A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast

This episode Mike and Will examine Curfew by Lucy M. Boston , a childhood tale of haunted bells, unearthed coffins and post-Jamesian highjinx aplenty. Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Show notes: Curfew by Lucy M. Boston – read by Robert Lloyd Parry (Youtube.com) The text of this story is not freely available online for copyright reasons, but why not enjoy this live-streamed reading of the story from the quintessential Jamesian actor, Robert Lloyd Parry ? About Lucy M. Boston (Wikipedia) Lucy M. Boston had an eventful life, from scandalising her strict Wesleyan family by abandoning their religion, to serving as a volunteer nurse in Normandy during the first world war and later studying art in France, Italy, Austria and Hungary. She is most famous for her Children of Green Knowe series of children’s books which were set in a fictionalised version of her home for over 50 years, Hemingford Grey manor in Cambridgeshire. Norton Priory, Cheshire (Wikipedia) According to Robert Lloyd Parry’s excellent introduction to the Swan River Press edition of Curfew and Other Tales , the locations in Curfew were almost certainly based on Norton Priory in Cheshire. Lucy M. Boston lived within sight of this decaying manor house during the 1920’s, shortly before its demolition, and it certainly fits the descriptions in the story very closely. Folklore related to this story (DarkOxfordshire.co.uk) In this episode we compare the events of the story to various pieces of English folklore from our area of the country, including curfew bell traditions , haunted bells in ponds, black dogs and even mysterious deaths in bell towers . A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone (bbc.co.uk) The latest Mark Gatiss Ghost Story for Christmas will be based on ‘Man-Size in Marble’ by E. Nesbit. Hypnogoria’s The Horrors of Christmas Advent Calendar (hypnogoria.com) This Christmas Jim Moon has produced a series on the origins and history of Christmas horror movies. Highly recommended!

M.R. James said that sex had no place in a ghost story. But was he right? This episode we attempt to answer this question and more, as we cover The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair, a tale from 1923 about a couple who just want to enjoy their wedding night. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes. Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode, and don’t forget to check out Ghostly Encounters , the haunting free interactive event that Debbie is helping organise in Oxford on the 20th April 2024. Show notes: The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair (gutenberg.org) This story, along with the others from May Sinclair’s Uncanny Stories can be read in full at Project Gutenberg. May Sinclair (maysinclairsociety.com) Sinclair had a fascinating life. You can see a shortish biography of her here (or go big and read Suzanne Raitt’s 2000 biography). ‘Some Remarks on Ghost Stories’ by M.R. James (berfrois.com) M.R. James made his feelings on sex in ghost stories abundantly clear in this article published in The Bookman in 1929. ‘Ghosts, Treat Them Gently’ by M.R. James (mrjamesarchive.wordpress.com) James returned to the subject of sex in ghost stories a few years later in this article he wrote for the Evening News in April 1931. TLDR: still not a fan. The Idealism and Pantheism of May Sinclair (Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast) This story is steeped in the concepts of Idealism , a school of philosophical thought for which May Sinclair was passionate advocate. Matrimonial Causes Act, 1923 (womenslegallandmarks.com) This story touches on the thorny issue of divorce in the United Kingdom in the 1920s. In the same year this story was published, a landmark piece of legislation was passed that leveled the playing field between women and men in the area of divorce. The Lipstick Revolution of the 1920s (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) The character of Pauline in this story seems to reflect a sea-change in attitudes towards female beauty during this period, characterised by growing social acceptability of wearing lipstick. In this story it carries a hint of Pauline’s self-expression and sexual freedom. St. Paul on sex and marriage (mit.edu) Pauline’s name may be inspired by the words of St. Paul, who had some choice things to say on the matter of sex, marriage and in particular unmarried women who ‘cannot control themselves’! Stages of (Victorian Mourning) and Fifty Shades of Purple (lilacandbombazine.wordpress.com) Pauline should have probably realised that Marston was not yet over the death of his first wife when she finds that their marital bedroom is decorated almost complete in purple, the traditional colour of extended mourning. The Lost Ancient Practice of Communal Sleeping (bbc.com) The fact that Marston and Pauline have separate bedrooms may seem strange to modern sensibilities, but for a long time it was the norm for a husband and wife to sleep in separate beds. Only after the 1950’s did it begin to be regarded as a sign that something was wrong in a marriage. The Victorian Cult of Child Innocence (psychlit271.blogspot.com) Marston’s seeming obsession with the ‘childlike innocence’ of his young bride Rosamund reflects Victorian attitudes towards children and the preservation of their ‘innocent’ state. Well, the children of the upper classes anyway. The children of the poor were not regarded quite so delicately! May Sinclair and Psychology (maysinclairsociety.com) The psychoanalysis of Freud and Jung was another huge influence on May. In February 1923, Sinclair delivered a speech to the Aristotelian Society that’s highly suggestive of this story: did Marston and Rosamund’s desire elevate them all the way to May’s “Ultimate Consciousness”? ‘We tried to have sex with ghosts and here’s what happened’ (buzzfeed.com) Is having sex with ghosts a real thing? Absolutely not. But admit it, you still want to click the link to the above Buzzfeed article, don’t you? Go on, we won’t tell anyone. Blue Juice (imdb.com) It would be deeply remiss of us if we didn’t point out the similarities between this story and the 1995 British comedy/surfing movie Blue Juice, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Pertwee (although Marston probably wishes he was in Ghost ).

Hold on to your mummy! This episode Mike and Will discuss Mark Gatiss’s recent Ghost Story for Christmas TV adaptation Lot 249 , as well as the Arthur Conan Doyle short story it is based on. Show notes: Watch it online! (BBC iPlayer) If you are in the UK you can watch it on BBC iPlayer until the end of 2024. If you are outside the UK, you may be able to watch if you have a Britbox subscription. Read the original story (www.gutenberg.org) You can read the original story on Project Gutenberg . Filming location (Wikipedia) Almost all of Lot 249 was filmed at Rothamsted Manor in Hertfordshire. The cast (IMDB) Find out more about the cast of Lot 249 at IMDB.com. Egyptomania (britannica.com) Lot 249 reflects the Victorian obsession with everything to do with ancient Egypt. This story was set in 1884, two years after the Anglo-Egyptian war , a conflict which perhaps had an influence on the tone of this story. Victorian garrotting panics (wikipedia) The Victorian fear of being randomly garrotted is reflected in the reaction to a mummy attack in Lot 249. Sidney Paget’s illustrations of Sherlock Holmes (www.arthur-conan-doyle.com) The character of ‘The Friend’ in Gatiss’s adaptation is clearly Sherlock Holmes. If the dialogue doesn’t give it away, his appearance bears unmistakable similarity to Sherlock Holmes in the classic Strand Magazine illustrations by Sidney Paget, particularly this one . Tales from the Darkside (youtube.com) Lot 249 was featured in the 1990 comedy horror anthology Tales from the Darkside. Starring Christian Slater and Steve Buscemi, the scene in which Smith finally confronts Bellingham is on Youtube, and makes quite a watch!

This episode, Mike and Will grab their literary toboggans and gallop joyously out into the snow, only to be hit in the face by a terrifying fictional snowball in the form of Louisa Baldwin’s The Real and the Counterfeit ! Big thanks as ever to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift to please the M.R. James fan in your life? Why not head over to Debbie’s Redbubble store and pick up an awesome Jamesian Wallop , Barchestering , or No Diggin’ ‘Ere t-shirt ? Show notes: More on Louisa Baldwin in our last episode We covered The Weird of the Walfords back in the summer, and included a lot more biographical details about Louisa Baldwin. Long Galleries (wikipedia) A lot of the action in this story takes place in a long gallery, a popular architectural feature of many stately homes in England. George’s banjo (authorama.com) Like Lawley in this story, George in Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat was also a keen banjo player, much to the displeasure of his friends. Similarly, in Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse , Bertie’s insistence on playing the banjolele is what finally drives Jeeves to leave Bertie’s service (albeit temporarily). Other haunted abbeys (nearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com) In this episode, Mike mentions a number of old houses in England that are, like Stonecroft, said to be haunted by ghostly monks. Tobogganing at Funchal (carreirosdomonte.com) The city of Funchal in Madeira is famous for providing toboggan-like basket rides from the Mount Church on the hill, down into the town.

Who would win in a fight between a man and a bed? Find the answer to this question and more in our new episode on The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin! Also, if you like emotionally-repressed Victorian husbands, you will not leave disappointed. Show notes: Louisa Baldwin (1845–1925) (Wikipedia) Louisa was a member of an illustrious family who included Rudyard Kipling and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. ‘The Shadow on the Blind, and Other Stories’ (Google Books) You can read this story and others form the same volume on Google Books. Royal beds in English history (wikipedia) There are a number of stately homes in England with similar legends about royalty spending a night in a specific bed, for example Sawston Hall in Cambridgeshire . Wyrd (wikipedia) The ‘Weird’ of the Walfords is actually a ‘wyrd’, an old English term meaning fate or destiny. Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Don’t forget to check out Debbie’s new Jamesian Wallop t-shirt and others inspired by M.R. James on Redbubble.com.

This episode we speak with two experts to better understand Eleanor Scott and her story Randall’s Round, Dr Vicky Margree and Prof Dan Orrells. We discuss what’s known about Eleanor Scott, her time at Oxford University in the early 1900s and the role of gender, folklore and imperialism in her writing. Vicky is a specialist in literary fiction and feminist theory. Her book British Women’s Short Supernatural Fiction, 1860-1930: Our Own Ghostliness looks at stories by Margaret Oliphant, Charlotte Riddell, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Edith Nesbit, Alice Perrin, Eleanor Scott and Violet Hunt. Dan focuses on the history of the interpretation of classical literature. He’s interested in the Greeks and Romans in the Victorian imagination, including how these inspired Gothic and ghostly tales at the turn of the 20th century. He co-edited with Vicky a study of Richard Marsh , a fascinating late-Victorian author who wrote about “shape-shifting monsters, morally dubious heroes, lip-reading female detectives and objects that come to life.” In our conversation we learn more about the folklore revival, Edward B Tylor’s ideas about primitive cultures and notions of “survivals” amd the experience of women at Oxford and Cambridge (Dan recommends the Dorothy L Sayers novel Gaudy Night !). Massive thank you to Vicky and Dan for being such engaging and insightful guests and sharing their expertise with us! If you want to read ahead, we’ll be back next time with The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin.

A BBC Ghost Story for Christmas is thankfully as traditional as quaffing eggnog and leaving out a carrot for Rudolph. And what a treat, as this year Count Magnus made the Black Pilgrimage onto our screens. But has Mark Gatiss been naughty or nice? We give you our verdict. Show notes A recent interview with Mark Gattis including his ambition to adapt Casting the Runes Our coverage of Count Magnus in episode 6 , exactly 11 years before this adaptation aired! A rather splendid reading of the Innkeeper’s story, read by Jacqueline Simpson in episode 53

This episode Mike and Will explore freaky folk-dance, village-based villainy and Cotswold chicanery in Eleanor Scott’s awesome Jamesian folk-horror tale Randalls Round ! Big thanks to Kirsty Woodfield for providing the readings for this episode. Show notes: Eleanor Scott (The Haunted Library) This article contains some biographical information as well as plot summaries of the stories that appears in Randalls Round, her only collection of ghost stories. You can also see a photo of her here . The War Among the Ladies by Eleanor Scott (shinynewbooks.co.uk) Helen Leys started using the Eleanor Scott pseudonym when she published this controversial novel that exposed the dire experiences of teachers and girls within the English high school system. Somerville College, Oxford (www.some.ox.ac.uk) Eleanor Scott was a student at this ladies college in the days before women were allowed to take degrees. The Somerville website contains some charming photos that give you a sense of what life was like for students at the time. ‘Merrie England Once More’? The Morris Revival c.1886-1951 (morrisfed.org.uk ) At the start of Randalls Round, Heyling and Mortlake discuss the folk dance revival that was then in full swing. This article describes that revival. Note the reference to the Headington Morris dancers who get a special mention in this story! The Witch-cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray (Wikipedia) This 1921 book popularise Murray’s witch-cult hypothesis , the idea that the people persecuted as ‘witches’ in Europe may in fact have been involved in a survival of a pre-Christian pagan religion. Although her ideas were widely dismissed by historians, the ideas of ‘hidden’ folk/religious practices enduring in England, hidden away from the eyes of religious authorities, captured the public imagination and sparked the sort of debate that Heyling and Mortlake are having at the start of this story. The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer (Wikipedia) Aaron Worth suggests that the ‘volume of a very famous book on folk-lore’ that Heyling reads in this story would be The Golden Bough, Frazer’s influential multi-volume study on comparative religion, first published in 1890. Morris Dance as Ritual Dance, or, English Folk Dance and the Doctrine of Survivals (open.ac.uk) This article by Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe explores the origins of the idea that folk dance originates in a survival of pre-Christian belief. The Broad (Wikipedia) In this episode Mike mentions the Broad, a Cotswold folk custom that bears some similarity to the activities that Heyling witnesses on the village green. The Wicker Man (Wikipedia) We found it hard to discuss Randalls Round without repeatedly returning to this iconic 1973 British horror film! Randwick (Wikipedia) The village of Randwick in Gloucestershire is at the top of Will’s list of possible real-world locations that may have inspired the fictional village of Randalls. As well as having a similar name and large mound to the north west, it even has its own curious folk celebration known as the Randwick Wap ! @EndlessMummer (Instagram) This Instagram account celebrates the weirdest (or should that be wyrdest?) elements of folk customs and traditions. This group of Morris men parading a strange, monstrous effigy seems particularly reminiscent of the events of Randalls Round!

In the first episode of Season 4 tm , Mike and Will are delighted by Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley , a tale of crypts, clergymen and crikey, what is that in the dog’s mouth? Big thanks to Jim Moon for allowing us to use extracts from his excellent reading of the story. You can listen to the whole thing over on the Hypnogoria podcast feed . Show notes: Mary Cholmondeley (Victorian Fiction Research Guides) You can learn more about Mary’s life and work in this article, or for a briefer summary, try wikipedia . Temple Bar Magazine (Wikipedia) This story first appeared in the April 1890 edition of Temple Bar magazine, a literary periodical that ran for nearly fifty years. ‘The Dead’ by Mathilde Blind (Poetry Nook) The two lines quoted at the start of this story come from this poem by 19th century British author and poet Mathilde Blind. The Dark Triad (Wikipedia) During this episode Mike describes the character of Blake as possessing at least two of the personality traits that make up the Dark Triad, a psychological theory of personality first described by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002. History of Charnel Chapels (Rothwell Charnel Chapel Project) In this story we discuss the crypt at Wet-Waste-on-the-Wold church as being more of a charnel house. Bartleby the Scrivener (Wikipedia) Blake’s repeated use of the phrase “I’d prefer not to…” put us in mind of Herman Melville’s famously work-shy clerk Bartleby! Asaph (wikipedia) In this story, the vicar is locked in an ongoing arguement with a neighbouring clergyman about the meaning of the word ‘Asaph’. Dry stuff, but if you are interested there is a summary of the different opinions on this matter on Wikipedia. Fists of fear: severed hands in films – ranked! (theguardian.com) Here’s a fun listicle of movies where, like in Let Loose, a severed hand returns to cause havoc. A special mention should go to the our personal favourite, the ‘hand’ scene from Evil Dead 2 ! Gelert the Faithful Hound (NationalTrust.org.uk) Here’s another famous example from legend of a faithful dog who was killed by his master after a tragic misunderstanding. #RIPBrian Women’s Weird: Strange Stories by Women, 1890-1940 (Handheld Press) We quoted a line from Melissa Edmundson’s introduction to this anthology, ‘[Let Loose] predates James’s stories if haunted churches and crypts, so that it could be legitimately said that James’s stories were in the style of Mary Cholmondeley’ .

Join Will and Mike for haunted cathedrals, lecherous minor canons and hair-based horrors in Noel Boston’s ‘Right Through My Hair’! Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Show notes Noel Boston (The Haunted Library) Biographical information about Noel Boston is a bit hard to find online, but there is an excellent introduction in the Ash Tree Press edition of Yesterday Knocks , available as an ebook. Norwich Cathedral (Norwich Cathedral website) The location of this story is most likely based on Norwich Cathedral, where Noel Boston started his ecclesiastical career as a minor canon in the 1930s. A Google Image search for ‘Norwich triforium’ will also give you a good idea of what to picture when imagining Minor Canon Jogglebury getting menaced in this story! All Hallows by Walter De La Mere (Project Gutenberg) In this episode, Will sings the praises of this Walter de la Mere tale. It explores similar themes of the dangers lurking in a cathedral after dark! Upon Julia’s Clothes by Robert Herrick (Poetry Foundation) On seeing Pamela, Minor Canon Jogglebury’s mind immediately goes to this poem by notoriously randy 17th-century poet Robert Herrick. At least it wasn’t Herrick’s companion poem On Julia’s Breasts ! The Heavenly Twins by Sarah Grand (Project Gutenberg) The novel mentioned in this story as The Heavenly Twins by Sally Smalls is actually a reference to a book of the same name by Sarah Grand, which features an anecdote that closely matches the events related in this story about Old Martle. The anecdote can be found in Book III, Chapter I of the novel.

Open your hymn books to episode 89, as we’re back in church for Christopher Woodforde’s “Cushi”: a tale of capering cats, sabotaged surplices and vengeful vergers. Don’t lose your head! Show notes: Christopher Woodforde studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge before becoming an Anglican priest. He was later Fellow and Chaplain at New College, Oxford, and Dean of Wells (as was Richard Maldon of ‘The Sundial’ fame – Episode 80). He was an antiquarian with a love for stained glass, rather like MR James! ‘A Pad in the Straw’ was his only book of stories. It is currently out of print, but previously available from Sundial Press . Richard Dalby wrote that Woodforde based some of his clerical and antiquarian characters on himself, and many of the locations on the parishes in which he served. In his introduction to ‘A Pad in the Straw’, Lord David Cecil said that “A waft of the uncanny blows through these tales, just enough to make the spine agreeably tingle… The general atmosphere is at once eerie and friendly… The intimate apprehension of landscape and the past gives his tales an unexpected weight and depth. Slight and fanciful though their action is, they are the expression of an imagination soaked through and through in the English scene and in English history.” Hymn number 386 ‘The Sower Went Forth Sowing’ was written by William Bourne, a pastor, for a harvest festival in 1874. And very jolly it is, to: “And then the fan of judgment/Shall winnow from His floor/The chaff into the furnace/That flameth evermore.”

Join Mike and Will for a special 10th anniversary (give or take a few months) special in which your now-aged hosts look back over a decade of M.R. James podcasting and return to the story that started it all, Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook ! You can listen to when we originally covered this story all the way back in episode one . Will the quality of our story commentary have improved? Listen and find out! Big thanks to Debbie Wedge who returns once again as the reader for this episode. Notes: Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (Google Maps) Some lovely 360 degree photography of this story’s real-world locations have been added to Google Maps since the last time we covered this story. You can now explore the town , the cathedral interior and even spot the famous stuffed crocodile ! st’s name f ro Read about the turbulent life of the read Saint Bertrand. No mention of the crocodile incident sadly. Christopher Plantin (wikipedia) In the story, Dennistoun was singularly unimpressed by the prospect of discovering a book published by this 16th-century Belgian printer and publisher. William Harrison Ainsworth’s Old Saint Paul’s. (Getty Images) Dennistoun compares the scrapbooks illustration of King Solomon and the demon to this scene from the popular novel ‘Old Saint Paul’s’ by William Harrison Ainsworth. You can read the scene in question by going here and searching for ‘ THE MOSAICAL RODS 95′. Arthur Shipley (wikipedia) The ‘lecturer on morphology’ mentioned in this story is a reference to M.R. James’s friend Arthur Shipley, who published a textbook called Zoology of the Invertabrata , which mentions ‘gigantic’ South African spiders that live in holes and prey on small birds. Key of Solomon (wikipedia) In the episode, we mention this famous grimoire, which purports to be written by the demon-summoning old testament monarch King Solomon . Codex Gigas (wikipedia) Patrick Murphy suggests that the illustrations in the titular scrapbook could have been inspired in part by this gigantic illuminated manuscript, also known as the ‘devil’s bible’. Check out this huge demon in a furry red loincloth !

In this episode, Mike and Will share their thoughts on Mark Gatiss’s recent TV adaptation of M.R. James’s The Mezzotint. Join us for some monocle-popping, mustache-bristling, spine-chilling fun! Show notes A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Mezzotint (BBC iPlayer) Mark Gatiss’s adaptation is available to watch on BBC iPlayer for the next 11 months. Episode 3 – The Mezzotint (this very podcast) We dedicated a whole episode to the original story all the way back in October 2011! Fast forward to 31:30 to hear Will’s alternative ending suggestion that bears an uncanny resemblance to the plot alterations made in the Mark Gatiss adaptation! Interview with Mark Gatiss (Evolution of Horror Podcast) The excellent Evolution of Horror podcast recently featured an interview with Mark Gatiss talking about making The Mezzotint. The image that accompanied this episode includes elements of ‘ Mycroft Holmes post stamp ‘ by iMontage ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ), ‘ Abbey Manor House ‘ by David Luther Thomas ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) and ‘ Picture frame ‘ by Sailko ( CC BY 3.0 ).

Ho ho, and indeed ho! In this special festive episode, Mike and Will pull on their wellies and wander straight into Lucky’s Grove by H.R. Wakefield . But who’s that hiding behind the Christmas tree? Big thanks to Julia Morgan for allowing us to use extracts from her excellent Youtube reading of this story . Show notes: The Clock Strikes Twelve (Ash Tree Press) If you want to read this story, your best bet is to pick up the Ash Tree Press ebook of The Clock Strikes Twelve, the H.R. Wakefield collection that contains this story. H.R. Wakefield (Wikipedia) You can read some biographical information about Wakefield himself on Wikipedia. The Edda (Wikipedia) The quote that starts this story is liberally adapted by Wakefield from part of these 11th-century Icelandic works. The Folk Horror of H.R. Wakefield (whenchuchyardsyawn) This excellent article by Jason Lineham analyses both Lucky’s Grove and another Wakefield tale called the The First Sheaf from a modern folk horror perspective. The Disney wolf (Wikipedia) The intimidating wolf that adorns one of the Christmas lights was presumably based on the wolf from the Disney short film Three Little Pigs (1933). He does look a bit intimidating actually!

This episode Mike and Will grab their torches and disappear up ‘The Tudor Chimney’ by A.N.L. Munby. But what is that shape moving up above? Meh, it’s probably nothing. Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode! In this episode, we also mention Will’s new project DarkOxfordshire.co.uk , which explores the darker side of Oxfordshire’s history, including ghosts, legends, murders and mayhem! Story notes: The Tudor Chimney by A.N.L. Munby (Archive.org) Contrary to what we say in the episode, this story can in fact be read online for free! Thanks to Zach Forn for sharing the link with us. The Alabaster Hand by A.N.L. Munby (Sundial Press) Munby’s only volume of ghost stories is currently out of print and consequently rather hard to get hold of unless you have very deep pockets. However, Sundial Press are due to publish an affordably priced paperback to follow their recent hardback edition very soon. A.N.L. Munby book collector, academic and ghost story writer (jot101.com) This article republishes an article written in tribute to Munby that was published in 1975, a year after Munby’s death, and contains some entertaining details about his life and personality. The story location (Google Maps) In the story, Munby describes the location of the hall as being located between Lambourn and Wantage. The villages of Letcombe Bassett and Letcombe Regis seem likely candidates. Other locations that may have provided inspiration include Crowsley Park and Lambourn Place (check out those chimneys!)

Ahoy there listeners! Be grabbin’ yer nautical gear for a cruise on the high seas of Leicestershire, with LTC Rolt and his story Bosworth Summit Pound . (Enough. It’s set on a canal – ed) What terrors might await us on England’s peaceful inland waterways? And just who digs a canal tunnel under an ancient graveyard anyway? Story notes Thank you to our reader this week Tony Walker: you must check out his Classic Ghost Stories podcast and episode on this story . If you’d like to know more about his podcast, make sure you listen through to the end of our show for an exclusive trailer from Tony! Tom Rolt built Spitfires during WW2, and in 1944 had his first book ‘Narrow Boat’ published. It was a big success, and through it he made connections with the people with whom he would form the Inland Waterways Association, an organisation dedicated to preserving Britain’s canals and other waterways. He was actually expelled from this in 1951 after falling out with founding member (and fellow author of supernatural fiction) Robert Aickman (see this amusing plaque , which suggests the enmity lingered after both their deaths!). Rolt’s one volume of ghost stories ‘Sleep No More’ was published in 1948. Mike Ashley wrote of this , “Rolt had a formidable knowledge of the byways, waterways and railways of Britain which made Sleep No More (1948) a most unique volume of the supernatural”. Ashley adds that of MR James’s imitators, “Malden, Munby and Rolt achieve the most success in blending James’s techniques with their own narratives… Because of his ability to utilise original surroundings, L.T.C. Rolt’s stories are perhaps the most refreshing.” In another essay worth reading, Kai Roberts wrotes that “Rolt succeeds because the industrial setting he evokes is one about which he is passionate and knowledgeable.”

This episode Will and Mike hitch up their cassocks, pack their prayer books and head to ‘Southshire’ to open ‘A Room in a Rectory’ by Sir Andrew Caldecott! Big thanks to Kirsty who provided the readings for this episode, and to Garry Platt who provided the photo that accompanies this episode. You can see more of Garry’s photos at his Instagram account . Show notes: Sir Andrew Caldecott (wikipedia) You can find out about Caldecott’s life and exalted career in the Colonial Office at his wikipedia page. ‘Not Exactly Ghosts’ (Project Gutenberg Australia) While Caldecott’s stories are not quite out of copyright in most countries, you can still read the volume of ghost stories that ‘A Room in a Rectory’ comes from in its entirety online at Project Gutenberg Australia. St Michael defeating Satan (wikipedia) If you are trying to visualise the stained glass window that features in this story, head over to this wikipedia page where you can see a number of artistic interpretations of this very scene. Hymns Ancient and Modern (37mb PDF) This story features a crackingly devilish inversion of a hymn from the hymn book ‘Hymns Ancient and Modern’. You can read the original version in this PDF, hymn number 335.

This week Will and Mike don their warmest Christmas jumpers for dinner with Dr James and the troubled incumbents of Medborough Abbey, in the company of Sheila Hodgson. What could be more seasonal than a cracker, eh? Oh the fun that tumbles out when it goes snap! Paper hat, plastic keyring, lighthearted message of impending doom, that sort of thing. Indeed, Monty James felt a cracker could prompt a ghost story, “ if the right people pull it, and if the motto which they find inside has the right message on it. They will probably leave the party early, pleading indisposition; but very likely a previous engagement of long standing would be the more truthful excuse. ” ( Stories I have Tried to Write , 1929) Sheila Hodgson ran with this suggested plot device, setting her tale at the fictional Medborough Abbey. The story appeared as a radio play , Ghosts and Scholars magazine and ultimately in Fellow Travellers , a collection of her Jamesian tales published by Ash Tree Press in 1998. The same idea also inspired Andrew Caldecott to write ‘A Christmas Reunion’, the story we covered for our Christmas episode in 2017 . Sheila was a script writer best known for her radio and TV dramas between the 1950 and 1980s, including thrillers, detective stories and then supernatural fiction. Her first ghostly tales were adaptations of Algernon Blackwood’s ‘Dr John Silence: psychic detective’ stories for radio in the mid 1970s. She subsequently wrote seven radio plays inspired by James, and the stories collected in Fellow Travellers . Alas there is no real Medborough Abbey in the UK, but the name may have been inspired by Medmenham Abbey in Berkshire, which was a 12th century Cistercian monastery until it was dissolved in 1547 and became a private residence. It is more notorious for being one of the haunts of Sir Francis Dashwood’s ‘Hellfire Club’ (but that is a whole other story). FACT: Will once dressed as Death and pursued me, Mike, around a ruined abbey, as part of a short film made by a friend. Still gives me nightmares.

This episode Mike and Will brace themselves for the ‘appalling stench of goat, cordite, sulphur, and burning human flesh’ in M.P. Dare’s The Demoniac Goat . Lovely! Also in this episode we speak to actor Robert Lloyd Parry and publisher Brian J. Showers about ‘Ghosts of the Chit-chat’, their soon to be published new anthology of ghost stories from authors who, alongside M.R. James, were members of the Chit-Chat Club at Cambridge University. You can find out more about and order the book itself at the Swan River Press website . You can also visit Robert’s website for a upcoming schedule of live performances, both in theatres and online. Show notes Marcus Paul Dare (The Haunted Library) Much of the biographical information we used on M.P. Dare came from the introduction to the Ash Tree Press edition of ‘Unholy Relics’ but also from this excellent article on The Haunted Library. Unholy Relics (Ash Tree Press @ Amazon.co.uk) This story was originally published in Dare’s ‘Unholy Relics’ collection in 1947. Nowadays the easiest way to get hold of it is via Ash Tree Press’s ebook, which contains an excellent introduction by Reg Meuross as well as extracts from Dare’s book ‘Indian Underworld’. Shadows of the Master by Mike Ashley (Ghosts & Scholars) The essay that drew M.P. Dare to our attention was ‘Shadows of the Master’ by Mike Ashley, which highlighted a number of authors who wrote stories in the Jamesian tradition. The Peak Cavern (peakcavern.co.uk) Better known by its nickname ‘The Devil’s Arse’, this cave near Castleton in Derbyshire could have provided inspiration for M.P. Dare when writing this story. The Eldon Hole (wondersofthepeak.org.uk) Similarly to the above, this famous crevasse on a hilltop near Castleton may have provided inspiration. Legends state that the Eldon Hole is bottomless, or that it leads straight down to hell! Offa of Mercia (Wikipedia) The silver coins found by the dastardly Reverend Ashley Tutor were said to be pennies from the reign of Offa, who ruled the Kingdom of Mercia in modern day England during the 8th century. Crockford’s Clerical Directory (crockford.org.uk) Since 1858 Crockford’s Clerical Directory as been the authoritative directory of the Anglican clergy. Previously it was a yearly publication, but can now be searched online. Cademan Wood (Google maps) Searches for ‘Cademan Tor’ will draw a blank, but the name ‘Cademan’ in most associated with this area in north west Leicestershire. Asmodeus (wikipedia) The titular goat in this story is named after this demon from Judeo-Islamic lore. Apollo and Lugh (wikipedia) The god supposedly represented on this altar in this story is a compound of these two Roman and Celtic deities. Osculum Infame (wikipedia) The ‘kiss of shame’ was an act believed by witch hunters to be carried out by witches upon meeting the devil! The Goat of Mendes (wikipedia) The “Goat of Mendes” was a term invented by French occultist Levi Eliphas in the 19th century, drawing on representations of half men/half goat devils and deities across the western world such as Pan, Baphomet and Mendes, a Greek god. Finally, here’s the picture of M.P. Dare in his pants. Thankfully it is only small. The image I mean.

This Halloween Mike and Will stroll out into the garden to take a look at The Sundial by R.H. Malden . But who is that lurking in the bushes? Thanks to Kirsty for providing excellent readings for this episode! Show notes: Nine Ghosts by R.H. Malden (Project Gutenberg Australia) Malden only wrote one volume of ghost stories, and it is available to read in its entirety on the Project Gutenberg Australia website. R.H Malden (Ghosts and Scholars) This G&S article by Richard Johnson provides some biographical details about Malden, as well as some commentary on his stories. More biographical information can be found at Wikipedia . Scrinia Reserata (Google Books) In the introduction Malden tells us that the manuscript that makes up most of The Sundial was found tucked inside a copy of this book, a biography of Archbishop John Williams . The Rose Garden by M.R. James (Wikisource) It is hard to discuss The Sundial without repeatedly coming back to its clear inspiration, The Rose Garden by M.R. James. Why were people who died by suicide historically buried at crossroads? (HistoryExtra.com) This brief article explores the history of crossroad burials, as well as touching on the publics changing attitude towards suicide as a result of the death of Lord Castlereagh . Croxton, Cambridgeshire (Google Maps) The unnamed author omits the location where The Sundial takes place, but provides enough small details throughout the story to fairly confidently identify Croxton Park in Cambridgeshire as the most likely real-world location. As with the house in the story, Croxton Park is 60 miles north of London, and close to a mainline railway station. The house was built around the same time mentioned in the story, and has the site of a medieval hamlet within its grounds. In the story the house lies between the villages of ‘Abbotsley’ and ‘Farley’. Croxton Park is bordered by Abbotsholme to the south west and Eltisley to the east. See here and here for more details on the history of the house and park, including historical maps. Nightjars (Legendary Dartmoor) There are many superstitions concerning Nightjars (or Goatsuckers, as they are sometimes called!). This is likely due to their nocturnal habits and unusual cry . Sundial mottoes (wikipedia) Malden doesn’t explain the exact motto that the narrator puts on his sundial, but this list of sundial mottoes will give you a flavour of the sort of thing that adorned ornamental sundials of the period. Spirits of Solomon (Fandom Demopedia wiki) At the conclusion of the story Parker, the ex-sergeant of marines and butler, purchases a picture of ‘ King Solomon issuing directions to a corvée of demons ‘. It is most likely a version of the picture in this article, which also list all 72 of the spirits/demons that King Solomon was said to have commanded!