james didn't stretch his stories too far, and he didn't have to. he knew how much could be done with subtle changes. the stories here are written traditionally, but somehow varies. excelolent at details, with an excellent writing style. the stories develops nicely, never flawed.

I will definitely admit that I enjoyed reading this book. Undeniably, Mr. James was an extraordinary writer for his day and age. And I am sure that back then these stories would have been the "bone-chilling terror" that the back of the book promised, but I found that most of the stories in here were not even remotely terrifying. They all had a good build up. A terrific story line and some really interesting ideas, but it was at just that point when you start getting really interested, that the story is suddenly over, and you are left with a somewhat empty feeling, knowing that it could have been better. I would still recommend this book to those who would read it purely for literary enjoyment. However, if you're looking for a good scare, as I was, look elsewhere.

I second most of what "hugh dignon" said below; he hit it on the head. I enjoy few authors more than James. I'm a full-grown, mostly rational, non-squeamish, non-superstitious adult, and these stories make my skin crawl, even on repeat readings.

One small caveat: It might be hard to resist devouring all the stories in a short period of time. Resist and ration them out. First, because these are (nearly?) all the ghost stories he wrote. Second, they're formulaic enough in structure that as you near the end of the book, they start to lose some impact if read all at once.

I've read "The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance" four or five times. I still can't follow the plot. It still keeps me awake at night. (Maybe this is because Punch & Judy puppets creep me out). Does anyone else get it?

M.R.James was a master of the British ghost story. In the Victorian and Edwardian eras the ghost story was a very popular genre with some wonderful writers contributing to it. Writers such as Algernon Blackwood, J.S. Le Fanu, H.R. Wakefield, Oliver Onions, Marion Crawford, Henry James and Edith Warton (who both dabbled successfully in the genre), W.W.Jacobs, E.F.Benson, R.H.Malden and E.G.Swain (who were both influenced by James), and William Hope Hodgson produced many ghost stories of merit, but at the top of such an illustrious list should be placed the name of Montague Rhodes James. He wrote short, exquisite stories of ordinary human beings' encounters with the supernatural; all of which exhibit such a disquietingly high level of verisimilitude that he very nearly succeeds in making us believe that the strange events in his stories have actually happened. Because he was a scholar and spent all of his adult life in academia, at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, James was naturally able to inject his stories with an integral element of scholarly detail. They are told in a matter- of-fact, rather dry style and, like an historical text, are peppered with latin phrases and footnotes with bibliographical references. In "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" he even audaciously begins the story with a first paragraph entirely written in latin which, thank God, he translates; though not before his protagonist slyly sighs, "I suppose I shall have to translate this." His protagonists are usually antiquarians; rigid, late-Victorian academics who are not in any way given to flights of fancy. When the type of unimaginative men such as these come across an old etching like "The Mezzotint", or an ancient book like "The Tractate Middoth" or "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook", objects which turn out to be haunted, the reader believes that they indeed are because such protagonists surely lack the imagination to make up such fantastical occurances. James is also a master of subtlety. Unlike horror writers of today who are all too willing to try to shock the reader with sadistic, nauseating, gore-drenched descriptions, James knows how to describe just enough and let the reader's imagination supply the rest. He also lulls the reader into a false sense of security by at first evoking a kind of even-handed normalcy about his characters and settings; so that when the ghost finally makes its appearance it comes as a shock. M.R.James' ghosts are never good. They do not appear to the living to warn them about some impending disaster. At best, they are indifferent to human beings as in "The Mezzotint", "The Haunted Doll's House", or "Number 13" in which the spirits act as if they were in a neverending tape loop. But, for the most part, they are utterly malevolent creatures which actively seek to do harm to the unsuspecting human beings who unknowingly happen to awaken them. Unlike many other ghost story writers of his time, in most of his tales James provides no satisfactory explanation for the ghost's malevolence. He knows that a tidy, pat answer weakens the impact of the anarchic idea that there are unseen forces, usually remaining dormant, which at any time could awaken to inflict harm upon the living. The implications of this idea are truly frightening. Upon finishing one of his stories, the reader is left with a nagging, unnerving suspicion that the events of the story, no matter how strange or "unreal", have actually happened and that James' story is really only a factual accounting of them.

This book is more a companion book to the ghost stories. Some of writing you can also get in A PLEASING TERROR, the Ash Tree Press hefty book collecting M. R. James fiction and non-fection writings on the supernatural, but that doesn't have the illustrations you'll find here. There are reproductions of woodcuts and engravings of older supernatural works, illustrations of M.R. James and his works (including some of the illustrations for THE FIVE JARS), and photographs.

Personally, I enjoyed the way Dr. James verbally ripped apart the claim that a certain painting of the Annunciation was the work of a secret Satanist (yes, a picture of the painting is included). There's even a tribute by Christopher Lee. I found this book added to my enjoyment of M. R. James' work. I hope it will do the same for you.

I think a good ghost story is very hard to write. M.R. James makes it look easy. There are others that lay claim to the title of the Father of ghost stories, J. Sheridan LeFanu and L.P. Hartley to name but two. It is James, however, that will forever hold that title.

His are generally stories that evoke life in the 20 years either side of 1900 romantically. They tend to be stories around Cathedrals or in Scholars houses or in and around Schools where the schoolboy is sometimes included.

The reason why these stories are so good is that James judges and recreates exactly the correct amount of romance in each story that parallels the romantic notion of the ghost in every person's mind.

If I had a complaint, it would be that M.R. James' obvious intelligence (He was a professor at Cambridge University for many years) is a little too much for some. It could just be that the language of the times are different and today some words are no longer in everyday use or the style of speech has changed.

These are very minor concerns, however. The upshot is that M.R. James is and always will be the Master and this complete collection of his works is the perfect collection of ghost stories, never to be improved upon.