Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

"Count Magnus" is ghost story by British writer M. R. James, first published in 1904. It was included in his first collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.

A traveler in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominous figure, Count Magnus.
Mr. Wraxall is an author of travelogues, having previously published one of Brittany. During his travels in Sweden, he comes upon an ancient manor house (herrgåard) in Vestergothland and decides to do some research there. He is offered to lodge there but declines and stays at the local village inn. The local church has a mausoleum nearby, built by Count Magnus for himself and his family, de la Gardie. He inquires of his landlord about local traditions surrounding Count Magnus.

Pages 288

Interesting plot!
Are you in for this read?

I read this a couple of months ago. The stories are good!
Happy spooky reading!

I started this one today. Will share my favorite ones when I'm done.

Always good to re-read these excellent stories.

Shaina wrote: "I started this one today. Will share my favorite ones when I'm done."

Cannot wait to see what you ended up liking Shaina!

I am going to try to join in this one. I am still working 60 hour weeks and will be until the first of the year. Hopefully I can knock out a few pages each night.

Felicia
Glad you are taking some down time even if it is just a few pages.
Take care of yourself during this time!

I am sure you know this, found interesting:

Montague Rhodes James OM FBA (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1913–15).

Though James's work as a medievalist and scholar is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which some regard as among the best in the genre. James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichés of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. However, James's protagonists and plots tend to reflect his own antiquarian interests. Accordingly, he is known as the originator of the "antiquarian ghost story".

Lesle wrote: "I am sure you know this, found interesting:

Montague Rhodes James OM FBA (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–19..."

That's really cool! Thank you for sharing that.

I agree, Bernard. I have the complete ghost stories in this book:
Collected Ghost Stories, 464 pp.

Thanks Jazzy. Duly purchased, and placed in my Xmas stocking ...

Jazzy said:

I agree, Bernard. I have the complete ghost stories in this book:

There are any number of omnibus editions of M. R. James’ ghost stories, a few really good ones, many so-so, and few terrible ones. My personal favorite is A Pleasing Terror: The Complete Supernatural Writings , first published by Ash-Tree Press back in 2001. The book has long been out of print and used copies tend to be incredibly expensive, but electronic copies are available. It is perhaps the best annotated version of James’ stories and includes between its covers everything except the kitchen sink (story fragments, non-fiction pieces, James’ young adult fantasy, The Five Jars , etc., etc.).

Bernard you might want to swap for Canavan's choice! It not only has the 34 ghost stories but the other writings as well.

That stocking is going to be full before you know it!

Thanks Canavan, I'm having a look at that one.
I had another cheap paperback edition with a few in the collection but "lent" (that means gave it away) to a friend.

Jazzy said (in part):

Thanks Canavan, I'm having a look at that one.

No problem.

And if no one objects, I will make two other James-related “plugs”. First, there is an excellent podcast devoted to all things James entitled A Podcast to the Curious (named after one of James’ best-known tales). The show, hosted by Will Ross and Mike Taylor, has been around since 2011. The earlier episodes, each an hour or so long, dissect the individual James stories (usually one story per episode). Since they have now exhausted the James cannon, more recent episodes have looked at stories/authors who influenced James and, on the flip side, those influenced by James. If you’re a fan of James, these episodes are both interesting and fun to wade through. The website is here.

Will and Mike, in discussing the background, inspiration, etc. for James’ tales, will often make reference to articles appearing in Ghosts & Scholars. Founded in 1979, G & S is both a web site and a journal/newsletter. The whole is run by Rosemary Pardoe. I doubt Rosemary considers herself a scholar, but she probably knows more about James than anyone else living. The website (see here) is badly out of date, but the journal is still being published on a semi-regular basis.

Thanks for the info Canavan.

I finished this book a few days ago and really enjoyed it. While I liked all the stories my favourites were The Stalls of Barchester Catherdral, Casting the Runes, and Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance. I look forward to more of M.R. James.

Shaina said (in part):

While I liked all the stories my favourites were The Stalls of Barchester Catherdral, Casting the Runes, and Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance.

“Casting the Runes” was loosely adapted as the 1957 film Night of the Demon (alternately titled Curse of the Demon). Some parts of the film, directed by Jacques Tourneur, hold up better than others, but overall it’s a good watch. It’s gained something of a cult following over the decades; for example, Martin Scorsese cited the movie in his list of the eleven scariest horror films of all time.

I just read the title story. Neat storytelling. At about page 10 I was thinking: "Is this going anywhere? He's only got 10 pages left to finish this story and nothing's happened. How's he gonna pull this off?" Turns out he wasn't wasting his time. I just couldn't see what he was doing. Cool trick.

Thanks for the tip on the podcast Canavan. I just subscribed to it and will probably listen to their episode on Count Magnus sometime this weekend.

That podcast is interesting. That's an innovative way to approach short stories.

John_Dishwasher said: That podcast is interesting. That's an innovative way to approach short stories.

I’m happy to hear that you found the episode interesting. I’ve enjoyed all of their podcast episodes, but, being a huge fan of James, I know I’m incredibly biased.

John_Dishwasher said (in part): I just read the title story. Neat storytelling.

“Count Magnus” may be my favorite of the stories in M. R. James’ first collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary , but that might be because it was the very first James story I ever read, stumbling across it as a youngster in a 1944 anthology, Sleep No More , edited by August Derleth and illustrated by Lee Brown Coye.

(view spoiler)[I think James does an excellent job in providing the reader with background on Magnus; I especially enjoy the landlord’s story about the night visit to the forest. James is frequently lauded by critics for his “quiet” brand of horror, but one shouldn't forget that — although much of the horror occurs “off stage” — some of the events (such as getting one’s face sucked off) are pretty darned gruesome.

I also like the way in which James wraps this story up. I particularly admire, for example, the description of the barge trip back to England, during which Mr. Wraxell attempts to determine whether or not he is being pursued. This is the sort of thing that James did so well — describing a menace that is just on the periphery of one’s ability to sense it. Similarly, we have the “crossroads” scene, which seems to be one favored by illustrators of this story. Here is the scene as envisaged by the aforementioned Coye:

(hide spoiler)]

Canavan wrote: "Count Magnus” may be my favorite of the stories in M. R. James’ first collection, [book:Ghost ..."

Yes, I like his "quiet" way of telling the story. It was not what I was expecting and so, in the end, made it more effective for me. Making the tale more understated makes it more believable. Also, it suggests to us how these things could happen in real life without us ever hearing about them, which enhances believability too.