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Ghost Stories of an Antiquary #2
More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
The follow-up volume to "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" collects seven more of Montague Rhodes James's classic horror stories, including "A School Story," "The Rose Garden," "Casting the Runes," and "Martin's Close." "...gifted with an almost diabolic power of calling horror by gentle steps from the midst of prosaic daily life, is the scholarly Montague Rhodes James, Provost of Eton College, antiquary of note, and recognized authority on mediæval manuscripts and cathedral history. Dr. James, long fond of telling spectral tales at Christmastide, has become by slow degrees a literary weird fictionist of the very first rank!" -- H.P. Lovecraft
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
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About the author
M.R. James
1,373 books868 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 106 reviews
April 13, 2020
Only slightly inferior to James' first effort, Ghost Stories of An Antiquary, an acknowledged classic of the genre. The first three stories here ("A School Story, "The Rose Garden," "The Tractate Middoth") are eminently readable although undistinguished, but the last four are very good indeed.
"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" is permeated with ecclesiastical atmosphere (a James specialty), "Martin's Close" introduces a pathetic ghost in the context of an 18th century trial trancript, "Mr. Humphrey's Inheritance" presents a vivid picture of a sinister neoclassic garden maze, and "Casting the Runes"--a recognized masterpiece--shows us the attempt of a scholar to foil the curse of a wizard whose alchemical manuscript he has rejected for publication.
Highly recommended for all traditional ghost story fans.
December 13, 2010
Como venía diciendo en 'Historias de fantasmas de un anticuario', M.R. James es todo un maestro escribiendo cuentos, concretamente relatos de fantasmas victorianos. 'Más historias de fantasmas de un anticuario' incluye siete historias de igual calidad que aquélla, fantásticamente escritas y construidas, con argumentos muy interesantes, intrigantes y estremecedores.
Estos son los siete relatos que contiene:
- UNA HISTORIA ESCOLAR. Dos amigos están charlando sobre los viejos tiempos escolares, y caen en la cuenta de las pocas historias ambientadas en colegios que existen. Entonces, uno de ellos le relata un caso que sucedió en su colegio hace treinta años... Sencillamente maravilloso.
- LA ROSALEDA. La señora Anstruther está empeñada en plantar una rosaleda en las afueras de su finca, un terreno donde hubo un cenador, ahora destruido, y donde también hay un viejo poste. Detrás de todo esto se oculta una vieja historia...
- EL TRATADO MIDDOTH. El señor Garrett, bibliotecario, atiende un buen día al señor John Eldred, que desea saber si tienen cierto libro. Este simple hecho ocasionará una serie de aventuras y desventuras a Garrett, algunas terroríficas, que nunca hubiese imaginado... Imprescindible.
- EL MALEFICIO DE LA RUNAS. Una Asociación recibe continuas cartas del señor Karswell para que le dejen dar una conferencia sobre alquimia. Pero al secretario de dicha Asociación, y al señor Dunning, experto en el tema, les parece de pésima calidad y deniegan su petición. Pero Karswell es más insistente, y vengativo, de lo que creen... Gran historia.
- LOS SITIALES DE LA CATEDRAL DE BARCHESTER. El protagonista de esta historia está intrigado por una noticia que ha leído en la sección necrológica, en la que se anuncia el fallecimiento del doctor en teología y arcediano John Haynes en extrañas circunstancias. Tanto es así, que seguirá profundizando en la investiganción, encontrando una caja de diarios y papeles... Muy buena historia.
- EL CERCADO DE MARTIN. El protagonista, de viaje unos días por cierta localidad, está dando un paseo con el rector de la parroquia, y con John Hill, carpintero, llevándole ambos a visitar un extraño cercado con una misteriosa historia tras él. Resulta que allí fue ejecutado un preso, acusado de asesinar a una joven. El protagonista, intrigado, seguirá investigando en viejos archivos para conocer toda la historia... Fascinante relato.
- EL SEÑOR HUMPHREYS Y SU HERENCIA. El señor Humphreys llega a Wilsthorpe tras recibir una inesperada herencia de un tío al que nunca conoció. Se trata de toda una mansión, con jardines y bosques, incluso con su propio laberinto, lugar éste que el fallecido dueño tenía totalmente vetado a todo el mundo; ahora está completamente lleno de hierbajos y matorrales, algo que va a durar poco tiempo... Buen historia.
Estos son los siete relatos que contiene:
- UNA HISTORIA ESCOLAR. Dos amigos están charlando sobre los viejos tiempos escolares, y caen en la cuenta de las pocas historias ambientadas en colegios que existen. Entonces, uno de ellos le relata un caso que sucedió en su colegio hace treinta años... Sencillamente maravilloso.
- LA ROSALEDA. La señora Anstruther está empeñada en plantar una rosaleda en las afueras de su finca, un terreno donde hubo un cenador, ahora destruido, y donde también hay un viejo poste. Detrás de todo esto se oculta una vieja historia...
- EL TRATADO MIDDOTH. El señor Garrett, bibliotecario, atiende un buen día al señor John Eldred, que desea saber si tienen cierto libro. Este simple hecho ocasionará una serie de aventuras y desventuras a Garrett, algunas terroríficas, que nunca hubiese imaginado... Imprescindible.
- EL MALEFICIO DE LA RUNAS. Una Asociación recibe continuas cartas del señor Karswell para que le dejen dar una conferencia sobre alquimia. Pero al secretario de dicha Asociación, y al señor Dunning, experto en el tema, les parece de pésima calidad y deniegan su petición. Pero Karswell es más insistente, y vengativo, de lo que creen... Gran historia.
- LOS SITIALES DE LA CATEDRAL DE BARCHESTER. El protagonista de esta historia está intrigado por una noticia que ha leído en la sección necrológica, en la que se anuncia el fallecimiento del doctor en teología y arcediano John Haynes en extrañas circunstancias. Tanto es así, que seguirá profundizando en la investiganción, encontrando una caja de diarios y papeles... Muy buena historia.
- EL CERCADO DE MARTIN. El protagonista, de viaje unos días por cierta localidad, está dando un paseo con el rector de la parroquia, y con John Hill, carpintero, llevándole ambos a visitar un extraño cercado con una misteriosa historia tras él. Resulta que allí fue ejecutado un preso, acusado de asesinar a una joven. El protagonista, intrigado, seguirá investigando en viejos archivos para conocer toda la historia... Fascinante relato.
- EL SEÑOR HUMPHREYS Y SU HERENCIA. El señor Humphreys llega a Wilsthorpe tras recibir una inesperada herencia de un tío al que nunca conoció. Se trata de toda una mansión, con jardines y bosques, incluso con su propio laberinto, lugar éste que el fallecido dueño tenía totalmente vetado a todo el mundo; ahora está completamente lleno de hierbajos y matorrales, algo que va a durar poco tiempo... Buen historia.
December 12, 2024
The 2nd collection of stories from M R James.
Again we see James’ tropes Clerics, spiders, Latin , the clergy but also new themes of murders, younger protagonists and greed.
On the whole a spooky, eerie and well written collection of the gothic genre. There are a few scares but for me these are the unseen but often ‘touched’ or sensed.
M R James brings in the theme of morality and questioning our beliefs not just about the supernatural but also legal systems for example.
Ideal collection to read around Christmas
Again we see James’ tropes Clerics, spiders, Latin , the clergy but also new themes of murders, younger protagonists and greed.
On the whole a spooky, eerie and well written collection of the gothic genre. There are a few scares but for me these are the unseen but often ‘touched’ or sensed.
M R James brings in the theme of morality and questioning our beliefs not just about the supernatural but also legal systems for example.
Ideal collection to read around Christmas
June 18, 2019
Sensacional compendio de relatos sobre fantasmas de M. R. James. El lector visitará antiguas mansiones inglesas, grandes bibliotecas, catedrales y abadías para encontrar en todas ellas oscuros secretos de antepasados que parecen resurgir. Los relatos dejan tras de si una sensación de inquietud y desasosiego, a resultas de un terror más bien atmosférico que siempre he juzgado más meritorio que el actual terror gore o visceral, el cual logra infundir quizá más miedo pero que necesita de menor talento por parte del autor para ser logrado. Talento que sobra a M. R. James, que ante todo, tengo la sensación de que es un gran contador de historias, con una forma increíblemente pulida y perfeccionada de llevarnos a través de ellas.
