Collected Ghost Stories Paperback – Import, 11 November 2022

This book isn’t for children but I can use ideas in here to make up ghost stories for my grandchildren.

I have revised my review and graded it down by a star since purchasing this in a fit of enthusiasm. On closer inspection I realise that one only gets a very few stories on the Kindle version of this volume, to get the lot one has to buy many other volumes, at a cash outlay of considerably more than a paper back. (I have one paper back with masses of M. R. James stories in it for a charity shop price.) When you compare this to the huge body of work in, say, The Delphi Complete (or nearly complete) Gogol, Turgeniev, Chekhov, Tolstoy, it is very poor value for money. Perhaps I should have paid more attention when I bought it but there does seem to be a discrepancy between the value for money in the aforementioned as compared to these slim volumes. However... Regardless of the type of stories these are it is impressive that someone should write so many short stories of such quality and on one theme. For his output alone M. R. James is to be congratulated. They now read, in some respects, as rather quaint and at times gentle but there is still real terror in there... the hairy hand falling across the book, the woman alone in the forest running for her life, the scarecrow (?) moving unseen, bit by bit, closer to the house... God, it is scary! I'm not superstitious, or easily frightened, but at one point I thought twice about going to the loo- seriously.

An excellent collection and very readable introduction to M.R. James as an author. A book that you will go to again and again to read your favorite stories from the collection.

Probably the greatest of all ghost story writers.

Love these stories in all respects; the use of language is a joy, the story building likewise, I enjoy the slower pace. I also enjoy being psychologically thrilled and scared 😁 without the modern day gore.