Selected Ghost Stories

by M.R. James

Rare book

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

400 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

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

[Aileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1931, this collection of sixteen stories are now very dated and not at all scary today. Most seem to follow the same format of someone relating an incident that happened to someone else, by way of reading out excerpts from their letters and journals. Entertaining, but very of its time.

[Hannu Kotilehto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victorian writers are often hit or miss with me, but I enjoyed this collection very much.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muddled through due to the outdated language and overwrought storytelling. Still, I could enjoy some parts of the stories, particularly the one with the linen sheets.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like classic Victorian ghost stories, MR James is a master of atmosphere and emotion in presenting the ghost story. Also, he's got a quirk - all his ghost stories from this collection center around an antique object or place of history. I found that quite interesting!