Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories (Oxford World's Classics)
by M.R. James
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 59)
M.R. James is the one and only best writer of ghost stories ever, in my ever-so-humble opinion. "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad" in particular is elegant, smooth, and seriously scary, as well as simply one of the best short stories of any genre I've ever read (hey, folks like Michael Chabon agree with that statement too). While other way old-school writers of weird fiction like Algernon Blackwood, Le Fanu, Lovecraft, etc. were all wonderful in their own, individual ways, ther...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I'm just coming to the end of these short stories and have found them quite intersting. They are mostly ghost stories and more propbably are based on old folk lore. M R James has a habit of going on a bit and then stopping in his tracking as if realising he is descriping something into much details - several stories have this and it gets quite annoying. If it wasn't for this I would have rated this with 5 stars, as the actual ghost stories are interesting adn managed to hold my attention.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommended to Pending by:
Lucky find at a used book-store
recommends it for: anyone who likes a good story about haunted curtains
recommends it for: anyone who likes a good story about haunted curtains
M.R. James is the greatest; his stories are like the 19th century version of the Blair Witch Project. James was an antiquarian at Cambridge and he writes his ghost stories like academic papers or reports, which makes them fantastically weird and creepy. The supernatural events in his stories are rarely explained, and sometimes you can't even figure out what happened, so they stay with you for a long time after you've finished the book-- maybe longer than you'd like them to.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 1997
Picked this up at FNAC in Paris ten years ago. At fourteen francs, it was the cheapest English book and I had a long plane ride ahead. Someone had deliberately put the wrong price sticker on the cover and then decided not to buy it. Lucky me. Talk about casting the runes. This is truly the best book of ghost stories ever. Am really looking forward to reading Michael Chabon's essay on M.R. James when I get my copy of Maps and Legends.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Ghost stories have been around since the beginning of time, but M.R. James is the guy that perfected them. This collection is a good place to start if you haven't read him as it contains a lot of his most famous stories. Brrrr...chilling.
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in January, 2008
M.R. James' stories are wonderfully scary. He uses suspense and primitive archetypes to induce fear. It is a terrific and more intellectual romp than most books in the Gothic Horror genre.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
The atmosphere of dusty libraries, the magic of ancient manuscripts, an occasional demonic visitation... lots to like here.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
The stories themselves aren't always great, but he comes up with scenarios that scare the shit out of me.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
