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The Haunted Dolls' House
A macabre human drama is re-enated in a Gothic doll's house; a whistle awakens a force of unspeakable malevolence; an ancient curse is passed from person to person; a grisly crime is avenged from beyond the grave; the tomb of a Swedish count will not rest quietly...
M.R. James's chilling ghost stories reveal a world were the familiar becomes diabolical, the smallest object can lead to unimaginable horror, and evil brushes against everyday life in the most unexpected and sinister of ways.
'Gifted with an almost diabolic power of calling horror by gentle steps from the midst of prosaic daily life... James evokes fright and hideousness in their most shocking form.' H.P. Lovecraft
M.R. James's chilling ghost stories reveal a world were the familiar becomes diabolical, the smallest object can lead to unimaginable horror, and evil brushes against everyday life in the most unexpected and sinister of ways.
'Gifted with an almost diabolic power of calling horror by gentle steps from the midst of prosaic daily life... James evokes fright and hideousness in their most shocking form.' H.P. Lovecraft
202 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1923
7 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
M.R. James
1,520 books910 followersMontague 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
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
M.R.^James
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 10, 2019
First published in the Empire Review (March 1923), “The Haunted Doll House” was later reprinted in James last substantial collection, A Warning to the Curious (1925). It also features an explanatory note that sounds a little like an apology:
It will be said, perhaps, and not unjustly, that this is no more than a variation on a former story of mine called “The Mezzotint.” I can only hope that there is enough of variation in the setting to make the repetition of the motif tolerable.For many years, I actively disliked this story, and my reasons for this are suggested by the note above.The Mezzotint” is one of my favorite M.R. James stories. It was also the first M.R. James story I read, and its conception—that the images which present themselves in an old etching could be transformed in such a way that various individuals who glanced at it during the course of a day could see the individual stages of an horrific of crime. This was something in this that my teenage self found both terrifying and compelling.
But “The Haunted Doll House”—in which a group of dolls act out an old murder in a gothic doll house—seemed to me, the first time I read it, as nothing more than a “Mezzotint” rehash. The tale it told was more complicated, but not as interesting. For me at least, the original thrill of terror did not repeat itself.
Now, however, after a score of years, I find that I like the story much better than before. Although it is not in the first rank of James’ tales, it does have its own gothic pleasures. I think that when James used the word “setting” in his accompanying note, he meant it literally, that it was in the gothic atmosphere of the doll house itself—and its connection to Horace Walpole, the inspiration for both neo-gothic architecture and the gothic novel--that value of this tale is to be found:
[I]t would have been difficult to find a more perfect and attractive specimen of a Dolls’ House in Strawberry Hill Gothic than that which now stood on Mr. Dillet’s large kneehole table, lighted up by the evening sun which came slanting through three tall slash-windows.
It was quite six feet long, including the Chapel or Oratory which flanked the front on the left as you faced it, and the stable on the right. The main block of the house was, as I have said, in the Gothic manner: that is to say, the windows had pointed arches and were surmounted by what are called ogival hoods, with crockets and finials such as we see on the canopies of tombs built into church walls. At the angles were absurd turrets covered with arched panels. The Chapel had pinnacles and buttresses, and a bell in the turret and coloured glass in the windows. When the front of the house was open you saw four large rooms, bedroom, dining-room, drawing-room and kitchen, each with its appropriate furniture in a very complete state.
The stable on the right was in two storeys, with its proper complement of horses, coaches and grooms, and with its clock and Gothic cupola for the clock bell.
. . . “Quintessence of Horace Walpole, that’s what it is: he must have had something to do with the making of it.” Such was Mr. Dillet’s murmured reflection as he knelt before it in a reverent ecstasy. “Simply wonderful! this is my day and no mistake. . . . Well, well! It almost makes one afraid something’ll happen to counter it.”
July 19, 2025
The title says it all, although if it didn't, I imagine readers would still guess the reason for the discount on the beautiful vintage doll house :) This story is probably more sad than scary, but still a good old solid M. R. James ghost story.
