A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast
A podcast dedicated to the weird fiction and ghost stories of M.R. James, exploring his classic tales and their enduring influence on horror literature.
Episodes
Episode 99 – Curfew by Lucy M. Boston
This episode Mike and Will examine Curfew by Lucy M. Boston, a childhood tale of haunted bells, unearthed coffins and post-Jamesian highjinx aplenty.
Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes:
Curfew by Lucy M. Boston – read by Robert Lloyd Parry (Youtube.com)
The text of this story is not freely available online for copyright reasons, but why not en
Episode 98 – The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair
M.R. James said that sex had no place in a ghost story. But was he right? This episode we attempt to answer this question and more, as we cover The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair, a tale from 1923 about a couple who just want to enjoy their wedding night. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes.
Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode, and don’t forget to check
Episode 97 – Mark Gatiss’s Lot 249
Hold on to your mummy! This episode Mike and Will discuss Mark Gatiss’s recent Ghost Story for Christmas TV adaptation Lot 249, as well as the Arthur Conan Doyle short story it is based on.
Show notes:
Watch it online! (BBC iPlayer)
If you are in the UK you can watch it on BBC iPlayer until the end of 2024. If you are outside the UK, you may be able to watch if you have a Britbox subscripti
Episode 96 – The Real and the Counterfeit by Louisa Baldwin
This episode, Mike and Will grab their literary toboggans and gallop joyously out into the snow, only to be hit in the face by a terrifying fictional snowball in the form of Louisa Baldwin’s The Real and the Counterfeit!
Big thanks as ever to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift to please the M.R. James fan in your life? Why not head ov
Episode 95 – The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin
Who would win in a fight between a man and a bed? Find the answer to this question and more in our new episode on The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin! Also, if you like emotionally-repressed Victorian husbands, you will not leave disappointed.
Show notes:
Louisa Baldwin (1845–1925) (Wikipedia)
Louisa was a member of an illustrious family who included Rudyard Kipling and Prime Minister Sta
Episode 94 – Exploring Eleanor Scott with Vicky Margree and Dan Orrells
This episode we speak with two experts to better understand Eleanor Scott and her story Randall’s Round, Dr Vicky Margree and Prof Dan Orrells. We discuss what’s known about Eleanor Scott, her time at Oxford University in the early 1900s and the role of gender, folklore and imperialism in her writing.
Vicky is a specialist in literary fiction and feminist theory. Her book British Women
Episode 93 – Count Magnus Awakens
A BBC Ghost Story for Christmas is thankfully as traditional as quaffing eggnog and leaving out a carrot for Rudolph. And what a treat, as this year Count Magnus made the Black Pilgrimage onto our screens. But has Mark Gatiss been naughty or nice? We give you our verdict.
Show notes
A recent interview with Mark Gattis including his ambition to adapt Casting the Runes
Our coverage of Count Magnu
Episode 92 – Randalls Round by Eleanor Scott
This episode Mike and Will explore freaky folk-dance, village-based villainy and Cotswold chicanery in Eleanor Scott’s awesome Jamesian folk-horror tale Randalls Round!
Big thanks to Kirsty Woodfield for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes:
Eleanor Scott (The Haunted Library)
This article contains some biographical information as well as plot summaries of the stories that
Episode 91 – Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley
In the first episode of Season 4 tm, Mike and Will are delighted by Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley, a tale of crypts, clergymen and crikey, what is that in the dog’s mouth?
Big thanks to Jim Moon for allowing us to use extracts from his excellent reading of the story. You can listen to the whole thing over on the Hypnogoria podcast feed.
Show notes:
Mary Cholmondeley (Victorian Fiction Rese
Episode 90 – Right Through My Hair by Noel Boston
Join Will and Mike for haunted cathedrals, lecherous minor canons and hair-based horrors in Noel Boston’s ‘Right Through My Hair’!
Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes
Noel Boston (The Haunted Library)
Biographical information about Noel Boston is a bit hard to find online, but there is an excellent introduction in the Ash Tree Pres
Episode 89 – Cushi
Open your hymn books to episode 89, as we’re back in church for Christopher Woodforde’s “Cushi”: a tale of capering cats, sabotaged surplices and vengeful vergers. Don’t lose your head!
