Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book is a horror story by British writer M. R. James, written in 1892 or 1893 and first published in 1895 in the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

''.Jones, Darryl (2011). "Explanatory Notes". ''Collected Ghost Stories'' by M. R. James. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 421. It is his earliest known horror story and the first (along with " Lost Hearts") to be read aloud to the "Chitchat Society" at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where many of his stories made their public debut. It was subsequently included in his first short story collection, '' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' (1904), though the malevolent entity is a demon rather than a ghost. Some have considered James' later story " An Episode of Cathedral History" (first published in ''The Cambridge Review'' in 1914 and later included in the 1919 collection '' A Thin Ghost and Others'') to be a sequel or companion piece, as it features a similar creature, obliquely suggested to be the mate of the one encountered in "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book".

Synopsis

The story has a detailed and realistic setting in the tiny decaying cathedral city of

Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (, literally ''Saint-Bertrand of Comminges''; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Sent Bertran de Comenge'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former episcopal see in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, ...

, at the foot of the Pyrenees in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. An English tourist spends a day photographing the interior of the eponymous cathedral and is encouraged by the sacristan to buy an unusual manuscript. This, he concludes, had been created long ago by Canon Albéric de Mauléon (an invented character, said to be a collateral descendant of the real 16th-century bishop Jean de Mauléon), who had cut up volumes in the old cathedral library. A disturbing illustration of King Solomon and a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

in the back of the book is a key to the story's suspenseful arc.

Adaptations

The story has inspired a musical composition by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, ''St. Bertrand de Comminges: "He was laughing in the tower"'', first performed in 1985 by Yonty Solomon. On 30 December 1987,

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's programme ''The Late Book: Ghost Stories'' featured a reading of "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book", abridged and produced by Paul Kent and read by Benjamin Whitrow. In 2006–2007, Nunkie Theatre Company toured ''A Pleasing Terror'' round the UK and Ireland. This one-man show was a retelling of two of James's tales, "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" and " The Mezzotint". In 2020, the story was adapted into a full-cast audio drama for the second season of ''Shadows at the Door: The Podcast''.

References

External links

* * *
Full text of "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book"
* * Helen Grant,

in ''Ghosts & Scholars Newsletter'' no. 7 (2005).
Works by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
1894 short stories Cultural depictions of Solomon Horror short stories Works set in churches Demons in written fiction Short stories by M. R. James Works originally published in National Review (London) Works set in cathedrals {{1890s-horror-story-stub