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Nine ghosts,
Richard Henry Malden (1879-1951), Vicar of Headingley, Leeds, and later, and until the end of his life, Dean of Wells Cathedral, knew M. R. James for more than thirty years, and greatly admired his friend's ghost stories. The stories in NINE GHOSTS, Malden's only collection of supernatural fiction, were intended as a tribute to James's memory. In the years that have elapsed since the book's first publication, however, Malden has emerged as more than merely an imitator of James's style, and is now regarded as one of the finest ghost story writers of the last century.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1943
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About the author
R.H. Malden
20 books2 followersRichard Henry Malden, BD, Dean of Wells, was a prominent Anglican churchman, editor, classical and Biblical scholar, and a writer of ghost stories.
(source: Wikipedia)
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 15, 2021
M. R. James had very firm views about what counted as good quality, supernatural fiction, something he carefully outlined in his 1929 “Some Remarks on Ghost Stories”. Published in the 1940s, some years after James’s death, R. H. Malden knew James personally, his collection’s an explicit tribute to James and an attempt to build on James’s idea of the perfect ghost story – although Malden produced his pieces over a span of thirty years. I don’t think any of Malden’s attempts quite reach the heights of James’s best work but they definitely conform to his notion of “legitimate horridness” and emphasis on reticence rather than explicit violence or gore – except for one slightly grislier entry. Malden’s narrators are all recognisably Jamesian, linked to the church or academia, solitary, scholarly men with a fascination for the antiquated or the curious. Although, unlike James, their experiences are all presented in the first person: either by the one supposedly caught up in strange occurrences or in the form of found documents detailing bizarre past events, a conscious attempt to blur the boundaries between fact and fiction.
All of Malden’s narratives have a wonderfully matter-of-fact quality, a sort of pseudo-scientific feel, that both highlights and undercuts their uncanny aspects. The settings are mostly rural England – with the exception of “The Dining-Room Fireplace” based in an Irish country house and a little dodgy when it comes to the representation of its Irish characters. These out of the way places allow for the suggestion that parts of the land still bear the traces of a malign history, one that persists untouched, not directly confronted, until suddenly encountered or stirred up by hapless outsiders. All of which’s trademark James, as is the generous scattering of Jamesian paraphernalia: ancient manuscripts, buried confessions, dusty bookshops and churches harbouring odd tomes. None of Malden’s offerings are as richly imagined or meticulously detailed as James’s, they lack his psychological complexity and they’re limited in range. There’s nothing here as diabolical as “Lost Hearts” or as deeply unsettling as “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You My Lad” But Malden’s strongest pieces are pleasingly ominous, uneasy, and highly readable: “The Sundial” with its cavorting Satanic figures or the muted, folk horror of “The Priest’s Brass” and “Between Sunset and Moonrise”. Nine Ghosts is definitely worth a look, just don’t expect to be blown away.
Rating: 3/3.5
All of Malden’s narratives have a wonderfully matter-of-fact quality, a sort of pseudo-scientific feel, that both highlights and undercuts their uncanny aspects. The settings are mostly rural England – with the exception of “The Dining-Room Fireplace” based in an Irish country house and a little dodgy when it comes to the representation of its Irish characters. These out of the way places allow for the suggestion that parts of the land still bear the traces of a malign history, one that persists untouched, not directly confronted, until suddenly encountered or stirred up by hapless outsiders. All of which’s trademark James, as is the generous scattering of Jamesian paraphernalia: ancient manuscripts, buried confessions, dusty bookshops and churches harbouring odd tomes. None of Malden’s offerings are as richly imagined or meticulously detailed as James’s, they lack his psychological complexity and they’re limited in range. There’s nothing here as diabolical as “Lost Hearts” or as deeply unsettling as “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You My Lad” But Malden’s strongest pieces are pleasingly ominous, uneasy, and highly readable: “The Sundial” with its cavorting Satanic figures or the muted, folk horror of “The Priest’s Brass” and “Between Sunset and Moonrise”. Nine Ghosts is definitely worth a look, just don’t expect to be blown away.
Rating: 3/3.5
October 31, 2025
El relato Las hojas en blanco se trata con más detalle, también, en el programa ¡Silba y Acudiremos, nuestros 20 fantasmas favoritos: https://go.ivoox.com/rf/161655915
Cualquier aficionado al género terrorífico está familiarizado con los pastiches. Los cambios de paradigma en literatura suelen guardar un cierto parecido con la historia natural, en concreto con la dinámica evolutiva. Y es que, cuando una especie pionera, ya sea reconocida en su época por crítica y público o tenga una influencia discreta pero conspicua dentro de un circuito cerrado, abre las puertas a un escenario virgen son muchos los dispuestos a explorar sus senderos, cartografiar su geografía hasta dar con sus límites. Aquí surge una competición encarnizada en la que se decidirá quiénes han sido capaces de extraer de estos nuevos territorios los recursos indispensables para erigir sus voces personales e intransferibles, y quiénes harán de la imitación un burdo sucedáneo de arte. Es durante esta lucha autoral en la que ya puede empezar a juzgarse la valía y originalidad de un escritor en tanto que se desvincula del movimiento original. Paso, por ejemplo, con el Circulo de Lovecraft, del que algunos consiguieron salir airosos establecidos como verdaderos escritores, como Robert Bloch, y otros quedaron como esos nombres habituales que salpican cualquier antología de terror lovecraftiano, sin más valor que el de la curiosidad.
Con M. R. James pasa otro tanto. El erudito cantabrigense revolucionó el género de la ghost story victoriana gracias a trasladar la acción a su entonces presente, a escenarios pedestres muy alejados de esos decadentes caserones y fortalezas góticos, y presentar a la manifestación espectral como un ente físico y tangible, más bestial que ectoplásmico, genuinamente amenazante y hostil. Era inevitable, pues, que le salieran imitadores, aunque dicho fenómeno de radiación adaptativa que he enunciado antes no se diera con la misma intensidad, o no haya trascendido. R. H. Malden es uno de estos imitadores, que por no tratarse de un escritor profesional nunca se desligó del estilo de James. El propio Malden se justifica -cómo si hiciera falta-, comentando que estos nueve relatos, la totalidad de su obra de ficción, son un homenaje al que consideró en vida su mentor, y que no constituyen un intento de erigirse como una obra seria. Al igual que James, cuyos relatos de fantasmas escribió para ocasiones especiales y solo para solaz de amigos y familiares, Malden no se tenía en mucha importancia.
Los nueve relatos que nos ofrece Malden son, como he dicho antes, pastiches jamesianos en el sentido más estricto de la palabra, a saber, no se alejan de las doctrinas establecidas, o no lo hace lo suficiente. Si hay rasgos distintivos en estos cuentos, pero tan superficiales que no impiden a uno volver una y otra vez a James. Por ejemplo, el fantasma de Malden no suele ser hostil, no interactúa con los personajes vivos salvo desde lo visual o auditivo, o lo que es lo mismo, las apariciones aquí buscan ser terroríficas pero no peligrosas. En eso Malden da un paso atrás respecto a su maestro. Que la manifestación espectral esté ligada a un objeto, edificio o paraje que permite al narrador numerosos arranques de erudición si es muy de James, al igual de que el fantasma siempre parezca tener un asunto pendiente que le ancle a dicho lugar o artefacto. Otra particularidad estriba en sus finales. Dado la naturaleza agresiva del fantasma jamesiano, el final del relato, por lo general, suele acabar en un clímax sorprendente y aterrador. Malden, por el contrario, al usar un fantasma más victoriano, no remata contundentemente las historias, optando en su lugar por un final más sugerente. Sin embargo, y como he dicho antes, ninguna de estas peculiaridades apenas pueden considerarse rasgos estilísticos, y estos nueve relatos no son sino lo que ya he dicho: refritos descafeinados de un maestro de la ficción terrorífica como fue M. R. James.
Los relatos incluidos en esta colección son los siguientes:
La comitiva del coleccionista (**): el protagonista viaja a una apartada localidad de la campiña inglesa para estudiar ciertos documentos en posesión de un hacendado local. Durante la noche, será víctima de un extraño sueño.
La chimenea del comedor (***): en un castillo irlandés, el cuadro que cuelga sobre la chimenea del salón principal guarda un misterioso aunque terrible secreto relacionado con la persona retratada.
El rompeolas de Stivinghoe (***): el protagonista de este relato va a investigar una capilla abandonada en la que se dice residió un monje con cierto afecto por las artes oscuras.
El reloj solar (***): el reciente heredero de una casa solariega decide retirar un feo tocón de su propiedad para instalar en su lugar un reloj solar. Sin embargo, al poco de iniciarse las obras, una siniestra presencia comienza a atormentarle. Un relato muy similar a La rosaleda de James, tanto que casi habría que referirse a este homenaje como otra cosa.
Entre el atardecer y la salida de la Luna (***): un párroco visita a una de sus feligresas, una anciana solitaria y un tanto extravagante. En el camino de regreso a casa, ya de noche, sentirá cómo algo parece estar acechándolo.
Las hojas en blanco (****): la lectura y copia de unos documentos almacenados en los archivos parroquiales de un pueblito de Inglaterra provoca que toda la localidad se vea asediada por terroríficas criaturas.
El decimotercer árbol (**): el protagonista acude a la mansión de un amigo de la infancia que acaba de heredar un enorme patrimonio por parte de una rama secundaria de su familia, sobre la que pesa una terrible maldición.
El timonel del barco de salvamento (***): en una localidad costera se erige un monumento al capitán de un barco de salvamento que fue engullido por el mar durante su último rescate. Pese a de una trayectoria intachable en que logró salvar la vida a numerosos náufragos, el difunto capitán no cosechó las simpatías de sus conciudadanos.
El latón del sacerdote (**): el protagonista, un artesano que trabaja devolviendo el lustre a los latones monumentales de las iglesias, se topa en su último encargo con una pieza de singular y siniestro valor.
Cualquier aficionado al género terrorífico está familiarizado con los pastiches. Los cambios de paradigma en literatura suelen guardar un cierto parecido con la historia natural, en concreto con la dinámica evolutiva. Y es que, cuando una especie pionera, ya sea reconocida en su época por crítica y público o tenga una influencia discreta pero conspicua dentro de un circuito cerrado, abre las puertas a un escenario virgen son muchos los dispuestos a explorar sus senderos, cartografiar su geografía hasta dar con sus límites. Aquí surge una competición encarnizada en la que se decidirá quiénes han sido capaces de extraer de estos nuevos territorios los recursos indispensables para erigir sus voces personales e intransferibles, y quiénes harán de la imitación un burdo sucedáneo de arte. Es durante esta lucha autoral en la que ya puede empezar a juzgarse la valía y originalidad de un escritor en tanto que se desvincula del movimiento original. Paso, por ejemplo, con el Circulo de Lovecraft, del que algunos consiguieron salir airosos establecidos como verdaderos escritores, como Robert Bloch, y otros quedaron como esos nombres habituales que salpican cualquier antología de terror lovecraftiano, sin más valor que el de la curiosidad.
