Collected Ghost Stories (Oxford World's Classics)

There was not much variety in the means of discovering the "ghosts" in Mr. James's stories. All related to dusty archives in libraries or other document collections. And terrifying they were not. I think I only shuddered twice. Also, the archaic text presentation wearied me; pages and pages of text (one paragraph stretched over two pages) with dialogue sandwiched in there. I cannot understand why Oxford University Press deemed this collection suitable for a reprint in the 21st Century.

M.R. James is singularly responsible for my lifelong interest in ghost stories, and he is a true master of the genre. His antiquarian tastes are reflected in many of his ghost stories with the result that these stories are imbued with a high sense of atmosphere and creepiness.

The cover of this paperback edition is suitably Gothic with an angel statue portrayed glaring downwards. This edition features all of James' published ghost stories, as well as an appendix of James' writings on the ghost story. This edition has been edited with an introduction and notes by Darryl Jones and also contains a select bibliography as well as a chronology of M.R. James. There are also some explanatory notes on each of the stories at the end of the book. The select bibliography may not be extensive but has several gems, including The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys which I promptly purchased for my reading pleasure.

In his Introduction, Darryl Jones wisely advises, "Readers who are unfamiliar with the stories may prefer to treat the Introduction as an Afterword." Indeed, loyal fans of M.R. James will be acquainted with some of the matters brought up in the Introduction, such as James' famed ghost story readings at Christmastime in Cambridge, the basis for TV productions such as BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas (available at Amazon's UK website) and Ghost Stories from the BBC: Lost Hearts / The Treasure of Abbot Thomas / The Ash Tree (Brand New & Sealed DVD). Even the issue of M.R. James' sexuality is briefly touched upon here. The Introduction is predictably brief, and a deeper insight into James' life and influences can perhaps be found in M.R.James: An Informal Portrait.

This volume collects all of MR James' ghost stories except for "A Night In King's College Chapel", and "The Fenstanton Witch", as well as Monty's unfinished ghost stories all of which are found in one complete volume, in A PLEASING TERROR: The Complete Supernatural Writings. To conclude, this Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James is a handsome edition which is bound to please loyal fans and readers new to this master of the supernatural tale.

Have read his ghost stories many times.. No one writes a more chilling ghost story.

Very good stories!

haven't read it yet, book came in protected box and looks nice and new.

Good read

Extremely enjoyable!

Dull. Time has left him behind

Written in a more innocent and graceful era, MR James's ghost stories are subtle, with very polite and, at times, utterly chilling ghosts.

I enjoyed most of them, with some of the stories giving me delicious goosebumps (The Ash Tree, Number 13, Oh Whistle & I'll come to thee, my Lad, The Uncommon Prayer Book, Wailing Well and others).

One issue I had with this particular text, was that the explanatory notes were by means of an * (no differentiaton within each story) and the note itself was at the back of the book, rather than at the foot of the relevant page, which would have made reading the explanations without interrupting the pace and tension of the story a lot easier. In the end, I stopped looking at the notes and just enjoyed the stories, although I would have liked to know what some references meant.

Quaint and appealing, these ghost stories are a great in bed late at night ...!