‘There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard’ was published in 1924 in the Eton newsletter ‘Snapdragon’ by classic British writer M. R. James. It is one of James’ shortest stories and is based on the Shakespearean play ‘The Winter’s Tale’. The beginning lines of the short story are taken directly from the play from Act 2: Scene 1, 25-31, where the innocent young boy Prince Mamilius … [Read more...] about ‘There was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis
M. R. James
‘The Diary of Mr Poynter’ by M.R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘The Diary of Mr Poynter’ was published in the year 1919 in the collection titled ‘The Thin Ghost and Others’ by M.R. James. James is considered one of the greatest 19th-century ghost story writers of all time. He was an antiquarian as well as a scholar. He led a very active academic life and also had a fascination for the macabre. ‘The Diary of Mr Poynter’ is typical of James' … [Read more...] about ‘The Diary of Mr Poynter’ by M.R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘The Mezzotint’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘The Mezzotint’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis ‘The Mezzotint’ is a story of a poacher called Gawdy who was framed by a squire for killing a keeper of his estate. Gawdy is hung to death, but that is not the end of him. He returns in a terrible ghoulish form to kidnap the squire’s only infant son. Seemingly, Gawdy didn’t want to be killed because he was the last … [Read more...] about ‘The Mezzotint’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘A School Story’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘A School Story’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis M. R. James is usually known as the academic horror story writer and teller. There is always an academic or studious side to his stories as well as his prime characters. This story takes place in a private school through the reminisces of one man who had an unusual and very frightful experience in his boyhood days. … [Read more...] about ‘A School Story’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘Lost Hearts’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis
‘Lost Hearts’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis Montague Rhodes James or M. R. James is one of the finest ghost story writers the world has ever had, and is indeed the father of the scholarly and academician Victorian ghost story. His stories are seminal to the glossary of ghost stories even in our time, and ‘Lost Hearts’ is definitely one of his scariest yet, a … [Read more...] about ‘Lost Hearts’ by M. R. James: Short Story Analysis