Ghost Stories - M. R. James

This is a collection of stories from the Victorian master of the paranormal.

M. R. James was born in 1862. He went to Eton, where he excelled, then went on to university, and became the vice chancellor of Cambridge University. Spending most of his life as an academic, it is his scary stories that he is remembered for. This book is a collection of 13 of his stories, some of them are his greatest hits and there's a couple of lesser known B-sides here as well. The quality is pretty consistent though, and it's a great little collection.

James's signature trick is his understated way of writing. He can create menace and dread with small occurrences, like a book missing from a shelf. There is no blood splatter here, no guts or gore. James takes a subtle approach, and it makes the stories start off slow, and then gather momentum. Things always start off perfectly ordinarily, then they start to seem a bit strange, then they become terrifying.

It is said the Victorian's wrote the best ghost stories. Maybe this is because people were used to creepy stuff anyway  - death masks and post-mortem photography were a thing back then. James's writing benefitted from the prudish culture of the times - there is no vulgarity in these stories, whether it be sex or violence - which adds to the focus on the unusual goings on. The characters are all pretty shallow and simalar - there is no differentiating from the protagonist in one story and another. They are all male, studious and unmarried. And that's ok. There is no need for deep complex characters. The stories aren't about that. It seems James had the good sense to write about what he knew, as he too was a studious, unmarried man

The Victorian English that M R James uses has an authority about it - he was a scholar and he held a high office - so his words carry weight. This man is an expert on medieval times and religious dogma; he wrote whole paragraphs in effortless Latin, perhaps he is an expert in ancient demons and reanimated corpses? While there is little offered in way of explanation of where the ghosts have come from, the reader happily accepts their existence, and finds them utterly terrifying. 

M R James said there is no receipt for success on writing this form of fiction. "The public are the ultimate judges: if they are pleased it is well; if not; it is no use to tell them why they ought to have been pleased". So I reccomend that you see if it pleases you, rather than let me tell you. Just do it with the lights on.