April 10, 2019
Reading the story afresh while attempting to translate it into Bengali made me realise two things:
1. The story has its gothic pleasures, but compared to the shudder-inducing ability of 'The Mezzotint' it remains a pale shadow;
2. The story was so wordy! My God, if someone had written something like this in the Pulp era, imagine how profitable it would have been for the poor hack!
BUT... if you have a quiet evening and nothing else to do, curl up into a cozy position and enjoy it. Rather, enjoy the complete collection penned by the Maestro.
1. The story has its gothic pleasures, but compared to the shudder-inducing ability of 'The Mezzotint' it remains a pale shadow;
2. The story was so wordy! My God, if someone had written something like this in the Pulp era, imagine how profitable it would have been for the poor hack!
BUT... if you have a quiet evening and nothing else to do, curl up into a cozy position and enjoy it. Rather, enjoy the complete collection penned by the Maestro.
May 10, 2019
Cool idea, but the way it was written didn't really make it scary or thrilling. It's not BAD, though.
August 26, 2020
That was wonderful, absolutely incredible! I LOVE IT!
I have read before spooky books, in Arabic, and i was terrified-kind of- but never this elegantly and eloquently written, oh my dear god it’s so beautifully written i love this elegant books, and let’s not get into how i enjoyed reading it with a semi-Irish, semi-British accents, it was fun. It was enough spookiness but not the point where i’m terrified witless and can’y sleep, though i probably would not have minded that.
The stories are wonderful and cover a wide range. And they’re not too short and not too long. Just perfect little stories.
Would absolutely recommend and i can see myself buying the rest of the books in the series.
I have read before spooky books, in Arabic, and i was terrified-kind of- but never this elegantly and eloquently written, oh my dear god it’s so beautifully written i love this elegant books, and let’s not get into how i enjoyed reading it with a semi-Irish, semi-British accents, it was fun. It was enough spookiness but not the point where i’m terrified witless and can’y sleep, though i probably would not have minded that.
The stories are wonderful and cover a wide range. And they’re not too short and not too long. Just perfect little stories.
Would absolutely recommend and i can see myself buying the rest of the books in the series.
October 9, 2013
The Haunted Dolls' House by M. R. James is a collection of pleasantly creepy short stories. Just the sort to read on a brisk October evening when the days are drawing closer, ever closer to Halloween. His stories then to be set in a picturesque little village in England--or Sweden or France. He also likes a good university or abbey or church as the backdrop. His characters tend to be gentlemanly scholars or just plain gentlemen who come across an obscure bit of knowledge with a supernatural connection that they just can't resist figuring out. Or who run into a curse or a mysterious treasure guarded by a ghost or a maze that's been shut up for years--but no one knows why. Almost always, the gentleman/scholar discovers some ancient book or object that brings the wrath of the otherwordly down upon him.
As with most short story collections, this is a mixed bag. There are some outstanding stories such as the title story--which tells about a Gothic dolls' house where a deadly drama is enacted each night at 1 am. The newest owner believe he's gotten a bargain when he buys the house at a bottom dollar (bottom pound?) price. But he soon finds out his mistake. There is also "Casting of the Runes" which, if nothing else, gives academics the perfect revenge against those publishers and journal editors who refuse to print their work. A nice runic curse is just the thing to prove that your life's work is nothing to trifle with. Just be sure it doesn't come back to haunt you. The creepiest story by far is "Lost Hearts"--I won't ruin it, but let's just say that if you're alone in the world and under 21, then you don't want Mr. Abney taking pity on you and offering you a home. Really. Go live in the woods and eat berries. It'd be way better. "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is the first story in the collection and probably the most well-known. I've seen it several times in collections and it never ceases to give me a chill or two. A professor goes on a golfing holiday combined with an intent to get some scholarly work done. His colleague asks him to check out a possible archeological site in the area and let him know if it would worth setting up a dig. When he does, he discovers a metal pipe that looks like some sort of ancient whistle. He learns that you should be careful when you blow on whistles. You never know what might answer your call.
