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The strange visitation of Josiah McNason: A Christmas ghost story
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
118 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1904
About the author
Marie Corelli
465 books198 followersMarie Corelli (born Mary Mackay) was a best-selling British novelist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, whose controversial works of the time often label her as an early advocate of the New Age movement.
In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.
She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.
In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.
She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 2, 2025
In anticipation of the end of the year, the season of giving presents patrons young & old with the opportunity to marvel at twinkling lights & cheerfully gathered table settings. Numerous are the days of celebration that remind us of the ties that intertwine us all. Yet, story after story presents readers with their version of the selfish truth; humanity is not so giving, grateful, & kind as it pretends to be. What would lead a reader to these stories & what might the plot offer in place of a glowing gift from St. Nick?
I found this story while roaming the archives of Project Gutenberg for a Horror story. As I made my way through the introduction, I soon came to realize that Corelli had written her own version of the Classic Christmas story known by many. Though I have yet to read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (1843) I have heard much ado about the ravings of the man without a conscious & the ghoulish roamings of his spirit guides. To my great shock & disappointment, Corelli’s mysterious Christmas tale opens in much the same way as many Horrors, with the promise of a devious tale that took place sometime, long ago.
In essence, this is a story about Josiah McNason, a prolific English businessman who spent the sixty years of his life in pursuit of wealth & acclaim. On Christmas Eve, he is asked to pay for the medical needs of one of his former employees—a man who was kind to Josiah’s child. Yet, the main character refuses outright claiming no responsibility to fund the life of a man he hardly knows. Josiah is then visited by a Goblin who takes him through the realms of realization that allow the story to conclude on a brimmingly high note.
There is little need to detail the events of this story, readers have most certainly heard them before. Whether through the plot of a book or a film, the approach towards shaming individuals for their inability or overt lack of desire to be charitable has led to the creation of many artistic mediums. Though there is certainly a need to remind humanity as a whole to be kind to one another & to evoke empathy & generosity towards the community; these stories rarely deal with the subject matter in a way that feels results-oriented.
When exploring this story, readers will note that Josiah resembles any wealthy millionaire of the age. He made sacrifices throughout his life to ensure that he was able to maintain his social status & was therefore left alone when it mattered. Yet, he isn’t actually alone in any real sense of the word.
Though Josiah has no family to speak of & though his ambitions see him isolate himself from emotional investment in others; his character is surrounded by others because they serve his needs &, as the reader sees in one of the flashes of truth, these people do not all hate him.
It might have been worthwhile for the main character to suffer the fate the author accuses him of flirting with. Whereas Josiah is threatened with an early death at the hands of medical abuse, he doesn’t die. In certain scenes, Josiah is brought to the forefront of the truth & surely, some people may suffer from loneliness—though this is not something that solely plagues the wealthy. Each of the moments in which Josiah is asked to be honest with himself offers him no reason to be.
When the Goblin appears, he is ugly but of stature & therefore, Josiah would be able to have a conversation with him. However, we see Josiah having conversations with many other people, not of stature. Should a demon-like goblin appear in the middle of the night I’m not sure that it matters what his social/professional title is.
He takes Josiah to an underground worship filled with other goblins who were once selfish human beings; he sees those he discarded living happy wholesome lives; he watches false prophets preach against the Lord; & he lies on his deathbed. What is the lesson to be learned?
Throughout each section, Josiah is reminded of the falsehood of his actions. He has discarded people & he has pretended to care about religion to better his social status. Does this make him a bad person or someone who understands how the human world works?
The Goblin pretends that falsehoods are the worst thing in the world, evidently forgetting that the Catholic Church to which Josiah is a practitioner, lied, cheated, abused, & scolded all who devoted their time & resources to the establishment.
I wonder therefore if Corelli forgot the world, she was part of when drawing inspiration from Dickens. The story does not hold enough weight on its own that it relies very heavily on Catholic teachings to drive home a moral that is non-existent.
Though I will not pretend that charity is a waste of time, nor will I state that selfishness is healthy, the plot does not leave room for nuance. Surely, Josiah understands that people who go to church are viewed in a specific light—this remains true in society to this day. While he roams with the Goblin it is made clear that he does care about God & the Catholic Church; so, what is the Goblin trying to achieve?
One cannot pay for the lives of all people. Josiah could have helped certain people but, as one may know, many people take advantage of kindness. Again, I am left wondering what the lesson is.
In a society like the one in which Josiah prospered the reader will note that he could have done things differently. He could have been more thoughtful & kinder; he could have been more authentic & empathetic to the vast experiences that those around him were living. Perhaps he is just not a man who could care & why should he?
As the Goblin points out, Josiah has lived an entire—& very long—life, he has not suffered at all. In fact, each year that passes seems to bring Josiah more wealth & greater prosperity. Why would a night of roaming with a stale creature inspire Josiah to change?
He could view the adventure as a raving nightmare because why would he believe that one evening by the fire a ghoulish goblin appeared to him to scare the wits out of him? This makes no sense & again, we are reminded that Josiah is a wealthy Englishman, not a member of a group of people who are by reputation driven to fancy.
I found this story tiring; it was far too long & offered nothing that regular Sunday School could not. The author rambles very heavily about religious teachings & being earnest with one’s beliefs but, she never goes into depth as to why. The threat of death looms over everyone, Josiah is no different than Willie, who is sure to die without medical intervention. The duality of the story offers readers the opportunity to ruminate on what it is saying & what it fails to achieve.
Ultimately, this is not a story I would recommend & save for the threat that follows Josiah along his nightmare of roaming, nothing changes for him. He alters his behaviour but, had he been listening in church he would have already been aware of the purgatory existence that could befall him if he continued in this way, unchanged. However, he didn’t care before so why care now? Perhaps, seeing really is believing.
If you would like to read this story, please visit this •LINK•
I found this story while roaming the archives of Project Gutenberg for a Horror story. As I made my way through the introduction, I soon came to realize that Corelli had written her own version of the Classic Christmas story known by many. Though I have yet to read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (1843) I have heard much ado about the ravings of the man without a conscious & the ghoulish roamings of his spirit guides. To my great shock & disappointment, Corelli’s mysterious Christmas tale opens in much the same way as many Horrors, with the promise of a devious tale that took place sometime, long ago.
In essence, this is a story about Josiah McNason, a prolific English businessman who spent the sixty years of his life in pursuit of wealth & acclaim. On Christmas Eve, he is asked to pay for the medical needs of one of his former employees—a man who was kind to Josiah’s child. Yet, the main character refuses outright claiming no responsibility to fund the life of a man he hardly knows. Josiah is then visited by a Goblin who takes him through the realms of realization that allow the story to conclude on a brimmingly high note.
There is little need to detail the events of this story, readers have most certainly heard them before. Whether through the plot of a book or a film, the approach towards shaming individuals for their inability or overt lack of desire to be charitable has led to the creation of many artistic mediums. Though there is certainly a need to remind humanity as a whole to be kind to one another & to evoke empathy & generosity towards the community; these stories rarely deal with the subject matter in a way that feels results-oriented.
When exploring this story, readers will note that Josiah resembles any wealthy millionaire of the age. He made sacrifices throughout his life to ensure that he was able to maintain his social status & was therefore left alone when it mattered. Yet, he isn’t actually alone in any real sense of the word.
Though Josiah has no family to speak of & though his ambitions see him isolate himself from emotional investment in others; his character is surrounded by others because they serve his needs &, as the reader sees in one of the flashes of truth, these people do not all hate him.
It might have been worthwhile for the main character to suffer the fate the author accuses him of flirting with. Whereas Josiah is threatened with an early death at the hands of medical abuse, he doesn’t die. In certain scenes, Josiah is brought to the forefront of the truth & surely, some people may suffer from loneliness—though this is not something that solely plagues the wealthy. Each of the moments in which Josiah is asked to be honest with himself offers him no reason to be.
When the Goblin appears, he is ugly but of stature & therefore, Josiah would be able to have a conversation with him. However, we see Josiah having conversations with many other people, not of stature. Should a demon-like goblin appear in the middle of the night I’m not sure that it matters what his social/professional title is.
He takes Josiah to an underground worship filled with other goblins who were once selfish human beings; he sees those he discarded living happy wholesome lives; he watches false prophets preach against the Lord; & he lies on his deathbed. What is the lesson to be learned?
Throughout each section, Josiah is reminded of the falsehood of his actions. He has discarded people & he has pretended to care about religion to better his social status. Does this make him a bad person or someone who understands how the human world works?
The Goblin pretends that falsehoods are the worst thing in the world, evidently forgetting that the Catholic Church to which Josiah is a practitioner, lied, cheated, abused, & scolded all who devoted their time & resources to the establishment.
I wonder therefore if Corelli forgot the world, she was part of when drawing inspiration from Dickens. The story does not hold enough weight on its own that it relies very heavily on Catholic teachings to drive home a moral that is non-existent.
Though I will not pretend that charity is a waste of time, nor will I state that selfishness is healthy, the plot does not leave room for nuance. Surely, Josiah understands that people who go to church are viewed in a specific light—this remains true in society to this day. While he roams with the Goblin it is made clear that he does care about God & the Catholic Church; so, what is the Goblin trying to achieve?
One cannot pay for the lives of all people. Josiah could have helped certain people but, as one may know, many people take advantage of kindness. Again, I am left wondering what the lesson is.
In a society like the one in which Josiah prospered the reader will note that he could have done things differently. He could have been more thoughtful & kinder; he could have been more authentic & empathetic to the vast experiences that those around him were living. Perhaps he is just not a man who could care & why should he?
As the Goblin points out, Josiah has lived an entire—& very long—life, he has not suffered at all. In fact, each year that passes seems to bring Josiah more wealth & greater prosperity. Why would a night of roaming with a stale creature inspire Josiah to change?
He could view the adventure as a raving nightmare because why would he believe that one evening by the fire a ghoulish goblin appeared to him to scare the wits out of him? This makes no sense & again, we are reminded that Josiah is a wealthy Englishman, not a member of a group of people who are by reputation driven to fancy.
I found this story tiring; it was far too long & offered nothing that regular Sunday School could not. The author rambles very heavily about religious teachings & being earnest with one’s beliefs but, she never goes into depth as to why. The threat of death looms over everyone, Josiah is no different than Willie, who is sure to die without medical intervention. The duality of the story offers readers the opportunity to ruminate on what it is saying & what it fails to achieve.
Ultimately, this is not a story I would recommend & save for the threat that follows Josiah along his nightmare of roaming, nothing changes for him. He alters his behaviour but, had he been listening in church he would have already been aware of the purgatory existence that could befall him if he continued in this way, unchanged. However, he didn’t care before so why care now? Perhaps, seeing really is believing.
If you would like to read this story, please visit this •LINK•
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2022
This is the third rendition of Dicken's A CHRISTMAS CAROL that I've read this holiday season. In THE STRANGE VISITATION, the premise of the Dickens classic remains intact, but the story is quite different. Others have taken "A Christmas Carol" and inserted different character names, changed the setting, or have otherwise 'rewritten' the original. Marie Corelli offers a much darker, and sometimes gruesome, version to ponder.
Scrooge has become something of a trope in his own right. To call someone a scrooge is to say they are mean spirited and stingy. Corelli gives us Josiah McNason in place of Scrooge and distinctly no angels to lead the way to his redemption.
If you are looking for an alternative to Scrooge and Marley, THE STRANGE VISITATION is a good place to start.
Scrooge has become something of a trope in his own right. To call someone a scrooge is to say they are mean spirited and stingy. Corelli gives us Josiah McNason in place of Scrooge and distinctly no angels to lead the way to his redemption.
If you are looking for an alternative to Scrooge and Marley, THE STRANGE VISITATION is a good place to start.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews