
20 HAUNTING TALES OF MYSTERY & MACABRE (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Antiquarian ghost stories from the Edwardian era: eerie English hauntings, cursed relics, and sinister scholarly mysteriesBy M. R. JamesLength14h 1m
About this audiobook
20 Haunting Tales of Mystery & Macabre gathers the antiquarian terrors for which M. R. James remains unsurpassed: cursed manuscripts, whistle-haunted beaches, malevolent engravings, lost relics, and scholarly curiosity punished by forces older than reason. Written in a deceptively plain, conversational style, these stories refine the Victorian ghost tale into a more modern form, replacing Gothic excess with documentary detail, dry wit, and the slow disclosure of dread. Their literary power lies in suggestion: James shows just enough of the monstrous to make the unseen intolerable. Montague Rhodes James was not merely an entertainer of the uncanny but a distinguished medievalist, biblical scholar, and provost of King's College, Cambridge, and later Eton. His professional life among archives, catalogues, abbey ruins, and illuminated manuscripts profoundly shaped his fiction. The learned settings are never decorative; they provide the intellectual machinery through which the past intrudes upon the present, turning scholarship itself into a perilous act of trespass. This collection is recommended to readers who value atmospheric horror over spectacle, and intellectual menace over simple shock. It is essential for admirers of classic ghost fiction, literary antiquarianism, and the subtle art of fear refined to its coldest, most elegant form.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreHorror
Length14 hrs 1 min
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 15, 2017
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
120 HAUNTING TALES OF MYSTERY & MACABRE (Annotated)
17The Rose Garden
2Introduction
18The Tractate Middoth
3Historical Context
19Casting the Runes
4Synopsis (Selection)
20The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
520 HAUNTING TALES OF MYSTERY & MACABRE: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary - Volume 1&2, A Thin Ghost, The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance, The Residence at Whitminster…
21Martin’s Close
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6Ghost Stories of an Antiquary:
22Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance
7Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book
23A Thin Ghost and Others:
8Lost Hearts
24The Residence at Whitminster
9The Mezzotint
25The Diary of Mr. Poynter
10The Ash-Tree
26An Episode of Cathedral History
11Number 13
27The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance
12Count Magnus
28Two Doctors
13‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’
29Analysis
14The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
30Reflection
15Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Part 2:
31Memorable Quotes
16A School Story