Destacar de esta compilación el relato: "El maleficio de las Runas" y sobre todo "El señor Humphreys y su herencia", que tras una primera lectura puede resultar como cualquiera de los otros, pero si se busca información en Internet sobre el oscuro secreto que el autor quiso dejar en el de forma velada, no cabe más que otorgar 5 estrellas a esta fantástica obra.
Destacar de esta compilación el relato: "El maleficio de las Runas" y sobre todo "El señor Humphreys y su herencia", que tras una primera lectura puede resultar como cualquiera de los otros, pero si se busca información en Internet sobre el oscuro secreto que el autor quiso dejar en el de forma velada, no cabe más que otorgar 5 estrellas a esta fantástica obra.
October 9, 2022
More Haunting of Antiquaries
Review of the Independently Published paperback edition (2021) of the original More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911) hardcover published by Edward Arnold.
I've been gradually working my way through Collected Ghost Stories (1931 original / 2017 expanded edition) by Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936). In advance of Halloween 2022 I'm reviewing the next set of 7 stories as they were collected in James' second collection in 1911.
This is a classic collection of Edwardian era ghost stories. Almost all of them have been adapted for radio or TV broadcasts in the UK. They are all described on Wikipedia, each with story details (spoilers obviously if you click on the story titles).
James honed his style by giving annual Christmas Eve readings at Cambridge or Eton of his latest effort. These are usually within a set story framework which has since been described as Jamesian. This style involves a) a historic building or setting where b) a gentleman scholar / researcher found or sought c) an artifact or object which is d) later found to be cursed and haunted in some manner. This Jamesian format is thus the precursor all sorts of modern day adventure stories such as the Indiana Jones series or the Robert Langdon series of movies and TV shows.
A copy of the 1st edition of "More Ghost Stories" as published by Edward Arnold (1911). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Mild Spoilers ahead. I only discuss the setups of most of the stories without disclosing the endings, but some may consider these spoilers, so I've blocked it accordingly. I enjoyed all of these and am not giving individual story ratings. They were all 4-star reads to me.
Trivia and Links
The Ghost Stories of M.R. James have been adapted on an occasional basis by the BBC TV Series A Ghost Story for Christmas (1971-78, 2005-ongoing). The selections adapted to date (Oct. 2022) from More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary are 3. The Tractate Middoth (2013), 5. The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral (1971) and 6. Martin's Close (2019). Some of the earlier ones, including stories 3. & 5. are available as a series posted on YouTube.
More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary can be read for free at both Wikisource and Project Gutenberg.
More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary can also be listened to for free through the public domain audiobook Ghost Stories of an Antiquary at LibriVox. The audiobook also contains the stories from James' earlier Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
Review of the Independently Published paperback edition (2021) of the original More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911) hardcover published by Edward Arnold.
I've been gradually working my way through Collected Ghost Stories (1931 original / 2017 expanded edition) by Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936). In advance of Halloween 2022 I'm reviewing the next set of 7 stories as they were collected in James' second collection in 1911.
This is a classic collection of Edwardian era ghost stories. Almost all of them have been adapted for radio or TV broadcasts in the UK. They are all described on Wikipedia, each with story details (spoilers obviously if you click on the story titles).
James honed his style by giving annual Christmas Eve readings at Cambridge or Eton of his latest effort. These are usually within a set story framework which has since been described as Jamesian. This style involves a) a historic building or setting where b) a gentleman scholar / researcher found or sought c) an artifact or object which is d) later found to be cursed and haunted in some manner. This Jamesian format is thus the precursor all sorts of modern day adventure stories such as the Indiana Jones series or the Robert Langdon series of movies and TV shows.
A copy of the 1st edition of "More Ghost Stories" as published by Edward Arnold (1911). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
Mild Spoilers ahead. I only discuss the setups of most of the stories without disclosing the endings, but some may consider these spoilers, so I've blocked it accordingly. I enjoyed all of these and am not giving individual story ratings. They were all 4-star reads to me.
Trivia and Links
The Ghost Stories of M.R. James have been adapted on an occasional basis by the BBC TV Series A Ghost Story for Christmas (1971-78, 2005-ongoing). The selections adapted to date (Oct. 2022) from More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary are 3. The Tractate Middoth (2013), 5. The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral (1971) and 6. Martin's Close (2019). Some of the earlier ones, including stories 3. & 5. are available as a series posted on YouTube.
More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary can be read for free at both Wikisource and Project Gutenberg.
More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary can also be listened to for free through the public domain audiobook Ghost Stories of an Antiquary at LibriVox. The audiobook also contains the stories from James' earlier Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
March 27, 2022
Overall better than the first volume.
1) A School Story - 4 stars
2) The Rose Garden - 3 stars
3) The Tractate Middoth - 3.75 stars
4) Casting the Runes - 3.5 stars
5) The Stalls of Barchester - 4 stars
6) Martin's Close - 4 stars
7) Mr Humphreys and his Inheritance - 4 stars
Ratings averaged and rounded to: 4 stars
1) A School Story - 4 stars
2) The Rose Garden - 3 stars
3) The Tractate Middoth - 3.75 stars
4) Casting the Runes - 3.5 stars
5) The Stalls of Barchester - 4 stars
6) Martin's Close - 4 stars
7) Mr Humphreys and his Inheritance - 4 stars
Ratings averaged and rounded to: 4 stars
November 11, 2022
A School Story 5*
The Rose Garden 2*
The Tractate Middoth 3*
Casting Runes 3.5*
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral 5*
Martin's Close 3*
Mr Humphreys and his inheritance 5*
There is also a last chapter thats reaaally good with a short story I forgot the name but 5*
The Rose Garden 2*
The Tractate Middoth 3*
Casting Runes 3.5*
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral 5*
Martin's Close 3*
Mr Humphreys and his inheritance 5*
There is also a last chapter thats reaaally good with a short story I forgot the name but 5*
November 15, 2013
This collection was a lot of fun. Even though some of the stories were very wordy compared to more contemporary tales, it was easy to get past that because of the vivid pictures the words painted.
There were a couple of stories that I thought were just okay, but there were also some real atmospheric knockouts.
I think my favorite in this collection was "Mister Humphreys and His Inheritance", but I could see that possibly changing upon a re-read. These tales were a good time for fans of classic horror.
Recommended!
There were a couple of stories that I thought were just okay, but there were also some real atmospheric knockouts.
I think my favorite in this collection was "Mister Humphreys and His Inheritance", but I could see that possibly changing upon a re-read. These tales were a good time for fans of classic horror.
Recommended!
January 3, 2016
An excellent collection of short classic ghost stories. Ghost stories of an antiquary and this second volume are both very fine. Each and every story has a very perfect logical and terrifying ending. Much better stories than the stories in Stephen king's Skeleton Crew.
April 23, 2023
4.3⭐
A School Story 4.25⭐
The Rose Garden 3⭐
The Tractate Middoth 5⭐
Casting the Runes 5⭐
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral 4⭐
Martin's Close 4⭐
Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance 5⭐
A School Story 4.25⭐
The Rose Garden 3⭐
The Tractate Middoth 5⭐
Casting the Runes 5⭐
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral 4⭐
Martin's Close 4⭐
Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance 5⭐
November 13, 2013
This is the second published collection of short stories by MR James. There are several highly influential works in this volume including my three favorites "The Rose Garden", "Casting the Runes" and "Martin's Close."
4 STARS
4 STARS
July 30, 2022
Nice enough old guy
but the cat knows what he did
killing for the church.
but the cat knows what he did
killing for the church.