Show notes:
Christopher Woodforde studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge before becoming an Anglican priest. He was later Fellow and Chaplain at New College, Oxford, and Dean of Wells (as w
Episode 88 – Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book Revisited
Join Mike and Will for a special 10th anniversary (give or take a few months) special in which your now-aged hosts look back over a decade of M.R. James podcasting and return to the story that started it all, Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook! You can listen to when we originally covered this story all the way back in episode one. Will the quality of our story commentary have improved? Listen and fi
Episode 87 – Mark Gatiss’s The Mezzotint
In this episode, Mike and Will share their thoughts on Mark Gatiss’s recent TV adaptation of M.R. James’s The Mezzotint.
Join us for some monocle-popping, mustache-bristling, spine-chilling fun!
Show notes
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Mezzotint (BBC iPlayer)
Mark Gatiss’s adaptation is available to watch on BBC iPlayer for the next 11 months.
Episode 3 – The Mezzotint
Episode 86 – Lucky’s Grove by H.R. Wakefield
Ho ho, and indeed ho! In this special festive episode, Mike and Will pull on their wellies and wander straight into Lucky’s Grove by H.R. Wakefield. But who’s that hiding behind the Christmas tree?
Big thanks to Julia Morgan for allowing us to use extracts from her excellent Youtube reading of this story.
Show notes:
The Clock Strikes Twelve (Ash Tree Press)
If you want to read this s
Episode 85 – The Tudor Chimney by A.N.L. Munby
This episode Mike and Will grab their torches and disappear up ‘The Tudor Chimney’ by A.N.L. Munby. But what is that shape moving up above? Meh, it’s probably nothing.
Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode!
In this episode, we also mention Will’s new project DarkOxfordshire.co.uk, which explores the darker side of Oxfordshire’s history, i
Episode 84 – Bosworth Summit Pound
Ahoy there listeners! Be grabbin’ yer nautical gear for a cruise on the high seas of Leicestershire, with LTC Rolt and his story Bosworth Summit Pound. (Enough. It’s set on a canal – ed) What terrors might await us on England’s peaceful inland waterways? And just who digs a canal tunnel under an ancient graveyard anyway?
Story notes
Thank you to our reader this week To
Episode 83 – A Room in a Rectory
This episode Will and Mike hitch up their cassocks, pack their prayer books and head to ‘Southshire’ to open ‘A Room in a Rectory’ by Sir Andrew Caldecott!
Big thanks to Kirsty who provided the readings for this episode, and to Garry Platt who provided the photo that accompanies this episode. You can see more of Garry’s photos at his Instagram account.
Show notes:
S
Episode 82 – Echoes from the Abbey
This week Will and Mike don their warmest Christmas jumpers for dinner with Dr James and the troubled incumbents of Medborough Abbey, in the company of Sheila Hodgson.
What could be more seasonal than a cracker, eh? Oh the fun that tumbles out when it goes snap! Paper hat, plastic keyring, lighthearted message of impending doom, that sort of thing. Indeed, Monty James felt a cracker could prompt
Episode 81 – The Demoniac Goat by M.P. Dare
This episode Mike and Will brace themselves for the ‘appalling stench of goat, cordite, sulphur, and burning human flesh’ in M.P. Dare’s The Demoniac Goat. Lovely!
Also in this episode we speak to actor Robert Lloyd Parry and publisher Brian J. Showers about ‘Ghosts of the Chit-chat’, their soon to be published new anthology of ghost stories from authors who, alongsid
Episode 80 – The Sundial by R.H. Malden
This Halloween Mike and Will stroll out into the garden to take a look at The Sundial by R.H. Malden. But who is that lurking in the bushes?
Thanks to Kirsty for providing excellent readings for this episode!
Show notes:
Nine Ghosts by R.H. Malden (Project Gutenberg Australia)
Malden only wrote one volume of ghost stories, and it is available to read in its entirety on the Project Gutenberg Austr
Episode 79 – The Seventeenth Hole at Duncaster
Today we head to East Anglia for a round of golf in the company of enthusiastic James fan H.R. Wakefield. No whistling ‘ere though – you might just wake up something nasty…
Wakefield published seven volumes of ghost stories between 1928 and 1961, but also wrote three detective novels and two non-fiction ‘true crime’ studies.
He served in the military and as a private secretary t
Episode 78 – Brother John’s Bequest by Arthur Gray
This episode Mike and Will travel back to 16th century Cambridge to get acquainted with a rather unsavory guest at Jesus College in ‘Brother John’s Bequest‘ by Arthur Gray. Booze, burials and bell-book-and-candle are the order of the day here, with a side order of spitting. Eww.
Big thanks to Kirsty for providing the excellent readings for this episode!
Notes
Arthur Gray (Ghosts
Episode 77 – The Man with the Roller by E.G. Swain
This episode Mike and Will put on their dancing shoes and head out to the lawn, only to encounter The Man with the Roller by E.G. Swain!
Massive thanks to podcaster Jim Moon of hypnogoria.com for letting us use extracts from his reading of this story in the episode! You can listen to the full reading, as well as all Jim’s other E.G. Swain readings here.
Note: we realised after recording tha
Episode 76 – How Fear Departed From the Long Gallery
We liven up our social distancing by finishing off the Benson boys, with Fred’s How Fear Departed From the Long Gallery. Dirty Dick gets his comeuppance for a murderous deed, but can the ghosts of his victims be laid to rest?
Trigger warning for gratuitous violence against children. And yes, we do mean it this time!
Thank you again to the fabulous Richard Crowest of the ‘Ghost Stories of
Episode 75 – The Traveller by R.H. Benson
This episode explores some ecclesiastical terrors in R.H. Benson’s ‘The Traveller’. It was ‘too ecclesiastical’ for M.R. James, but will Mike and Will find something to enjoy in this tale of perturbed priests, creepy confessionals and historical haunting?
Thanks to our reader for this episode Debbie Wedge!
Show notes:
Robert Hugh Benson (catholiceducation.org)
Benson
Ep74 – Review of Martin’s Close on BBC4
Excitement abounds in the podcast house as Big Santy C leaves us a new BBC Ghost Story for Christmas, courtesy of BBC4 and Mr Mark Gatiss! Will and Mike offer their humble thoughts on this festive treat.
Show notes:
A clutch of reviews of Martin’s Close, from the Radio Times, i, Metro, Telegraph and Warwick University Student newspaper.
Our thoughts on the story back in 2012, including a v
Episode 73 – Out of the sea by A.C. Benson
This episode Mike and Will indulge in murder, moralising and supernatural goat-based mayhem in A.C. Benson’s ‘Out of the Sea’.
Big thanks to our reader for this episode Debbie Wedge, and don’t forget to check out her M.R. James-themed t-shirt designs, ‘No diggin’ ere‘ and ‘Barchestering‘!
Notes:
A.C. Benson (Wikipedia)
A.C. Benson was one of M
Episode 72- By One, By Two and By Three by Adrian Ross
Like a prodigal and slightly deranged friend, Will and Mike return to explore another author inspired by MR James. This week we look at the story By One, By Two and By Three, by Adrian Ross.
Show notes
By One, By Two and By Three is widely published in ghost story anthologies, but you can also find it online.
Adrian Ross was the pen-name of Arthur Reed Ropes, an accomplished academic and lyricis
Episode 71 – An Antiquary’s Ghost Story by Augustus Jessopp
This episode Mike & Will kick off Season 3 with ‘An Antiquary’s Ghost Story’ by Augustus Jessopp! Scroll down for a full list of the ‘James Gang’ authors we will be covering over the next 15 episodes.
Big thanks to our reader for this episode, Debbie Wedge!
Show notes:
Collected writings of Augustus Jessopp (gothictexts.wordpress.com)
The ghostly writing o
Episode 70 – Negotium Perambulans by E.F. Benson
This episode Mike and Will grab their guidebook, pack their bucket and spade and head off for a terrifying trip to sunny Cornwall in E.F. Benson’s ‘Negotium Perambulans’.
