The Man of Science

by Jerome K. Jerome

This early work by Jerome K. Jerome was originally published in 1892. 'The Man of Science' is a classic Victorian ghost story. Jerome Klapka Jerome was born in Walsall, England in 1859. Both his parents died while he was in his early teens, and he was forced to quit school to support himself.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories

6 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1892

About the author

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). Other works include the essay collections Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886) and Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow; Three Men on the Bummel, a sequel to Three Men in a Boat; and several other novels. Jerome was born in Walsall, England, and, although he was able to attend grammar school, his family suffered from poverty at times, as did he as a young man trying to earn a living in various occupations. In his twenties, he was able to publish some work, and success followed. He married in 1888, and the honeymoon was spent on a boat on the River Thames; he published Three Men in a Boat soon afterwards. He continued to write fiction, non-fiction and plays over the next few decades, though never with the same level of success.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

یه داستان ترسناک کوتاه که با صدای کریستوفر لی خیلی جذاب تر هم شده بود.
تجربه خوندن داستان کوتاه بسیار کمی دارم، از اون کمتر داستان ترسناک نخوندم در نتیجه مقایسه ای نمیتونم کنم؛ ولی لذت بردم.
نویسنده رو نمی‌شناختم و پیدا کردن ای‌بوک هاش هم کار سختی بود ولی خب تو این سری ادیوبوک کریستوفر لی برای رادیو بود که برای قبل خواب گوش دادن عالین.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really spooky, and I liked it - BUT, I don't get why it starts about one ghost, and then goes into another story? So I don't really see the point of the beginning of the story, cause I would have liked to hear more about that ghost, haha.

[Jacqui Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this in Christopher Lee's Fireside Tales and it's fantastic. Any story issues are removed by his voice fully recommend listening to this.

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a little uneven in plot given the intriguing start of one supernatural tale halted by another, I found effective isolated passages which resonated with me. This short story is strikingly similar to Guy De Maupassant's "The Hand", and would make a nice literary double feature. Overall, a standard yet well written Victorian era ghost story that is ideal as a campfire tale.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

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The Man of Science
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The story of a wronged man's spirit perusing the wrongdoers long after the death of the former, told between a group of friends, beginning with something that happens to the protagonist - a gripping story with a chilling end.

"I met a man in the Strand one day that I knew very well, as I thought, though I had not seen him for years. We walked together to Charing Cross, and there we shook hands and parted. Next morning, I spoke of this meeting to a mutual friend, and then I learnt, for the first time, that the man had died six months before.

"The natural inference was that I had mistaken one man for another, an error that, not having a good memory for faces, I frequently fall into. What was remarkable about the matter, however, was that throughout our walk I had conversed with the man under the impression that he was that other dead man, and, whether by coincidence or not, his replies had never once suggested to me my mistake."

""Well, do you believe that the spirits of the dead have not only the power of revisiting this earth at their will, but that, when here, they have the power of action, or rather, of exciting to action? Let me put a definite case. A spiritualist friend of mine, a sensible and by no means imaginative man, once told me that a table, through the medium of which the spirit of a friend had been in the habit of communicating with him, came slowly across the room towards him, of its own accord, one night as he sat alone, and pinioned him against the wall. Now can any of you believe that, or can't you?"

""I could," Brown took it upon himself to reply; "but, before doing so, I should wish for an introduction to the friend who told you the story. Speaking generally," he continued, "it seems to me that the difference between what we call the natural and the supernatural is merely the difference between frequency and rarity of occurrence. Having regard to the phenomena we are compelled to admit, I think it illogical to disbelieve anything we are unable to disprove.""
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September 20, 2020 - September 20, 2020.
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[Lynette Furtado · Rating 3 out of 5]

The man of science looks at the bigger theme of the afterlife. I explored many big questions such as whether ghosts have a choice in the time they spend after they die.
It also uses interesting language when it suggests that by dying they have escaped the demanding realities of society. They have been granted a way out by dying and those of us still trapped on the earth are forced to endure society. A new take on death. I did like it a lot, although it was a little hard to follow initially.

[Iman Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! It was an interesting ghost that did focus too hard on irrelevant details and built a nice eerie atmosphere. It had almost a biblical type of quality to the way the story within this story was set up.

3.5/5

[Berker Koccaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you have any brandy..

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

As bit difficult to follow.

[Amanda Lavelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Debbie Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classically good ghost story. A well written story, with that moment where you go “what are you doing, don’t throw the key”. Very spooky, I enjoyed it.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bog standard horror.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

AKA: The Skeleton, A Ghost Story

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short story, likely run as a serialized magazine piece, but fun to take in, and would be a perfect read on a cell phone while waiting for a late friend to show up. I suspect this has been publishes elsewhere, bundled with other shorts by Jerome K. Jerome. It's fun and light, but not especially deep, and not much more than a "modern" myth of ghosts, told with Jerome's particularly English style.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story within a story. Jephson is relating a tale, the facts of which are related in the Paris police record of some 65 years earlier, putting it in the late 1820s. A wronged man pursues the man who wrongs him and dies just as he is about to take revenge. The man who wronged him becomes a successful scientist. However, that is not all there is to the story...

Please read the full review here.