Extollager
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2010
- Messages
- 9,241
I don't know how much exploration has been made, by Chrons people, of ghost stories in the M. R. James tradition, but here's a place to talk about them.
For a rough definition: I'd say that a story in the James tradition should have an element of scholarship, historical record, or folkloric interest as well as the element of supernatural fear. Jamesian stories are relatively "literary." The emphasis is on the development of eerie suspense; probably there's little or no gore, etc. The story is not a Cthulhu Mythos story; Lovecraft's use of Jamesian materials is too distinctively his own to be considered Jamesian; James's stories don't evoke "cosmic horror."
A story in the Jamesian mode probably suggests a certain detachment, rather than the breathlessness of pulp fiction.
The James tradition is still alive, as has been seen in recent years in the 'zines Ghosts and Scholars and All Hallows, the publications of the Ash-Tree Press, or even in my own 2017 collection, Lady Stanhope's Manuscript and Other Stories.
Ghosts & Scholars Archive
Ash-Tree Press Home Page
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0615677347/?tag=id2100-20
Collections of Jamesian stories often cited include Munby, Rolt, and others, discussed here:
Shadows of the Master
Some of these stories may be available for reading free on the Web. It might not be necessarily to hunt down out-of-print books and expensive small press reprints in order to sample the James tradition.
Of course, if you haven't read Montague Rhodes James, he's the writer to start with. You can find all of his work available online. Outstanding stories include "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad,'" "The Ash-Tree" (brrrr), "Count Magnus," "Casting the Runes," "Canon Alberic's Scrap-book," etc.
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8486/pg8486.txt
Malden's Nine Ghosts is available as a free download:
Nine Ghosts
A. N. L. Munby's Alabaster Hand is in print:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SLS7VP0/?tag=brite-21
Likewise L. T. C. Rolt's Sleep No More:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0750911573/?tag=brite-21
I'm not sure I've read this New Yorker piece yet:
Fright Nights
Finally, I'll mention a book I've got from the library, but haven't read yet, that might have some leads for stories by authors other than James.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0271077719/?tag=id2100-20
For a rough definition: I'd say that a story in the James tradition should have an element of scholarship, historical record, or folkloric interest as well as the element of supernatural fear. Jamesian stories are relatively "literary." The emphasis is on the development of eerie suspense; probably there's little or no gore, etc. The story is not a Cthulhu Mythos story; Lovecraft's use of Jamesian materials is too distinctively his own to be considered Jamesian; James's stories don't evoke "cosmic horror."
A story in the Jamesian mode probably suggests a certain detachment, rather than the breathlessness of pulp fiction.
The James tradition is still alive, as has been seen in recent years in the 'zines Ghosts and Scholars and All Hallows, the publications of the Ash-Tree Press, or even in my own 2017 collection, Lady Stanhope's Manuscript and Other Stories.
Ghosts & Scholars Archive
Ash-Tree Press Home Page
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0615677347/?tag=id2100-20
Collections of Jamesian stories often cited include Munby, Rolt, and others, discussed here:
Shadows of the Master
Some of these stories may be available for reading free on the Web. It might not be necessarily to hunt down out-of-print books and expensive small press reprints in order to sample the James tradition.
Of course, if you haven't read Montague Rhodes James, he's the writer to start with. You can find all of his work available online. Outstanding stories include "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad,'" "The Ash-Tree" (brrrr), "Count Magnus," "Casting the Runes," "Canon Alberic's Scrap-book," etc.
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8486/pg8486.txt
Malden's Nine Ghosts is available as a free download:
Nine Ghosts
A. N. L. Munby's Alabaster Hand is in print:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SLS7VP0/?tag=brite-21
Likewise L. T. C. Rolt's Sleep No More:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0750911573/?tag=brite-21
I'm not sure I've read this New Yorker piece yet:
Fright Nights
Finally, I'll mention a book I've got from the library, but haven't read yet, that might have some leads for stories by authors other than James.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0271077719/?tag=id2100-20
Last edited: