Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories (The Complete Ghost Stories of M. R. James, Vol. 1)

Penguin's annotated edition of Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories, representing approximately half the entries of the more comprehensive Collected Ghost Stories, is a fitting introduction to one of the most famous British ghost storytellers. This comes as a bit of a shock when reading the actual stories, however, for their perspective and narrative stylings are almost alien to what you'd find in more contemporary collections, whether these subscribe to the gory cult of horror or the more restrained evocation of suspense.James' style is a function of his background as much as of his time. Prolific during the first two decades of the 20th century, James was first and foremost a medieval scholar, and highly respected at several posts at Cambridge and Eton. James' medieval research became the foundation for his numerous ghost stories, which he typically shared with family at annual Christmas parties, and which he was eventually persuaded to publish. While James' scholarly work was influential at the time, his reputation today is most closely connected to these published tales of the supernatural.Above, I described the ghost stories as feeling almost "alien," although this is not the case in terms of subject matter. Cursed artifacts and bloodlines, ghosts and demons, Satanic ritual, and haunted sites were common tropes of ghost stories long before and after James' writing; the actual plots of his stories are, if anything, timeless. It is their perspective, and with it a sort of unexpected rigor, that make these stories most distinctive.For example, more than 200 years after the early Gothicists outlined a philosophical divide between terror (which withholds unpleasant information) and horror (which revels in its display), most writers of Gothic or horror literature still fall back on one of these two strategies. They share an effectiveness in our close identification with the protagonist, achieved through their emotional vulnerability, a vivid description of their experience, and presumed proximity to the reader's own perception. James is a great fan of nested narrators, and often a story is told by a scholar who has unearthed an account of an investigator who, himself, might be hearing a supernatural tale second-hand. So we are reading an account of an account of an account. In an almost stereotypical display of British "dryness," emotions are suppressed with expressions of politeness and propriety, and seldom break beyond generalized expressions of anxiety, fear, apprehension, or relief. In fact, in most of these stories, we only develop the most rudimentary understanding of any character, and even this is most clearly understood through our aquaintance with their their area of academic specialty. It is, therefore, difficult to empathize with characters, and thus difficult to feel a sensation of "terror" or "horror."This emotional detachment will be problematic for many modern horror readers, who rely almost by instinctively on an author's ability to evoke fear, and James' work is dated, at least in that it restricts itself to a more intellectual, more ruminatory approach to the supernatural. An underlying strategy is well illustrated in "Casting the Runes," one of the more effective stories (and, incidentally, one of the few with sharply defined characters). In "Runes," a medieval critic and scholar is pitted against an real-life alchemist. The annotations note that this latter figure may have been inspired by Aleister Crowley, the erstwhile Marilyn Manson of his day. Even if this were not the case, there was a deep fascination with the occult among the British upper class at this time, and "Runes" aims to appeal to this fascination far more than to evoke delicious "fear." Thus, James reveals and withholds information about the legitimacy of Karswell's alchemy, and hones in on the symptoms of his curse and Dunning's strategies to escape. Personalities, motivations, and even survival are discussed in an abbreviated way and as a secondary priority.Which isn't to say that there aren't creepy moments in many stories. "Runes," itself, makes good use of suspense, as does "The Mezzotint," "Number 13," and "Mr. Humphrey's and His Inheritance." As for gristle and gore, there's plenty to be found in "Young Hearts," "Count Magnus," and "Martin's Close." The historical detail and precision which underlies each supernatural mystery is well established, and as a result, these stories unfold as (and can be enjoyed in the same manner as) a puzzle. Even here, you might be able to guess the plot's final destination: after all, James' borrowed tropes that were hundreds of years old, and they have been borrowed again and again down to the present day. But the actual development of the stories are engaging nevertheless.All things considered, the stories in Count Magnus are not particularly arresting, or mesmerizing, or affecting. They are, however, reliably intriguing... probably best read when you're well-rested, mentally alert, and just as interested in the way a ghost story is structured as in the actual ghosts and their powers.

