Category: News & Updates

A ghost story for Christmas

~ Duncan J. Rule ~ 1 Comment

It has been well over a year since I made my last post here, and for that I must apologise to regular readers. As I mentioned in my most recent update back in September 2021, I had at that time begun a programme of postgraduate study, and it transpires that such an undertaking leaves little time for extracurricular pursuits when combined with a full-time job and family life. This situation is likely to continue into the latter parts of 2023, but following that I hope to return to a schedule of more regular updates on various Jamesian topics as I have many ideas in mind to pursue.

Nevertheless, for now I would like to share a ghostly (although admittedly non-Jamesian) tale with you all for the “dark season”. I have for some time now volunteered with Cambridgeshire Archives, the local authority archive for the county, in support of my studies. Each April, ARA Scotland, part of the wider Archives & Records Association, conducts a social media outreach campaign titled #Archive30 in which archives nationwide are encouraged to select and publicise thirty items from their collections related to a particular daily theme. One such theme of the 2022 campaign was “something scary”, and given my own interests I was tasked with creating a reading of a series four of ghostly 18th century letters.

The letters in question were penned in 1717 by the British Orientalist Simon Ockley, who at the time was imprisoned in Cambridge Castle as a debtor, and addressed to an acquaintance named as “Dr. Keith” (presumably James Keith, M.D., as indicated by the catalogue entry for three further letters held in the British Museum’s archive). In his correspondence Ockley recounts a series of supposed encounters with a malevolent spirit inhabiting the castle during his incarceration. Unfortunately due to their nature as real letters rather than a transcribed story, the final entry brings little resolution to the matter. The originals can be found within the Cambridgeshire Archives collections in a large volume of compiled original documents and transcripts titled Miscellanea Book ‘C’ (ref. no. City/PB Volume 31), within the wider Cambridge Borough: Palmer Barnard Volumes series.

My readings were originally uploaded to the Cambridgeshire Archives social media accounts episodically in four parts, but below I present the full recording. I must warn you that I am certainly no actor, but I hope you enjoy my own attempt at a ghost story for Christmas.

Duncan J. Rule.

‘Account of a Spirit in Cambridge Castle’ – An 18th century ghost story.
Transcribed, performed and edited by Duncan J. Rule. © Antiquarian Ghosts, 2022.

Updates for September ’21

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Time once again today for another general site update. My apologies for the somewhat sparse recent posting – alongside my regular day job I have embarked upon a programme of volunteer work and postgraduate study, and as a result additional space left for Jamesian pursuits has been somewhat lacking. Nevertheless, I have added a few new pages to the collection area detailing some of my newest acquisitions. The first of these I’d actually been sitting on since toward the start of the year and realised I’d somehow neglected to add it to the site. The book in question is a beautifully rebound copy of A Supplement to Blomefield’s Norfolk – an impressive tome published as a limited run in 1929 to provide additional supporting material to Francis Blomefield’s expansive 18th century work, and containing two contributions from M. R. James on church wall paintings in the county.

A Supplement to Blomefield's Norfolk, edited by Clement Ingleby (Clement Ingleby, 1929)

A holiday to Cromer, Norfolk earlier in the summer led to the discovery of the second gem in a rather eccentrically maintained bookshop (as we all know, the best kind) – a first edition copy of MRJ’s Old Testament Legends; a 1913 volume of biblical apocrypha aimed at a younger audience and featuring some wonderful illustrations by H. J. Ford.

Old Testament Legends: being Stories out of some of the less-known Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament - front cover

The final two books were purchased on the doorstep of King’s College, Cambridge right after my recent chat with Mr. Robert Lloyd Parry of the Nunkie Theatre Company. Following the conclusion of our conversation we each headed over to St. Edward’s Passage, located just off King’s Parade, to visit the Cambridge bookselling institutions The Haunted Bookshop and G. David Bookseller. In the former I happened upon a copy of The Aldine Bible New Testament, Vol. 3, edited by James in the last year of his life, while in the latter I was lucky enough to acquire the elusive Magdalene College manuscript catalogue. My sincere thanks must go to Robert for spotting the catalogue hiding on a shelf I’d unsuccessfully scanned several minutes prior!

The New Testament, Vol. 3 - The Pauline and Pastoral Epistles, edited by M. R. James and Delia Lyttelton (The Aldine Bible, with illustrations by Eric Gill. J. M. Dent and Sons, 1936)
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the College Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press, 1909)

Aside from these acquisitions, for those interested I have a couple of very exciting M. R. James items in the pipeline which I hope to be able to share with you in the coming months. In addition, I am planning a number of new pieces of MRJ-related content, at least one of which I expect to publish before the end of the year, and have also recently obtained permission to include several more of James’ unfinished ghost stories on the site. Expect these to be added shortly.

In other Jamesian news Stephen Gray, proprietor of thin-ghost.org, has recently launched a new site, The Ghostly Fu Emporium, to showcase and offer for sale his fantastic spectral artworks and replicas. Anyone with an interest in M. R. James’ stories will love Stephen’s “Jamesabilia”, and I would advise you all to pay a visit and marvel at his creations.

Duncan J. Rule.

Updates for June ’21

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It’s been a few months since my last update here. In truth I’ve been taking a bit of a break and pursuing other hobbies, and new book acquisitions on the M. R. James front have been few and far between in recent weeks. I have, however, made a few small updates to the site over the past few days, and thought it would be worthwhile covering these in a short post.

Firstly, a further three books I acquired between the tail end of last year and the first couple of months of 2021 have been added to the collection pages. Two of these are works by MRJ – Cambridge Under Queen Anne and A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Eton College. The Eton catalogue, which I had been coveting for quite a while, came with an interesting bundle of letters, dating from the early 1970s, from the ‘Keeper of Library and College Collections’ at Eton to the previous owner of the book – a university academic who required a copy for some of his own manuscript research. Obviously I only have one side of the correspondence, but it appears the academic in question received the book from Eton in exchange for a couple of other titles gifted to the library. A visit to the college itself was subsequently organised in mid-1972. Unfortunately due to the dates involved I cannot at present include any images of this correspondence on the site for data protection and copyright reasons.

The third title is something a bit different in the form of a copy of the new Jamesian pen-and-paper roleplaying game, Casting the Runes, which was published by The Design Mechanism earlier this year. At this point I haven’t yet had time to fully delve into the intricacies of the game, but I’m planning to cover it in greater detail in a future post.

Cambridge Under Queen Anne, edited by J. E. B. Mayor (Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 1911)
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Eton College (Cambridge University Press, 1895)
Casting the Runes, by Paul StJohn Mackintosh (The Design Mechanism, 2021)

Aside from these few new book pages, I’ve been making some minor style and formatting changes to the site to compensate for some broken functionality introduced by a recent update to the WordPress editor, and have also added James McBryde’s four original illustrations for Ghost Stories of an Antiquary to the relevant story pages (Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book and ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’).

I’m planning a number of reasonably extensive pieces and articles this year, so hopefully I’ll have some more substantial content for you soon. As always, any new book acquisitions will continue to be added to the collection pages for those who are interested in such things.

Duncan J. Rule.

Jamesian News – February ’21

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Just a short post today to bring you all three pieces of exciting news for the M. R. James aficionado:

Fans of the long running A Ghost Story For Christmas strand will be delighted to learn that writer/director Mark Gatiss will be making a return to BBC Two this Christmas with another Jamesian adaptation, The Mezzotint. Details have just been revealed following completion of principal photography, which, judging from the slate pictured on the BBC website, took place entirely last week.

The Mezzotint (2021) - © BBC/Can Do Productions/Adorable Media
The Mezzotint (2021) – © BBC/Can Do Productions/Adorable Media

Rory Kinnear will star as the protagonist and recipient of the titular mezzotint, Mr. Williams, and Robert Bathurst will fill the role of Mr. Garside. The BBC press release also revealed the names of an additional five cast members, including Frances Barber as a “Mrs. Ambrigail”, suggesting a significant expansion on James’ original story and, I expect, a dramatisation of the actual events depicted in the haunted print. While some will no doubt find issue with these changes, it seems to me a justifiable direction to take when attempting to translate this particular story to the screen. Despite some alterations I’ve largely enjoyed Mr. Gatiss’ previous adaptations and am keen to see what he does with The Mezzotint. It’s no bad thing that those of us interested in James have such a high-profile individual willing and able to get these dramatic works commissioned in the first place for us all to enjoy, and I was most disappointed we missed out on a new entry into the series in 2020.

Continuing the theme of adaptations of James’ works, director Chris Crow has just announced a new feature-length adaptation of James’ classic A Warning to the Curious, currently in development and scheduled to begin shooting this coming winter. According to the post on Chris’ website, the film “embraces the original story whilst elevating the Folk Horror and Psychological Horror elements”. What this means for adherence to the spirit of the original tale remains to be seen, but I will certainly be following this project with interest.

Finally, and slightly late, is news that Dr. Jane Mainley-Piddock’s new book Casting the Runes: The Letters of M. R. James, which I have discussed previously, achieved its funding goal through crowd-funded publisher Unbound toward the end of January, and is now in the writing stage. The most recent update from the start of February provides an insight into the current state of progress with the transcriptions. Following the funding goal announcement, Dr. Mainley-Piddock has also revealed that the aforementioned MRJ superfan Mark Gatiss will be providing a foreword to the completed book.

Casting the Runes: The Letters of M. R. James, edited by Jane Mainley-Piddock - © Unbound/Jane Mainley-Piddock
Casting the Runes: The Letters of M. R. James, edited by Jane Mainley-Piddock – © Unbound/Jane Mainley-Piddock

Although the funding target has now been met, there is still time to back the project and receive one of the numerous available rewards should you wish to. Full details (along with updates) can be found on the project’s page over on Unbound.

Duncan J. Rule.

Updates for January ’21

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Welcome back for the first post of the new year, in the depths of the dark season. I had originally begun to put something together for a planned pre-Christmas post, but it ended up a somewhat directionless ramble on the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas strand that I ultimately decided not to publish. While enough has probably been said about that particular series over the years, I’m sure that I’ll return to the subject in detail at some point when I’m able to organise my thoughts on it slightly more coherently.

Nevertheless, as is traditional over the festive period I did sit down to re-watch many of the classic MRJ adaptations that make up the bulk of the AGSfC strand thanks to the DVD set released several years ago by the BFI, as well as the repeat of Mark Gatiss’ 2019 adaptation of Martin’s Close on BBC Two on Christmas Eve. I always find it difficult to choose a favourite from the series (leaving the 1968 Whistle… to one side in this instance as it’s technically not part of the series proper), although I increasingly find myself drawn to The Stalls of Barchester as my go-to adaptation, in no small part due to the beautifully dark cinematography made possible by the somewhat unusual decision to shoot both interiors and exteriors on film rather than video (a trait thankfully carried through the original run). Generally the series’ low points are few, although for some reason I also decided to watch the decidedly un-Jamesian original story The Ice House again, which left me feeling as bored and confused as I have been on all previous viewings. A somewhat sad way to officially end the original series, but at least we have 1979’s Schalcken the Painter which may as well have been an episode and provides a more fitting conclusion. I’d love to know my readers’ favourite adaptations, so please leave a comment below with yours.

Over the last couple on months I’ve also developed a bit of a backlog of books to add to the collection pages, and have made an initial update with four newly acquired titles – James’ manuscript catalogue for Queens’ College; a copy of Arthur Christopher Benson as seen by some friends, which features a contribution by MRJ on his late friend; a bound volume XXII of the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, which contains a short catalogue by Monty of Mss. in Ipswich Public Library; and finally a copy of the sole published work of James’ father Herbert, The Country Clergyman and his Work.

New M. R. James acquisitions, November/December 2020
New M. R. James acquisitions, November/December 2020

I have a number of others to add over the coming weeks, including a copy of the Eton College catalogue of Mss. received as a Christmas gift, which contains a number of interesting letters relating to some research carried out in the early 1970s. I’m planning to put together a more detailed piece on this particular acquisition in due course.

Duncan J. Rule.

Updates for November ’20

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I have just made a number of additions to the Book Collection section, with four new titles added: R. W. Pfaff’s fantastic biography, Montague Rhodes James; a copy of The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Volume IX, which contains a number of contributions by James written following his archaeological expedition to Cyprus in 1887-1888; Henry the Sixth – A Reprint of John Blacman’s Memoir, translated and edited by James in 1919; and finally a bound volume of the Supplements to the Transactions of the Bibliographical Society 1921-1926, containing two smaller manuscript catalogues by MRJ as parts one and five.

