A View from a Hill

by M.R. James

A View From a Hill is a ghost story by M. R. James first published in The Living Age, 4 July 1925, and collected in his 1925 collection A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories.

The story tells the tale of a historian who goes on holiday to visit his friend and has a disturbing experience after venturing up a notorious local landmark.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Ghost Stories, Classics, Gothic

26 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 1925

About the author

Montague 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

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

First appearing in The London Mercury (May 1925), and republished later the same year in A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories, “A View From the Hill” remains—with each subsequent reading—one of my favorite M.R. James’ tales. It is not one of his most popular, and its premise—man discovers enchanted binoculars that can see into the past—is not particularly original. Yet there is something about the details James accumulates here—some of them evocative, some chilling, and some of them downright nasty—that have fixed this tale, those binoculars, and the vile man Baxter who made them, forever in my memory.

It begins, as many of James’ tales do, with a university professor--an antiquarian--who is visiting an old friend’s family estate. When Squire Richards suggest to his friend Fanshawe that the two of them should take in the view from the hill, Fanshawe asks his host if he may borrow a pair of binoculars. Richard says he has only one old pair, fashioned by a local amateur archeologist named Baxter, and that they are extraordinarily heavy, but Fanshawe may use them if he likes. Fanshawe accepts, and later, using Baxter’s glasses, he takes in the view from the hill:

After some minutes of silent contemplation, the Squire began to point out the leading features . . . . ‘Now,’ he said, ‘with the glasses you’ll be able to pick out Fulnaker Abbey. Take a line across that big green field, then over the wood beyond it, then over the farm on the knoll.’

'Yes, yes,’ said Fanshawe. ‘I’ve got it. What a fine tower!’

‘You must have got the wrong direction,’ said the Squire; ‘there’s not much of a tower about there that I remember, unless it’s Oldbourne Church that you’ve got hold of. And if you call that a fine tower, you’re easily pleased.’

‘Well, I do call it a fine tower,’ said Fanshawe, the glasses still at his eyes, ‘whether it’s Oldbourne or any other. And it must belong to a largish church; it looks to me like a central tower — four big pinnacles a the corners, and four smaller ones between. I must certainly go over there. How far is it?’

‘Oldbourne’s about nine miles, or less,’ said the Squire. ‘It’s a long time since I’ve been there, but I don’t remember thinking much of it. Now I’ll show you another thing. . . . A good deal more to the left — it oughtn’t to be difficult to find. Do you see a rather sudden knob of a hill with a thick wood on top of it? It’s in a dead line with that single tree on the top of the big ridge.’

‘I do,’ said Fanshawe, ‘and I believe I could tell you without much difficulty what it’s called.’

‘Could you now?’ said the Squire. ‘Say on.’

‘Why, Gallows Hill,’ was the answer.

‘How did you guess that?’

‘Well, if you don’t want it guessed, you shouldn’t put up a dummy gibbet and a man hanging on it.’

‘What’s that?’ said the Squire abruptly. ‘There’s nothing on that hill but wood.’

Gives one a bit of a chill, doesn’t it. But that’s just the beginning. Just wait . . . soon you’ll learn more about Baxter, his surprising—almost uncanny—archeological discoveries. And you’ll find out more about those binoculars too, what makes them so heavy.

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago I was walking down a country lane in Sussex just a bit before the gloaming. It was peaceful and a hot drink was waiting for me back at the inn. But then the sky changed and as I neared a church, it all felt a bit...ancient. It just felt weird. When I made it back to the inn (at a somewhat faster gait), they laughed at my apprehension. Maybe they thought I was a wackadoodle, but I've never forgotten that strange sense of otherness. This M.R. James short story gave me the same chill.

Fanshawe is visiting his friend, the Squire, at the Squire's home in the country. It's a pleasant day and they decide to take a walk so they can see the view from the hill. Everything seems fine until Fanshawe uses the field-glasses given to him by the Squire. What he sees is not what the Squire sees, which leads to Fanshawe going through a scary journey on his own. It all involves a dead local who used to do strange things.

Throughout the tale, there is a sense of otherness. This isn't horror, this is the supernatural.

...I was convinced that there was someone looking down on me from above - and not with any pleasant intent.

Yes, that's how I felt that afternoon in Sussex. Also, after I finished reading this (late at night, of course), sleep did not come easy. Hmmm. I'm sure my reading was affected by my previous memory, but I no longer walk down deserted country lanes in Sussex before the gloaming.

Book Season = Autumn (old ghouls)

[Marica · Rating 4 out of 5]

La corda pazza
Questo breve racconto ha un contenuto un po' horror, che risulta però mediato e quindi può essere apprezzato anche da chi, come me, non ama il genere. La cornice è quella della ridente campagna inglese del sud ovest, nella quale un giovane professore amante della bicicletta va a trovare un amico, gentiluomo di campagna. Si mettono a osservare il paesaggio e sembra che l'ospite veda cose diverse da quelle che conosce l'amico. Segue un sopralluogo e poi varie storie raccontate dal padrone di casa e dal maggiordomo.
Nonostante la brevità del racconto, i personaggi dei due signori e del maggiordomo sono molto ben rappresentati nelle differenze di carattere e nella diversa disposizione verso il soprannaturale; il maggiordomo assolutamente coinvolto, avendo conosciuto personalmente un uomo considerato un negromante.
La corda pazza è quella dell'autore, “medievista onnisciente e raffinato,” rettore del King's college di Londra, che a un certo punto della sua onorata carriera si dilettò nella scrittura di storie di fantasmi. Direi che prevale un piacevolissimo spirito british, con tanto di te, sidro e bicchierino di Porto per rinfrancarsi

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

You may read online at eBooks@Adelaide.

Opening lines:
How pleasant it can be, alone in a first-class railway carriage, on the first day of a holiday that is to be fairly long, to dawdle through a bit of English country that is unfamiliar, stopping at every station. You have a map open on your knee, and you pick out the villages that lie to right and left by their church towers.

A TV adaptation was made based on this story: A View from a Hill (2005), with Mark Letheren, Pip Torrens, David Burke.

[Bettie]

https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/j/jame...

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story about an antiquarian named Fanshawe who goes to stay with his friend, Squire Richards, a country squire. Fanshawe borrows a pair of old binoculars his friend bought from a local deceased man's estate. Through these binoculars, when they go exploring together up a nearby hill with a spectacular view, Fanshawe can see into the past, revealing an old abbey and church which were demolished centuries ago. It turns out the case of the binoculars is filled with boiled down human bones so that when looking through them one sees literally through dead men's eyes.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A folk horror classic. A man visits a friend in the depths of the countryside, and borrows a pair of field glasses with which to admire the scenery.

Little does he know, these have been fashioned by a local - who boiled up the bones of hanged men collected from the nearby 'Gallow's Hill' - where condemned men were hanged from the gibbet. These glasses filled with the water in which the bones were boiled, effectively allows him to see the landscape of the past 'through the eyes of dead men'.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A neat tale that acts as a precursor as well as template for many-many stories. If you have read it, you know what I'm talking about. If you are yet to read it, WHAT are you doing here, reading my stuff? Go! Read it ASAP.

[EHR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another edge of your seat read, the Audible cast did amazing!!

[Kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Further Edited to say that the Derek Jacobi version was much better (and as I have now watched the BBC adaptation I could picture it all much more clearly), so I’m giving it an extra star.

*Edit after watching the adaptation and re-reading*

I nearly changed my rating of this after watching the adaptation and re-reading the story (only to increase by 1 star), because I think having seen the adaptation it helped me understand the story and motivations of the characters more, but then after re-reading it I thought I would keep the rating the same because I had the same issues with the story as when I first read it. The adaptation is worth watching though. Very well done.

*original review*

I talked last month about how M.R. James just doesn't seem to work for me a lot of the time, and this was one of my prime examples of a story I just couldn't connect with. I know that James has a particular penchant for haunted artefacts, and here in this story we have a pair of binoculars, through which, the viewer can see objects which no longer exist. I'll admit this does sound like a good premise, and maybe if I were to watch the BBC adaptation of the story I'd find it more pacy and exciting, whereas listening to the audio version it seemed to just go on forever and have no real punch to it.

I get that his stories are more than 100 years old at this point, and lots has changed since then, both in terms of what readers find scary when it comes to ghost stories, and also in what they find intriguing or enticing to read, but I just find that lots of James' stories are simply dull. This is definitely one of the duller ones. I just didn't care what was happening or to who. If you're a particular fan of his work and haven't read this one, then it is available in the public domain, but if like me, you find him a bit hit and miss then maybe pass this one up or watch the adaptation - which I still intend to do, just to see if I like it better that way.

This story is available to read as a text file through project Gutenberg or as an audio file on you tube.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story, a man is given binoculars which allows him to see things which he should not be able to see.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

M. R. James does well to give the reader a deep sense of atmosphere in which to immerse themselves and gently builds the suspense and mystery of Mr. Fanshawe’s visit to his friend Squire Richards. The glasses he borrows to take in the spectacular view lead him through the terrors that await. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a jump scare story nor is it filled with much action. It's just a story of a man, Mr. Baxter, who made a pair of 'special' binoculars so he could see through the eyes of dead men.

This is a nicely paced ghost story, short or ‘bite-sized’ as it’s being called. The audiobook is nicely done via Simon Stanhope. Just make sure you have a quiet hour to kill.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story -- "a folk-horror classic" -- by English author M. R. James in 1925. It tells the eerie tale of a man who looks through borrowed binoculars --- and sees things that no longer exist -- a church, a tower, a field, Gallows Hill. Turns out that the binoculars were made by a strange old man, now dead, and in an unusual fashion. A good shivery tale for a misty October evening.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A subtle and chilling pastoral horror story. I really like the concept presented here. How lovely the surroundings seem, yet they become so terrifying through the lenses of these 'glasses.' A great fire-side story to tell aloud to your loved ones.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

James does a first rate job of setting the scene. Fanshawe is visiting his friend Squire Henry Richards at his home in the country where he has an unusual experience. Creepy fun involving an unusual pair of binoculars. First published in 1925. Audible edition, narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

dudes!!!!! the audio rendition is uber spooky & I loved it

[Lesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philip Pullman owes this man money. :)

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short horror story uses an interesting concept for its plot device, but if you're looking for a good fright - you won't find it here.

[Ik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it in general. However, the ending came rather abruptly in my opinion, thereby leaving me feeling the story's potential had been cut short.

[Mortisha Cassavetes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pair of binoculars can really change your life and maybe not for the better especially when they are made by a crazy person! Be careful what you look through! Highly Recommend!

[kayleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐⭐⭐

lovely bit of folk horror with enchanted binoculars (of course!)

[Martín · Rating 3 out of 5]

James and his haunted artifacts...nice.

[Meha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoopy!!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this story because it was highlighted in an article about the eeriness of the English countryside (http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015...). The article was brought to my attention because my book club is reading "The Buried Giant", which has some eerie, mist-covered Enlish countryside going on. I had never heard of this author, the story was readily available online, and it was only 38 pages long, so I thought "Why not see what this is about?" I thought the story was fine. I am not always a fan of the short story, but I liked this one better than most I have read.