Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

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You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Ghost-Stories of an Antiquary was accordingly published with just the four completed works as a tribute to McBryde. With the illustrated bookplate of Alex Bridge to the front pastedown, and his inscription, dated 21. His narrators are academic, but acquired knowledge proves to be no protection against the inexplicable or the unknown.

James McBryde had originally intended to supply more illustrations for the work, but unfortunately died prematurely before he could complete them. comprises graphic adaptations of four of James’s most compelling and unsettling stories, plunging readers into a world of pervasive, creeping disquiet – a world populated by vengeful phantoms, disturbing visions and spectral works of art. Mr Abney’s exploration of Pagan rites and the Orphic and Bacchic mysteries is the gruesome theme of Lost Hearts, whilst The Ash Tree has pagan references throughout, dealing with witchcraft in Bury St. In the twentieth-century literature of the supernatural, the single most important book, in the opinion of most scholars and enthusiasts, is Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by Montague Rhodes James.Among them are such favorites as "Number Thirteen," "Canon Alberic's Scrap-book," and "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad. Canon Alberic's Scrap-book' – An antiquary discovers a scrap-book of ancient manuscripts compiled by the titular Canon Alberic in the 17th century that is in the keeping of the sacristan of a church in France that he is studying. Arnold suggested a second illustrator to James, however he was a close friend of McBryde and was adamant he could not easily replace him.

R. James that they could employ an alternative illustrator, but the author wanted the book to stand as testament to his friend’s work, so they kept it to the four. If you like staying up into the dark of the night reading short ghost stories you've found the book written just for you. I am a big fan of ghost stories, and enjoy nothing more than choosing a scary book to read over the Halloween period. James climbs inside his reader’s skull and caresses the psyche in an extremely subtle way, which, if you will allow him, involves you in the creation of the story.Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was James' first collection of macabre stories, cited as marking 'the beginning of the modern era of supernatural fiction. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They have written established characters such as Doctor Who (The Whispering Gallery, 2008 with Ben Templesmith) and Sherlock Holmes (The Trial of Sherlock Holmes, 2009 with Aaron Campbell, and The Liverpool Demon, 2012 with Matt Triano), as well as creating their own including Brit-Cit Psi Division, Judge Lillian Storm (Storm Warning, 2015 with Tom Foster). Canon Alberic's Scrapbook' has a very 1970s EC comic book feel followed (as in the original source material) by 'Lost Hearts' which has an altogether more modern Tim Burton/anime-style which works beautifully.

But when Professor Parkin discovers a whistle in a Templar ruin, or Sir Richard Fell inherits a country manor with a horrifying history, malevolent forces are unleashed. In his tales, the existence of ghosts is not to be doubted, and it’s also beyond dispute that ghosts cannot always be explained, or fully explained. I found myself thinking of both Lovecraft (in James’ use of made-up manuscripts and a reliance on protagonists of a learned bent whose curiosity proves to be their bane) and Clark Ashton-Smith (though with prose that was a little less flowery) though I think James is a much better stylist than the former and a little less given to the more extreme flights of fancy of the latter. Count Magnus' – The titular Count reminded me a bit of Vigo the Carpathian from Ghost Busters 2: he was a mean-spirited son of a bitch who liked to torture people in his spare time and go on fun little trips with names like “the Black Pilgrimage”. The next best thing, I suppose, is a recording, to be enjoyed in the comfort of our own homes, and it’s a little startling to realise how recently recorded readings became available.

Stephen Critchlow is a popular and versatile actor who has enjoyed a wide variety of work, including Hamlet and Pygmalion in The West End, Cyrano De Bergerac at The Royal National Theatre and playing Kenneth Horne in Round The Horne Revisited on Tour.