Collected Ghost Stories
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- US$9.99
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- US$9.99
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'I was conscious of a most horrible smell of mould, and of a cold kind of face pressed against my own...'
Considered by many to be the most terrifying writer in English, M. R. James was an eminent scholar who spent his entire adult life in the academic surroundings of Eton and Cambridge. His classic supernatural tales draw on the terrors of the everyday, in which documents and objects unleash terrible forces, often in closed rooms and night-time settings where imagination runs riot. Lonely country houses, remote inns, ancient churches or the manuscript collections of great libraries provide settings for unbearable menace, from creatures seeking retribution and harm. These stories have lost none of their power to unsettle and disturb.
This edition presents all of James's published ghost stories, including the unforgettable 'Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad' and 'Casting the Runes', and an appendix of James's writings on the ghost story. Darryl Jones's introduction and notes provide a fascinating insight into James's background and his mastery of the genre he made his own.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James (1862 1936), a Cambridge don, laid the foundations of the modern ghost story with the 33 well-wrought antiquarian tales collected here. In " Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad,' " a note blown on an ancient instrument accidentally summons a horrifying entity from the primitive past. "Canon Alberic's Scrap-book" and "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" both concern demonic beings aroused through scholarly researches into church history. "The Mezzotint" tells of a supernaturally animated print whose imagery replays a horrifying tragedy from the past. James emphasized atmosphere and mood over shock tactics, but he always insisted that ghosts be malevolent and found very disquieting forms for them to take. Many of these stories are time-tested classics, and this volume, which also includes an informative introduction and notes by Darryl Jones, is indispensable for any fan of supernatural fiction.
