GHOSTS & SCHOLARS

Archive

The Ghosts & Scholars Book Page; G&S Background and History; When the Door is Shut and other ghost stories by 'B'; Angles of Coincidence: Rennes-le-Chateau and the Magdalen Mystery; The Moon-Gazer and One Other; The Fenstanton Witch and Others; The Best of Ghosts & Scholars; G&S 1; G&S 3; G&S 4; G&S 5; G&S 6; G&S 7; G&S 8; G&S 9; G&S 10; G&S 11; G&S 12; G&S 13; G&S 14; G&S 15; G&S 16; G&S 17; G&S 18; G&S 19; G&S 20; G&S 21; G&S 22; G&S 24; G&S 25; G&S 26; G&S 27; G&S 28; G&S 29; G&S 30; G&S 31; G&S 32; G&S 33; G&S Reviews Archive; Other Material by M.R. James; Other Stuff.

For selections from The Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter (March 2002 onwards), follow the links on the Jamesian News page.

 

The Ghosts & Scholars Book Page

Click here to enter (contains selected stories, etc.)

 

G&S Background and History

"Introduction" by Rosemary Pardoe
(From The Best of Ghosts & Scholars, 1986.)

"Twenty Years of Ghosts & Scholars" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(From Formidable Visitants, 1999.)

 

When the Door is Shut and other ghost stories by 'B' (1986)
(Antiquarian tales from the
Magdalene College Magazine, 1911-14.)

"Quia Nominor" (story) by 'B'

"The Strange Case of Mr Naylor" (story) by 'B'

"When the Door is Shut" (story) by 'B'

"The Strange Fate of Mr Peach" (story) by 'B'

"The Hole in the Wall" (story) by 'B'

 

Angles of Coincidence: Rennes-le-Chateau and the Magdalen Mystery (1987)
(Ron Weighell follows up his G&S 7 article on the Aix-en-Provence Annunciation with a more detailed analysis and a splendidly eccentric new theory.)

Complete Text

 

The Moon-Gazer and One Other (1988)
(Antiquarian tales from the Cambridge Review, 1911 & 1920.)

"The Journal of Edward Hargood" (story) by 'D.N.J.'

"The Moon-Gazer" (story) by 'D.N.J.'

 

The Fenstanton Witch and Others: M.R. James in Ghosts & Scholars (1999)

Story Drafts by M.R. James
(Two incomplete, previously unpublished story drafts: "The Game of Bear" & "Merfield House".)
(August 8, 2007) (The versions given here are not the ones which appeared in The Fenstanton Witch, but fully revised and annotated definitive texts, as published in the Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter 12 of September 2007.)

 

The Best of Ghosts & Scholars (1986)

"The Watchman" (story) by Roger Johnson
(A George Cobbett story. What is the Guardian of Woolton Minster?)

 

G&S 1 (1979)

"Shadows of the Master" (article) by Mike Ashley
(Seminal examination of other writers in the M.R. James Tradition.)

 

G&S 3 (1981)

"Letters to a Child" (article) by M.R. James
(MRJ's charming letters to Sibyl Cropper, first published in the Cornhill Magazine, 1939.)

 

G&S 4 (1982)

"The Unfinished Ghost Stories of M.R. James" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(Descriptions of the various unfinished and at-that-time unpublished story drafts.)

 

G&S 5 (1983)

"The Gravedigger and Death" (story) by Mary Ann Allen
(A Jane Bradshawe story. What secret does the eponymous wall-painting conceal?)

"The Manuscripts of M.R. James" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(List and notes on the whereabouts of the manuscripts of MRJ's ghost stories. With updates.)

 

G&S 6 (1984)

Dark Devotions: M.R. James and the Magical Tradition (article) by Ron Weighell
(Lengthy examination of the use of r
itual magic, divination, witchcraft, pagan cults and the evocations of demons in MRJ's stories.)

"The Malice of Inanimate Objects" (story) by M.R. James
(First reprint since its original appearance in an Eton ephemeral in 1933. When everything seems to conspire against you, there may be a good reason!)

 

G&S 7 (1985)

"A Night in King's College Chapel" (story) by M.R. James
(Complete, previously unpublished draft. Humorous tale in which the windows of King's College Chapel, Cambridge, come to life.)

"M.R. James on J.S. Le Fanu" (article) by M.R. James
(MRJ's text for a 1923 lecture on J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Previously unpublished.)

"Two Masters: M.R. James and the Times Correspondence" (article) by Ron Weighell
(Examination of the details of the Aix-en-Provence Annunciation, which MRJ defended against accusations of Satanism.)

 

G&S 8 (1986)

"The Hare" (story) by 'B'
(A leporine ghost and a tragic episode of Cambridge history, in a story first published in 1914.)

"An M.R. James Letter" introduced and annotated by Jack Adrian
(A 1928 letter in which MRJ offers some advice on what's best in supernatural fiction.)

 

G&S 9 (1987)

"R.H. Malden (1879-1951)" (article) by Roger Johnson
(On Nine Ghosts and its author, an associate of MRJ's)

 

G&S 10 (1988)

"Story Notes: 'Lost Hearts'"

 

G&S 11 (1989)

"A Meeting with Tom Rolt" (article) by David Rowlands
(David Rowlands' anecdote about his unexpected meeting with L.T.C. Rolt.)

"Story Notes: 'The Ash-tree'"

 

G&S 12 (1990)

"The Fenstanton Witch" (story) by M.R. James
(Complete, previously unpublished story draft. The "two students of King's" plot from MRJ's "Stories I Have Tried to Write").
(The version given here is not the one which appeared in G&S 12, nor the partial revision from The Fenstanton Witch and Others [which was reprinted in Ash-Tree Press's A Pleasing Terror], but a fully revised, definitive text, taking in all the "Errors and Omissions" listed in the Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter 4 of August 2003.)

"Story Notes: 'Martin's Close'"

 

G&S 13 (1991)

"Arthur Gray" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(On "Ingulphus", Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, and author of Tedious Brief Tales of Granta and Gramarye.)

"Story Notes: 'The Residence at Whitminster'"

 

G&S 14 (1992)

"Christopher Woodforde" (article) by Richard Dalby
(On the author of A Pad in the Straw, who was also an associate of MRJ's.)

"Story Notes: 'The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance'"

 

G&S 15 (1993)

"In Memoriam: Fritz Leiber" (article) by John Howard (An off-site link to John's own web page)

"M.R. James's Women" (article) by David G. Rowlands
(A look at the portrayal of women in MRJ's stories.)

"Story Notes: 'Two Doctors'"

"A Visit to Seaburgh" (article) by Darroll Pardoe
(A trip through Aldeburgh armed with "A Warning to the Curious".)

 

G&S 16 (1993)

"John Humphreys" (story) by M.R. James
(Incomplete, previously unpublished story draft. An earlier, very different, version of some of the events in "Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance".)
(The version given here is not the one which appeared in G&S 16, but a fully revised and annotated definitive text, as published in the Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter 11 of March 2007.)

"An Old Manuscript" (story)
(Anonymous antiquarian tale from the Cambridge Review, 1911. A Beale treasure but not the Beale treasure: one for which it would be foolish to search in Cambridgeshire churchyards!)

"Story Notes: 'The Haunted Dolls' House'"

 

G&S 17 (1994)

"Story Notes: 'A View from a Hill'"

 

G&S 18 (1994)

"Story Notes: 'An Evening's Entertainment'"

 

G&S 19 (1995)

"Story Notes: 'After Dark in the Playing Fields'"

"Story Notes: 'There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard'"

 

G&S 20 (1995)

"Our Lady of Darkness: A Jamesian Classic" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(Analysis of the Jamesian aspects of Fritz Leiber's great novel.)

"Our Lady of Darkness: 'A Universe Shot Through With Invisible Forces'" (article) by John Howard (An off-site link to John's own web page)
(The Lovecraftian aspects of Fritz Leiber's novel.)

"Story Notes: 'Wailing Well'"

 

G&S 21 (1996)

"Fritz Leiber's Our Lady of Darkness: Annotations" by Rosemary Pardoe, John Howard, etc. (An off-site link to John's own web page)
(Full annotations published as an integral twelve-page supplement to this issue. Slightly revised and updated by John Howard.)

"An Interview with John Gordon" (interview) conducted by Rosemary Pardoe
(Interview with the author of The House on the Brink, etc.)

"M.R. James's New England Reading" (article) by John Howard (An off-site link to John's own web page)
(On one of MRJ's favourite American writers, Sarah Orne Jewett.)

 

G&S 22 (1996)

"Fritz Leiber's 'The Button Molder': A Jamesian Story?" (article and annotations) by Rosemary Pardoe
(Consideration of "The Button Molder" as a Jamesian tale, with full story notes.)

"Lock Me Out!" (story) by Jane Jakeman (An off-site link to Jane's own web page)
(What haunts an Oxford College medical library?)

"Marcilly-le-Hayer" (story) by M.R. James
(Complete, brief, previously unpublished story draft. The "Marcilly-le-Hayer" plot from MRJ's "Stories I Have Tried to Write".)
(The version given here is not the one which appeared in G&S 22, but a fully revised and annotated definitive text, as published in the Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter 10 of September 2006.)

"Story Notes: 'Stories I Have Tried to Write'"

 

G&S 24 (1997)

"James Wilson's Secret" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe and Jane Nicholls
(Examination of the probable heresy followed by James Wilson, builder of Mr Humphreys' maze.)

 

G&S 25 (1997)

"Skirmish" (story) by David Longhorn
(Even a team-building paint-ball battle can be a setting for potent Jamesian manifestations.)

 

G&S 26 (1998)

"Jackdaw Jack" (story) by Christopher Harman
(A Lancashire folkloric bogeyman proves to be terrifyingly more than just that.)

"The Black Pilgrimage" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe and Jane Nicholls
(Analysis of the facts and fiction behind Count Magnus's Black Pilgrimage.)

 

G&S 27 (1998)

"The Lady of the Flowers" (story) by Steve Duffy
(The obsession of a Victorian mad girl for the Mabinogion's Blodeuwedd leads to appalling horror.)

"Ghosts in Medieval Yorkshire" (article) by Jacqueline Simpson
(The folklore of the "Twelve Medieval Ghost-stories", which were rediscovered by MRJ.)

 

G&S 28 (1999)

"The Doorway of St Stephen's" (story) by C.E. Ward
(When a Worcestershire tomb is moved, vengeful spectres from the English Civil War put in an unwelcome appearance.)

"M.R. James and The Testament of Solomon: Introduction" by Rosemary Pardoe

"Review of The Testament of Solomon" by M.R. James
(From the Journal of Theological Studies, 1923, reprinted here on the web site for the first time anywhere.)

"Solomon and the Demons" by M.R. James
(Retelling of the demon-soaked story of The Testament of Solomon. Reprinted from MRJ's Old Testament Legends, 1913.)

"The Testament of Solomon" (article) by M.R. James
(Reprinted from the Guardian Church Newspaper, 1899.)

 

G&S 29 (1999)

"Mathrafal" (story) by James Doig
(What connection does a scarecrow figure haunting an old castle have with a less-than-saintly image of a Welsh saint?)

"'I've seen it': 'A School Story' and the House in Berkeley Square" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(A possible fictional source of inspiration for MRJ's haunted house tale at the start of "A School Story".)

"'They've got him! In the trees!': M.R. James and Sylvan Dread" (article) by Steve Duffy
(Sylvan dread and panic fear in the stories of MRJ and others. With, as an addendum, a letter by Steve Duffy and Rosemary Pardoe published in Fortean Times #156 [March 2002] on "M.R. James and Panic".)

 

G&S 30 (2000)

"Picnic at Bluebell Wood" (story) by Katherine Haynes
(It's never a good thing to want too badly to be part of the group!)

 

G&S 31 (2000)

"Bones" (story) by Mark Nicholls
(A hidden Gunpowder Plot document and that which doesn't want it to be found!)

 

G&S 32 (2001)

"The Manuscript of 'A Warning to the Curious'" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe (with an addendum by Christopher and Barbara Roden)
(A comparison of the manuscript and the published text of this story reveals some interesting differences.)

"What Goes Down" (story) by Don Tumasonis
(A strange Danish tower holds a dreadful secret.)

 

G&S 33 (2001)

"Who was Count Magnus?: Notes Towards an Identification" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe
(Some clues in "Count Magnus" pointing to what may be the real identity of the title character; with extra illustrations and links not included in the printed version.)

 

G&S Reviews Archive

Page One (selected reviews from issue 28 onwards)

Page Two (selected reviews from previous issues)

Events Reviews (exclusive to the web site)

 

Other Material by M.R. James

"The Legend" by M.R. James (Chapter VI of the introductory material from The Life and Miracles of St William of Norwich by Thomas of Monmouth, ed. M.R. James and Augustus Jessopp, 1896)
(First-ever reprint of MRJ's very readable analysis of the legend, background and history of this twelfth-century case: the first medieval example of the Jewish 'blood libel'.)

"On a Satanist Picture" (article/response) by "A Correspondent" and M.R. James (from The Times, 1932, reprinted in Peter Haining's M.R. James: Book of the Supernatural, 1979)
(Argument over a medieval 'Satanist' painting of the Annunciation at Aix-en-Provence.)

 

Other Stuff

"'Do they say where it is?': Geographical Oddities in 'A Warning to the Curious'" by Steve Duffy (from the Introduction to Ash-Tree Press's A Pleasing Terror: The Complete Supernatural Writings of M.R. James, 2001)
(Geographical anomalies in the text and manuscript of this story.)

"The Demon in the Cathedral: A Jamesian Hoax" (article) by Rosemary Pardoe (from the Ghost Story Society's All Hallows 1, 1989)
(A look at a controversy concerning "An Episode of Cathedral History" in Fate magazine in the 1970s.)

 

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Last altered August 8, 2007.

Gargoyle by Clipart Castle; Bar by Syruss