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withdnotb's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
rach_eb's review against another edition
4.0
What an excellent collection. M.R. James writes the kind of ghost stories that don't seem all that scary at first, but manage to creep up on you for a creepy ending. The visceral descriptions of his monsters actually made me physically shudder a few times, and were probably my favorite aspect of his writing.
newsteadlibrary's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
emmalouix's review
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bobbytrucktricks's review against another edition
4.0
Not especially scary but incredibly atmospheric and spooky. The quality of the stories varies a bit but most are really excellent.
thisisnotjasper's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
kimmysanders's review
5.0
M.R. James is pretty much the godfather of the classic ghost story. He is straight-up Victorian in his sensibilities--no gore, no nastiness. There's spooks and ghosts and things that go bump in the night and some things that are downright unpleasant, but nothing here is going to give you any psychic damage. There's no nightmare material here for a reasonably well-adjusted adult. He coined the phrase "a pleasing terror," and that's more or less apt for what he achieves.
But you see his influence everywhere on authors who came later with more harrowing tales. Just to give an example, without James, there would be no Lovecraft as we know him, because James more or less patented the "academic digs too deep into matters best left alone and finds things that should have stayed buried" storyline.
James also dragged the ghost out of his overly cliched Gothic haunt where nobody but the most intrepid hunter was going to find him and plopped him down into the more prosaic setting of James' contemporary English countryside, where nearly anyone could get at him if they simply opened the wrong door or dug the wrong hole or picked up the wrong book. By making ghosts that much more accessible, he made them that much more scary. Anybody can avoid a ghost if they just stay out of that very obviously haunted castle over there on the moor. But who expects the very corporeal ghost of a hanged highwayman in an otherwise cheerful inn? Who thinks they will run into a demon summoned from the scrapbook of a medieval church official found tucked away in a tiny French village? A James ghost can be anywhere, and the only warning you'll get will be a slight misgiving beforehand that maybe you shouldn't be meddling in affairs you know nothing about.
Standouts in this edition include:
Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book
Casting the Runes
A Warning to the Curious
Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad (this is not a terrifying story, and anyone who tells you so is very easily scared or lying. But it is eerie)
But you see his influence everywhere on authors who came later with more harrowing tales. Just to give an example, without James, there would be no Lovecraft as we know him, because James more or less patented the "academic digs too deep into matters best left alone and finds things that should have stayed buried" storyline.
James also dragged the ghost out of his overly cliched Gothic haunt where nobody but the most intrepid hunter was going to find him and plopped him down into the more prosaic setting of James' contemporary English countryside, where nearly anyone could get at him if they simply opened the wrong door or dug the wrong hole or picked up the wrong book. By making ghosts that much more accessible, he made them that much more scary. Anybody can avoid a ghost if they just stay out of that very obviously haunted castle over there on the moor. But who expects the very corporeal ghost of a hanged highwayman in an otherwise cheerful inn? Who thinks they will run into a demon summoned from the scrapbook of a medieval church official found tucked away in a tiny French village? A James ghost can be anywhere, and the only warning you'll get will be a slight misgiving beforehand that maybe you shouldn't be meddling in affairs you know nothing about.
Standouts in this edition include:
Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book
Casting the Runes
A Warning to the Curious
Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad (this is not a terrifying story, and anyone who tells you so is very easily scared or lying. But it is eerie)
ces's review
2.0
I only read "Casting the Runes" as it was read online. Eh. I want scary. This was wanting.
aemsea26's review
4.0
I MUST read ghost stories on Halloween but can only handle those that are basically one step up from Casper in terms of scares. Most of these were already in the other James book I read but there were a few new ones and a very creepy one involving hair.
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