July 30, 2021
After loving James' first collection of ghost stories, I plowed right into his second (well, also because the audio file I was listening to just combined both books into one). I don't think this collection is quite as strong as the first, but we'll see what I think after I review the stories themselves:
• "A School Story" – 5 stars – Very creepy story about a teacher who seems to have messed with something he shouldn't have, and that thing is now communicating to him through one of his students.
• "The Rose Garden" – 2 stars – I actually stopped and restarted this story because I thought I must have missed something. But nope. Something spooky is happening with a plot of land, but it's never explained exactly what, nor why we the audience should be concerned about it.
• "The Tractate Middoth" – 2.5 stars – This story has an interesting premise and some classic "will the good guys win?" plot propulsion, but the supernatural element feels more shoehorned in than a natural part of the story.
• "Casting the Runes" – 5 stars – A very good thriller involving two men's efforts to remove a curse that has been placed on one of them. Not really a horror story, but a story very well told nonetheless.
• "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" – 1 star – I didn't really enjoy this one. Not particularly scary, and the plot could have used some editing to make it more linear and less confusing.
• "Martin's Close" – 2.5 stars – I thought this was going somewhere, but in the end it really wasn't.
• Mr. Humphrey and His Inheritance" – 3.5 stars – Not a bad story, but it spends too much time, um, wandering around before getting to the point, which is ironic since it's a story about a hedge maze, but not in a good way.
This book averages out to just over 3 stars per story, and that seems right to me. Unlike the first book, this collection is basically buoyed by two excellent stories and another pretty good one, but it has some duds that the original set didn't have.
• "A School Story" – 5 stars – Very creepy story about a teacher who seems to have messed with something he shouldn't have, and that thing is now communicating to him through one of his students.
• "The Rose Garden" – 2 stars – I actually stopped and restarted this story because I thought I must have missed something. But nope. Something spooky is happening with a plot of land, but it's never explained exactly what, nor why we the audience should be concerned about it.
• "The Tractate Middoth" – 2.5 stars – This story has an interesting premise and some classic "will the good guys win?" plot propulsion, but the supernatural element feels more shoehorned in than a natural part of the story.
• "Casting the Runes" – 5 stars – A very good thriller involving two men's efforts to remove a curse that has been placed on one of them. Not really a horror story, but a story very well told nonetheless.
• "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" – 1 star – I didn't really enjoy this one. Not particularly scary, and the plot could have used some editing to make it more linear and less confusing.
• "Martin's Close" – 2.5 stars – I thought this was going somewhere, but in the end it really wasn't.
• Mr. Humphrey and His Inheritance" – 3.5 stars – Not a bad story, but it spends too much time, um, wandering around before getting to the point, which is ironic since it's a story about a hedge maze, but not in a good way.
This book averages out to just over 3 stars per story, and that seems right to me. Unlike the first book, this collection is basically buoyed by two excellent stories and another pretty good one, but it has some duds that the original set didn't have.
July 11, 2022
De M.R. James había leído ya otras historias, pero ninguna de las que vienen incluidas en este libro, y he de decir que todas me gustaron muchísimo. M.R. James es considerado el auge de la ghost-story, donde los fantasmas tienen su cúspide y, también, donde evolucionan para convertirse en algo más y, después de James, tanto el terror como los fantasmas avanzan hacia muchos otros y variados caminos. Me parece que es cierto, puesto que en estas historias raramente vemos los espectros que uno esperaría o, incluso, las causas de aparición más comunes; James siempre juega con las expectativas del lector y va construyendo el ambiente opresivo de una manera tan sublime, tan bien dosificada que, cuando el elemento del terror aparece, por más extraño que parezca, consigue asustar (o, al menos, sobresaltar) al lector. Además, igual que uno de sus autores favoritos (Le Fanu), M.R. James opta por dejar partes del misterio sin esclarecer, de modo que la sensación de incomodidad aumenta.
Por otro lado, puesto que el autor era un intelectual, todos sus cuentos están llenos de ese ambiente académico, abordan temas súper específicos y ñoños y los protagonistas son, cómo no, intelectuales. La verdad ésa fue, probablemente, mi cosa favorita de estos relatos: por fin, gente ñoña (como yo) teniendo experiencias sobrenaturales. Also, ¿el uso del latín? 10000/10.
Ahora mi opinión sobre cada cuento:
Una historia escolar 5/5
El más corto y, probablemente, el más tradicional de todos los relatos aquí reunidos. Un hombre narra una anécdota curiosa ocurrida durante sus días de estudiante: su profesor de latín empezó a recibir extraños mensajes antes de desaparecer misteriosamente. ¿Acaso fue mi cuento favorito porque el espectro se comunica con frases en latín? Sí y no me escondo. Además, la descripción del fantasma me gustó mucho.
La rosaleda 4/5
Una mujer está empeñada en limpiar un claro de su jardín, donde hay un extraño poste, para plantar una rosaleda, pese al testimonio de la antigua dueña sobre las cosas raras que le sucedieron ahí. Una vez que el poste es removido, más cosas raras pasan. El ambiente opresivo y de confusión se construye de manera espectacular aquí y, si bien no se esclarece el misterio totalmente, la información que James funciona muy bien dentro del relato. Además, hay uso gratuito de latín, yesss.
El tratado de Middoth 3/5
Un hombre busca desesperadamente un extraño manuscrito y finalmente lo encuentra en la Biblioteca de Londres, pero cuando intenta sacarlo pasan ~cosas~. Luego el protagonista (bibliotecario) conoce a una mujer viuda quien le cuenta una extraña historia relacionada con dicho manuscrito. Me gustó mucho el ambiente creado (de opresión, de secretismo y de libros viejos), la manera en la que M.R. James dosificó la información y cómo describió a la entidad espectral. Aquí no hay latín, pero sí hebreo.
La maldición de las runas 4/5
Creo que éste fue mi segundo relato favorito. Un extraño hombre trata de publicar un artículo sobre alquimia, pero al ser rechazado, comienza a tramar su venganza contra el académico que rechazó dicho artículo. Una vez más, James construye magistralmente el ambiente opresivo y sobrenatural que va envolviendo poco a poco al protagonista (el académico), quien está siendo víctima de una maldición. La última parte del cuento me encantó porque tenía algo de relato policiaco y he de confesar que las últimas páginas me tuvieron al borde del asiento porque no sabía si conseguiría salvarse. ¡Y el final! Increíble.
Los sitiales de la catedral de Barchester 3.5/5
Sospecho que este cuento me habría gustado mil veces más si hubiera sabido qué era un sitial, jaaa. Aquí, James relata la extraña muerte del arcediano de Barchester mediante unos documentos encontrados por el narrador en la biblioteca (¿de la catedral?). Otra cosa que me encanta de este autor es que recurre a distintos formatos para narrar una historia, en este caso, añade testimonios como notas necrológicas, cartas y extractos del diario del arcediano para contar lo ocurrido. Además, el ambiente opresivo que construye y la forma en la que presenta la mente desasosegada del clérigo, pffft <3
El cercado de Martin 4/5
Aquí se recurre, también, a distintos formatos para contar la historia: en primer plano (el del narrador), un hombre cuenta una leyenda local y, en segundo plano, el informe de un juicio que el narrador encuentra en una librería de viejo y que explica la leyenda local. Ya es redundante mencionar la magistral construcción del ambiente, pero hay que decirlo de nuevo. Además, la descripción del ser espectral aquí es increíble y sumamente desconcertante.
El señor Humphreys y su herencia 4.5/5
Mi tercer relato favorito ♥ Un joven ha recibido en herencia una propiedad en el campo de parte de un tío al que nunca conoció; todo parece excelente, pues la mansión es amplia y tiene un jardín enorme y un laberinto misterioso. El problema es que, conforme pasan las páginas, el laberinto comienza a ser más desagradable que simplemente misterioso. Aquí, además de la narración principal, también se inserta un "fragmento" de un libro viejo sobre un laberinto... la verdad es que la parábola que cuenta dicho fragmento es bastante creepy, pero lo que se lleva la palma a lo más perturbador no sólo de la historia, sino de toda la antología es la descripción del ser que se le presenta al protagonista a través del plano del laberinto... además, el ambiente que crea James justo antes de esta aparición es, una vez más, terriblemente opresivo. 10/10 ¿Y hay uso gratuito del latín? SÍ Y MUCHO <3
Finalmente, quiero hablar un poco de la traducción/edición. En general, siento que las ediciones de Valdemar son muy bonitas por fuera, pero no necesariamente por dentro. Encontré varias líneas viudas y huérfanas (manías de correctora) y no había ningún consenso para introducir los diálogos .__. a veces aparecían con guión y, más abajo, con comillas españolas o viceversa, sin que nada justificara el uso de ambos casos EN LA MISMA PÁGINA. La traducción en general me pareció bastante buena, peeeero, una vez más (y no será la última), en traductor decidió dejar el nombre de un escritor romano tal como aparece en inglés, es decir, en su forma latina (Valerius Flaccus), en lugar de usar la tradicional forma española (Valerio Flaco), AGGGH. Además, conviene advertir que todo el latín que aparece en los cuentos no viene traducido; en algunas ocasiones no importa porque no es tan relevante para el texto, pero en el caso del último relato sí que lo es y cualquier lector que no sepa latín se perderá un poco. Como pueden ver, son quejas súper esnobs pero así soy yo, qué le voy a hacer.
Si llegaron hasta acá después de toda esta reseña boba, sólo puedo decirles gracias y LEAN A M.R. JAMES YA ♥
Por otro lado, puesto que el autor era un intelectual, todos sus cuentos están llenos de ese ambiente académico, abordan temas súper específicos y ñoños y los protagonistas son, cómo no, intelectuales. La verdad ésa fue, probablemente, mi cosa favorita de estos relatos: por fin, gente ñoña (como yo) teniendo experiencias sobrenaturales. Also, ¿el uso del latín? 10000/10.
Ahora mi opinión sobre cada cuento:
Una historia escolar 5/5
El más corto y, probablemente, el más tradicional de todos los relatos aquí reunidos. Un hombre narra una anécdota curiosa ocurrida durante sus días de estudiante: su profesor de latín empezó a recibir extraños mensajes antes de desaparecer misteriosamente. ¿Acaso fue mi cuento favorito porque el espectro se comunica con frases en latín? Sí y no me escondo. Además, la descripción del fantasma me gustó mucho.
La rosaleda 4/5
Una mujer está empeñada en limpiar un claro de su jardín, donde hay un extraño poste, para plantar una rosaleda, pese al testimonio de la antigua dueña sobre las cosas raras que le sucedieron ahí. Una vez que el poste es removido, más cosas raras pasan. El ambiente opresivo y de confusión se construye de manera espectacular aquí y, si bien no se esclarece el misterio totalmente, la información que James funciona muy bien dentro del relato. Además, hay uso gratuito de latín, yesss.
El tratado de Middoth 3/5
Un hombre busca desesperadamente un extraño manuscrito y finalmente lo encuentra en la Biblioteca de Londres, pero cuando intenta sacarlo pasan ~cosas~. Luego el protagonista (bibliotecario) conoce a una mujer viuda quien le cuenta una extraña historia relacionada con dicho manuscrito. Me gustó mucho el ambiente creado (de opresión, de secretismo y de libros viejos), la manera en la que M.R. James dosificó la información y cómo describió a la entidad espectral. Aquí no hay latín, pero sí hebreo.
La maldición de las runas 4/5
Creo que éste fue mi segundo relato favorito. Un extraño hombre trata de publicar un artículo sobre alquimia, pero al ser rechazado, comienza a tramar su venganza contra el académico que rechazó dicho artículo. Una vez más, James construye magistralmente el ambiente opresivo y sobrenatural que va envolviendo poco a poco al protagonista (el académico), quien está siendo víctima de una maldición. La última parte del cuento me encantó porque tenía algo de relato policiaco y he de confesar que las últimas páginas me tuvieron al borde del asiento porque no sabía si conseguiría salvarse. ¡Y el final! Increíble.
Los sitiales de la catedral de Barchester 3.5/5
Sospecho que este cuento me habría gustado mil veces más si hubiera sabido qué era un sitial, jaaa. Aquí, James relata la extraña muerte del arcediano de Barchester mediante unos documentos encontrados por el narrador en la biblioteca (¿de la catedral?). Otra cosa que me encanta de este autor es que recurre a distintos formatos para narrar una historia, en este caso, añade testimonios como notas necrológicas, cartas y extractos del diario del arcediano para contar lo ocurrido. Además, el ambiente opresivo que construye y la forma en la que presenta la mente desasosegada del clérigo, pffft <3
El cercado de Martin 4/5
Aquí se recurre, también, a distintos formatos para contar la historia: en primer plano (el del narrador), un hombre cuenta una leyenda local y, en segundo plano, el informe de un juicio que el narrador encuentra en una librería de viejo y que explica la leyenda local. Ya es redundante mencionar la magistral construcción del ambiente, pero hay que decirlo de nuevo. Además, la descripción del ser espectral aquí es increíble y sumamente desconcertante.
El señor Humphreys y su herencia 4.5/5
Mi tercer relato favorito ♥ Un joven ha recibido en herencia una propiedad en el campo de parte de un tío al que nunca conoció; todo parece excelente, pues la mansión es amplia y tiene un jardín enorme y un laberinto misterioso. El problema es que, conforme pasan las páginas, el laberinto comienza a ser más desagradable que simplemente misterioso. Aquí, además de la narración principal, también se inserta un "fragmento" de un libro viejo sobre un laberinto... la verdad es que la parábola que cuenta dicho fragmento es bastante creepy, pero lo que se lleva la palma a lo más perturbador no sólo de la historia, sino de toda la antología es la descripción del ser que se le presenta al protagonista a través del plano del laberinto... además, el ambiente que crea James justo antes de esta aparición es, una vez más, terriblemente opresivo. 10/10 ¿Y hay uso gratuito del latín? SÍ Y MUCHO <3
Finalmente, quiero hablar un poco de la traducción/edición. En general, siento que las ediciones de Valdemar son muy bonitas por fuera, pero no necesariamente por dentro. Encontré varias líneas viudas y huérfanas (manías de correctora) y no había ningún consenso para introducir los diálogos .__. a veces aparecían con guión y, más abajo, con comillas españolas o viceversa, sin que nada justificara el uso de ambos casos EN LA MISMA PÁGINA. La traducción en general me pareció bastante buena, peeeero, una vez más (y no será la última), en traductor decidió dejar el nombre de un escritor romano tal como aparece en inglés, es decir, en su forma latina (Valerius Flaccus), en lugar de usar la tradicional forma española (Valerio Flaco), AGGGH. Además, conviene advertir que todo el latín que aparece en los cuentos no viene traducido; en algunas ocasiones no importa porque no es tan relevante para el texto, pero en el caso del último relato sí que lo es y cualquier lector que no sepa latín se perderá un poco. Como pueden ver, son quejas súper esnobs pero así soy yo, qué le voy a hacer.
Si llegaron hasta acá después de toda esta reseña boba, sólo puedo decirles gracias y LEAN A M.R. JAMES YA ♥
December 23, 2017
These seven eerie tales include the much anthologized “Casting The Runes” as well as less familiar stories like “A School Story” and “The Rose Garden”. My favorites were “The Tractate Middoth” involving a dangerous rare book and “Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance” with secrets found in an old library. Great spooky reading.
May 3, 2012
M.R. James is one of the best old-school ghost story writers ever. His work is not in your face scary, it is eerie. His stories can be slow paced but you read them with growing discomfort. Imagination is essential for his writings.
July 1, 2020
Some good ol' old timey spooks
April 24, 2012
A School Story
‘Si tu non veneris ad me, ego veniam ad te’
(If you don’t come to me, I’ll come to you) (page 13)
Two men were talking of their school days, especially concerning ghost stories.
During Latin grammar lessons, Mc Leod stops thinking, maybe feeling something strange coming from the teacher, Mr. Sampson.
One night Mc Leod is watching at the professor’s window: ‘there was a man sitting or kneeling on Sampson’s window-sill … beastly thin … looking around and whispering as if he hardly liked to hear himself.’ (page 15)
The next day Mr. Sampson was gone.
***********************************************************************
The Rose Garden
Quieta non movere
or Are ghosts noisy?
Mr. Anstruther and his wife are talking about their rose garden, he disagrees with his wife because the spot is not very nice: there are shrubs, and it is not sunny. Eventually Mrs. Anstruther makes sure that her husband starts the job.
A previous owner of the estate, Miss Wilkins, visits Mrs. Anstruther; they talk about the rose garden. But when Mrs Anstruther is telling to Miss Wilkins her project, the latter thoughts ‘were evidently elsewhere.’ When Miss Wilkins and his brother Frank were children, he disappeared for a while and reappeared on the bench of the rose garden. Frank had been asleep and he had had ‘a very odd disjointed sort of dream.’ Frank was in a court for a trial, and after he was walking towards the gallow. ‘He never saw much of what was around him, but he felt the scenes most vividly.’ (page 30)
The same night, Mr. Anstruther had had the same dream.
‘Mrs. Anstruther … was sure some rough had got into the plantation during the night.
- And another thing, George: the moment that Collins is about again, you must tell him to do something about the owls.’ (page 35)
Are ghosts among us? or are they just owls?
***********************************************************************
THE TRACTATE MIDDOTH
Mr. John Eldred is looking for a book in a library. The book is Tractate Middoth from the Talmud. A library assistant, Mr. Garret, helps Mr. Eldred to find the book, but a man is reading the Tractate:
‘It looked to me dry, and it looked dusty, and the streaks of hair across it were much less like hair than cobwebs.’ (page 58)
Mr. Garrett is shocked from the reader of the Tractate and he is forced to stay at home. Before Mr. Garrett returned to work at the library, the librarian wanted that he takes a week’s rest. Mr. Garrett leaves for a village on the sea.
In train he met a landlady, Mrs. Simpson and her daughter. Mrs Simpson had apartments empty at that season, so Mr. Garrett decides to take one.
An evening, during their talk, Mrs Simpson is very interested in Mr. Garrett’s job as librarian. The Simpson’s decide to ask for help to Mr. Garrett: the women have to find a book where inside could be the will of their uncle. The only clue is a number that sounds familiar to Mr. Garrett: it is the number of the book that Mr. Eldred was looking for. Another interesting clue for Mr. Garrett is that Mr. Eldred is Mrs. Simpson’s cousin.
Mr. Eldred is the first to find the mysterious book, but when he is searching for the will in the book:
‘something black seemed to drop upon the white leaf and run down it, and then as Eldred started and was turning to look behind him, a little dark form appeared to rise out of the shadow behind the tree-trunk and from it two arms enclosing a mass of blackness came before Eldred’s face and covered his head and neck.’ (page 79)
The story has a good plot and M.R. James is a master to insert the ghost’s passages only when needed, so to keep the reader’s curiosity high.
***********************************************************************
CASTING THE RUNES
Warning: before to write a book’s review, read Casting the Runes (You could change idea!).
The runic alphabet, developed from the Etruscan, was used in northern Europe from third to seventeenth century.
In magical practice ‘casting the runes’ means send curses through slip of paper in runic letters.
Karswell is a writer of alchemy and witchcraft books. When somebody refuses to review or submits a negative one about his books, the reviewer’s fate is marked.
‘The obvious course was to find a match, and also to consult his watch: he might as well know how many hours of discomfort awaited him.
So he puts his hand into the well-known nook under the pillow: only, it did not get so far.
What he touched was, according to his account, a mouth, with teeth, and with hair about it, and, he declares, not the mouth of a human being.’ (page 112)
************************************************************************
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Dr. Black is cataloguing the Barchester’s Cathedral library, when he discovers a box containing some fifty year old diaries.
The diaries concern the death of Dr. Haynes, a former Archdeacon of the Cathedral.
During winter time Dr. Haynes is alone in the cathedral’s apartment, because his sister’s health doesn’t allow her to stay.
Dr. Haynes diaries tell of ordinary events, but soon after the main theme of the diaries are the noises of cats in the cathedral (although Dr. Haynes has never owned a cat).
‘The hall and the staircase seemed to be unusually full of what I can only call movement without sound.’ (page 157)
Has a carved figure on the stalls of Barchester Cathedral something to do with these noises?
****************************************************************************
Martin’s Close
- Madam, will you walk, will you talk with me?
- Yes, sir, I will walk, I will talk with you.
The narrator has to visit some land in the West. He is accompanied by the estate handy-man John Hill.
The rector of the parish where there are the properties, tells to the narrator to inquire about Martin’s Close.
During the visit the narrator asks to John Hill about Martin’s Close: the story of this bit of land concerns the murder of a young woman, Ann Clark by George Martin.
George Martin ‘was troubled before his cruel action come to light by the young woman spirit.’ (page 174)
The narrator finds a report of Martin’s trial by Judge Jefferies.
The story that follows tells about the trial’s last days. Accordingly to witnesses ‘Ann Clark was seen after the 15th of May (murder’s day), and that, at such time as she was so seen, it was impossible she could have been a living person.’ (pages 190-1)
‘And prey, what came out (from the cupboard), a mouse?’ (page 199)
*****************************************************************************
Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance
Mr. Humphreys has inherited a property from an uncle: ‘neither the property nor the uncle had he ever seen.’ (page 219)
Mr. Cooper, the property’s bailiff, has gone to the train station to pick up Mr. Humphreys.
Soon after arriving at the house, Mr. Humphreys and Mr. Cooper start an exploration of the property. Mr. Humphreys enters into the maze or labyrinth, where he finds a strange sundial. But the first impression is wrong, instead of a sundial on the top there is a stone column with a metal globe engraved with figure of the patriarchs of evil.
The dessecretion of the maze follows a series of strange events.
When Mr. Humphreys is tracing a maze’s plan, he finds a dot or a hole on the plan:
‘An ugly black spot about the size of a shilling. Ink? No.
It resembles a hole, but how should a hole be there? …
It seemed to go not only through the paper, but through the table … and through the floor below that, down, and still down, even into infinite depths.’ (page 269) and ‘far, far down there was a movement, and the movement was upwards - towards the surface. … waving black arms prepared to clasp the head that was bending over them.’ (page 270)
Quid multa?
I didn’t believe in ghosts, not until I became one.
‘Si tu non veneris ad me, ego veniam ad te’
(If you don’t come to me, I’ll come to you) (page 13)
Two men were talking of their school days, especially concerning ghost stories.
During Latin grammar lessons, Mc Leod stops thinking, maybe feeling something strange coming from the teacher, Mr. Sampson.
One night Mc Leod is watching at the professor’s window: ‘there was a man sitting or kneeling on Sampson’s window-sill … beastly thin … looking around and whispering as if he hardly liked to hear himself.’ (page 15)
The next day Mr. Sampson was gone.
***********************************************************************
The Rose Garden
Quieta non movere
or Are ghosts noisy?
Mr. Anstruther and his wife are talking about their rose garden, he disagrees with his wife because the spot is not very nice: there are shrubs, and it is not sunny. Eventually Mrs. Anstruther makes sure that her husband starts the job.
A previous owner of the estate, Miss Wilkins, visits Mrs. Anstruther; they talk about the rose garden. But when Mrs Anstruther is telling to Miss Wilkins her project, the latter thoughts ‘were evidently elsewhere.’ When Miss Wilkins and his brother Frank were children, he disappeared for a while and reappeared on the bench of the rose garden. Frank had been asleep and he had had ‘a very odd disjointed sort of dream.’ Frank was in a court for a trial, and after he was walking towards the gallow. ‘He never saw much of what was around him, but he felt the scenes most vividly.’ (page 30)
The same night, Mr. Anstruther had had the same dream.
‘Mrs. Anstruther … was sure some rough had got into the plantation during the night.
- And another thing, George: the moment that Collins is about again, you must tell him to do something about the owls.’ (page 35)
Are ghosts among us? or are they just owls?
***********************************************************************
THE TRACTATE MIDDOTH
Mr. John Eldred is looking for a book in a library. The book is Tractate Middoth from the Talmud. A library assistant, Mr. Garret, helps Mr. Eldred to find the book, but a man is reading the Tractate:
‘It looked to me dry, and it looked dusty, and the streaks of hair across it were much less like hair than cobwebs.’ (page 58)
Mr. Garrett is shocked from the reader of the Tractate and he is forced to stay at home. Before Mr. Garrett returned to work at the library, the librarian wanted that he takes a week’s rest. Mr. Garrett leaves for a village on the sea.
In train he met a landlady, Mrs. Simpson and her daughter. Mrs Simpson had apartments empty at that season, so Mr. Garrett decides to take one.
An evening, during their talk, Mrs Simpson is very interested in Mr. Garrett’s job as librarian. The Simpson’s decide to ask for help to Mr. Garrett: the women have to find a book where inside could be the will of their uncle. The only clue is a number that sounds familiar to Mr. Garrett: it is the number of the book that Mr. Eldred was looking for. Another interesting clue for Mr. Garrett is that Mr. Eldred is Mrs. Simpson’s cousin.
Mr. Eldred is the first to find the mysterious book, but when he is searching for the will in the book:
‘something black seemed to drop upon the white leaf and run down it, and then as Eldred started and was turning to look behind him, a little dark form appeared to rise out of the shadow behind the tree-trunk and from it two arms enclosing a mass of blackness came before Eldred’s face and covered his head and neck.’ (page 79)
The story has a good plot and M.R. James is a master to insert the ghost’s passages only when needed, so to keep the reader’s curiosity high.
***********************************************************************
CASTING THE RUNES
Warning: before to write a book’s review, read Casting the Runes (You could change idea!).
The runic alphabet, developed from the Etruscan, was used in northern Europe from third to seventeenth century.
In magical practice ‘casting the runes’ means send curses through slip of paper in runic letters.
Karswell is a writer of alchemy and witchcraft books. When somebody refuses to review or submits a negative one about his books, the reviewer’s fate is marked.
‘The obvious course was to find a match, and also to consult his watch: he might as well know how many hours of discomfort awaited him.
So he puts his hand into the well-known nook under the pillow: only, it did not get so far.
What he touched was, according to his account, a mouth, with teeth, and with hair about it, and, he declares, not the mouth of a human being.’ (page 112)
************************************************************************
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
Dr. Black is cataloguing the Barchester’s Cathedral library, when he discovers a box containing some fifty year old diaries.
The diaries concern the death of Dr. Haynes, a former Archdeacon of the Cathedral.
During winter time Dr. Haynes is alone in the cathedral’s apartment, because his sister’s health doesn’t allow her to stay.
Dr. Haynes diaries tell of ordinary events, but soon after the main theme of the diaries are the noises of cats in the cathedral (although Dr. Haynes has never owned a cat).
‘The hall and the staircase seemed to be unusually full of what I can only call movement without sound.’ (page 157)
Has a carved figure on the stalls of Barchester Cathedral something to do with these noises?
****************************************************************************
Martin’s Close
- Madam, will you walk, will you talk with me?
- Yes, sir, I will walk, I will talk with you.
The narrator has to visit some land in the West. He is accompanied by the estate handy-man John Hill.
The rector of the parish where there are the properties, tells to the narrator to inquire about Martin’s Close.
During the visit the narrator asks to John Hill about Martin’s Close: the story of this bit of land concerns the murder of a young woman, Ann Clark by George Martin.
George Martin ‘was troubled before his cruel action come to light by the young woman spirit.’ (page 174)
The narrator finds a report of Martin’s trial by Judge Jefferies.
The story that follows tells about the trial’s last days. Accordingly to witnesses ‘Ann Clark was seen after the 15th of May (murder’s day), and that, at such time as she was so seen, it was impossible she could have been a living person.’ (pages 190-1)
‘And prey, what came out (from the cupboard), a mouse?’ (page 199)
*****************************************************************************
Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance
Mr. Humphreys has inherited a property from an uncle: ‘neither the property nor the uncle had he ever seen.’ (page 219)
Mr. Cooper, the property’s bailiff, has gone to the train station to pick up Mr. Humphreys.
Soon after arriving at the house, Mr. Humphreys and Mr. Cooper start an exploration of the property. Mr. Humphreys enters into the maze or labyrinth, where he finds a strange sundial. But the first impression is wrong, instead of a sundial on the top there is a stone column with a metal globe engraved with figure of the patriarchs of evil.
The dessecretion of the maze follows a series of strange events.
When Mr. Humphreys is tracing a maze’s plan, he finds a dot or a hole on the plan:
‘An ugly black spot about the size of a shilling. Ink? No.
It resembles a hole, but how should a hole be there? …
It seemed to go not only through the paper, but through the table … and through the floor below that, down, and still down, even into infinite depths.’ (page 269) and ‘far, far down there was a movement, and the movement was upwards - towards the surface. … waving black arms prepared to clasp the head that was bending over them.’ (page 270)
Quid multa?
I didn’t believe in ghosts, not until I became one.
October 8, 2023
(1911). Seven stories seven years after his initial collection. I can’t explain why I like these so much when a lot of them blend together and seem almost cute in their simplicity. Part of it is of course the pleasing contrast between horror and a quaint setting, always a popular combo. And then it’s just great how James lends such artistry (not to mention his scholarly background) to genre fiction. Also, there are interesting little wrinkles. For example, James will often brush in character traits that play a role in the tales, yet it’s all Chekhovian and unstated. The stories in this volume are:
The Rose Garden—a plot of land exerts its terrors on an old battle ax and her henpecked husband. More suggestive than climactic, and a little confusing, but once I pieced together the tale being suggested it was pretty cool.
A School Story—an ordinary boy suddenly recites a cryptic message in Latin to a teacher with a dark past. Then other messages come to torment the guilty man. Another tale relayed secondhand.
The Tractate Middoth—a man with cobwebs covering his eyes haunts a librarian. More supernatural comeuppance in this one.
Casting the Runes—a lot of fun. James fashions a story of suspense out of his usual materials. You hear of a literary critic who, after giving a bad review, got killed by what you suspect is witchcraft. This makes you concerned when you hear that the author is demanding to know who rejected his current paper. The protagonists put together the clues and James ratchets things up when they set out to use trickery against the warlock in order to defeat him. Shades of Rosemary’s Baby in the way the spells depend on the interchange of items. The old engraving with the demon in it, and the death caused by some scaffolding reminded me also of The Ninth Gate. James gives a nod to Doyle with a doctor named Watson.
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral is about a clergyman whose promotion is thwarted by a lingering superior. James lets the crime story develop longer this time before bringing in the supernatural. I liked that he placed it in Trollope’s fictional city for no reason.
Martin’s Close—A man investigates the records of an historical murder case. It’s the usual story of a haunted criminal, but leads to the transcript of a courtroom drama that’s engrossing and surprisingly funny. I was intrigued by some remarks and behavior by the suspect. You never know for sure why, or indeed even if, he committed the murder, but, with one haughty remark made by the character, James allows the reader’s imagination to fill in the details.
Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance—uneventful but still enjoyable story, with again some laughs. A number of tropes in this one: the estate inherited from an unknown uncle. The townsfolk eying the newcomer ominously. A garden maze. An anagram, which, arranged and translated, says something like “ Penetrating to the interior of death.”
The Rose Garden—a plot of land exerts its terrors on an old battle ax and her henpecked husband. More suggestive than climactic, and a little confusing, but once I pieced together the tale being suggested it was pretty cool.
A School Story—an ordinary boy suddenly recites a cryptic message in Latin to a teacher with a dark past. Then other messages come to torment the guilty man. Another tale relayed secondhand.
The Tractate Middoth—a man with cobwebs covering his eyes haunts a librarian. More supernatural comeuppance in this one.
Casting the Runes—a lot of fun. James fashions a story of suspense out of his usual materials. You hear of a literary critic who, after giving a bad review, got killed by what you suspect is witchcraft. This makes you concerned when you hear that the author is demanding to know who rejected his current paper. The protagonists put together the clues and James ratchets things up when they set out to use trickery against the warlock in order to defeat him. Shades of Rosemary’s Baby in the way the spells depend on the interchange of items. The old engraving with the demon in it, and the death caused by some scaffolding reminded me also of The Ninth Gate. James gives a nod to Doyle with a doctor named Watson.
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral is about a clergyman whose promotion is thwarted by a lingering superior. James lets the crime story develop longer this time before bringing in the supernatural. I liked that he placed it in Trollope’s fictional city for no reason.
Martin’s Close—A man investigates the records of an historical murder case. It’s the usual story of a haunted criminal, but leads to the transcript of a courtroom drama that’s engrossing and surprisingly funny. I was intrigued by some remarks and behavior by the suspect. You never know for sure why, or indeed even if, he committed the murder, but, with one haughty remark made by the character, James allows the reader’s imagination to fill in the details.
Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance—uneventful but still enjoyable story, with again some laughs. A number of tropes in this one: the estate inherited from an unknown uncle. The townsfolk eying the newcomer ominously. A garden maze. An anagram, which, arranged and translated, says something like “ Penetrating to the interior of death.”
May 26, 2018
Este segundo libro de M.R. James me ha resultado bastante mas irregular que el primero. Mientras que en aquel costaba encontrar una historia mediocre o normalita sin más, aqui si pasa unas cuantas veces. No es, desde luego, por falta de ideas, sino mas bien la ejecución y el tipo de historia hacia donde se va orientando.
Hay un fuerte componente moral en varios de los relatos y no puedo evitar la sensación de que a veces ha sido conservador de mas. Lo que si contiene son tres historias de nivel superior, totalmente a la altura del volumen previo.
-"A School Story": Me gustan las historias donde una persona cuenta un "suceso extraño" a un colega. Esta es muy sencilla, pero esta muy eficazmente realizada. El final es algo previsible. 3.5/5
-"The Rose Garden": De momento, la única historia de James que no me ha gustado en absoluto. Me hizo gracia el intercambio que tiene el matrimonio al comienzo, pero narrativamente es una historia algo mediocre. El climax es poco efectivo y en general es todo algo cofuso. Bastante torpe. 1.5/5
-"The Tractate Middoth": Otra de estas historias que es mas como una pelicula de suspense e intriga, que un relato de terror propiamente dicho. Es muy entretenido, pero no me ha dejado demasiado poso. 3/5
-"Casting the Runes": Un clásico, con un par de escenas realmente inquietantes en su desarrollo (ese espectáculo a los niños, esa escena en la biblioteca) y un tramo final que se desenvuelve casi como una pelicula de suspense. Tremendamente eficaz. 4.5/5
-"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral": La obra maestra de este libro, en mi opinión. Una historia sobre oscuros pasados, una imponente catedral y una atmósfera espectacular. 5/5
-"Martin's Close": Creo que es la historia mas claramente humorística de todas, sobre un caballero en un juicio, acusado de matar a una jovencita. Esta narrado a traves de una transcripción del propio juicio. Esta bien, pero no me ha parecido nada fuera de lo normal. 3/5
-"Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance": Es mas largo de lo que debería, y tiene una simbologia muy obtusa... pero lo compensa de sobra con una idea brillante (el laberinto) y con una de las escenas mas espectaculares que he leido de James (un agujerito, que crea una poderosa imagen). 4.5/5
Creo que con esto ya he leido la mitad de la obra de MR James en el libro "The penguin complete ghost stories of MR James". Bastantes anticuarios y fantasmas quedan por delante.
Hay un fuerte componente moral en varios de los relatos y no puedo evitar la sensación de que a veces ha sido conservador de mas. Lo que si contiene son tres historias de nivel superior, totalmente a la altura del volumen previo.
-"A School Story": Me gustan las historias donde una persona cuenta un "suceso extraño" a un colega. Esta es muy sencilla, pero esta muy eficazmente realizada. El final es algo previsible. 3.5/5
-"The Rose Garden": De momento, la única historia de James que no me ha gustado en absoluto. Me hizo gracia el intercambio que tiene el matrimonio al comienzo, pero narrativamente es una historia algo mediocre. El climax es poco efectivo y en general es todo algo cofuso. Bastante torpe. 1.5/5
-"The Tractate Middoth": Otra de estas historias que es mas como una pelicula de suspense e intriga, que un relato de terror propiamente dicho. Es muy entretenido, pero no me ha dejado demasiado poso. 3/5
-"Casting the Runes": Un clásico, con un par de escenas realmente inquietantes en su desarrollo (ese espectáculo a los niños, esa escena en la biblioteca) y un tramo final que se desenvuelve casi como una pelicula de suspense. Tremendamente eficaz. 4.5/5
-"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral": La obra maestra de este libro, en mi opinión. Una historia sobre oscuros pasados, una imponente catedral y una atmósfera espectacular. 5/5
-"Martin's Close": Creo que es la historia mas claramente humorística de todas, sobre un caballero en un juicio, acusado de matar a una jovencita. Esta narrado a traves de una transcripción del propio juicio. Esta bien, pero no me ha parecido nada fuera de lo normal. 3/5
-"Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance": Es mas largo de lo que debería, y tiene una simbologia muy obtusa... pero lo compensa de sobra con una idea brillante (el laberinto) y con una de las escenas mas espectaculares que he leido de James (un agujerito, que crea una poderosa imagen). 4.5/5
Creo que con esto ya he leido la mitad de la obra de MR James en el libro "The penguin complete ghost stories of MR James". Bastantes anticuarios y fantasmas quedan por delante.
August 1, 2022
power ranking:
1) the stalls of barchester cathedral (5*)
don't know if i can articulate why i adore this one so much. think it is at least partly the air of futility it shares with my ultimate james fav (awttc) and also the epistolary nature of the story.
I MUST BE FIRM
2) casting the runes (5*)
absolutely love the cruelty of karswell in the magic lantern show. it demonstrates his true colours so effectively and as always james kills it despite the reported nature of the event. also i think dunning and harrington should explore each others' bodies
3) martin's close (5*)
ann clark gets her own back in the most satisfying way possible.
4) a school story (4*)
something extremely unnerving about this that i can't quite put my finger on. think it might be the dismissive framing of events, as if the adult self is refusing to engage with the horror even twenty years removed from it.
5) the tractate middoth (4*)
a dramatic chase scene? in MY genteel edwardian ghost story anthology? it's more likely than you think!
6) the rose garden (4*)
buried spectres simply hate to see a girlboss winning
7) mr humphreys and his inheritance (4*)
i liked this a lot but i think it needs just the tiniest bit more time spent after the climax because as it is i think it suffers slightly from the removal of humphreys' pov. still fucks though
1) the stalls of barchester cathedral (5*)
don't know if i can articulate why i adore this one so much. think it is at least partly the air of futility it shares with my ultimate james fav (awttc) and also the epistolary nature of the story.
I MUST BE FIRM
2) casting the runes (5*)
absolutely love the cruelty of karswell in the magic lantern show. it demonstrates his true colours so effectively and as always james kills it despite the reported nature of the event. also i think dunning and harrington should explore each others' bodies
3) martin's close (5*)
ann clark gets her own back in the most satisfying way possible.
4) a school story (4*)
something extremely unnerving about this that i can't quite put my finger on. think it might be the dismissive framing of events, as if the adult self is refusing to engage with the horror even twenty years removed from it.
5) the tractate middoth (4*)
a dramatic chase scene? in MY genteel edwardian ghost story anthology? it's more likely than you think!
6) the rose garden (4*)
buried spectres simply hate to see a girlboss winning
7) mr humphreys and his inheritance (4*)
i liked this a lot but i think it needs just the tiniest bit more time spent after the climax because as it is i think it suffers slightly from the removal of humphreys' pov. still fucks though
August 25, 2024
A school master haunted by some inexplicable ill-deed from his past. A spectre invoked by an unjust convinction being uncovered during routine gardening. A cursed will left hidden in the fly-leaf of a book. An easily offended writer who responds to criticism with arcane knowledge and modern tools of application.
M. R. James second collection of stories, written some seven years after his first, treads much the same ground but with a notible playfulness that the first collection didn't always contain. There is the fine folk horror elements, the hidden earlier rites and rituals that are uncovered by those attempting to modernise the world around them. There are the cursed artifacts and the weird, unexplained forces that they retain.
The best stories, like the earlier ash-tree, work by attaching their hauntings to earlier unjustices that have been ascribed on the landscape. The Rose Garden in this collection is an awesome example of this. But I prefer this collection due to the fact that James seems more comfortable at this point just dropping hints that a reader has to draw together to figure out the deeper significance for themselves. They are more eerie or unsettling than scary, but they also hold clever patterns of signification that reward a careful reader.
M. R. James second collection of stories, written some seven years after his first, treads much the same ground but with a notible playfulness that the first collection didn't always contain. There is the fine folk horror elements, the hidden earlier rites and rituals that are uncovered by those attempting to modernise the world around them. There are the cursed artifacts and the weird, unexplained forces that they retain.
The best stories, like the earlier ash-tree, work by attaching their hauntings to earlier unjustices that have been ascribed on the landscape. The Rose Garden in this collection is an awesome example of this. But I prefer this collection due to the fact that James seems more comfortable at this point just dropping hints that a reader has to draw together to figure out the deeper significance for themselves. They are more eerie or unsettling than scary, but they also hold clever patterns of signification that reward a careful reader.
January 21, 2024
I'd been poking at this collection of late-Victorian spooky tales for a while, and finally finished it towards the end of May. Very enjoyable. M.R. was a scholar on all things medieval, and served as provost at King's College, Eton College, and was Vice-Chancellor at Cambridge. And his stories read as such. His protagonists are often scholars visiting out of the way corners of the globe in search of lost manuscripts/knowledge. And of course their search causes them to rub up against strange and accursed things that go bump in the night. These aren't traditional ghost stories, they're more akin to the strange, unseen beings found in a Lovecraft story. And not all of the stories are what you might consider 'whole', some end rather abruptly with truncated, seemingly misplaced resolutions. But even these are creepy. My favorite, by far, was The Ash-Tree. That's some creepy nightmare fuel. This was actually a collection of two of his books, with a total of fifteen (I think) stories in all. Recommended if you enjoy the Twilight Zone or DnD adventures that swerve off into the 'weird forgotten tome' type of stories. I found it for super-cheap (I think 99 cents?) on my Kindle.
July 6, 2020
Another short collection of ghost stories by James, and a follow-up to the first volume Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book, but it was still an enjoyable read. I'm not sure if the lesser liking comes from lesser stories, though - my suspicion is that, well-written as they are, James' stories tend to blur together. They're all very similar, and while I noticed that similarity in the first volume, it was short enough - being only eight stories - that the weight of them together did not pall. Having read the seven stories here, so hard on the heels of that first book, they've begun to stodge together. I think, too, that some of the stories in this volume especially are much longer than they need to be. That said, I did still like it, even if I didn't get the reliable shudder that "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" gives me from any of the stories here. I think "The Tractate Middoth" is my favourite of this batch, followed by "The Rose Garden."
January 21, 2022
I picked up this book during my search for three horror stories which I had read long long back (when I was around 13/14 years old) but have never forgotten. Casting the runes, how love came to professor Guildea and one other story with a cat whose name I have unfortunately forgotten. I was delighted when I saw this volume with Casting the Runes and other stories in it imagining more thrills in store. I had forgotten, however, that having experienced the process of growing up, it would mostly be impossible for me to get the same experience. I still loved Casting the Runes (though not as fear-stricken as I was on my reading it for the first time. And liked some other stories from the collection (A school story, The stalls of Barchester Cathedral and Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance). However, I can not help thinking that many stories seemed a bit anti-climactic. The build up of anticipation in the stories were great but the endings were sudden and not remarkable.
December 3, 2017
I liked the stories in the original Ghost Stories of an Antiquary better than these ones, although these were still quite creepy. This second set of stories had more of a moral (the murderer gets his--always "his" and never "her"--comeuppance, etc.) and many of them had more of a background explanation than the earlier stories did, which I thought would add to the story but didn't. M.R. James also assumes his readers are passably familiar with Latin, which regretfully I am not, so Google Translate had to help me out a few times in reading inscriptions or runes.
They're still worth the read, though. I'd suggest reading the original book first and then moving on to this second book if you're still interested.
They're still worth the read, though. I'd suggest reading the original book first and then moving on to this second book if you're still interested.
March 30, 2024
I reviewed his initial collection and as I stated there, I enjoyed it immensely, so much so that I immediately progressed to this collection. These is something so compelling about the way James’s narrators are almost cozy, taking you into a sort of confidence and then unraveling a seemingly natural state of affairs quickly into a creeping, unnatural state of affairs. The horrors are many because the tales are woven as almost hearsay and testimonial in equal measure. These stories are old and may not move the measure much for those seeking gore, but oddly enough, as jaded as I am as a horror fan, sometimes after reading these, one or two scenes would creep into my mind as the sun began to set in the evening. M.R. James does provide a rather pleasing set of terrors for those seeking classics.
June 20, 2019
Better than Part 1
This collection is much better than its predecessor, if only from the inclusion of "The Tractate Middoth," one of the stories from an old hardcover collection of ghost stories I had as a kid.
This collection suffers from the same excessive use of Latin as Part 1. None of the stories seem as truncated, though. They vary somewhat in style, showing that the author is much more versatile than it seemed in Part 1. Overall, the writing in this volume is more mature, more skilled.
Both volumes are definitely worth a read. Some stories are creepier than others, but they are all pretty good. I withheld one star from this volume for the difficulty added by all the Latin.
-- Matt
This collection is much better than its predecessor, if only from the inclusion of "The Tractate Middoth," one of the stories from an old hardcover collection of ghost stories I had as a kid.
This collection suffers from the same excessive use of Latin as Part 1. None of the stories seem as truncated, though. They vary somewhat in style, showing that the author is much more versatile than it seemed in Part 1. Overall, the writing in this volume is more mature, more skilled.
Both volumes are definitely worth a read. Some stories are creepier than others, but they are all pretty good. I withheld one star from this volume for the difficulty added by all the Latin.
-- Matt
September 10, 2018
One of my all time favourite movies is ‘Night of the Demon’. Released in 1957 and starring Dana Andrews it’s a classic 1950’s horror movie. It is based on the short story ‘Casting the Runes’ by M.R. James. That story is included in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary part 2, More Ghost Stories. And that’s why I read this book.
It’s a nice little collection of ghost stories, very much of a period. Creepy and atmospheric. Casting the Runes is my favourite story here though. He wrote them apparently to be read on Christmas Eve. They aren’t connected to Christmas in any way but I can see them being read by a roaring fire on a winters night. I think I will revisit these under such conditions.
It’s a nice little collection of ghost stories, very much of a period. Creepy and atmospheric. Casting the Runes is my favourite story here though. He wrote them apparently to be read on Christmas Eve. They aren’t connected to Christmas in any way but I can see them being read by a roaring fire on a winters night. I think I will revisit these under such conditions.
October 12, 2018
October is definitely my favorite time of year to read ghost stories. Experiencing how tales were told over a century ago is illuminating.
Unfortunately, I felt most of the stories from this second volume paled in comparison to the first, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. Nevertheless, they still read well around Halloween time. My favorite from this edition is The Tractate Middoth.
What I appreciate most about James is his non explicit writing style regarding gore. He enables his readers to think; primarily using their own imagination to paint a scene. This cerebral approach is welcoming.
Unfortunately, I felt most of the stories from this second volume paled in comparison to the first, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. Nevertheless, they still read well around Halloween time. My favorite from this edition is The Tractate Middoth.
What I appreciate most about James is his non explicit writing style regarding gore. He enables his readers to think; primarily using their own imagination to paint a scene. This cerebral approach is welcoming.
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