New M. R. James acquisitions, October/November 2020

There is also one new addition to the Ghost Stories section in the form of the incomplete tale The Fenstanton Witch, taken from the original manuscript held in Cambridge University Library archives. My sincere thanks go to N. J. R. James and Rosemary Pardoe for allowing me to reproduce this transcription on Antiquarian Ghosts.

Finally, I wanted to put in a small plug for a project many of you may already be aware of: Dr. Jane Mainley-Piddock’s book Casting the Runes: The Letters of M. R. James, which is currently seeking funding through crowdfunding publisher Unbound. I’m personally very keen to get my hands on a copy of the book, so please do consider backing the project if you’d be interested in seeing more of James’ personal correspondence published. The funding target stands at 71% at the time of writing.

Duncan J. Rule.

A few small updates…

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Just a quick post to draw your attention to two new titles added to the Book Collection section: Thirteen-Hundredth Anniversary of the Diocese of East Anglia: Official Handbook, to which M. R. James contributed a section on carved bosses in the roof of Norwich Cathedral; and Haunted Churches of England: Ghosts Ancient and Modern by Graham J. McEwan, which while not explicitly James-related is certainly appropriately Jamesian in subject to be included here.

Thirteen-Hundredth Anniversary of the Diocese of East Anglia: Official Handbook, edited by D. H. S. Cranage (Jarrold & Sons, 1930)

Also a short note to say that Christopher Thom and Robert Lloyd Parry’s fantastic documentary Wits in Felixstowe is now available to watch on Amazon Prime here.

Wits in Felixstowe, reproduced with kind permission from Thom Thom Productions.

This 40-minute film is a wonderful examination of the story behind perhaps M. R. James’ most famous ghost story (and my personal favourite), “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad”, and provides a fascinating insight into both the story and James’ life, as well as some great location filming around Cambridge and the Suffolk coast.

Duncan J. Rule.

An Introduction and Welcome

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Hello and welcome to Antiquarian Ghosts, a new site dedicated to the father of the modern ghost story, M. R. James. As I mentioned in the introductory section of the homepage, I had originally envisaged this site primarily as a place to assemble a visual catalogue of my ever-growing collection of M. R. James’ books, but the idea soon evolved into wanting to create a more comprehensive space to explore my interest in James and his works.

Currently you’ll find a section for the aforementioned book collection, alongside full text reproductions of all of James’ completed ghost stories, a short biography, and an articles section which will contain original pieces on James’ life, works, and any other suitably Jamesian topics.

I’ve spent a several weeks populating the site with the content currently available, and am planning to expand the scope of this as time progresses. Ultimately I’d like to add more information and more photographs for each of the books in my collection, and indeed if there is a specific aspect of a particular book you would like to see in more detail, please do let me know. I also intend at some point to add a section for discussion and review of the many adaptations of James’ ghost stories that exist, particularly those made for film and television.

A little about me: I am 35 years old, originally from Cambridge and now living in Ely, Cambridgeshire. I work for a well-known academic publisher with a strong historical tie to M. R. James himself (I’m sure you can guess which), and where I have been for the last twelve-and-a-half years in a variety of roles.

I can’t remember exactly when I first discovered M. R. James and his ghost stories (some time in my early twenties), but I do remember that it was due to, of all things, a terrible Channel 4 list programme entitled 100 Greatest Scary Moments, during which I encountered my first glimpse of Jonathan Miller’s 1968 BBC adaptation Whistle and I’ll Come to You (ranked at a paltry number 80). Apparently the programme originally aired in 2003, but it must have been a later repeat that I had watched. Nevertheless, the short piece of footage I saw of the final bedroom scene piqued my interest enough to convince me to search out a copy of the full film, and my fascination with James developed from there.

I began seriously collecting James’ written works at the start of 2018 (having the type of personality which is unfortunately susceptible to such things), and while the task of collecting a copy of everything he ever published is probably somewhat unachievable without very deep pockets, I’m nevertheless really enjoying hunting down new items and learning more about MRJ as I go. I hope you will find the collection I’ve assembled thus far similarly interesting.

I’m looking forward to growing this site with more additions to the book collection (something in James’ own hand would be the dream acquisition) and hopefully providing some new and interesting content for those of you similarly interested in the legacy of M. R. James. Please enjoy the site.

Duncan J. Rule.