The story which I found least interesting was "Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance." The story of the haunted maze just didn't evoke the same sense of the supernatural as the others in the collection. The atmosphere doesn't quite work as well. Which is unfortunate because of all the stories, it's the only one I snagged any quotations from--but they are both about books (see below). Over all, this is a fine bunch of spooky stories to while away an evening. A high number of excellent stories, a few that are good, and just a couple that aren't quite up to standard. Three and a half stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
As with most short story collections, this is a mixed bag. There are some outstanding stories such as the title story--which tells about a Gothic dolls' house where a deadly drama is enacted each night at 1 am. The newest owner believe he's gotten a bargain when he buys the house at a bottom dollar (bottom pound?) price. But he soon finds out his mistake. There is also "Casting of the Runes" which, if nothing else, gives academics the perfect revenge against those publishers and journal editors who refuse to print their work. A nice runic curse is just the thing to prove that your life's work is nothing to trifle with. Just be sure it doesn't come back to haunt you. The creepiest story by far is "Lost Hearts"--I won't ruin it, but let's just say that if you're alone in the world and under 21, then you don't want Mr. Abney taking pity on you and offering you a home. Really. Go live in the woods and eat berries. It'd be way better. "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is the first story in the collection and probably the most well-known. I've seen it several times in collections and it never ceases to give me a chill or two. A professor goes on a golfing holiday combined with an intent to get some scholarly work done. His colleague asks him to check out a possible archeological site in the area and let him know if it would worth setting up a dig. When he does, he discovers a metal pipe that looks like some sort of ancient whistle. He learns that you should be careful when you blow on whistles. You never know what might answer your call.
The story which I found least interesting was "Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance." The story of the haunted maze just didn't evoke the same sense of the supernatural as the others in the collection. The atmosphere doesn't quite work as well. Which is unfortunate because of all the stories, it's the only one I snagged any quotations from--but they are both about books (see below). Over all, this is a fine bunch of spooky stories to while away an evening. A high number of excellent stories, a few that are good, and just a couple that aren't quite up to standard. Three and a half stars.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
October 28, 2012
Full disclosure: I totally bought this book because of the cover. They had them standing, facing outward, on top of a shelf at Half-Price Books, and I was already on quite the spree so I thought, "Why not?" The design of this whole series is quite attractive, but I think this cover in its simplicity and starkness is the best one (yay Penguin design!).
Story-wise: Lately I am finding myself quite into what I think of as light horror. It's like the soft rock of horror. Minimal suspense, minimal blood, ideally lots of like mysteries, clues, and unintentional hilarity. I think the apex of this for me was my recent viewing of Burn, Witch, Burn! which is about academics and their spouses (in a freakin' sociology department, no less!) jockeying for position with one another. I always knew superstition and black magic were the way to get tenure! (It's streaming on Netflix, seriously, you should watch it.)
M.R. James' world is also full of academics, and I think it's their stories I liked best (in particular, "Casting the Runes," which is basically about the consequences of not accepting a journal article!). Nearly all the stories are "told", sometimes by the author, as if he is telling them to you (and doing all the accents and voices for every Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle). Other times, they are being retold by a character within the story -- sometimes like three or four layers in, which is an unusual way of doing things. Are they as scary as Michael Chabon and H.P. Lovecraft claim in cover blurbs? Um, no. But if you're looking for some light horror (here minus the unintentional hilarity), it's a good read.
Story-wise: Lately I am finding myself quite into what I think of as light horror. It's like the soft rock of horror. Minimal suspense, minimal blood, ideally lots of like mysteries, clues, and unintentional hilarity. I think the apex of this for me was my recent viewing of Burn, Witch, Burn! which is about academics and their spouses (in a freakin' sociology department, no less!) jockeying for position with one another. I always knew superstition and black magic were the way to get tenure! (It's streaming on Netflix, seriously, you should watch it.)
M.R. James' world is also full of academics, and I think it's their stories I liked best (in particular, "Casting the Runes," which is basically about the consequences of not accepting a journal article!). Nearly all the stories are "told", sometimes by the author, as if he is telling them to you (and doing all the accents and voices for every Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle). Other times, they are being retold by a character within the story -- sometimes like three or four layers in, which is an unusual way of doing things. Are they as scary as Michael Chabon and H.P. Lovecraft claim in cover blurbs? Um, no. But if you're looking for some light horror (here minus the unintentional hilarity), it's a good read.
May 31, 2009
A creepy set of little short stories by a man who seemed to enjoy describing the appearances of houses and churches. I actually had to look this M.R. James up to see if he was an architect. He really does go on about the buildings. And, he uses funny antiquated words that aren't even in my dictionary.
But all of that aside, his stories were great. Fear is always just out of sight. You feel it but can't quite see it. Imagine the comfort of your pillow in your cozy bed. Now imagine stretching in bed and rolling over and sticking your hand under your pillow and into something that felt furry and had teeth... his stories are kind of like that... even with buildings and funny words.
But all of that aside, his stories were great. Fear is always just out of sight. You feel it but can't quite see it. Imagine the comfort of your pillow in your cozy bed. Now imagine stretching in bed and rolling over and sticking your hand under your pillow and into something that felt furry and had teeth... his stories are kind of like that... even with buildings and funny words.
December 27, 2021
This was a fun story, although not really that scary (this may have been creepier for those reading it when this tale was new). I can see this as a movie or play, and with some tweaking the story could truly be creepy. The premise is similar in The Mezzotint and was better done in that story. The plot is obvious from the title: an unsuspecting man buys a beautiful doll house from an antiques and curiosities dealer. When the man brings it home, he puts it in his bedroom. He wakes up in the middle of the night to see the little dolls inside enact a macabre scene, which he suspects may have happened. Minor spoiler, yes, what he saw reenacted by the dolls happened, which he discovers when he takes a seaside vacation to recover his health after that night.
October 24, 2025
The title sounds pretty intriguing but what about its content? Mr Dillet is buying a doll house from a seller. It is pretty huge and nicely made fitted with all kind of characters. Soon the setting starts to haunt him. He hears a mysterious bell. Where does the doll house come from? What's its secret? Well, the story could have been far creepier if it wouldn't have been told in quite a tedious old fashioned way. There were some proper horror motifs given. So it dragged a bit and the denouement wasn't truly satisfying with me. Overall an okay read.
January 3, 2021
I was enjoying this until I wasn't. I love the idea of a doll house coming to life and watching a horror story play out. The major problem for me was that the ending was so abrupt that I actually went back to see if I missed something. Great concept but the writing is just not for me. Gothic atmosphere but the horror aspect was pretty understated.
December 8, 2020
A very good and inventive version of a haunted house story. The narrator style prose was executed very well, and connects with the reader. I was engaged and it turned a basic story into something new even for a story published 97 years ago.
April 23, 2021
The Haunted Dolls' House, by M.R. James (1925)
Not so much haunted but more miniaturised re-enactment of a murder - the deliberate poisoning of an elderly estate owner.
"And what of Mr Dillet and of his new acquisition?" (3 stars)
Not so much haunted but more miniaturised re-enactment of a murder - the deliberate poisoning of an elderly estate owner.
"And what of Mr Dillet and of his new acquisition?" (3 stars)
March 25, 2022
M.R. James is in the top tier of gifted horror short story writers. This collection contains two of my favorite M.R. James stories "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad" and "Casting the Runes." His story create just the right mood and are just the right length.
December 4, 2023
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
love this one. perhaps I'm biased because I'm weirdly keen on miniature scenes/gothic dolls houses already? 🏠 but I find this really effective. also makes me want to visit strawberry hill house even more than before.
love this one. perhaps I'm biased because I'm weirdly keen on miniature scenes/gothic dolls houses already? 🏠 but I find this really effective. also makes me want to visit strawberry hill house even more than before.
October 24, 2024
More of a mystery than a scary story really. It would have been interesting to have had this as a longer story to find the answers as to what happened, more obstacles, and maybe some kind of resolution.
December 3, 2024
A classic Ghost story from M R James, about a man who buys a large Dolls House, at one o’clock in the morning each day the Dolls House comes to life whereby the occupants come to life, the owner then decides to investigate the history of the house with alarming results, a good read.
November 10, 2017
All in all, a good collection of Victorian ghost/horror stories. Not necessarily "scary" to our modern sensibilities, but spooky and atmospheric.
October 28, 2019
Very of its time, but still a very creepy read. Anyone who enjoys reading about things that go bump in the night will enjoy this book.
January 1, 2020
This was a wonderful eerie tale of a haunted doll house by the master of the genre, MR James. It contains a twist that was not what I expected. Wonderful story and narration by David Collings.
August 26, 2020
Somewhat interesting.
May 28, 2021
Another really well writen story by M.R. James. Scary concept but he goes for a more supernatural non horror approach.
July 29, 2025
I read it diligently, waiting for something to happen, and then in his end notes James apologises that the story is similar to one of his earlier works. He wrote two of these??? Why?!!!!
September 9, 2025
great horror short story and great narration by a fantastic narrator.
December 22, 2025
I think I have a soft spot for M R James
July 29, 2011
For the past few years I've been buying numerous Penguin classics based purely on the covers and have been delighted with the books. This is the first one that left me flat. I understand it's an old book, but being "old" hasn't stopped me from loving "Tarzan", "Sherlock Holmes" and "Dracula". The problem with this one is not that nearly all but one of the stories is about a character getting an object that ends up being haunted which isn't the most thrilling plot in the world for a story. The real problem is that up till the last 2-3 stories, the author doesn't seem to give a shit about the stories himself. In one instance he actually writes "That's enough of that, let's move on" and cuts the flow of the introduction of the characters off. In another, he doesn't even name the first 2 characters introduced in the story and points out the names aren't important since they are their to set up the introduction of the protagonist.
What a lousy way to write a story! If the author can't be bothered to tell it, how does he expect the reader to stay interested? I nearly gave up on it due to the apathy of the author. If you want creepy supernatural short stories, get some Lovecraft.
What a lousy way to write a story! If the author can't be bothered to tell it, how does he expect the reader to stay interested? I nearly gave up on it due to the apathy of the author. If you want creepy supernatural short stories, get some Lovecraft.
September 12, 2013
I've never been a fan of short stories and this book sadly hasn't done much to sway me. I found a whole stack of Pengiun 60's books in a charity shop and i'm off to Paris tomorrow so decided to get a couple for the journey, i didn't want a long book that would need my complete attention or take up space in my bag. So i bought this one and The pit and the pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe which i plan to read on the trip. Out of the three stories Stevenson's The Body Snatchers is defiantly the best. It offers a lot more in such few pages than either of the stories by M R James. Whilst i didn't expect too much from the book, i did actually really enjoy The Body Snatchers. The Doll's House and The Rose Garden however really didn't bring anything to the table for me. Maybe its the older style of writing although easy to read and get to grips with, i didn't find myself in suspense or curious or actually bothered about either story at all. Maybe Stevenson is a much better writer but having not read any other books by either author i cant really judge that. I am however glad that a story by Stevenson had been included, it would have been rather disappointing if it hadn't based on the other two short stories.
August 1, 2009
This is one of those books that make me wish goodreads let you do half points, because it's more 3.5 than 3. Good! Not very spooky, but interesting and there's a few that I'm sure I've read before and others that I know I've never read. The title story was probably my favourite of the collection.
The Haunted Doll's House is part of a Penguin Collection of horror that includes Lois the Witch by Gaskell, The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins and Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm, all of which I've read or attempted to read. So yes, I feel this collection was designed with me in mind and intend to do what I can to chase up the rest of these books.
The Haunted Doll's House is part of a Penguin Collection of horror that includes Lois the Witch by Gaskell, The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins and Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm, all of which I've read or attempted to read. So yes, I feel this collection was designed with me in mind and intend to do what I can to chase up the rest of these books.
November 5, 2011
I picked this up for Halloween at the secondhand bookstore. For a collection of traditional, scary stories all set in the mid-1800's (for the most part) and all with men for main characters (and the villains too--come to that), it was fairly enjoyable. Probably not the most page-turning of volumes, but "Casting the Runes", "Lost Hearts", and "A Warning to the Curious" were probably my favorites, and according to other reviews here, these are M.R. James' less-fantastic stories, so I might not be opposed to reading more by him.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews