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Meddling with Ghosts: Stories in the Tradition of M.R. James
This is a collection of ghost stories in the 'antiquarian' tradition established by M. R. James, who excelled at the atmospheric portrayal of legitimate scholarly interest descending into unwise curiosity, with almost invariably tragic results. James' influence on the genre has been immense, both on the popular perception of what makes a successful ghost story work, and on other authors in the genre. This collection offers some of the best stories from authors who influenced James, such as Sheridan Le Fanu and Augustus Jessopp, stories from his contemporaries, such as T. G. Jackson and 'D. N. J.', and tales from more recent practitioners, including Fritz Leiber and Terry Lamsley. Selected and introduced by an acknowledged master of the art, the collection also includes a checklist of writers in the Jamesian tradition.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Ramsey Campbell
857 books1,589 followersRamsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 10, 2018
Contents:
vii - Introduction (2001) by Ramsey Campbell
001 - 'The Familiar" - (1872) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
036 - "The Upper Berth" (1885) by F. Marion Crawford
055 - "Let Loose" (1890) by Mary Cholmondeley
070 - "An Antiquary's Ghost Story" (1880) by Augustus Jessopp
074 - "Glámr" (1863) by Sabine Baring-Gould
086 - "Thurnley Abbey" (1907) by Perceval Landon
101 - "The Red House" (1919) by T. G. Jackson
119 - "The Death Mask" (1920) by Mrs. H. D. Everett
129 - "The Moon-Gazer" (1920) by D. N. J.
142 - "Smoke Ghost" (1941) by Fritz Leiber
157 - "The Mine" (1942) by L. T. C. Rolt
163 - "The White Sack" (1949) by A. N. L. Munby
172 - "Petey" (1979) by T. E. D. Klein
220 - "Echoes from the Abbey" (1987) by Sheila Hodgson
237 - "The Guide" (1989) by Ramsey Campbell
249 - "Two Returns" (1993) by Terry Lamsley
267 - "The James Gang" (1991) essay by Rosemary Pardoe
vii - Introduction (2001) by Ramsey Campbell
001 - 'The Familiar" - (1872) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
036 - "The Upper Berth" (1885) by F. Marion Crawford
055 - "Let Loose" (1890) by Mary Cholmondeley
070 - "An Antiquary's Ghost Story" (1880) by Augustus Jessopp
074 - "Glámr" (1863) by Sabine Baring-Gould
086 - "Thurnley Abbey" (1907) by Perceval Landon
101 - "The Red House" (1919) by T. G. Jackson
119 - "The Death Mask" (1920) by Mrs. H. D. Everett
129 - "The Moon-Gazer" (1920) by D. N. J.
142 - "Smoke Ghost" (1941) by Fritz Leiber
157 - "The Mine" (1942) by L. T. C. Rolt
163 - "The White Sack" (1949) by A. N. L. Munby
172 - "Petey" (1979) by T. E. D. Klein
220 - "Echoes from the Abbey" (1987) by Sheila Hodgson
237 - "The Guide" (1989) by Ramsey Campbell
249 - "Two Returns" (1993) by Terry Lamsley
267 - "The James Gang" (1991) essay by Rosemary Pardoe
December 31, 2018
Meddling with Ghosts
This is a book that I first read roughly 12 years ago and had always meant to re-read. I lent it to a friend who became a firm fan of ghost stories afterwards such is the quality of the stories that it contains. Boxing Day TV wasn’t what it might have been this year and so I took the opportunity to take it down from my shelf again.
It’s a collection published by the British Library with an introduction by Ramsay Campbell. In this he states that the ‘book seeks to place James in the tradition he developed and to demonstrate his continuing influence. He also cites the 1997 Japanese horror film Ringu as ‘a modern retelling of more than one James episode.’
Meddling with Ghosts contains some of the best stories written in the Jamesian tradition according to the book jacket blurb and is divided into 3 sections – these cover James’ precursors, his contemporaries and those that came after. Rosemary Pardoe, editor of the distinctly Jamesian Ghosts and Scholars has contributed a section at the end entitled The James Gang in which she lists writers who were writing, at the time of this book’s publication, in a Jamesian style.
Each story has a short introduction about the author and quotes from James and others.
I had only read a couple of the stories previously; these were F Marion Crawford’s The Upper Bert and Ramsay Campbell’s The Guide with its chilling final sentence. An older man on holiday with his daughter’s family in Norfolk decides to go off on his own and follow a route that James is supposed to have taken. He finds the derelict clifftop church with its inhabitant – will he be allowed to leave?
J Sheridan Le Fanu’s haunted protagonist in The Familiar for whom the past catches up with devastating results and D N J’s The Moon Gazer. A story of pagan magic set in the melancholy of Cambridge.
Then we are in the world of 20th cneture America with Fritz Leiber’s Smoke Ghost with a modern industrial setting and also A N L Munby’s The White Sack.
This is an excellent collection which is well worth seeking out. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
This is a book that I first read roughly 12 years ago and had always meant to re-read. I lent it to a friend who became a firm fan of ghost stories afterwards such is the quality of the stories that it contains. Boxing Day TV wasn’t what it might have been this year and so I took the opportunity to take it down from my shelf again.
It’s a collection published by the British Library with an introduction by Ramsay Campbell. In this he states that the ‘book seeks to place James in the tradition he developed and to demonstrate his continuing influence. He also cites the 1997 Japanese horror film Ringu as ‘a modern retelling of more than one James episode.’
Meddling with Ghosts contains some of the best stories written in the Jamesian tradition according to the book jacket blurb and is divided into 3 sections – these cover James’ precursors, his contemporaries and those that came after. Rosemary Pardoe, editor of the distinctly Jamesian Ghosts and Scholars has contributed a section at the end entitled The James Gang in which she lists writers who were writing, at the time of this book’s publication, in a Jamesian style.
Each story has a short introduction about the author and quotes from James and others.
I had only read a couple of the stories previously; these were F Marion Crawford’s The Upper Bert and Ramsay Campbell’s The Guide with its chilling final sentence. An older man on holiday with his daughter’s family in Norfolk decides to go off on his own and follow a route that James is supposed to have taken. He finds the derelict clifftop church with its inhabitant – will he be allowed to leave?
J Sheridan Le Fanu’s haunted protagonist in The Familiar for whom the past catches up with devastating results and D N J’s The Moon Gazer. A story of pagan magic set in the melancholy of Cambridge.
Then we are in the world of 20th cneture America with Fritz Leiber’s Smoke Ghost with a modern industrial setting and also A N L Munby’s The White Sack.
This is an excellent collection which is well worth seeking out. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
July 13, 2024
Visto che mi annoio ho deciso di commentare e dare un voto ad ogni singolo racconto
December 17, 2022
If, like me, you’re a fan of M R James’s ghost stories and the Jamesian art of storytelling, then
you’ll most likely enjoy the sixteen stories contained in this anthology. The stories are divided into three sections: James’s Precursors, James’s Contemporaries and James’s successors, and provide ghostly tales from authors who influenced James, stories from his contemporaries, and more recent writers influenced by and practitioners of the Jamesian method of the ghost story.
What is meant by the Jamesian method is open to debate. However, for me, it’s the following attributes which all these stories, in part or in whole, contain: set in ordinary life, deftly placed effective detail, horribly palpable, reticent, the vividness of apparition, and intense dread.
Also, the last story by the brilliant Terry Lamsley is a perfect example of how modern writers have blended the Jamesian method with their own to explore the terrors of modern life, i.e., loneliness and isolation.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews