Speaking Tiger The Haunted Dolls’ House Stories of the Supernatural

by M.R. James

In the dead of night, a bell tolls, rousing Mr. Dillet from his peaceful slumber. M.R. James, a master of ghost stories, presents a collection where ordinary objects and settings harbor chilling secrets. A dollhouse springs to life at 1 a.m., revealing a grim tale. A seaside vacationer discovers a whistle that summons an unwanted guest. An art dealer's new painting tells a horrifying story. And an ash tree at Castringham Hall may hold the key to its residents' mysterious deaths. These seemingly normal worlds, described with subtlety and skill, hide powerful, spine-tingling undercurrents. 'The Haunted Dolls House' is a gripping, unputdownable read.

200 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

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

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

The bones for a good tale are there, but not put together well enough. The formatting, with excess exposition and 4th wall break at the end, didn't do it for me. Mostly reading it I was bored and dissociated.

[Komal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book written by M R James and suggested by Ruskin Bond is a mid level horror as per me. Some of the stories are really good and i never read them at night. Its a good deal.

[Nadia Hana Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for an assignment and I absolutely love it. It's the perfect read for rainy seasons like this.

[Shelly Bajwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a ghost story and thriller fanatic and the first time I ever encountered James's stories was by chance in London when I saw a huge volume of his works during the Halloween Weekend. He was listed with other Greats such as H. P. Lovecraft, Algernon Backwood, Stephen King and so on. Smacking my head for not knowing him until then, I hurriedly grabbed the book before someone else could. I literally devoured the book in one sitting and was awed by the subtle nuance of creepy he had managed to weave into the stories.
When I first went over to the Speaking Tiger website, I saw James's collection of stories and hurriedly requested it for review. The review copy arrived, true to its essence, broken doll and creepy font included. This compilation consists 11 of his best horror stories, written in the true Brit manner, black humour and satirical enough to make you laugh and be freaked out at the same time.
If you've ever read IT or The Shining by Stephen King or any novel by Algernon Backwood, you would know how seemingly innocent stories and situations can suddenly transpire into a subconsciously jittery experience in the most unexpected situations. Anyone can weird you out with blood and gore but a few posses the skill and acumen to make you feel uncomfortable and that's why M. R. James is a name to be reckoned with.
The central story revolves around a Doll's house that is haunted and shows ghostlty apparitions. The other stories fall around the themes of a lost whistle that invites an unwanted guest, a painting that rearranges itself to tell a story and a creepy ash tree that holds dark secrets in its roots. I have quite a few favourites from this collection but The Ash Tree is my favourite! This is a special Ruskin Bond Collection which means that all the stories in this volume are personally chosen and complied by Ruskin Bond himself!