''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' is a horror short story collection by British writer

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

, published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in magazines). Some later editions under this title contain both the original collection and its successor, ''

More Ghost Stories ''More Ghost Stories'' is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1911. Some later editions under the title ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' contain it and the earlier '' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' in one ...

'' (1911), combined in one volume. It was his first short story collection.

Contents of the original edition

* "

Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" is a horror story by British writer M. R. James, which was written in 1894 and published the following year in the ''National Review''. It was included in his first short story collection, '' Ghost Stories of an Antiq ...

" * "

Lost Hearts "Lost Hearts" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, originally published in 1895. It was later collected in his 1904 book ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot summary The tale tells the story of Stephen Elliott, a young orphan boy, ...

" * "

The Mezzotint "The Mezzotint" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his first collection ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1904). Plot summary Mr. Williams, the curator of a university art museum (implied to be Oxford), receives a mezz ...

" * "

The Ash-tree "The Ash-tree" is a ghost story by British writer M.R. James, included in his 1904 collection ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot summary In 1690, the English county of Suffolk is wracked with a fear of witches. Many girls and women are acc ...

" * " Number 13" * "

Count Magnus "Count Magnus" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, first published in 1904. It was included in his first collection '' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot A traveller in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominou ...

" *

'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his collection ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1904). The story is named after a 1793 poem of the same name penned by Robert Burns. Plot ...

* "

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James. It was published in his book ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1904). Plot summary The tale tells the story of the Rev. Justin Somerton, a scholar of medieval histor ...

Reception

A. M. Burrage Alfred McLelland Burrage (1889–1956) was a British writer. He was noted in his time as an author of fiction for boys which he published under the pseudonym Frank Lelland, including a popular series called "Tufty". Bleiler E. F., "A. M. Burrage" ...

praised ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' and its successor, ''More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' as "two really admirable books of ghost stories". Burrage also described

as "a real gem".Burrage, A. M. "The Supernatural in Fiction", ''The Home Magazine'', October 1921. Reprinted in Burrage, ''Someone in the Room: Strange Tales Old and New'' (edited by Jack Adrian). Ashcroft, B.C. :

Ash-Tree Press Ash-Tree Press is a Canadian company that publishes supernatural and horror literature. The press has reprinted notable collections of ghostly stories by such writers as R. H. Malden, A. N. L. Munby, L. T. C. Rolt, Margery Lawrence, and El ...

, 1997.

Adaptations

After

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...

adapted Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad for the BBC's ''Omnibus'' series in 1968, several stories from the collection were adapted as the BBC's yearly '' Ghost Story for Christmas'' strand, including "

", "

", and " Number 13". "

Whistle and I'll Come to You "Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a 1968 BBC television drama adaptation of the 1904 ghost story 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' by M. R. James. It tells of an eccentric and distracted professor who happens upon a strange whistle w ...

" was also remade (heavily adapted by Neil Cross) for broadcast on Christmas Eve 2010.A Ghost Story for Christmas
''imagedissectors.com''

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series '' Doctor Who'', '' Sherlock'', and '' Dracula''. Together with ...

wrote and directed adaptations of "The Mezzotint" and "Count Magnus" for the ''Ghost Story for Christmas'' series in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

References

External links

* * * (Part 2) * * 1904 short story collections Short story collections by M. R. James Ghosts in written fiction Ghost stories Horror short story collections {{1900s-horror-story-collection-stub