelevant. His protagonists are frequently university professors, and often antiquaries themselves. He also has a tendency to describe events that, even after the denouement, are not wholly explained --how or why something worked the way it did is still mysterious and impenetrable. A recurrent theme is the inadequacy of rationalist materialism to explain all of reality; characters comfortably cocooned in such a worldview invariably have it rudely shaken. (The author himself was a theologically conservative Anglican who was open to the possibility of the paranormal in real life. Asked, in later life, whether he believed in ghosts, he replied, "They exist, but we don't know the rules.")
Malevolence on the part of his supernatural entities was something he considered essential to the ghost story (though their "malevolence" may not be universal --they may be out for vengeance on a particular person or persons, and in at least one case here we might agree that it's justified). So the stories are horrific in nature; but the horror element doesn't depend on gore and gross-out. All of the tales are in the classic tradition, with restraint in the descriptions and a greater emphasis on psychological rather than physical horror. Plots are structured in a way that builds ominous unease in the reader --though the protagonists are often oblivious-- leading with mounting suspense to a denouement.
The four stories that were new to me here are: "Canon Alberic's Scrap Book;" "Number 13;" "Count Magnus;" and "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas." There weren't any of the stories that I didn't like, and it's difficult to pick a favorite. "Lost Hearts" perhaps diverges the most from James' usual style in that the antiquarian element, while present, isn't as strong as it usually is, and the story has a child protagonist. The physical manifestation of the supernatural near the end is also gorier than in some James stories, but still understated (described in one sentence) and mild by modern standards. "The Ash Tree" is set against the background of the witch hysteria of the 16th and 17th centuries (and suggests, as do some other supernatural fiction story authors like Manly Wade Wellman, that not ALL of those executed as witches were necessarily slandered innocents....) Both "Number 13" and "Count Magnus" have well-evoked Scandinavian settings --I couldn't find a specific confirmation of travels by the author in Scandinavia, but he definitely traveled in Europe a lot, and the descriptions here suggest direct personal experience. As we might infer from the title, "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" deals with a quest for hidden treasure (but it might be better if it isn't found).
E. F. Bleiler, who was in his day one of very few literary scholars to actually appreciate and specialize in supernatural fiction, contributed an excellent though short (four pages) Introduction to the 1965 Dover edition, which is the one I read. He acquainted me with a good deal of information about James that I didn't know, and really brought him to life for me as a person.
November 4, 2021
I'd read some of these before and most are excellent. James has an imagination that can draw you in...and then take advantage of your vulnerabilities to things that may or may not go bump in the night.
You will as always find reliably creepy stories from James. I can recommend this tome (or is it tomb...mwa-wah-ha-ha) if you're looking for ghost/supernatural stories.
You will as always find reliably creepy stories from James. I can recommend this tome (or is it tomb...mwa-wah-ha-ha) if you're looking for ghost/supernatural stories.
October 4, 2022
These are kinder, gentler ghost stories from the Edwardian period. At first everything seems oh so rational—a cozy fire in the study, the gentleman scholar telling his tales to like-minded friends over a glass of sherry. Then the modestly creepy comes in to play.
James’s stories come after the time of E. A. Poe with his shrieking, mad stories and are pretty contemporary with H. P. Lovecrafts’ weird and wild horror but have a style of their own. There are no shrieking ghosts or particularly violent attacks. The characters obviously are very unsettled in their proper English way and there is a slight likable humor to the stories.
I liked reading them one story per evening. James is good for this time of the year when the veil between this world and the next is thin and a group of friends gathers by the warmth of the fire.
James’s stories come after the time of E. A. Poe with his shrieking, mad stories and are pretty contemporary with H. P. Lovecrafts’ weird and wild horror but have a style of their own. There are no shrieking ghosts or particularly violent attacks. The characters obviously are very unsettled in their proper English way and there is a slight likable humor to the stories.
I liked reading them one story per evening. James is good for this time of the year when the veil between this world and the next is thin and a group of friends gathers by the warmth of the fire.
September 23, 2018
GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY, contains some of the earlier tales of author M.R. James. This particular selection is available for free download on public domain.
I'll admit, I'm a bit biased when it comes to M.R. James' tales--I own his complete works, and have re-read it several times. While this collection doesn't include all of his better known stories, it does give the reader a good sampling of that eerie, creeping horror--usually without all the gore--that James is better known for. These are the kind of stories that affect you more, in my humble opinion, and often the ones that you don't forget over time.
A great start to some of M.R. James' work.
Highly recommended!
I'll admit, I'm a bit biased when it comes to M.R. James' tales--I own his complete works, and have re-read it several times. While this collection doesn't include all of his better known stories, it does give the reader a good sampling of that eerie, creeping horror--usually without all the gore--that James is better known for. These are the kind of stories that affect you more, in my humble opinion, and often the ones that you don't forget over time.
A great start to some of M.R. James' work.
Highly recommended!
September 21, 2018
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.
September 19, 2018
There's something to be said for horror that's still creepy after a century passes, and M.R. James provides it by the bucketload in this collection. Part of my attachment must be put down to nostalgia - growing up, the only horror I could usually get my hands on was the kind that came in huge anthologies and tended to the classical (read: old!). The language is very of it's time, but it provides a subtle distance to the whole thing that amplifies it's creepiness; the scares themselves usually build slowly and steadily rather than jump out to get you.
This collection showed that he's considered a grandfather of horror for a reason. A lot of these stories are going to be lurking in the back of my mind, ready for the next moment I'm alone in the dark, and for me that's the mark of the true master of the genre.
