There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard

by M.R. James

Montague Rhodes James OM, MA, FBA (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936), who used the publication name M. R. James, was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichés of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. However, James's protagonists and plots tend to reflect his own antiquarian interests. Accordingly, he is known as the originator of the "antiquarian ghost story". James was born in Goodnestone Parsonage, near Dover in Kent, England, although his parents had associations with Aldeburgh in Suffolk. From the age of three (1865) until 1909 his home, if not always his residence, was at the Rectory in Great Livermere, Suffolk. This had also been the childhood home of another eminent Suffolk antiquary, "Honest Tom" Martin (1696–1771) "of Palgrave." Several of his ghost stories are set in Suffolk, including "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" (Felixstowe), "A Warning to the Curious" (Aldeburgh), "Rats" and "A Vignette" (Great Livermere). He lived for many years, first as an undergraduate, then as a don and provost, at King's College, Cambridge, where he was also a member of the Pitt Club. The university provides settings for several of his tales. Apart from medieval subjects, James studied the classics and appeared very successfully in a staging of Aristophanes' play The Birds, with music by Hubert Parry. His ability as an actor was also apparent when he read his new ghost stories to friends at Christmas time. In September 1873 he arrived as a boarder at Temple Grove School, one of the leading boys' preparatory schools of the day. James is best known for his ghost stories, but his work as a medievalist scholar was prodigious and remains highly respected in scholarly circles. Indeed, the success of his stories was founded on his antiquarian talents and knowledge. His discovery of a manuscript fragment led to excavations in the ruins of the abbey at Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk, in 1902, in which the graves of several twelfth-century abbots described by Jocelyn de Brakelond (a contemporary chronicler) were rediscovered, having been lost since the Dissolution. His 1917 edition of the Latin Lives of Saint Aethelberht, king and martyr (English Historical Review 32), remains authoritative. He catalogued many of the manuscript libraries of the Cambridge colleges. Among his other scholarly works, he wrote The Apocalypse in Art, which placed illuminated Apocalypse manuscripts into families. He also translated the New Testament Apocrypha and contributed to the Encyclopaedia Biblica (1903). His ability to wear his learning lightly is apparent in his Suffolk and Norfolk (Dent, 1930), in which a great deal of knowledge is presented in a popular and accessible form, and in Abbeys (Great Western Railway, 1925). James also achieved a great deal during his directorship of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (1893–1908). He managed to secure a large number of important paintings and manuscripts, including notable portraits by Titian. James was Provost of Eton College from 1918 to 1936. He died in 1936 and was buried in Eton town cemetery.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Shakespeare, Supernatural

3 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 1924

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 3 out of 5]

Although this brief ghost story--little more than a joke, really--was published in the Eton Snapdragon in December of 1924, it was perhaps deemed too inconsequential for inclusion in M.R. James fourth volume of stories—A Warning to the Curious (1925)—and first saw hardcover publication in the The Collected Stories of 1931. Its title is derived from the tale almost told by the poor little doomed prince Mamilius in Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale:

Hermione: Come, sir, now
I am for you again: pray you, sit by us,
And tell 's a tale. . .

Mamilius: A sad tale's best for winter: I have one
Of sprites and goblins.

Hermione: Let's have that, good sir . . .
Come on, sit down: come on, and do your best
To fright me with your sprites; you're powerful at it.

Mamilius: There was a man—

Hermione: Nay, come, sit down; then on.

Mamilius: —Dwelt by a churchyard: I will tell it softly;
Yond crickets shall not hear it.

Indeed, it is a softly-told, sitting-down sort of tale that might be ignored even by crickets. But M.R. James is still the master of horror, and manages to disturb the reader with small things:

That night, as he lay in his bed upstairs, a moaning wind began to play about the house, and he could not go to sleep. . . Then he went to the window and looked out into the churchyard. . . .

Have you ever seen an old brass in a church with a figure of a person in a shroud? It is bunched together at the top of the head in a curious way. Something like that was sticking up out of the earth in a spot of the churchyard. . . .

Presently something made a very faint rattling at the casement. . . . He turned his eyes that way. Alas!

Between him and the moonlight was the black outline of the curious bunched head . . . Then there was a figure in the room. Dry earth rattled on the floor. . . .

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨ Dead Account; Not Coming Back · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother sat me down to read this, since it's one of his favorite ghost stories. It's basically an amalgamation of various other ghost stories, but told in such a way most of the plot points are via implication, and I loved it! It's very spooky and fun. I'm kind of shocked that it has so few ratings on Goodreads, actually. Definitely go read it, it's only like 1 page long hah. There's a great reading of it on Youtube by Michael Hordern that's only about 7 minutes or so.

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 2 out of 5]

he deserved what happened to him! greed is a despicable thing!

[Catherine Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was also in the Classic Ghost Stories book. I have never heard of M.R. James before I read this story. This story is kinda sweet, a scary sweet story of it makes sense. After I read this story, I instantly became a fan of M.R. James..

[Manos (hoarding books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are determined enough to be scared while reading this, if it's cold and you are under your blankets, the lights low..it does work!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

When old Mother Wilkens, a suspected witch by the locals, was buried, the clergyman threw into the grave money she had given to the church. Money the priest felt was tainted. John Poole, known to be a miser who lived by the churchyard and liked to watch the nighttime burials saw the money being buried with her body, later goes and steals the money. Old Mother Wilkens's corpse wrapped in a woolen shroud, bunched at the head, comes to Poole's bedroom to reclaim the money. The tale is told in connection with Mamilius of Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a decent enough ghost story about a man who robs a grave, and the deceased who wants her stuff back.

[Paul Narvaez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first short story I've read from the master of the modern English ghost story. Apparently, many of his stories are similar so this is as good an introduction as any. For many, these stories have some of the characteristics which later came to be known as "folk horror", but there is humor to be found here too.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short chilling story set in a framework of Shakespeare. I love gothic horror, it leaves its work to the imagination instead of guts and gore. MR James is now one of my favorite authors. Expertly narrated as well.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

available free https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

A very folksy ghost story. It's book-ended by some Shakespeare fan fiction comedy.

[Mark Cain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent short story involving grave robbery and revenge....

[Seshastet · Rating 2 out of 5]

2, 5/5 estrellas

Está bien, no es un relato muy largo así q apenas hace mella.
Si hubiese tenido más páginas creo que habría estado mejor

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short and to the point ghost story.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really much worth remarking upon.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

an extremely short story by a ghost story master.

[♡nina♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐ 3 stars

This short story was interesting, I liked the ending. I liked how spooky it felt.