M.R. James' "Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories" is not a simple anthology of classic English ghost stories of the 19th century, but rather a well-researched and annotated compilation of some of most thoughtful stories of the supernatural ever written. Given the changes in language, custom, and style that have elapsed since James penned these tales, the annotation is critical in fully enjoying these great stories, while at the same time providing interesting historical context and appropriate anecdotes. While most all of the stories are similar in tone, "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is probably the best known - a haunting tale with frightening imagery that set the baseline for the more visceral horror fiction of the 20th century. And then there's the spooky "The Ash-Tree," and "The Mezzotint" - a theme that has been repeated in contemporary literature and film.On that note, however, a word of caution: these stories are not the gory, gaudy, "slasher" fright stories of Stephen King or other contemporary writers. Instead, the Victorian version of a ghost story was expectedly more reserved and less sensational, relying on nuance and imagination - with healthy does of ambiguity - than today's works of terror that leave little to the imagination. This is by no means a criticism of modern horror - but if you're expecting Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" or King's "Salem's Lot," you may find the prose and settings a bit boring and the pace at points tedious. Notwithstanding, the ghost story fan will want to read this as fascinating insight into the origins of the genre - insight that is not without spine-tingling moments and a more "civilized" version of terror. Think of the brilliance of Hitchcock, for example, in his ability to produce the mind-numbing fear of "Psycho" in spite of the motion picture rating constraints of the day. M.R. James produces some of these same effects through prose and plotting - a neat collection of entertaining stories that will keep you up late into the night - frightened or otherwise.

There are many M.R. James collections available. The two volumes of the Penguin collection (this and The Haunted Doll's House And Other Ghost Stories ) have the advantage of containing all of his stories, plus the prefaces he wrote for the collections published in his lifetime, plus a few other essays of his on ghost stories. The stories are arranged chronologically (with this volume containing the earlier stories), allowing the reader to trace the evolution of James's style. His best stories are scattered across the two volumes.It should be admitted that the pleasures of James's stories can be subtle. Generally, they provide a pleasant chill, rather than the sort of visceral thrills that those raised on slasher flicks might expect. True, there is a surprising physicality to many of the tales, with malignant forces more likely to manifest as hairy beasts than as spectral ladies. Furthermore, some of James's earlier tales are fairly straight-forward horror stories of gore and revenge. However, as he develops as a writer, his tales become more skeletal and more sophisticated. It is in the framing of them that he excels: the atmospheric evocations of time and place; the superficially fussy, but secretly gymnastic authorial voice, which occasionally performs surprising leaps; and, most of all, the textual experiments. My favourite tales are those told through fragments of found documents, folk tales and gossip. The closer James clings to his background as an antiquary, the more seemingly authentic, and thus chilling, are his tales.

While, personally, I still think the great Sir Michael Horden remains the master when it comes to narrating the stories of MR James (there was just something about his voice that seemed to suit the material perfectly), here, Sir Derek Jacobi still does an excellent job in reading these tales from the great ghost story writer.This 2CD collection has 5 tales ("A view from a hill", "rats", "A school story" (which is split across the two CDs), "The ash tree" and "The story of a disappearance and an appearance") and is about 2.5 hours long. I'm sure everyone has their own personal favourites from his writings and while these five are not at the very top of my own list, they are very well brought to life by Jacobi and I still found them very atmospheric. Great fun to listen to in bed!

The following review is for the Penguin paperback book "Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories: The Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James (volume 1)", not the audiobook.This Penguin edition, when combined with its sister volume  The Haunted Dolls' House and Other Ghost Stories (volume 2)  form the most definitive binding of M.R. James's ghost stories that is widely available. Comprising James's first two ghost story books ("Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" and "More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary") this edition is fully annotated and with a few extras thrown in. Although James's works are supremely accessible and highly readable, there are a few references which may be just a bit too oblique for us nowadays - there are few Edwardian scholars like James around. The editors come to the rescue here with comprehensive notes at the back, together with translations of passages of Latin which James left as it was.The most interesting added bonus here is "A Night In King's College Chapel", thought to be M.R. James's very first ghost story, and not included in the other widely available published works. It's ultimately a little disappointing, and having none of the terror and atmosphere of his other works, but nevertheless it's a real privelige to read this rare work and see where it all began.As for the stories themselves, many of James's best known are in this volume; "Lost Hearts", "The Treasure of Abbott Thomas", and perhaps the best known "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come To You My Lad". The best way to enjoy these is to space them out - they are all quite short and read one after another they loose their impact. Most follow the well known Jamesian formula of an academic or member of the clergy inadvertently summoning a malevolent force. Widely considered to be the master of his genre, James creates a superbly chilling atmosphere in just a few pages.There are lots of different editions of M.R. James's ghost stories available. These Penguin ones do work out among the most expensive considering two volumes are involved, but they are worthwhile for the bonus stories and essays not found in the others, and for the annotations for the interested reader. The Haunted Dolls' House and Other Ghost Stories (volume 2)

These are classic ghost stories from the best ghost story writer of all time. Yes, the language is dated and you have to concentrate, but the tales are very spooky and certainly make you think. A book to read and to keep.

Wasent mad about it