Con M. R. James pasa otro tanto. El erudito cantabrigense revolucionó el género de la ghost story victoriana gracias a trasladar la acción a su entonces presente, a escenarios pedestres muy alejados de esos decadentes caserones y fortalezas góticos, y presentar a la manifestación espectral como un ente físico y tangible, más bestial que ectoplásmico, genuinamente amenazante y hostil. Era inevitable, pues, que le salieran imitadores, aunque dicho fenómeno de radiación adaptativa que he enunciado antes no se diera con la misma intensidad, o no haya trascendido. R. H. Malden es uno de estos imitadores, que por no tratarse de un escritor profesional nunca se desligó del estilo de James. El propio Malden se justifica -cómo si hiciera falta-, comentando que estos nueve relatos, la totalidad de su obra de ficción, son un homenaje al que consideró en vida su mentor, y que no constituyen un intento de erigirse como una obra seria. Al igual que James, cuyos relatos de fantasmas escribió para ocasiones especiales y solo para solaz de amigos y familiares, Malden no se tenía en mucha importancia.
Los nueve relatos que nos ofrece Malden son, como he dicho antes, pastiches jamesianos en el sentido más estricto de la palabra, a saber, no se alejan de las doctrinas establecidas, o no lo hace lo suficiente. Si hay rasgos distintivos en estos cuentos, pero tan superficiales que no impiden a uno volver una y otra vez a James. Por ejemplo, el fantasma de Malden no suele ser hostil, no interactúa con los personajes vivos salvo desde lo visual o auditivo, o lo que es lo mismo, las apariciones aquí buscan ser terroríficas pero no peligrosas. En eso Malden da un paso atrás respecto a su maestro. Que la manifestación espectral esté ligada a un objeto, edificio o paraje que permite al narrador numerosos arranques de erudición si es muy de James, al igual de que el fantasma siempre parezca tener un asunto pendiente que le ancle a dicho lugar o artefacto. Otra particularidad estriba en sus finales. Dado la naturaleza agresiva del fantasma jamesiano, el final del relato, por lo general, suele acabar en un clímax sorprendente y aterrador. Malden, por el contrario, al usar un fantasma más victoriano, no remata contundentemente las historias, optando en su lugar por un final más sugerente. Sin embargo, y como he dicho antes, ninguna de estas peculiaridades apenas pueden considerarse rasgos estilísticos, y estos nueve relatos no son sino lo que ya he dicho: refritos descafeinados de un maestro de la ficción terrorífica como fue M. R. James.
Los relatos incluidos en esta colección son los siguientes:
La comitiva del coleccionista (**): el protagonista viaja a una apartada localidad de la campiña inglesa para estudiar ciertos documentos en posesión de un hacendado local. Durante la noche, será víctima de un extraño sueño.
La chimenea del comedor (***): en un castillo irlandés, el cuadro que cuelga sobre la chimenea del salón principal guarda un misterioso aunque terrible secreto relacionado con la persona retratada.
El rompeolas de Stivinghoe (***): el protagonista de este relato va a investigar una capilla abandonada en la que se dice residió un monje con cierto afecto por las artes oscuras.
El reloj solar (***): el reciente heredero de una casa solariega decide retirar un feo tocón de su propiedad para instalar en su lugar un reloj solar. Sin embargo, al poco de iniciarse las obras, una siniestra presencia comienza a atormentarle. Un relato muy similar a La rosaleda de James, tanto que casi habría que referirse a este homenaje como otra cosa.
Entre el atardecer y la salida de la Luna (***): un párroco visita a una de sus feligresas, una anciana solitaria y un tanto extravagante. En el camino de regreso a casa, ya de noche, sentirá cómo algo parece estar acechándolo.
Las hojas en blanco (****): la lectura y copia de unos documentos almacenados en los archivos parroquiales de un pueblito de Inglaterra provoca que toda la localidad se vea asediada por terroríficas criaturas.
El decimotercer árbol (**): el protagonista acude a la mansión de un amigo de la infancia que acaba de heredar un enorme patrimonio por parte de una rama secundaria de su familia, sobre la que pesa una terrible maldición.
El timonel del barco de salvamento (***): en una localidad costera se erige un monumento al capitán de un barco de salvamento que fue engullido por el mar durante su último rescate. Pese a de una trayectoria intachable en que logró salvar la vida a numerosos náufragos, el difunto capitán no cosechó las simpatías de sus conciudadanos.
El latón del sacerdote (**): el protagonista, un artesano que trabaja devolviendo el lustre a los latones monumentales de las iglesias, se topa en su último encargo con una pieza de singular y siniestro valor.
January 26, 2018
'How many readers have regretted that there were no more of M. R. James's ghost stories to come? Yet Dr James has found his successor in the Dean of Wells. No more need be said than that the connoisseur will find in these stories a draught of the genuine vintage with its own subtle flavour.' (Publisher's blurb from the inside flap of Nine Ghosts)
Richard Henry Malden's collection of nine ghost stories is a slim volume, published by Edward Arnold in 1943 under wartime economy restrictions. The very striking cover (one of my absolute favourites) was produced by Rowland Hilder, a talented landscape artist who, in addition to producing commissions for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, produced book illustrations and designs for greeting cards. Malden wrote a number of books, but Nine Ghosts was his only book of ghost stories and, as far as I can tell, following the three wartime editions the collection didn't appear in print again until Ash-Tree Press issued a limited edition in 1995.
Malden knew M. R. James for more than thirty years; like James, he was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, which is where they met. He wrote in his preface (dated Michaelmas 1942), that his own tales were 'in some sort a tribute to his [James'] memory, if not comparable with his work.'
I don't believe that Malden ever intended to imitate James, though; I don't think that was the intention of any of the early Jamesians. And I don't think it's fair to judge his work simply by comparison with James, though that's not to say that it doesn't compare well. Malden has his own individual voice; his tales are written in the tradition of M. R. James but, as the publishers say in their blurb, with their 'own subtle flavour'.
When The Spectator reviewed the book on the 3rd of June 1943, the reviewer wrote 'Dr Malden has not been altogether successful in the very difficult task of presenting evil convincingly, and is likely in consequence to start few shudders among his readers.' Well, all I can say is that the reviewer must have been reading a different book, because Malden's tales certainly are capable of producing shudders. They are subtly unsettling in a way that stays with you long after you finish reading, and they continue to do that after subsequent readings too.
Click here to read the rest of the review...
Richard Henry Malden's collection of nine ghost stories is a slim volume, published by Edward Arnold in 1943 under wartime economy restrictions. The very striking cover (one of my absolute favourites) was produced by Rowland Hilder, a talented landscape artist who, in addition to producing commissions for the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, produced book illustrations and designs for greeting cards. Malden wrote a number of books, but Nine Ghosts was his only book of ghost stories and, as far as I can tell, following the three wartime editions the collection didn't appear in print again until Ash-Tree Press issued a limited edition in 1995.
Malden knew M. R. James for more than thirty years; like James, he was educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, which is where they met. He wrote in his preface (dated Michaelmas 1942), that his own tales were 'in some sort a tribute to his [James'] memory, if not comparable with his work.'
I don't believe that Malden ever intended to imitate James, though; I don't think that was the intention of any of the early Jamesians. And I don't think it's fair to judge his work simply by comparison with James, though that's not to say that it doesn't compare well. Malden has his own individual voice; his tales are written in the tradition of M. R. James but, as the publishers say in their blurb, with their 'own subtle flavour'.
When The Spectator reviewed the book on the 3rd of June 1943, the reviewer wrote 'Dr Malden has not been altogether successful in the very difficult task of presenting evil convincingly, and is likely in consequence to start few shudders among his readers.' Well, all I can say is that the reviewer must have been reading a different book, because Malden's tales certainly are capable of producing shudders. They are subtly unsettling in a way that stays with you long after you finish reading, and they continue to do that after subsequent readings too.
Click here to read the rest of the review...
November 20, 2020
R. H. Malden was an admirer and acquaintance of M. R. James and this collection of ghost stories is very much in the Jamesian manner. Many of the settings (desolate stretches of the east coast, unfrequented country churches, old manor houses) will be familiar to fans of the master; they are also likely to recognise echoes of some of James’s most well-known stories in many of these tales. These are very much my kind of ghost stories, and I am glad to have discovered this long out of print volume courtesy of the excellent Podcast to the Curious, the best and possibly the only, podcast dedicated to James, his influences and followers. Malden’s tales don’t quite match James’s for atmosphere or sheer terror, but are well-worth seeking out as the nights draw in.
October 11, 2025
Richard Henry Malden (1879-1951), deán de la Catedral de Wells, fue un destacado clérigo anglicano, erudito clásico y bíblico, editor y escritor de relatos de fantasmas. Amigo cercano de M. R. James, compiló su única colección de ficción sobrenatural, Nine Ghosts (1943), como homenaje a este maestro del género, con historias escritas entre 1909 y 1942 que evocan atmósferas inquietantes y eruditas, y que si bien no son relatos terroríficos, se leen con gusto.
La comitiva del coleccionista (A Collector’s Company).
Un clérigo invitado a predicar en un remoto pueblo inglés pasa un fin de semana en casa de un erudito solitario, cuya fascinación por lo oculto se manifiesta durante una inquietante noche marcada por ritos antiguos y presencias inexplicables.
La chimenea del comedor (The Dining-room Fireplace)
En una mansión irlandesa, un retrato anónimo y una vieja chimenea esconden un secreto ligado a un antiguo club de caballeros. Extraños fenómenos y documentos olvidados revelan el peso de una historia maldita que resurge desde el pasado.
El rompeolas de Stivinghoe (Stivinghoe Bank)
Un investigador examina antiguos manuscritos sobre un sacerdote acusado de artes prohibidas y visita las ruinas costeras vinculadas a su leyenda. El paisaje desolado y las supersticiones locales desvelan una presencia que el tiempo no ha conseguido borrar.
El reloj solar (The Sundial)
Un funcionario civil se instala en una antigua casa de campo inglesa y, cautivado por su jardín veraniego, encarga un reloj de sol. Sin embargo, sueños oscuros revelan una historia de orgullo, castigo y la sutil persistencia de lo sobrenatural.
Entre el atardecer y la salida de la luna (Between Sunset and Moonrise)
Durante una visita a una casa de campo, el narrador vive una experiencia misteriosa en el umbral del día y la noche. En esa frontera incierta, lo cotidiano se mezcla con lo imposible sin que nadie logre discernir la verdad.
Las hojas en blanco (The Blank Leaves)
Un libro antiguo con páginas vacías empieza a mostrar escrituras que surgen de la nada. Su dueño descubre que los mensajes parecen responder a algo más que la casualidad, como si una voz olvidada reclamara ser escuchada.
El decimotercer árbol (The Thirteenth Tree)
El nuevo propietario de una mansión del siglo XVII en el campo inglés descubre un jardín laberíntico con trece árboles, donde el decimotercero encierra un mal ligado a eventos históricos violentos en la propiedad, manifestándose en visiones diurnas.
El timonel del barco de salvamento (The Coxswain of the Lifeboat)
En un pueblo marítimo, una vieja historia sobre un patrón de barco de rescate revive cuando el mar vuelve a reclamar su tributo. La costa y el viento guardan la memoria de un sacrificio que nunca se olvidó.
El latón del sacerdote (The Priest’s Brass)
Un visitante de iglesia descubre un antiguo relieve de latón con la figura de un sacerdote medieval. Al interesarse por su historia, despierta ecos del pasado que revelan cómo ciertas devociones pueden trascender los límites del tiempo.
La comitiva del coleccionista (A Collector’s Company).
Un clérigo invitado a predicar en un remoto pueblo inglés pasa un fin de semana en casa de un erudito solitario, cuya fascinación por lo oculto se manifiesta durante una inquietante noche marcada por ritos antiguos y presencias inexplicables.
