Showing results by author "M.R.James" in All Categories

Since the first appearance of a vampire in Robert Southey’s Thalaba the Destroyer, we mortals have endured a morbid fascination with these peculiar creatures of the night. They come in many forms: charming and seductive; ghastly and terrible. Join us as we explore a number of classic yarns concerning the various guises of the vampire, from Aleksey Tolstoy’s horrifying description of a vampiric family to Robert E. Howard’s tale of a creature loosed from bondage after having been buried for over three centuries. Thank the gods these creatures are fictitious…aren’t they?

A tragic past comes back to haunt the present in The Ash Tree. When Sir Richard Fell inherits Castringham Hall, it comes with a curse that has caused the mysterious deaths of the previous owners.

A young, scientifically minded college professor finds an old bronze whistle while exploring the ruins of a Knights Templars' preceptory. That night, he blows on the whistle and a vision comes to him of a dark expanse with a lonely figure in its midst. The sound also appears to call up a gust of wind, but the sensible professor dismisses it as a coincidence. More strange incidents follow, however, to shake his disbelief in the supernatural.

A young antiquary and archaeologist named Paxton is on vacation in the south-east coast of England when he hears the legend of the three holy crowns. According to the legend, England was kept safe from being invaded when three crowns were buried long ago at sites near the coast. One of the crowns was later dug up, one is now beneath the sea but one still remains buried in the earth and keeps England safe from invasion. Members of a family named Ager long guarded the site where the crown was buried.

An association rejects a paper entitled 'The Truth of Alchemy'. The author of the paper, Mr Karswell, does not take the rejection well. After his appeals fail, he begins to make inquiries about the expert behind the decision. The expert, Edward Dunning, soon begins to experience strange and disturbing events. He eventually becomes convinced that Karswell has placed a curse on him.

In this particular story we meet Stephen Elliott, a young orphan boy who is sent to stay with his much older cousin, Mr Abney, at a remote country mansion. His cousin is a reclusive alchemist, obsessed with making himself immortal. Stephen is repeatedly troubled by visions of a young gypsy girl and a travelling Italian boy, but what could they be trying to tell him?

In this particular story, a traveller in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominous figure, Count Magnus. Apparently the count went on a ‘black pilgrimage’, the details of which are discovered by the traveller in an alchemical textbook. However, it might not be the best of ideas to go poking around in the history of such a mysterious man....

We’ve recorded some 400+ stories since 2015 here at HorrorBabble. This collection comprises some of our very favorites. From Blackwood's evocative "The Transfer", through to Smith's terrifying visit to the vaults of Yoh-Vombis, there’s something here to strike fear into the heart of any horror enthusiast....

Many hybrid forms of the mystery-crime-thriller genre exists. All of them are narratives that keep one in suspense about what is about to happen. The thriller also shares a literary lineage with ancient epic and myth populated by monsters, terror and danger. Alexandre Dumas, Alfred Hitchcock, and Robert Ludlum are some of the masters of the genre.

"Cuori spezzati" fu pubblicato per la prima volta in Italia da Dino Buzzati nella sua celebre antologia "Pesanervi". "Cuori spezzati" è una storia di fantasmi terrificante che racconta di Stephen Elliott, un giovane orfano mandato a vivere da un vecchio cugino in una casa sperduta in camppagna. Suo cugino è un alchemista ossessionato dalla ricerca dell'immortalità. Stephen è perseguitato dalla visione di una giovane ragazza zingara e un giovane ragazzo italiano a cui manca il cuore.

In one of M.R. James’ creepiest short stories, night of terror plays out with every glimpse at a static picture and the viewer is powerless to prevent a dark figure’s progress. 'The Mezzotint' is taken from the second volume of the Victorian Anthologies Horror series, featuring short stories by classic writers of the spooky, the scary and the supernatural. Guaranteed to give you the shivers, each collection includes familiar and loved creepy tales as well as those less well-known. With music by Benedict Edwards.

In the story, a young, scientifically minded college professor finds an old bronze whistle while exploring the ruins of a Knights Templars' preceptory. That night, he blows on the whistle and a vision comes to him of a dark expanse with a lonely figure in its midst. The sound also appears to call up a gust of wind, but the sensible professor dismisses it as a coincidence. More strange incidents follow, however, to shake his disbelief in the supernatural.

First published in 1911, A School Story is a classic paranormal tale written by M. R. James, an author considered to be the originator of the modern-age ghost story. In this particularly story, a Latin teacher is troubled by unusual phrases from the dead language that start to show up among the work he sets his students; something about the phrases remind him of a dark secret from his past.

This collection of M. R. James’ supernatural stories is read by critically acclaimed star of stage and screen Sir Michael Hordern. Included here are some of M. R. James’ most beloved stories, including 'No. 13', 'Count Magnus', 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book', 'The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral', 'Lost Hearts', alongside many more spine-tingling tales.

A British antiquary named Somerton and his protégé follow a coded message about a huge treasure said to have been buried within a monastery by a disgraced abbot. Much to their peril they ignore ominous warnings of a supernatural guardian protecting the treasure. They are led to a place in Germany where the treasure is discovered. When he takes the treasure, Somerton finds that an entity will torment him until he returns the treasure to its hiding place.

A ghost story about a non-existent room 13 in an inn. The occupant of room 12 and the inn-keep hear noises next door, but it’s not coming from room 14. When they do discover the door to number 13, strange things start happening....

The clergyman named John Haynes becomes an archdeacon after his predecessor dies a seemingly natural death. One day, he touches a carved wooden figure in Barchester Cathedral. Then an ancient spell goes into effect....

Prepare to be spooked by one of England's classic scary stories. Stephen Elliot, a young orphan boy nearly 12, is called to live with a mysterious cousin in the country. Little does Elliot know that Abney has his own alchemical secrets and obsessions that will affect the young boy in ways he cannot imagine.

Eerie old houses, wretched smiles, mausoleums, and banshees. Stories from masters of the horror genre, M.R. James, F. Marion Craword, Edgar Allan Poe, W.W. Jacobs, Amelia Edwards, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, and H.P. Loveraft, stories to make your body tingle and your mind play tricks.

Ghost stories by M. R. James are pretty varied, and based on the genre of Gothic novels. The plot of "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is unveiled when Professor Parkins finds a whistle engraved with a Latin inscription... and blows it. "The School Story", builds a mystic and fearsome atmosphere around a mysterious Byzantine coin. Once again, well-chosen voices, superb music, and original cover-graphics serve to enhance the feel of the stories.