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A Thin Ghost And Others. 5 Stories Of The Supernatural (1919)

by M.R. James(Favorite Author)

3.92 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1848301162 (ISBN13: 9781848301160)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Wildhern Press

review 1: M.R. James is reputed to be the creator of the modern ghost story, and is said to have inspired numerous 20th century horror writers.When I read that, I jumped at the chance to read his stuff, much of it for free on Project Gutenberg. This collection, the first I tackled, was a disappointment. The stories have an interesting build up, but end quickly and confusingly. I muttered "What was that all about?" at least twice, and was left wondering if the story had been cut short during scanning.I'll give him another shot.
review 2: I first read this slim book of ghost tales ten years ago, and, as a great admirer of “Ghost Stories of an Antiquary,” I was disappointed in these five tales because I took them for weak imitations of James' earlier triumphs, their... more potential power dissipated by Dickensian humor, unwelcome digressions, and convoluted plots.A recent second reading has changed my mind. What I once saw as imitation now seems more like experiment, a movement away from the comforts of the conventional antiquarian tale toward more palpable horror: inexplicable piles of insect husks, lethal bed clothes, hairy things spawned from haunted wallpaper, and the life-in-death terror that puppets possess in dreams. I realize now that the domestic humor and narrative distortions I once deplored are conjurer's tricks employed by James to disarm and disorient the reader, leaving him more susceptible—and therefore more vulnerable—to nightmare. I see that the conventional furniture--even the titles--of these stories also function as forms of misdirection. Sinister chests remain unopened, old books reveal little, tomb effigies are never identified, “The Residence at Whitminster” ghost has no real connection with the church, "Mr. Poynter's Diary" is more important for the baleful object slipped between its pages than for anything imparted by its text, and the 'appearance' referred to in “The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance” (a narrative as fragmented and disturbing as anything in Thomas Ligotti) does little to resolve the essential mystery of its tale.One last thought: “A Thin Ghost and Others” was originally published in 1919. The chills of the traditional Christmas Eve ghost story must have seemed precious and slightly absurd compared to the reality of trench warfare, even from the ivory tower perspective of a Cambridge don like M.R. James. Might this have something to do with the darkening tone, the chaotic atmosphere? less

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