La chimenea del comedor (The Dining-room Fireplace)
En una mansión irlandesa, un retrato anónimo y una vieja chimenea esconden un secreto ligado a un antiguo club de caballeros. Extraños fenómenos y documentos olvidados revelan el peso de una historia maldita que resurge desde el pasado.
El rompeolas de Stivinghoe (Stivinghoe Bank)
Un investigador examina antiguos manuscritos sobre un sacerdote acusado de artes prohibidas y visita las ruinas costeras vinculadas a su leyenda. El paisaje desolado y las supersticiones locales desvelan una presencia que el tiempo no ha conseguido borrar.
El reloj solar (The Sundial)
Un funcionario civil se instala en una antigua casa de campo inglesa y, cautivado por su jardín veraniego, encarga un reloj de sol. Sin embargo, sueños oscuros revelan una historia de orgullo, castigo y la sutil persistencia de lo sobrenatural.
Entre el atardecer y la salida de la luna (Between Sunset and Moonrise)
Durante una visita a una casa de campo, el narrador vive una experiencia misteriosa en el umbral del día y la noche. En esa frontera incierta, lo cotidiano se mezcla con lo imposible sin que nadie logre discernir la verdad.
Las hojas en blanco (The Blank Leaves)
Un libro antiguo con páginas vacías empieza a mostrar escrituras que surgen de la nada. Su dueño descubre que los mensajes parecen responder a algo más que la casualidad, como si una voz olvidada reclamara ser escuchada.
El decimotercer árbol (The Thirteenth Tree)
El nuevo propietario de una mansión del siglo XVII en el campo inglés descubre un jardín laberíntico con trece árboles, donde el decimotercero encierra un mal ligado a eventos históricos violentos en la propiedad, manifestándose en visiones diurnas.
El timonel del barco de salvamento (The Coxswain of the Lifeboat)
En un pueblo marítimo, una vieja historia sobre un patrón de barco de rescate revive cuando el mar vuelve a reclamar su tributo. La costa y el viento guardan la memoria de un sacrificio que nunca se olvidó.
El latón del sacerdote (The Priest’s Brass)
Un visitante de iglesia descubre un antiguo relieve de latón con la figura de un sacerdote medieval. Al interesarse por su historia, despierta ecos del pasado que revelan cómo ciertas devociones pueden trascender los límites del tiempo.
June 23, 2018
R. H. Malden didn't break new ground with his ghostly stories, but he delivered finely wrought atmospheric and unsettling stories in the style of M. R. James.
December 14, 2020
This little book is another treasure from the good old days - I was lucky to have come across a second printing from 1944. It feels like I'm reading a bit of supernatural history ! Lovely stories full of the rich background detail which adds so much 'authenticity' to these chilling tales. Nothing lurid here, instead a wonderful steady pace to each plot, generally building to a mild climax and leaving you with an uneasy feeling afterwards. Brrrr !
June 22, 2011
This book of Ghost Stories by R.H. Malden has been hailed as one of the best single-author collections of ghost stories of classical supernatural tradition. They do not involve psychological horror, serial killers, perverts, mental delusions, misery over loss of someone near & dear, and thus CAN NOT be called "modern" by any standards. Probably THAT is the strongest thing about this collection, apart from the stories, off course. The stories are: -
* A Collector's Company
* The Dining-room Fireplace
* Stivinghoe Bank
* The Sundial
* Between Sunset and Moonrise
* The Blank Leaves
* The Thirteenth Tree
* The Coxswain of the Lifeboat
* The Priest's Brass
These are written in the style of M.R. James, the doyen of "English" ghost stories, and involve antiquarians and their misadventures in many cases. Every story is horrific in its own way, and is guaranteed to provide substantial amount of 'creeps' across your vertebra, esp. if you are reading the book alone, at night, preferably in a rambling house, when the wind outside has become distinctly noisy with suspicious sounds! Recommended.
* A Collector's Company
* The Dining-room Fireplace
* Stivinghoe Bank
* The Sundial
* Between Sunset and Moonrise
* The Blank Leaves
* The Thirteenth Tree
* The Coxswain of the Lifeboat
* The Priest's Brass
These are written in the style of M.R. James, the doyen of "English" ghost stories, and involve antiquarians and their misadventures in many cases. Every story is horrific in its own way, and is guaranteed to provide substantial amount of 'creeps' across your vertebra, esp. if you are reading the book alone, at night, preferably in a rambling house, when the wind outside has become distinctly noisy with suspicious sounds! Recommended.
Read
October 30, 2016This may not seem like much of a recommendation, but: imagine a slightly less good MR James. The narrators are still academic, often collecting brass rubbings when the supernatural interrupts their ordered lives - but they're even fustier and more pettish, more likely to give way to outright racism*, more digressive in less interesting ways. The hauntings, so perfectly poised in James, here often have too much detail around the edges and too little at the heart. Where James will keep you up at night, these work surprisingly well as a cosy bedtime sleepener once you've turned your screens off and want to settle. And yet...there are odd images which come back to you. Particular forms of fiend, or last glimpses of the doomed. I'm not saying Malden was good per se, but he had something. He has, too, a greater feel for the sea than James; to Monty it was an edge to the world, along whose beaches things creep in from beyond. But to Malden it is also a force and a setting, and I like that.
*Something from which James' narrators seem likely to suffer, but which offhand I don't recall cropping up in the stories.
Correspondences to Jerusalem, because they seem to arise in every book I finish while reading Jerusalem (except possibly the sub-par Doctor Who anthology, and the sex blogger's memoir, for which I skipped this bit): Heaven and Hell lurk in the margins of everyday life, their traces remembered in country pubs and forgotten villages among the poor and disregarded.
*Something from which James' narrators seem likely to suffer, but which offhand I don't recall cropping up in the stories.
Correspondences to Jerusalem, because they seem to arise in every book I finish while reading Jerusalem (except possibly the sub-par Doctor Who anthology, and the sex blogger's memoir, for which I skipped this bit): Heaven and Hell lurk in the margins of everyday life, their traces remembered in country pubs and forgotten villages among the poor and disregarded.
September 4, 2020
A previously unknown ghost story is always a joy to discover..especially one (or 9) that are well written....
R.H. Malden was a was a prominent Anglican churchman, editor, classical and Biblical scholar, and a writer of ghost stories (Wikipedia, 2019).
Written in the Jamesian tradition - long scholars or clergymen - perhaps examining old books and/or manuscripts...awaken some old ghost or spirit that must then be put to rest.
I found these stories to be fairly lightweight..but nonetheless enjoyable. At 109 pages..a quick read over a couple of sleepless nights...
Jeff McIntosh
R.H. Malden was a was a prominent Anglican churchman, editor, classical and Biblical scholar, and a writer of ghost stories (Wikipedia, 2019).
Written in the Jamesian tradition - long scholars or clergymen - perhaps examining old books and/or manuscripts...awaken some old ghost or spirit that must then be put to rest.
I found these stories to be fairly lightweight..but nonetheless enjoyable. At 109 pages..a quick read over a couple of sleepless nights...
Jeff McIntosh
August 10, 2025
✭✭✭
“A Collector’s Company” ✭✭✭
“The Dining-Room Fireplace” ✭✭✭✭
“Stivinghoe Bank” ✭✭✭½
“The Sundial” ✭✭✭½
“Between Sunset and Moonrise” ✭✭✭½
“The Blank Leaves” ✭✭½
“The Thirteenth Tree” ✭✭✭½
“The Coxswain of the Lifeboat” ✭✭½
“The Priest’s Brass” ✭✭½
All stories published 1943.
“A Collector’s Company” ✭✭✭
“The Dining-Room Fireplace” ✭✭✭✭
“Stivinghoe Bank” ✭✭✭½
“The Sundial” ✭✭✭½
“Between Sunset and Moonrise” ✭✭✭½
“The Blank Leaves” ✭✭½
“The Thirteenth Tree” ✭✭✭½
“The Coxswain of the Lifeboat” ✭✭½
“The Priest’s Brass” ✭✭½
All stories published 1943.
January 4, 2023
What a great collection of short stories.
July 21, 2014
I'm a huge M R James fan, and after I'd read all of his stories I wanted to find authors who were influenced by him. Unfortunately there's not a vast field to pick from like with H P Lovecraft for example who seems to be very much in vogue right now. It seems I discover a new Cthulhu Mythos collection every month, or some novel heavily influenced by Lovecraft. Unfortunately M R James didn't generate such a following. So take this into account when I give this book such a high rating.
R H Malden knew and was heavily influenced by James, and I dare say wrote some stories which are at times on par with those of his friend. None of these are as good as James at his best, but they're much better than I thought they would be.
Some notes I took while reading them:
--A Collector's Company - This is a decent little ghost tale in the M R James tradition, I wouldn’t put it beside many of James’ tales, but it does have a good, cozy feel to it. A young priest is called to preach for an older man who has fallen ill. He doesn’t like his host from the start, but soon suspects he takes pleasure in raising the dead from their graves.
--The Dining-Room Fireplace - I really enjoyed this story, it’s VERY Jamesian, also creepy in it’s moments. Nice setting and feel. A man staying with friends in an old Irish manor house becomes interested in a rather menacing old portrait hung above the fireplace of a man sitting with his back to the viewer, and looking over his shoulder. He and his friends soon encounter a presence that lurks about the portrait.
--Stivinghoe Bank - I enjoyed this one a lot actually – I’d almost say this was the best so far. Great setting, some creepy, Jamesian touches. A man investigates an old abandoned chapel by the sea where a priest who dabbled in the black arts once resided.
--The Sundial - This is a pretty good little ghost story, certainly creepy at moments and memorable too. Among the best in the collection. A man buys a rural estate, and soon finds it haunted by the ghost of a disfigured man who stalks the grounds.
--Between Sunset and Moonrise - Yet another good little tale from Malden, I am always impressed by these Jamesian stories. I only wish he had written more! This one has some particularly creepy moments I thought. After a priest dies, his papers reveal why he had a nervous breakdown and had to leave his parish after meeting a mysterious old woman living on the edge of the parish.
--The Blank Leaves - A pretty good tale, perhaps the most complicated of these Malden stories. Probably my personal favorite in the collection. A man who collects historical data unwittingly traces a spell in an old register and reinvigorages the soul of a ghost missing a hand which causes the whole village to be plagued by mysterious events.
--The Thirteenth Tree - OK story, but this among the least impressive I’ve read so far from Malden. It’s got some neat moments, but feels too unthreatening, a bit too conventional a ghost tale to me. A man stays at the house of a friend and sees a vision of a drowning done years ago by a witch who cursed a judge who lived there.
--The Coxswain of the Lifeboat - Pretty good story, but it just ends without doing very much I thought. Still, it has a good setting and mood, and one creepy scene, but this is a below average story in the nine. A man explores the past of a coxswain who drowned with his whole crew, and seems to have made a deal with someone quite sinister.
--The Priest's Brass - OK story, has some good moments and touches, but the last bit of it just doesn’t really wrap it up or bring a good scare along with it. Still, this is a decent Jamesian type story. A man who takes rubbings of priests brasses in churches finds one that proves to be that of a priest who practiced the black arts, and the act of taking the rubbing appears to reinvigorate his spirit.
I only wish Malden had written more! Many British writers tried their hand at the ghost story, another writer influenced by James is E G Swain. E F Benson has some Jamesian influence too, and I enjoyed reading all of his ghost stories, and he wrote a very large number of them. For more authors in this vein, try looking at Ash Tree Press' website.
R H Malden knew and was heavily influenced by James, and I dare say wrote some stories which are at times on par with those of his friend. None of these are as good as James at his best, but they're much better than I thought they would be.
Some notes I took while reading them:
--A Collector's Company - This is a decent little ghost tale in the M R James tradition, I wouldn’t put it beside many of James’ tales, but it does have a good, cozy feel to it. A young priest is called to preach for an older man who has fallen ill. He doesn’t like his host from the start, but soon suspects he takes pleasure in raising the dead from their graves.
--The Dining-Room Fireplace - I really enjoyed this story, it’s VERY Jamesian, also creepy in it’s moments. Nice setting and feel. A man staying with friends in an old Irish manor house becomes interested in a rather menacing old portrait hung above the fireplace of a man sitting with his back to the viewer, and looking over his shoulder. He and his friends soon encounter a presence that lurks about the portrait.
--Stivinghoe Bank - I enjoyed this one a lot actually – I’d almost say this was the best so far. Great setting, some creepy, Jamesian touches. A man investigates an old abandoned chapel by the sea where a priest who dabbled in the black arts once resided.
--The Sundial - This is a pretty good little ghost story, certainly creepy at moments and memorable too. Among the best in the collection. A man buys a rural estate, and soon finds it haunted by the ghost of a disfigured man who stalks the grounds.
--Between Sunset and Moonrise - Yet another good little tale from Malden, I am always impressed by these Jamesian stories. I only wish he had written more! This one has some particularly creepy moments I thought. After a priest dies, his papers reveal why he had a nervous breakdown and had to leave his parish after meeting a mysterious old woman living on the edge of the parish.
--The Blank Leaves - A pretty good tale, perhaps the most complicated of these Malden stories. Probably my personal favorite in the collection. A man who collects historical data unwittingly traces a spell in an old register and reinvigorages the soul of a ghost missing a hand which causes the whole village to be plagued by mysterious events.
--The Thirteenth Tree - OK story, but this among the least impressive I’ve read so far from Malden. It’s got some neat moments, but feels too unthreatening, a bit too conventional a ghost tale to me. A man stays at the house of a friend and sees a vision of a drowning done years ago by a witch who cursed a judge who lived there.
--The Coxswain of the Lifeboat - Pretty good story, but it just ends without doing very much I thought. Still, it has a good setting and mood, and one creepy scene, but this is a below average story in the nine. A man explores the past of a coxswain who drowned with his whole crew, and seems to have made a deal with someone quite sinister.
--The Priest's Brass - OK story, has some good moments and touches, but the last bit of it just doesn’t really wrap it up or bring a good scare along with it. Still, this is a decent Jamesian type story. A man who takes rubbings of priests brasses in churches finds one that proves to be that of a priest who practiced the black arts, and the act of taking the rubbing appears to reinvigorate his spirit.
I only wish Malden had written more! Many British writers tried their hand at the ghost story, another writer influenced by James is E G Swain. E F Benson has some Jamesian influence too, and I enjoyed reading all of his ghost stories, and he wrote a very large number of them. For more authors in this vein, try looking at Ash Tree Press' website.
December 29, 2025
As a lover of old ghost stories I guess I have read quite a few now, enough to say I'm very accustomed to them, or seasoned, perhaps.
I've read many classic ghostly short stories from those such as M.R James, Sir Walter Scott, W.W Jacobs, Bram Stoker, Walter De la Mer, J.S Le Fanu etc. Some of these authors don't come up to scratch as much as their reputation does, and unfortunately R.H Malden doesn't either.
Nine tales of reasonable to weak stories can be found here. Many classic tropes of ghost stories are featured here, perhaps cliché now, such as the old scary painting, the secret grave in the garden, the dog heard barking from somewhere, the feeling that someone was there (but they're not), the illusion in the fire etc.
Many of these stories dragged for me, despite being well written, and none stood out as excellent. I did note an increased hook in the narratives as they progressed as I read somewhere that they are printed in order of date written (quite a way apart in some cases) and feel that the later ones Malden harnessed his skills better.
There is no doubt as to why Malden's work is not as revered as some others but that being said, the stories aren't without merit, especially for the reader who may be new to the archaic style. There were at least a couple of references to Robert Louis Stevenson's work in the later stories too which I felt tied in well. It also won't take too long to read due to its short length which was unfortunately a benefit to me personally.
I'd give this collection 2.2 stars overall.
These stories have a little clout at times, but I feel there are better out there to discover.
I've read many classic ghostly short stories from those such as M.R James, Sir Walter Scott, W.W Jacobs, Bram Stoker, Walter De la Mer, J.S Le Fanu etc. Some of these authors don't come up to scratch as much as their reputation does, and unfortunately R.H Malden doesn't either.
Nine tales of reasonable to weak stories can be found here. Many classic tropes of ghost stories are featured here, perhaps cliché now, such as the old scary painting, the secret grave in the garden, the dog heard barking from somewhere, the feeling that someone was there (but they're not), the illusion in the fire etc.
Many of these stories dragged for me, despite being well written, and none stood out as excellent. I did note an increased hook in the narratives as they progressed as I read somewhere that they are printed in order of date written (quite a way apart in some cases) and feel that the later ones Malden harnessed his skills better.
There is no doubt as to why Malden's work is not as revered as some others but that being said, the stories aren't without merit, especially for the reader who may be new to the archaic style. There were at least a couple of references to Robert Louis Stevenson's work in the later stories too which I felt tied in well. It also won't take too long to read due to its short length which was unfortunately a benefit to me personally.
I'd give this collection 2.2 stars overall.
These stories have a little clout at times, but I feel there are better out there to discover.
November 22, 2021
I suspect most people won't be impressed by this book. As horror, it largely falls short. Nearly all of its stories lack pyrotechnics and thrilling finales. There's no explicit sex or gore. Nevertheless, for a perishingly small minority, this is a fun and worthwhile book. There are all sorts of interesting details about life in rural England during the first third of the 20th century, interesting words and institutions, and figures of speak. Many American's may not know about the practice of brass rubbing: laying a sheet of paper over a monumental brasses on the floors of churches and going over them in pencil or chalk to copy the image. Apparently the was a common thing for school children to do until recently. Then there are the "droves" of the fenlands, which are rough country lanes. And what of this curious practice known as "drilling ducks"? Well, I'm still not clear on that one, but I think it refers to the fact that ducks tend to waddle in a line like a file of soldiers. Maybe. Well, this book won't be for everyone, but I enjoyed the trip through time and culture and language that it afforded me, and the creepy stories too.
December 8, 2024
[Oxford City Reprints] (2010). SB. 109 Pages. Purchased from Richard Dalby’s Library.
This shoddy POD product has a bland front cover (with blank reverse). The Table of Contents is erroneous; was it proof read, at all? The lead page of each story is, oddly, unnumbered. The author’s interesting “Michaelmas 1942” Preface is omitted. No supplementary information, of any description, is provided. Even the original publication date is missing. Oxford City Reprints are clearly best avoided. Project Gutenberg (Australia) offers a superior alternative to this dreadful rendering, free of charge.
Nine excellent tales, which were “…written at irregular intervals between the years 1909 and 1942.”
They were “collected and revised…” by R. H. Malden (1879-1951) “…in tribute to… [the] memory” of M. R. James (1862-1936).
Subtle, innovative, unsettling and evocative narratives.
This shoddy POD product has a bland front cover (with blank reverse). The Table of Contents is erroneous; was it proof read, at all? The lead page of each story is, oddly, unnumbered. The author’s interesting “Michaelmas 1942” Preface is omitted. No supplementary information, of any description, is provided. Even the original publication date is missing. Oxford City Reprints are clearly best avoided. Project Gutenberg (Australia) offers a superior alternative to this dreadful rendering, free of charge.
Nine excellent tales, which were “…written at irregular intervals between the years 1909 and 1942.”
They were “collected and revised…” by R. H. Malden (1879-1951) “…in tribute to… [the] memory” of M. R. James (1862-1936).
Subtle, innovative, unsettling and evocative narratives.
February 11, 2023
These stories are possibly a bit too MR Jamesian to really succeed as great ghost stories in their own right, and rarely have the disquieting genius of the master’s work, but they’re very enjoyably attempts none the less. There are striking moments in all of them, and Malden comes across as a pleasant enough - if probably somewhat stuffy - writer throughout. The keeper is almost certainly the Sun Dial which benefits from a truly unpleasant central image and having captured something of the uncanniness of the British landscape where the other stories only really reveal glimpses of either. Slight but entertaining
June 25, 2023
El libro que más he disfrutado en lo que llevamos de 2023. Las historias de Malden ciertamente guardan mucho paralelismo con las de su amigo idolatrado y referencia personal M.R. James, el maestro del cuento de fantasmas moderno. No obstante encontraremos algunas diferencias que convierten los relatos del autor en muy característicos. Cuentan con bastantes referencias literarias a otros escritores, la amenaza sobrenatural tiende a lo esotérico y lo sugerido aunque no faltan ocasiones en la que se nos describe al "monstruo" de forma explícita. Nos encontramos ante un mundo moderno, asaltado por lo siniestro, repleto de amenazas generalmente diabólicas por relacionadas con la nigromancia. Aunque carece de las sutilezas plásticas de su amigo y mentor, el rigor cercano a lo científico (teológico) le aporta distintos matices y algunas particularidades distintivas muy interesantes, así como ciertas recurrencias obsesivas: el protagonista sacerdote, la maldición medieval, los ecos y consecuencias de la hechicería, el suicidio y la superstición social en las pequeñas congregaciones rurales. Ninguno de los relatos me ha dejado indiferente aunque no sin motivo su más recordado es "El rejor solar" especialmente inquietante. Que Diábolo Ediciones esté recuperando, en esta colección, autores de tallaje prácticamente desconocidos en nuestro país, con libros excelentemente editados.
October 22, 2021
More classic English ghost stories. As far as MR James-type collections go, I don’t think I’d rank it as high as Alabaster Hand by Munby. But I only read it occasionally over the course of a year so my impressions now largely depend on the quality of the last couple stories. “The Sundial” is the most memorable one.
More of a 3.5.
More of a 3.5.
February 21, 2022
A curious collection
Mine Ghosts by R. H. Malden is a curious collection of ghost stories and sometimes similar to those of M. R. James. Some of the stories left me pondering about their endings, but on the whole they were fine.
Mine Ghosts by R. H. Malden is a curious collection of ghost stories and sometimes similar to those of M. R. James. Some of the stories left me pondering about their endings, but on the whole they were fine.
October 18, 2021
A very Jamesian collection of stories, well-written and sprinkled with small deliberate homages for fans.
June 11, 2022
Nine tales, often quite similar, which carry the aura of suspense and mystery.
November 17, 2024
The stories were excellent in conception, finely crafted, and atmospheric but the author failed to bring them off. Just when an element of cold grue was required, they petered out.
October 30, 2021
This is a case of, 'if you like M.R. James, you may like these." They come quite close in terms of atmosphere and restraint and share a setting of old houses, old churches, etc. But they don't stick in the way that James' best tales do. It's an example of the same ingredients making for a very different cake in the hands of a competent baker as opposed to a master.
It's still a good cake though.
It's still a good cake though.
April 1, 2014
Very well-written.. remarkably restrained but does succeed in raising chills
September 12, 2020
There are as the title says 9 ghost stories here, and while none are truly terrifying they are all wonderfully eerie with a few real gems. Enjoyed this one.
September 7, 2015
If you like M. R. James you'll like this book.
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