Big thanks to Richard Crowest of the ‘Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson’ podcast for giving us permission to use extracts from his reading of this story in the episode. You can find out more about Richard
Episode 69 – Smee by A.M. Burrage
Seasons greetings listeners! For this special festive episode Mike and Will turn off the lights and dive into the wardrobe for a game of hide-and-shriek, courtesy of A.M. Burrage’s Christmas classic ‘Smee’!
Big thanks go to our reader this week Kirsty Woodfield.
Also mentioned in this episode were ‘The Dead Room’, the new Mark Gatiss ghost story due to air at 10pm on BBC4 this Christmas Eve. Also
Episode 68: The Death Mask by Mrs H.D. Everett
Textaphobes beware! This month Will and Mike tackle Henrietta Dorothy Everett’s “The Death Mask”, a supernatural farce about termagant wives, gold diggin’ husbands and menacing fabrics.
Story notes:
Monty writes,“Going back a few years I light on Mrs Everett’s The Death Mask, of a rather quieter tone on the whole, but with some excellently conceived stories.” ( Some Remarks on Ghost Storie
Episode 67 – Through a Glass Darkly conference report
This episode it’s conference report time! We’ve just returned from Through a Glass Darkly, an M.R. James conference which brought together authors, academics and fans in ghost-haunted York for a 2-day Jamesfest of epic proportions!
The episode features interviews with:
Conference organisers Paul M. Chapman, Theresa Dudley and Mark Jones, who told us about how the chance discovery that M.R. James
Episode 66 – The Monkey’s Paw
This month Mike and Will throw caution to the wind and make an ill-fated wish on “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs. Best known in his own time for gentle tales of the sea and other comic stories, Jacobs is now perhaps most famous for this classic cautionary tale of cursed taxidermy, family tragedy and pant-wetting zombie horror. And following the show there’s a bonus fan
Episode 65 – The Story of the Moor Road
This episode Mike and Will return to the realms of the ‘psychic detective’ in this tale from mother-son writing team Kate and Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard. Expect terror on the moors with malevolent earth spirits, coughing ghosts, ominous otters and even a bicycle chase scene!
A big thanks to Rob Douglas, who provided the readings for this episode.
Head over to Friends of Count Magnus to
Episode 64 – Featherston’s Story by Mrs Henry Wood
Have you ever had a hankering for upping sticks and moving overseas, where one’s limited means might stretch a little further and the wine flow more freely? This week Will and Mike head for the north coast of France in Featherston’s Story, where Mrs Henry Wood shows us that expat life is not always baguettes, brie and “la bonne vie”…
Show notes:
MR James wrote in 
Episode 63 – Christmas Re-union by Sir Andrew Caldecott
Ho ho ho! We have a festive cracker of an episode for you this month (literally), as Mike and Will explore Sir Andrew Caldecott’s M.R. James-inspired tale, ‘Christmas Re-union‘.
A big thank you to Tony Mears, who provided the readings for this episode. Check out his bands new track ‘A Hypothermia Banquet‘ on Bandcamp!
Story notes:
‘Christmas Re-union’ by
Episode 62 – The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford
Mike and Will take a cruise across the pond in the good ship Kamchatka – but who’s hiding in The Upper Berth? Joining us to narrate F. Marion Crawford’s classic tale is reader Rupert Simons, who tells us that he’s found a cheap cabin for his trip from The Hook to Harwich next week…
Show notes:
F. Marion Crawford was a very successful writer who penned comparatively
Episode 61 – The Open Door by Margaret Oliphant
This episode join Mike and Will as they don their kilts and sporrans and head north of Hadrian’s wall for some Scottish horror (no, not the midges) as we explore ‘The Open Door’ by Margaret Oliphant!
Big thanks to Kirsty for chilling us to the bone with her readings for this episode.
Show notes:
Margaret Oliphant (Wikipedia)
Margaret Oliphant (1828 – 1897) was a prolific and ver
Episode 60 – The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens
We’re back! This week Mike and Will descend gingerly into a gloomy railway cutting to investigate Charles Dickens’ The Signal-Man. Dickens dissects the harsh realities of life in industrial Britain, but can he also deliver a pleasing terror and a locomotive-sized Jamesian Wallop? (spoiler: yes, in spades)
Show notes:
Higham Station was the closest to Dickens’ home at Gads Hill
Episode 59 – The Haunted and the Haunters by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
This episode Mike and Will cover ‘The Haunted and the Haunters‘ by Charles Dickens’s BFF, Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
M.R. James considered this story essential reading, saying “Nobody is permitted to write about ghost stories without
mentioning ‘The Haunted and the Haunters’.” (Some Remarks on Ghost Stories). Will it live up to our expectations?