This collection showed that he's considered a grandfather of horror for a reason. A lot of these stories are going to be lurking in the back of my mind, ready for the next moment I'm alone in the dark, and for me that's the mark of the true master of the genre.
October 11, 2022
This classic collection from MR James is a bit of a mixed bag, from the uncharacteristically gory 'Lost Hearts' to my eerie favourite 'O Whistle...' which proves anything can become haunted and horrid!
The tales are all elegantly written and create a fine mood of unease. James's use of antiquarian objects from prints to books to archaeological finds embeds each story in a historical reality whose tangibility gives an added edge to the uncanny which, inevitably, is freed.
There's some humour here as crusty dons live their mostly celibate lives alongside each other, but also a surprisingly cautious view of peeking into the unknown and unearthing knowledge that is better left alone, hidden and untouched.
Deliciously spooky, is my verdict, and perfect for Halloween. Oh, and if you don't have them in your edition, it's worth Googling James McBride's classic illustrations.
The tales are all elegantly written and create a fine mood of unease. James's use of antiquarian objects from prints to books to archaeological finds embeds each story in a historical reality whose tangibility gives an added edge to the uncanny which, inevitably, is freed.
There's some humour here as crusty dons live their mostly celibate lives alongside each other, but also a surprisingly cautious view of peeking into the unknown and unearthing knowledge that is better left alone, hidden and untouched.
Deliciously spooky, is my verdict, and perfect for Halloween. Oh, and if you don't have them in your edition, it's worth Googling James McBride's classic illustrations.
August 1, 2022
"Stephen avistó dos figuras paradas en la explanada de grava que daba al jardín: parecían figuras de un niño y una niña, de pie uno junto al otro, con la vista levantada hacia las ventanas. Había algo en la niña que le recordaba irresistiblemente a la figura en la bañera que había visto en su sueño. El niño le inspiraba un temor más intenso."
M.R. James puede integrar fácilmente el panteón de los grandes escritores de cuentos de terror de la historia como Sheridan Le Fanu, Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Villers de L'isle Adams, Nathaniel Hawthorne o E.T.A. Hoffmann, entre otros.
Dotado de una cualidaCd especial para mantener el suspense de sus historias, le da al lector la adrenalina suficiente para mantenerlo enganchado en la lectura de sus cuentos hechizantes.
Este volumen de cuentos, el primero que escribió en 1904 es prueba fiel de ellos.
El estilo del autor sería reconocido por sus pares y sucesores como por por ser original y atrapante.
De los ocho cuentos que incluye este libro los que más me gustaron fueron "Corazones perdidos", una típica historia de fantasmas que me recordó mucho a la emblemática e inolvidable novela "Otra vuelta de tuerca" de otro James, Henry, el cuento "El fresno", en donde aparecen esas criaturas salidas del infierno y que además posee un final espeluznante y "El número 13", que narra la clásica historia de habitaciones embrujadas de esas en la que el personaje principal es arrastrado a sus peores pesadillas.
Mismo caso para el cuento "¡Silba, hijo mío y acudiré!" (vaya título extraño si los hay).
En resumidas cuentas, si lo que re gusta son esas inolvidables historias de fantasmas góticas de la época victoriana, este es un libro ideal para ello.
M.R. James puede integrar fácilmente el panteón de los grandes escritores de cuentos de terror de la historia como Sheridan Le Fanu, Edgar Allan Poe, Guy de Maupassant, Villers de L'isle Adams, Nathaniel Hawthorne o E.T.A. Hoffmann, entre otros.
Dotado de una cualidaCd especial para mantener el suspense de sus historias, le da al lector la adrenalina suficiente para mantenerlo enganchado en la lectura de sus cuentos hechizantes.
Este volumen de cuentos, el primero que escribió en 1904 es prueba fiel de ellos.
El estilo del autor sería reconocido por sus pares y sucesores como por por ser original y atrapante.
De los ocho cuentos que incluye este libro los que más me gustaron fueron "Corazones perdidos", una típica historia de fantasmas que me recordó mucho a la emblemática e inolvidable novela "Otra vuelta de tuerca" de otro James, Henry, el cuento "El fresno", en donde aparecen esas criaturas salidas del infierno y que además posee un final espeluznante y "El número 13", que narra la clásica historia de habitaciones embrujadas de esas en la que el personaje principal es arrastrado a sus peores pesadillas.
Mismo caso para el cuento "¡Silba, hijo mío y acudiré!" (vaya título extraño si los hay).
En resumidas cuentas, si lo que re gusta son esas inolvidables historias de fantasmas góticas de la época victoriana, este es un libro ideal para ello.
September 19, 2018
I love these ghost stories!!!
September 21, 2018
Lost Hearts ★★★★★
“Master's as kind a soul as ever I see! Didn't I never tell you of the little boy as he took in out of the street?”
Now that was a maliciously evil bad guy who got a heaping helping of comeuppance! Well done.
Count Magnus ★★★★☆
This is the found record of the last days of a man overly curious about a long-dead evil count.
It reminded me of people who obsess over Nazis, at some point the interest in more than benign... if you’re an Apt Pupil.
Oh, Whistle, And I’ll Come to You, My Lad ★★★★☆
“All I know is that, if it were mine, I should chuck it straight into the sea.”
Never has so much fear been brought about by linen. Is this where the classic bedsheet ghost comes from?
Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book ★★★☆☆
An old French family is eager to sell an ancient illuminated manuscript to a historian for substantially less than it's worth. He will wish he had passed up that deal.
The Mezzotint ★★★☆☆
A father whose only son disappears uses his engraving talent to carve out his nightmare. Years later the piece is found to retain a ghost of that filial pain.
The Ash-Tree ★★★☆☆
There is a beautiful tradition of planting a tree with a loved ones ashes. Probably best not to to try it with someone magical and evil... and vengeful.
Number 13 ★★★☆☆
There’s no room number 13 at the Golden Lion hotel, not formally. But with dark history can come dark magic and somethings don’t want to stay hidden.
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas ★★★☆☆
If a treasure map says it comes with a guardian why would you believe that the treasure is real but not the guardian?
Average 3.5
May 28, 2017
My (positive) review of this book has to begin with two admissions. Firstly, I have no idea how or where I came by it (hardback edition, £14.99 – quite pricey for 8 short stories) and, secondly I’m pretty certain I could not accurately have defined an ‘Antiquary’.
On the latter point, Wikipedia tells me it’s the term used for a person who studies history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. Having read the stories, I can confirm there is perfect congruency between this definition and the title.
As for the positive review – well, I thought they were well-constructed ghost stories, heavily laced with suspense. It’s fairly obvious that something gruesome is coming to get you... and sure enough it does!
The tales were written around the end of the 19th Century, and tend to refer back to the 1700s. For me, this adds authenticity – somehow anything is believable if it happened before electric lighting and scientific advancement made the world a less spooky place. Ideally you’d read this book by flickering candlelight, stranded in a creaky coaching inn during a power cut, while a great thunderstorm rages through the night.
The text can be quite hard going at times. It reminded me of the style of Sir Walter Scott – long words, long sentences. Indeed – judging by the ‘fog index’, a measure of the ease of readability of copy (12 is an ideal score, lower is better; this review is 11) – this book comes out at closer to a whopping 30; quite something to get one’s mincers around. But it does enhance the period effect, and the erudition of the narrator, the Antiquary.
The opening story features a blighted manuscript that gets passed from one unfortunate owner to the next; I couldn’t help drawing the parallel with my baffling acquisition of this book. Just how did it get into the reading pile beside my bed? (And anyone fancy a copy?)
On the latter point, Wikipedia tells me it’s the term used for a person who studies history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. Having read the stories, I can confirm there is perfect congruency between this definition and the title.
As for the positive review – well, I thought they were well-constructed ghost stories, heavily laced with suspense. It’s fairly obvious that something gruesome is coming to get you... and sure enough it does!
The tales were written around the end of the 19th Century, and tend to refer back to the 1700s. For me, this adds authenticity – somehow anything is believable if it happened before electric lighting and scientific advancement made the world a less spooky place. Ideally you’d read this book by flickering candlelight, stranded in a creaky coaching inn during a power cut, while a great thunderstorm rages through the night.
The text can be quite hard going at times. It reminded me of the style of Sir Walter Scott – long words, long sentences. Indeed – judging by the ‘fog index’, a measure of the ease of readability of copy (12 is an ideal score, lower is better; this review is 11) – this book comes out at closer to a whopping 30; quite something to get one’s mincers around. But it does enhance the period effect, and the erudition of the narrator, the Antiquary.
The opening story features a blighted manuscript that gets passed from one unfortunate owner to the next; I couldn’t help drawing the parallel with my baffling acquisition of this book. Just how did it get into the reading pile beside my bed? (And anyone fancy a copy?)
March 10, 2018
Get ready for the shivers when you read these creepers.
November 25, 2022
Abordé esta antología con expectativas equivocadas. Mis cuentos de terror favoritos pertenecen al subgénero gótico, plenos de descripciones y de una innegociable cualidad atmosférica. Los espectros creados por M. R. James tienen muy poco o nada de la imagen tradicional que uno imagina cuando se menciona a un fantasma victoriano. De hecho, el de Canterville correría aterrorizado ante las pesadillas que aparecen, o más bien se sugieren en estos relatos.
Las extrañas apariciones de M. R. James suelen estar ligadas a un objeto o un documento con el que el siempre flemático y culto protagonista se cruza. Suelen tener aspectos indefinidos, o al menos descritos con un par de detalles ("una cara como de trapo arrugado"), y se manifiestan de las formas más inesperadas. Los edificios son descritos con detalle, como si fueran el centro de la narración, pero los entornos se presentan en apenas unos cuantos detalles. Y es curioso que aun así hayan logrado tener tanta presencia en la imaginación de este lector.
Hay un detalle que se repite en las diferentes tramas y que es una de las causas de que la atmósfera no sea lo mollar en estas narraciones. El protagonista jamás se encuentra solo ante lo sobrenatural. Su relato siempre es creído. La mayoría de veces incluso son varios los testigos de las apariciones. Y cuando estas acaban con su víctima lo hacen siempre fuera de foco o de forma entrevista. Si sumamos que todas las narraciones están contadas por un tercero, el anticuario del título, y que el humor tiene una notable presencia, se puede entender perfectamente esa falta de atmósfera.
Y sin embargo, cómo enganchan estos cuentos, cómo entran. Una antología que para mí ha comenzado de forma modesta, poniendo a prueba mis expectativas, ha acabado ganándome del todo. Ocho cuentos de entre quince y veinte páginas que he acabado consumiendo como si fueran pipas. Mis preferidos son "El fresno", "La habitación número 13" (una joya en su sencillez) y "Silba y acudiré". Aunque la edición de Valdemar Gótica en la que los he leído incluye las cuatro colecciones de cuentos de M. R. James, he preferido parar aquí. Creo que leerlos todos de golpe podría empachar, y, por otra parte, prefiero dosificarlos para recompensarme a mí mismo más adelante. Su propia división lo facilita.
Las extrañas apariciones de M. R. James suelen estar ligadas a un objeto o un documento con el que el siempre flemático y culto protagonista se cruza. Suelen tener aspectos indefinidos, o al menos descritos con un par de detalles ("una cara como de trapo arrugado"), y se manifiestan de las formas más inesperadas. Los edificios son descritos con detalle, como si fueran el centro de la narración, pero los entornos se presentan en apenas unos cuantos detalles. Y es curioso que aun así hayan logrado tener tanta presencia en la imaginación de este lector.
Hay un detalle que se repite en las diferentes tramas y que es una de las causas de que la atmósfera no sea lo mollar en estas narraciones. El protagonista jamás se encuentra solo ante lo sobrenatural. Su relato siempre es creído. La mayoría de veces incluso son varios los testigos de las apariciones. Y cuando estas acaban con su víctima lo hacen siempre fuera de foco o de forma entrevista. Si sumamos que todas las narraciones están contadas por un tercero, el anticuario del título, y que el humor tiene una notable presencia, se puede entender perfectamente esa falta de atmósfera.
Y sin embargo, cómo enganchan estos cuentos, cómo entran. Una antología que para mí ha comenzado de forma modesta, poniendo a prueba mis expectativas, ha acabado ganándome del todo. Ocho cuentos de entre quince y veinte páginas que he acabado consumiendo como si fueran pipas. Mis preferidos son "El fresno", "La habitación número 13" (una joya en su sencillez) y "Silba y acudiré". Aunque la edición de Valdemar Gótica en la que los he leído incluye las cuatro colecciones de cuentos de M. R. James, he preferido parar aquí. Creo que leerlos todos de golpe podría empachar, y, por otra parte, prefiero dosificarlos para recompensarme a mí mismo más adelante. Su propia división lo facilita.
October 21, 2021
Creepy, slow building stories with lots of atmosphere. Most involve a scholar finding something old and then getting freaked out by an event that follows. There aren’t any real ghosts and they aren’t stories that make you jump but they have a tension, some are spinechilling. My favourites were ‘Number 13’ about a hotel room that doesn’t exist; ‘The Ash Tree’, a witch story; and ‘Lost Hearts’, about missing children and a man who wants to live forever.
May 28, 2013
M.R. James fue uno de los mejores escritores dedicados al peculiar género de las ghost stories, o historias de fantasmas. Realmente, no se dedicaba a ello profesionalmente; creaba sus historias para contarlas a sus amigos y conocidos, siendo para él más una afición con la que disfrutar enormemente, eso sí, haciéndonoslo pasar "mal". Afortunadamente, se fueron publicando porque se trata, indiscutiblemente, de uno de los maestros del relato breve.
Sus cuentos son una delicia escalofriante. M.R. James fue un erudito y arqueólogo de fama reconocida, miembro del Eton College, algo que sale a relucir tanto en el contenido de sus relatos como en la calidad de los mismos. Las historias escritas por James están ambientadas habitualmente en antiguas catedrales, ruinas olvidadas y parajes lúgubres, y nos son relatadas de manera fina y elegante, como cabe esperar de un miembro de Eton. Más que sustos, la sensación que nos transmiten son de un sutil horror, jugando un importante papel la imaginación del lector.
Estos son los cuentos reunidos en 'Historias de fantasmas de una anticuario':
- EL ÁLBUM DEL CANÓNIGO ALBERICO. Denniston viaja a Saint Bertrand de Comminges, un viejo pueblo situado en los Pirineos, para recabar información de la iglesia del lugar. No contaba con encontrar nada valioso, hasta que llega a sus manos un viejo libro con unas extrañas láminas...
- CORAZONES PERDIDOS. Stephen, un joven huérfano, acaba de llegar a la mansión de su primo, el señor Abney, algo que extraña a la vecindad, por el carácter arisco del tal señor Abney. Stephen irá descubriendo la horrible pesadilla en la que se ha visto envuelto. Imprescindible.
- EL GRABADO. El señor Williams es un gran aficionado a adquirir viejos grabados y estampas. Como es habitual, recibe un catálogo del señor Britnell, sugiriendo éste que examine cierto grabado que puede ser de su interés. Dicho grabado contiene la vista de una casa de principios del siglo XVIII, y al final lo solicita, junto a otros artículos del catálogo. Poco a poco irá desvelándose la naturaleza del grabado. Otro cuento imprescindible, con imágenes verdaderamente escalofriantes.
- EL FRESNO. Existe un gran fresno junto a la casa de Castingham Hall, cuya historia está relacionada con cierta mujer acusada de bruja.
- LA HABITACIÓN NÚMERO 13. El señor Anderson viaja a Viborg, Dinamarca, para continuar su investigación sobre la Iglesia de este país, hospedándose para ello en el "León de Oro", concretamente en la habitación número 12. Al subir de cenar, se orienta observando los números de las habitaciones... 14,13, y, por fin, la 12. Cuál no será su sorpresa al enterarse de que el hotel no tiene habitación número 13... Otra muestra del la maestría de James.
- EL CONDE MAGNUS. El señor Wraxall viaja a Suecia con motivo del libro de viajes que está escribiendo. Una de sus paradas es la mansión de De la Gardie, toda una antigüedad. Entre las reliquias se encuentra el retrato de Magnus, el primer De la Gardie, por quien siente un vivo interés; incluso querrá visitar el mausoleo de la familia...
- ¡SILBA Y ACUDIRÉ! Parkins, profesor del St. James College, decide pasar unos días jugando al golf en la costa, concretamente en Burnstow. Al enterarse de la noticia, un colega le pedirá que eche una mirada a cierto convento de templarios, para saber si vale la pena excavar allí más adelante. Será cumpliendo este deseo cuando Parkins encuentre un curioso silbato... Estupendo relato.
- EL TESORO DEL ABAD THOMAS. Cuenta la leyenda que el abad Thomas ocultó un tesoro, dejando ciertas pistas para que fuese encontrado. Y en ello anda el anticuario Somerton, al que seguiremos en su investigación, pesquisa tras pesquisa. ¡Cuánto hubiese dado por no hallar el secreto! Imprescindible.
Sus cuentos son una delicia escalofriante. M.R. James fue un erudito y arqueólogo de fama reconocida, miembro del Eton College, algo que sale a relucir tanto en el contenido de sus relatos como en la calidad de los mismos. Las historias escritas por James están ambientadas habitualmente en antiguas catedrales, ruinas olvidadas y parajes lúgubres, y nos son relatadas de manera fina y elegante, como cabe esperar de un miembro de Eton. Más que sustos, la sensación que nos transmiten son de un sutil horror, jugando un importante papel la imaginación del lector.
Estos son los cuentos reunidos en 'Historias de fantasmas de una anticuario':
- EL ÁLBUM DEL CANÓNIGO ALBERICO. Denniston viaja a Saint Bertrand de Comminges, un viejo pueblo situado en los Pirineos, para recabar información de la iglesia del lugar. No contaba con encontrar nada valioso, hasta que llega a sus manos un viejo libro con unas extrañas láminas...
- CORAZONES PERDIDOS. Stephen, un joven huérfano, acaba de llegar a la mansión de su primo, el señor Abney, algo que extraña a la vecindad, por el carácter arisco del tal señor Abney. Stephen irá descubriendo la horrible pesadilla en la que se ha visto envuelto. Imprescindible.
- EL GRABADO. El señor Williams es un gran aficionado a adquirir viejos grabados y estampas. Como es habitual, recibe un catálogo del señor Britnell, sugiriendo éste que examine cierto grabado que puede ser de su interés. Dicho grabado contiene la vista de una casa de principios del siglo XVIII, y al final lo solicita, junto a otros artículos del catálogo. Poco a poco irá desvelándose la naturaleza del grabado. Otro cuento imprescindible, con imágenes verdaderamente escalofriantes.
- EL FRESNO. Existe un gran fresno junto a la casa de Castingham Hall, cuya historia está relacionada con cierta mujer acusada de bruja.
- LA HABITACIÓN NÚMERO 13. El señor Anderson viaja a Viborg, Dinamarca, para continuar su investigación sobre la Iglesia de este país, hospedándose para ello en el "León de Oro", concretamente en la habitación número 12. Al subir de cenar, se orienta observando los números de las habitaciones... 14,13, y, por fin, la 12. Cuál no será su sorpresa al enterarse de que el hotel no tiene habitación número 13... Otra muestra del la maestría de James.
- EL CONDE MAGNUS. El señor Wraxall viaja a Suecia con motivo del libro de viajes que está escribiendo. Una de sus paradas es la mansión de De la Gardie, toda una antigüedad. Entre las reliquias se encuentra el retrato de Magnus, el primer De la Gardie, por quien siente un vivo interés; incluso querrá visitar el mausoleo de la familia...
- ¡SILBA Y ACUDIRÉ! Parkins, profesor del St. James College, decide pasar unos días jugando al golf en la costa, concretamente en Burnstow. Al enterarse de la noticia, un colega le pedirá que eche una mirada a cierto convento de templarios, para saber si vale la pena excavar allí más adelante. Será cumpliendo este deseo cuando Parkins encuentre un curioso silbato... Estupendo relato.
- EL TESORO DEL ABAD THOMAS. Cuenta la leyenda que el abad Thomas ocultó un tesoro, dejando ciertas pistas para que fuese encontrado. Y en ello anda el anticuario Somerton, al que seguiremos en su investigación, pesquisa tras pesquisa. ¡Cuánto hubiese dado por no hallar el secreto! Imprescindible.
January 26, 2018
Montague Rhodes James (1862 ~ 1936) is the father of the English ghost story. His short stories are, quite simply, the finest traditional supernatural tales ever penned by mortal man. Utterly lacking in gore and in-your-face horror, James' fiction relies on the delicate manipulation of the reader's imagination to create a subtle, uneasy sort of suspense. James has inspired and unsettled countless writers and readers since his tales first came into print, and his popularity and influence remain undiminished.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was published by Edward Arnold in 1904, bound in brown buckram, with superb illustrations by James McBryde. The first of James' collections of ghost stories, it is also widely considered to be the best. Of the eight stories included in this volume, James wrote in the preface:
'The stories themselves do not make any very exalted claim. If any of them succeed in causing their readers to feel pleasantly uncomfortable when walking along a solitary road at nightfall, or sitting over a dying fire in the small hours, my purpose in writing them will have been attained'.
Well, I think it's safe to say that James most certainly did achieve his goal. His stories, predominantly involving scholarly bachelor sorts who go ferreting about amongst old manuscripts or poking around in places that are best left unpoked, are delightfully frightening, humorous, and very convincing. Being a distinguished scholar himself, James knew academia and academics, and he created the most believable of scholarly characters when he put pen to paper.
'Canon Alberic's Scrap-book' is set in the French town of St Bertrand de Comminges, in the spring of 1883. Dennistoun, a Cambridge man, has travelled from Toulouse to see St Bertrand's church, and is shown about the place by the sacristan, a jumpy little fellow who perpetually glances behind himself, as though he is being followed. The old chap offers to take him home and show him something interesting... Canon Alberic de Mauléon's scrap-book. The book, a large folio bound in the seventeenth century, contains about a hundred and fifty pages, and on each one is fastened a leaf from an illuminated manuscript. And the old man is willing, in fact determined, to sell the book for less than it is worth. Of course, Dennistoun's heart is all a flutter, and he snaps the book up quick sharpish. But the canon's scrap-book comes with more attached to it than a bargain price.
'Lost Hearts' is set in 1811 at Aswarby Hall, the home of Mr Abney, a tall, thin and austere bookish recluse, who, according to the Professor of Greek at Cambridge, knows more about later pagan religious beliefs than anyone else. Much to the surprise of his neighbours, Abney has taken in his orphaned cousin, Master Stephen. But Stephen is not the first parentless child to be rescued by the old man, and Abney's actions are not motivated by a generous spirit.
In 'The Mezzotint', Mr Williams, who is responsible for enlarging the English topographical drawings and engravings collection of his university's museum, is sent a mezzotint on approval by a London dealer. The picture, a framed view of a manor house, seems unremarkable when it arrives; in fact, Mr Williams turns it over 'with a good deal of contempt'. But, as he soon discovers, the mezzotint is not a mere static image of any typical English country house. Artworks often seem to have a life of their own, but this particular mezzotint does literally have one.
Click here to read the rest of the review...
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was published by Edward Arnold in 1904, bound in brown buckram, with superb illustrations by James McBryde. The first of James' collections of ghost stories, it is also widely considered to be the best. Of the eight stories included in this volume, James wrote in the preface:
'The stories themselves do not make any very exalted claim. If any of them succeed in causing their readers to feel pleasantly uncomfortable when walking along a solitary road at nightfall, or sitting over a dying fire in the small hours, my purpose in writing them will have been attained'.
Well, I think it's safe to say that James most certainly did achieve his goal. His stories, predominantly involving scholarly bachelor sorts who go ferreting about amongst old manuscripts or poking around in places that are best left unpoked, are delightfully frightening, humorous, and very convincing. Being a distinguished scholar himself, James knew academia and academics, and he created the most believable of scholarly characters when he put pen to paper.
'Canon Alberic's Scrap-book' is set in the French town of St Bertrand de Comminges, in the spring of 1883. Dennistoun, a Cambridge man, has travelled from Toulouse to see St Bertrand's church, and is shown about the place by the sacristan, a jumpy little fellow who perpetually glances behind himself, as though he is being followed. The old chap offers to take him home and show him something interesting... Canon Alberic de Mauléon's scrap-book. The book, a large folio bound in the seventeenth century, contains about a hundred and fifty pages, and on each one is fastened a leaf from an illuminated manuscript. And the old man is willing, in fact determined, to sell the book for less than it is worth. Of course, Dennistoun's heart is all a flutter, and he snaps the book up quick sharpish. But the canon's scrap-book comes with more attached to it than a bargain price.
'Lost Hearts' is set in 1811 at Aswarby Hall, the home of Mr Abney, a tall, thin and austere bookish recluse, who, according to the Professor of Greek at Cambridge, knows more about later pagan religious beliefs than anyone else. Much to the surprise of his neighbours, Abney has taken in his orphaned cousin, Master Stephen. But Stephen is not the first parentless child to be rescued by the old man, and Abney's actions are not motivated by a generous spirit.
In 'The Mezzotint', Mr Williams, who is responsible for enlarging the English topographical drawings and engravings collection of his university's museum, is sent a mezzotint on approval by a London dealer. The picture, a framed view of a manor house, seems unremarkable when it arrives; in fact, Mr Williams turns it over 'with a good deal of contempt'. But, as he soon discovers, the mezzotint is not a mere static image of any typical English country house. Artworks often seem to have a life of their own, but this particular mezzotint does literally have one.
Click here to read the rest of the review...
February 21, 2015
Most reveiewers here feel that MR James is a master of the genre and I agree. There are certain expectations of a ghost story writer and for many readers these expectations are fulfilled. As in the case of Lovecraft, the stories tend to be disarmingly similar, which is at once a weakness in terms of the religious or philosophical horizon, but has all the strength of a discipline imposed and accepted. Charcateristic of the genre is an inciteement to fear of the inheritance of the past and fear of a possible spirit world living close to us but seldom seen or apprehended. This spirit world embodies (if that is the word!) a bond with the past, our past. This is also the case with the murder mystery genre. In both the murder mystery and the ghost story, the writer works on a titilation of fear or horror, but acknowledges a clear limit to the extent of the horror. Evil remains courteous and confined and generally a stranger to us. Ghosts may droop and be gloomy and dreadful but they should not make us gloomy even if they make us fearful. These books are not intended to depress: quite the contrary. It is worth asking ourselves why not. Do ghost stories not deal with tales of fear, depression, murder and unrest? They do, but the negative or depressive aspect of any ghost story is likely to be counter-balanced, and that is certainly the case in these stories, by a nostalgic appeal. We expect our vampires to be elaborately and aristocratically dressed. We expect, or at least many of us expect, our ghost stories to be located in an old mansion or church, to be deeply rooted in events which have taken place long ago in surroundings themselves so ancient that they were silent witnesses to those past events. In short, these stories appeal to a tradition and where the reader's traditions are dead or dying, such stories can be called nostalgic and will have a nostalgic appeal. For the same reasons that tourists travel in masses to see the architecture of the past and not of today-reasons aethetic for sure but also spiritual, so people hanker after tales which remind them of a world where the past still breathed and where the dead still walked. Filled with anguish and longing together, we will that the dead walk again, that not all graves are silent. The world of these tales may have been troubled and corrupt but there was still life among the ruins. The modern world, without ghosts, is fashioned after the Death Star of "Star Wars", a world with no echoes and with no history. Our modern world is a networked vulgarity, an over-exposure, a world with its share of horror but devoid of ghosts. These ghosts stories are all history, all soul and the spirits who haunt the pages of these tales are the spirits of the past, our past, come to haunt us, whispering, "come back, come back, it is dark and old and cosy here". Today all glitters and is surface only, we fear the lving not the dead and not living people so much as their creations and their demands. The surface of the past was the heavy iron lid over nightmares but also over dreams of longing, the longing for a world, not perfect, not without the eternal combat of good and evil, but a world in which neither evil nor good was ever, ever conceivably vulgar.
January 11, 2020
Nie ma to jak porcja smakowitej, poczciwej, nie całkiem jednak niewinnej grozy w postaci zbioru jednych z najbardziej kultowych opowiadań gatunku - "Opowieści starego antykwariusza" M.R. Jamesa.
Stary antykwariusz zaczyna szeptać z ciemności. Koszmar zaczyna się zazwyczaj bardzo niewinnie. Od czyjejś przypadkowej opowieści. Od świadka niewyjaśnionych wydarzeń. Stary antykwariusz snuje opowieści o ruinach opactw, które skrywają pośród martwych kamieni swoje mroczne tajemnice. O przeklętych, oślizgłych potworach, które szukają zemsty zza grobu. O okultystach, którzy igrają z ciemnymi mocami, by zajść o krok za daleko w swojej mrocznej sztuce. O dziwnych przedmiotach, które przywołują uśpione wspomnienia lub całkiem realne demony ukryte za woalem rzeczywistości. O księgach, manuskryptach, zwojach i bibliotekach, w których słowa mają niepojęte moce.
Bo groza u M.R. Jamesa - jak na brytyjskiego akademika rodem z XIX wieku przystało - swój początek ma zazwyczaj pośród książek właśnie. Rodzi się pośród manuskryptów, starych spleśniałych zwojów, pośród zapomnianych regałów bibliotek. Wystarczy opowieść, legenda, zaklęcie ukryte między słowami, by narodził się potwór, duch, tajemnicza obecność i idące za nią przekleństwo. W "Opowieściach starego antykwariusza" strach również czai się między słowami. Groza nie jest dosłowna, ale rozłożona w czasie, igrająca tak z bohaterami, jak i z samym czytelnikiem. Czasami dosłowna, namacalna w swojej realności, ale najczęściej nie do końca realna, nadmiernie nawet tajemnicza, starodawna, a jednak wciąż działająca na wyobraźnię.
Nic dziwnego, że opowiadania M.R. Jamesa przetrwały próbę czasu i doceniają je także współcześni czytelnicy. Nie szkodzi, że nie do końca straszą, nie szkodzi, że nie przerażają do szpiku kości. Stanowią jednak fantastyczne klasyczne opowieści o duchach, napisane w równie klasycznym stylu, które oczarowują i sprawiają moc frajdy, szczególnie w mroczne, zimowe wieczory.
Polujcie na "Opowieści starego antykwariusza" M.R. Jamesa. Jest w nich coś uniwersalnego, coś, co znamy z dziecięcych lat, ze starych filmów. A jednocześnie ten akademicki sznyt i brytyjski czarny humor, którym jego groza jest podszyta. Może nie zostają w głowie na długo, ale pozostawiają pewne wrażenie. Uczucie cudzej trwogi. I warto jest znać.
Stary antykwariusz zaczyna szeptać z ciemności. Koszmar zaczyna się zazwyczaj bardzo niewinnie. Od czyjejś przypadkowej opowieści. Od świadka niewyjaśnionych wydarzeń. Stary antykwariusz snuje opowieści o ruinach opactw, które skrywają pośród martwych kamieni swoje mroczne tajemnice. O przeklętych, oślizgłych potworach, które szukają zemsty zza grobu. O okultystach, którzy igrają z ciemnymi mocami, by zajść o krok za daleko w swojej mrocznej sztuce. O dziwnych przedmiotach, które przywołują uśpione wspomnienia lub całkiem realne demony ukryte za woalem rzeczywistości. O księgach, manuskryptach, zwojach i bibliotekach, w których słowa mają niepojęte moce.
Bo groza u M.R. Jamesa - jak na brytyjskiego akademika rodem z XIX wieku przystało - swój początek ma zazwyczaj pośród książek właśnie. Rodzi się pośród manuskryptów, starych spleśniałych zwojów, pośród zapomnianych regałów bibliotek. Wystarczy opowieść, legenda, zaklęcie ukryte między słowami, by narodził się potwór, duch, tajemnicza obecność i idące za nią przekleństwo. W "Opowieściach starego antykwariusza" strach również czai się między słowami. Groza nie jest dosłowna, ale rozłożona w czasie, igrająca tak z bohaterami, jak i z samym czytelnikiem. Czasami dosłowna, namacalna w swojej realności, ale najczęściej nie do końca realna, nadmiernie nawet tajemnicza, starodawna, a jednak wciąż działająca na wyobraźnię.
Nic dziwnego, że opowiadania M.R. Jamesa przetrwały próbę czasu i doceniają je także współcześni czytelnicy. Nie szkodzi, że nie do końca straszą, nie szkodzi, że nie przerażają do szpiku kości. Stanowią jednak fantastyczne klasyczne opowieści o duchach, napisane w równie klasycznym stylu, które oczarowują i sprawiają moc frajdy, szczególnie w mroczne, zimowe wieczory.
Polujcie na "Opowieści starego antykwariusza" M.R. Jamesa. Jest w nich coś uniwersalnego, coś, co znamy z dziecięcych lat, ze starych filmów. A jednocześnie ten akademicki sznyt i brytyjski czarny humor, którym jego groza jest podszyta. Może nie zostają w głowie na długo, ale pozostawiają pewne wrażenie. Uczucie cudzej trwogi. I warto jest znać.
February 22, 2016
Please note that I gave this 3.5 stars but since Goodreads does not have half stars I rounded up to 4 stars.
These are not your typical horror stories. I did like them though. James has a subtle style to his writing and stories. I think that he assumes his readers are going to imagine more things that can be worse than what he will write so a lot of things are left to your imagination in some of the stories.
The stories are the following:
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book"-3 stars. Not very scary. And I am going to say I did a lot of wait what while reading this one.
"Lost Hearts"- 5 stars. I loved this one from beginning to end. So good! Maybe because once you as a reader realize what is going on you want to keep the main character safe (who was a boy at the time of the story).
"The Mezzotint"-3 stars. This was honestly pretty boring to me. Not terrible, just not very interesting.
"The Ash-tree"-3 stars. I thought it was an interesting idea that fell kind of flat. This one I had to read twice because I found myself skimming too much to get to the punchline.
"Number 13"-5 stars. This one was really good and I have to say nothing with 13 in it is ever going to be good news!
"Count Magnus"-2.5 stars. Once again, just not very interesting to me and I did find myself skimming this story.
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad''-3 stars. I don't understand what was going on in this story at all. I think the unknown is supposed to be scary in this one, but to me it seemed easily gotten rid of (the big bad) that I don't know how scared I was supposed ot be by it.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas"-2.5 stars. Wish that maybe Lost Hearts had been the last one for this collection instead of this one. Once again though I understand what M.R. James was trying to do, I just found it lackluster in execution.
These are not your typical horror stories. I did like them though. James has a subtle style to his writing and stories. I think that he assumes his readers are going to imagine more things that can be worse than what he will write so a lot of things are left to your imagination in some of the stories.
The stories are the following:
"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book"-3 stars. Not very scary. And I am going to say I did a lot of wait what while reading this one.
"Lost Hearts"- 5 stars. I loved this one from beginning to end. So good! Maybe because once you as a reader realize what is going on you want to keep the main character safe (who was a boy at the time of the story).
"The Mezzotint"-3 stars. This was honestly pretty boring to me. Not terrible, just not very interesting.
"The Ash-tree"-3 stars. I thought it was an interesting idea that fell kind of flat. This one I had to read twice because I found myself skimming too much to get to the punchline.
"Number 13"-5 stars. This one was really good and I have to say nothing with 13 in it is ever going to be good news!
"Count Magnus"-2.5 stars. Once again, just not very interesting to me and I did find myself skimming this story.
"Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad''-3 stars. I don't understand what was going on in this story at all. I think the unknown is supposed to be scary in this one, but to me it seemed easily gotten rid of (the big bad) that I don't know how scared I was supposed ot be by it.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas"-2.5 stars. Wish that maybe Lost Hearts had been the last one for this collection instead of this one. Once again though I understand what M.R. James was trying to do, I just found it lackluster in execution.
December 15, 2016
Every so often it's good to dip into a classic. Alas, this was the sort of classic that reminded me why it's precisely every so often and not more frequently than that. Widely beloved, widely lauded these are suppose to be among the finest tales of supernatural fiction and yet they didn't do it for me at all. I tried and tried, took several sittings. The book's page count is misleading, it's entered as 94 on GR and 122 on Amazon and yet by my account considering the time spent reading it and the fact that it comprises parts 1 & 2 of James' stories, also published as separate volumes, this should clock out at well over 200 pages. And feels much slower than that. And the thing is objectively I can tell these are suppose to be good stories, quality writing, atmospheric, imaginative...and yet at no point did I find myself engaged or even particularly interested. In fact I think the main reason I finished these is due to my completist nature and general need to try to understand why I wasn't enjoying these stories the way everyone seems to. Were they dated? Sure, but that wasn't the main detraction. I expected them to be dated. Maybe it was the somnolent pacing. Or the fact that these stories were so utterly unexciting. Either way this really didn't work for me, neither entertained as a book should nor spooked as a genre book ought to. It occurred to me that these tales might be more fun if read aloud, maybe this should have been a listen and not a read. In book form...disappointing. But try I did.
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