the best, goulish and ghastly tales by the master, JS These stories were so much fun! It takes a lot to scare me and I found myself having a hard time falling asleep after I closed this one at night.
I can definitely see why Lovecraft idolized this guy, What a delightful treat to return to the ghostly tales of M, R. James, even though Ive read many of them before though not all they still manage to make my spine grow colder, At his best, he truly is unmatched in creating atmosphere and delivering some of the most sleepdepriving climaxes in the history of the genre, No matter how many times Ive read The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, the reveal still makes my hair stand on end, It was an interesting experience to read them chronologically as well, to see how James evolved as a writer and expanded upon certain themes and variations within his stories.
Some of my absolute favorites tales are The Ash Tree, Oh, Whistle and Ill Come to You, My Lad, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Mezzotint, Canon Alberics Scrapbook, and Number.
I find these particular tales almost infinitely rereadable, their ghoulish splendor never ceases to amaze me, M. R. James' work still stands as truly influential and original and it should be required reading for anyone with an interest in ghostly and strange fiction, A collection of the author's all completed stories, this is a wellarranged one, The introduction for my book has spoilers, James would have been surprised that he is best known for his stories here, for he did write other things for his main career good ones I hear, and considered the stories to be more of an hobby to amuse his friends on certain evenings.
At the end of this book is a collection of his comments on ghost stories incl, what he thinks are crucial elements, what stories he didn't complete and why, and his opinions on other ghost story writers,
He had had some interest in ghost stories since his childhood, and some of the places and events in his life had their influences, though he didn't always use their real names in stories and also borrowed some for other authors, like Trollope's Barchester.
He had of course his flaws he was a deeply Victorian man who was uneasy, to put it mildly, with modern age especially after WWI, was wary of too much knowledge shows in stories, and also of women partly due to very repressed homosexuality one of the stories here, "An Evening's Entertainment", is perhaps the gayest he unintentionally goes.
Hair, insects, and spiders are some elements that often pop up in the stories, Plus some nostalgia: the stories often happen slightly in the past, There is possible to see a certain formula in them, as the author admits in the ghoststories comments at the end of the book, And as the reader goes on reading the stories, one can see how the stories change and get shorter the author has less time and inspiration to write as time passes.
Some themes:
getting of some object with bad consequences one because attempt to get it was made in the nighttime, not daytime
sinisterintentioned man or place
past crimes or mistakes
disappearances
illmeaning ghosts and creatures
And not all people who suffer consequences are adults some are boys, like a rich boy in "The Residence At Whitminster", or a boy scout in "Wailing Well".
Some happen outside Britain Sweden, Denmark, But in all stories I liked the atmosphere and how the places were described, and that the horror is often not seen in clear view and description, and the stories don't feel particularly bloody most of the time.
It's quite nice to have the stories all in the same place, and to have a good view on this side of the author's career I'm sure I'm not going to read his main work writings, even though they're no doubt interesting to some.
These stories are very much worth reading, even if their scariness level depends a little on the reader, : Im not usually a fan of short story collections, so I was a little hesitant going into this book, But I actually really enjoyed it!
Collected Ghost Stories is a classic collection of ghost stories by M, R. James. Argued to be the inspiration behind ghost/horror stories as we know them,
As a slight warning, if you go into this book expecting to be scared then you are likely to be disappointed, What did jump out at me was the beauty of M, R. James writing. This book is a classic, and like all classics Ive read its not necessarily easy to read, But after the first page or so I was really able to get into each story and it became much easier to read,
I dont actually have a favourite from this collection, all of the stories were strong in their own way, There was one that gave me slight goosebumps and did creep me out though! I also loved being able to pick this book up when I only had a short period of reading time.
This has taught me not to avoid short story collections anymore, because I may find a gem like this one!
I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of classics and horror! I had hoped that I would be scared.
I really like to scare myself and laugh about it, When I saw the Orphanage, I couldn't open the bathroom door because I was frozen wondering what was on the other side, After watching Alien at home in the dark, my husband kidded me that they had just landed in our backyard as a roll of thunder broke out, I couldn't move!! And I loved it!
But these are Victorian stories and I guess I've never really been scared by a story, They are written in a Victorian fashion, so I love the writing, just not the ghosts, Excuse the extensive quote, but here is the type of writing I am gushing over,
Nothing is more common form in oldfashioned books than the description of the winter fireside, where the aged grandam narrates to the circle of children that hangs on her lips story after story of ghosts and fairies, and inspires her audience with pleasing terror.
But we are never allowed to know what the stories were, We hear, indeed, of sheeted spectres with saucer eyes and still more intriguing of 'Rawhead and Bloody Bones' an expression which the Oxford Dictionary traces back to, but the context of these striking images eludes me.
And so on, The stories are worth reading for the language if for nothing else, A few have their finer points because
the ghost is something unexpected, but for the most part, you know the ending before you reach it, One of my favorites is "The Mezzotint" because it IS a ghost story, but it's NOT a ghost story, I liked the idea associated with this one,
So, if you like Dickens and Scott and the Victorian writers, pick this up, It's a newly released edition of the Collected Stories, M. R. James can be difficult for the modern reader, but his stories are worth the effort for the atmosphere alone, "Whistle and I'll Come to you My Lad" is probably my favorite, and I'm far from alone, This creepy story involves old ruins, a found whistle with a strange inscription, and an unused bed that is suddenly no longer empty, "An Episode of Cathedral History" Is what a vampire story shoudl be, This one does not glitter, Stephen King once wrote that James' ghosts were harmless I wonder if he'd forgotten "A Warning to the Curious", which concerns a guardian of sorts who is not to be trifled with.
There are many more stories involving hairandbones demons, a ghost whose appearance is signaled by the appearance of sawflies, a room that appears and disappears, a mezzotint that becomes an early moving picture, and many others.
James remains my favorite horror author, His wordy, dense stories tell horrifying original tales that stick with you, sometimes invading your dreams,
Just a note: as this is not the edition I own, I can't guarantee that it features the same stories, My volume is the complete edition of James' ghost stories, .