Our reader for this episode is talente
Episode 58 – The Familiar by J Sheridan Le Fanu
Illustration by M. Grant Kellermeyer
In this bumper episode we examine M.R. James’s favourite story by his favourite author, ‘The Familiar’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu! Praise doesn’t get much higher than that, but is it all it is cracked up to be? If you are a fan of owls, diminutive, angry men in fur caps and incredibly long sentences, then you are in for a treat.
This epi
Episode 57 – The White and the Black by Erckmann-Chatrian
Émile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrian
This episode Mike and Will pop across the channel for some booze-heavy French/German shinanigans in ‘The White and the Black’ by Erckmann-Chartrian.
M.R. James says this writing partnership “produced some quite first-class romances”, but this tale of murder and mayhem is no love story!
Show notes:
Erckmann-Chatrian (Wikipedia)
About th
Episode 56 – A Relation of the Apparition of Mrs Veal by Daniel Defoe
Happy Halloween listeners! In this bumper-bonus episode we talk about our first non-M.R. James ghost story, ‘A Relation of the Apparition of Mrs Veal‘, a fascinating early ghost story attributed to Daniel Defoe.
We also interview Leah Moore and John Reppion about their recently-published graphic novel of ‘Ghost stories of an Antiquary‘.
Finally, we are delighted to announce
Episode 55 – A Vignette
Nearly five years to the day that we released Episode 1, we are pleased to bring you ‘A Vignette’, M.R. James’s very last story!
The episode also features readings from Robert Lloyd Parry and an exciting announcement about the future of the podcast!
Show notes:
A Vignette by M.R. James (adelaide.edu.au)
A Vignette, read by Scott Wichmann (Soundcloud)
The Rectory, Great Livermere
Episode 54 – Eton and Kings, part two
In this epic feature-length James-fest, Mike and Will conclude their coverage of ‘Eton and King’s’, M.R. James’s memoir of a life spent in two of the UK’s most celebrated educational institutions.
This part covers M.R. James’s time as an undergraduate, Fellow, Dean and Provost at King’s College, his somewhat unhappy stint as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge,
Episode 53 – Jacqueline Simpson interview
This episode Mike and Will interview folklorist Jacqueline Simpson about the influence of Scandinavian and English folklore on M.R. James’s ghost stories, as well as Jacqueline’s collaboration with Terry Pratchett on ‘Folklore of the Discworld’.
Many thanks to Jacqueline for her hospitality!
More about Jacqueline:
Jacqueline Simpson on Wikipedia
Dictionary of English Folkl
Episode 52 – Eton and King’s, part one
It’s back to school this week as Mike and Will pack their tuckboxes and top hats and join Monty for the first part of his memoir “Eton and King’s: recollections, mostly trivial”. How will James deal with the traditions and quirks of Eton? Will he avoid a midnight wedgy? And who exactly is the mysterious Goat Sucker?
Links:
Eton and King’s is readily available from
Episode 51 – M.R. James Conference 2016
This episode Mike and Will report on the the M.R. James conference, aka ‘Haunted Studies: The Ghost Stories of M.R. James’ and bring you interviews with a range of Jamesian luminaries present at the event.
For more information on the conference, visit the conference website.
People we interview in this episode:
Dewi Evans (Acedemia.edu)
Dewi, along with Jane Mainley-Piddock, organise
Episode 50 – A Night in King’s College Chapel
This episode Mike and Will pack their sleeping bags and bed down for ‘A Night in King’s College Chapel’ by M.R. James.
The episode also features an exclusive interview with James Drewett and Richard Svensson, creators of ‘Monsters and Miscreants’ a new M.R. James-themed card game available to order now. You can also watch an unboxing video of the same game featuring y
Episode 49 – Twelve Medieval Ghost Stories
What could be more worthy of a Christmas episode than a ghost story? Answer: twelve ghost stories! This week Mike and Will find plenty of seasonal cheer in the scribblings of a 15th century monk from Yorkshire, whose collected tales of wandering spirits Monty transcribed in 1922. Expect lashings of purgatorial terrors, a stocking-full of redemption and a whole load of bad wassailing, ghostly and
Episode 48 – Auditor and Impresario
This episode Mike and Will dust off their acting chops and take to the stage as they cover Auditor and Impresario, M.R. James’s little-know comic play! Expect diabolism, drama, demons and dreadful sub-GCSE-level acting!
The image to the right is none other than M.R. James himself, playing they the part of Peithetairos in an 1883 student production of Aristophanes’ The Birds at Cambridg
Episode 47 – The Five Jars, Part 3
In this episode Mike and Will cover the concluding third of ‘The Five Jars‘, M.R. James’s little-read children’s book. Expect earwig racing, bat balls, dragons and horseshoe mayhem!
The readings for this episode once again come from the excellent Librevox audiobook of The Five Jars, read by Peter Yearsley.
Links:
Iron in Folklore (Wikipedia)
The wonderful world of mouse ra
Episode 46 – The Five Jars, Part 2
In this episode Mike and Will delve into the middle third of M.R. James’s ‘The Five Jars’ and encounter talking owls, two flavours of sinister old women, and all manner of supernatural trickery and tomfoolery!
Readings this week are once again extracted from Peter Yearsley’s excellent Librevox recording of this story, with added help from Debbie Wedge.
If you don’t h
Episode 45 – Conference Report: MR James and the Modern Ghost Story
This week, Will and Mike don their academic tweeds, gather their notes and ascend to the podium to bring you their conference report on MR James and the Modern Ghost Story. Join us for 45 minutes of (un)learned comment, digressions and wild speculation – plus more expert commentary from author Helen Grant (@helengrantsays), comics writer John Reppion (@johnreppion) and horror expert Prof Da
Episode 44 – The Five Jars, Part 1
This week Will and Mike explore the borders between psychedelia and twee when they crack open The Five Jars, Monty’s only novel. Prepare yourself for enigmatic springs, helpful trees and cantankerous cats – and two very confused podcasters.
Show notes:
Parents beware – Will drops his guard and utters a foul-mouthed profanity at 12:48. Chapter one was a real struggle at times.
T
Episode 43 – The Malice of Inanimate Objects
In this episode Mike and Will batten down the hatches and prepare for the onslaught of ‘The Malice of Inanimate Objects‘ by M.R. James.
Readings for this episode are taken from Curious Creatures, Robert Lloyd Parry’s excellent audiobook which features a selection of lesser-heard M.R. James stories. Many thanks to Robert for giving us permission to use them! The full CD can (and
Episode 42 – Christmas bonus – The goblins who stole a sexton by Charles Dickens
Season’s greetings listeners!
We have a Christmas bonus episode for you here, an exclusive readings of one of Charles Dickens’s supernatural Christmas tales ‘The Story of the Goblin who Stole a Sexton‘ which appeared as part of The Pickwick Papers in 1836.
For more information on Charles Dickens and M.R. James, check out Episode 41 in which we talk to M.R. James scholar Jan
Episode 41 – The MR James and Charles Dickens Christmas Special (with last minute gift guide!)
Seasons greetings James fans! In this episode, Will and Mike take a further turn towards the Victorian by pairing up James with his great literary love, Mr Charles Dickens. Just what influence did he have on James? Lest their amateur speculations take a less than academically rigorous turn, they are joined by James expert Jane Mainley Piddock (@jmainpidd), to tell us all about Monty’s stran
Episode 40 – The Experiment
This week Mike and Will attempt some foul necromancy with MR James’ little-known tale ‘The Experiment’. Ghosts and Scholars described it as “weak and difficult” story: can your hosts revive it from the dead?
Story notes
Rosemary and Daroll Pardoe’s invaluable notes, from Ghosts and Scholars
Bishop Moore: a hardcore bibliophile after James’ own heart, his
Episode 39 – Merfield Hall
This episode Mike & Will false-start their way through the unfinished M.R. James manuscript ‘Merfield Hall’ (or should that be ‘Merfield House’?).
Big thanks to our reader this episode Debbie Wedge.
Show notes:
‘Merfield Hall’ manuscript (Ghosts & Scholars)
What exists of the manuscript(s) for this story can be read online at the Ghosts & Scholars w
Episode 38 – The Game of Bear
An episode of two parts this week. In part one, Will and Mike open their box of James ephemera to play the “dreadful Game of Bear”. We only have the opening pages of this unfinished tale, but fortunately three leading Jamesians have tried to finish the story. Big thanks to Kirsty Woodfield who returns to read for us this week.
In part two, we speak with Antonia Christophers and Noel
Episode 37 – Wailing Well
This episode Mike & Will pack their tents, pull up their socks and strap on their woggles (woggles are a scout thing, right?) as they explore M.R. James’s ‘Wailing Well’!
Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes:
Worbarrow Bay
This story was read to the Eton boy scout troop during a camping trip to Worbarrow Bay in Dorset. Today Worb
Episode 36 – Suffolk and Norfolk
This episode Mike & Will take a look at M.R. James’s East Anglian guidebook ‘Suffolk and Norfolk’. It’s got churches, lots and lots of churches, but also murder, mayhem, mermen, giants, green children and much more!
Show notes:
Skeletons at Sparham (civitasperegrina.tumblr.com)
Tom Hickathrift the Giant Killer (Wikipedia)
Hill of Health, Wordwell (explorebritain.com)
M
Episode 35 – Rats
This episode Mike & Will tackle ‘Moose’ by M.R. James.
No wait, that’s not right. Ah yes, ‘Rats’ by M.R. James, that’s the one.
The episode features readings by Lewis Davies and the illustration to the right by Alisdair Wood.
Show notes:
Tom Tiddler’s Ground by Charles Dickens (Project Gutenberg)
The quote about rats which opens this story is from thi
Episode 34 – Marcilly-le-Hayer (with Helen Grant)
This episode Will and Mike are thrilled to be joined by top M.R. James scholar and author Helen Grant to help them struggle their way through unfinished M.R. James story fragment ‘Marcilly-le-Hayer‘.
Thanks to our readers this episode, Tom Hemmings and Debbie Wedge.
Show notes:
Marcilly-le-Hayer map (Monty’s World)
You can view the eponymous French town on our mapping app Monty&
Episode 33 – Mark Gatiss’ The Tractate Middoth
In this special Christmas Bonus episode, Mike and Will give their thoughts on Mark Gatiss’ adaptation of ‘The Tractate Middoth’ by M.R. James, which aired on UK TV last night along with Gatiss’ documentary ‘M.R. James: Ghost Writer’.
Please note that this episode contains spoilers about both programmes so if you are planning on watching either then make sure you
Episode 32 – An Evening’s Entertainment
In this semi-Christmas episode, Mike and Will don their druid costumes and head down to rural Dorset for some pagan goings-on in ‘An Evening’s Entertainment‘ by M.R. James!
Big thanks to Paul Warren for providing the artwork to the right, titled ‘The Unsearchable Way (A Warning to the Curious)’. For more of Paul’s artwork visit Paul’s Website.
This episode
Episode 31 – A Warning to the Curious – Part 2 of 2
This episode concludes our coverage of M.R. James’s masterwork ‘A Warning to the Curious‘, and we also speak to James expert Patrick J. Murphy, whose essay ‘Lay of a Last Survivor – Beowulf, the Great War, and M.R. James’s “A Warning to the Curious”’ impressed us greatly when researching this story.
Lewis Davies returns again to lend his voice to the readings fo
Episode 30 – A Warning to the Curious – Part 1 of 2
The waiting is over, it’s finally time for Mike & Will to tackle what is arguably M.R. James’s masterpiece – A Warning to the Curious! It’s a biggie, so we will split our coverate of this story over two episodes. Our examination of this story will conclude in episode 31.
To assist them in their task, Mike and Will are joined by Tom Baynham, whose article ‘A Return
Episode 29 – A View from a Hill
This episode Mike and Will whip out their podcasting binoculars and peer through them at ‘A View from a Hill by M.R. James.
This episode we are very lucky to have actor Scott Wichman (@scottwichmann) as our reader! Scott is starring as comedian George Burns in “Say Goodnight, Gracie” at the Virginia Rep later this month: do check that out if you can! His co-producer Ryan Corbett
Investigating James: an interview with Patrick J. Murphy and Fred Porcheddu
This week we’ve got an interview for you with two splendid chaps from the U.S., who are delving into what lies behind MR James’ stories.
Patrick J. Murphy and Fred Porcheddu are also super-fun guys and we hope you enjoy hearing their take on what made Monty tick, the deeper meanings in his stories, and just what academics get up to in reading rooms all day.
Patrick and Fred’s re
Episode 28 – After Dark in the Playing Fields
In this episode, talking owls. Yes, you heard me correctly. Talking owls.
Has Monty completely lost his marbles? Mike and Will ask just that in this episode on ‘After Dark in the Playing Fields‘ by M.R. James.
Readings by kind permission of grand panjandrum and actor Robert Lloyd Parry!
The full reading of this story and many others can be found on Robert’s double-CD ‘Curio
Episode 27 – There was a man dwelt by a churchyard
In this episode Mike & Will don their funeral garb and shuffle mournfully into ‘There was a man dwelt by a churchyard‘ by M.R. James.
A big thanks to Robert Lloyd Parry for giving us permission to use readings extracted from his excellent CD ‘Curious Creatures: The Shorter Horror of M.R. James‘, available to purchase from his website nunkie.co.uk!
An equally big thanks
Episode 26 – A Neighbour’s Landmark
This episode it is the turn of ‘A Neighbour’s Landmark‘ by M.R. James to receive the critial going-over it deserves at the hands of Will and Mike.
Thanks to Kirsty for the excellent readings!
Show notes:
‘”They’ve got him! In the trees!” M.R. James and Sylvan Dread’ by Steve Duffy (Ghosts & Scholars)
‘So jarred were all my nerves’ : supernatural
Interview with A.N. Donaldson
This episode Mike and Will speak to the author A.N. Donaldson, whose debut novel ‘Prospero’s Mirror‘ features M.R. James as the main protagonist!
In the novel M.R. James is summoned to Old College, Oxford to examine the inscription on an ancient mirror which may have belonged to the magician John Dee. Soon James finds himself sucked into a tangled web of science, sorcery and the
Episode 25 – The Uncommon Prayer-book
This episode Mike & Will put on their golden pince-nez and crack the spine of ‘The Uncommon Prayer-book’ by M.R. James!
Big thanks go to our reader for this episode, Debbie Wedge.
Questions answered during this episode:
Is M.R. James an anti-semite?
Is Mr Poschwitz the Germanic Lovejoy?
How much snakebite is too much snakebite?
Show notes:
Michael Cox / Pleasing Terror story not
Episode 24 – The Haunted Dolls’ House
This episode Will and Mike delve into the toy box and pull out something truly horrible in the form of ‘The Haunted Doll’s House‘ by M.R. James!
Show notes:
Queen Mary’s Dolls’s House
This story was written for a real dolls’ house, the one created by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for Queen Mary of Teck between 1921 and 1924. The dolls’ house in currentl
Reading – ‘Sredni Vashtar’ by Saki
Due to illness we haven’t managed to record the next full episode yet, but in the meantime here’s a little something we hope you’ll enjoy, an exclusive reading of ‘Sredni Vashtar’ by M.R. James’s literary contemporary Saki (aka H.H. Munro). This reading was recorded specially for the podcast by Hamish Symington! Thanks Hamish!
If you enjoyed this reading then ma
Episode 23 – The Fenstanton Witch
In this episode Will and Mike travel back in time to the early 18th century to examine some diabolical goings on in rural Cambridgeshire in M.R. James’s ‘The Fenstanton Witch‘.
Show notes:
Story Locations (Monty’s World)
This story features many real-world locations, starting in King’s College Cambridge, and following Hardman and Ashe up the Huntindon Road (now the A
