Literature: The Ghost Stories of M. R. James
Course details
Course code
Q00018856Course date
Number of classes
8 sessionsBranch
NorwichTutor
Joseph WilliamsFee range
How you'll learn
Venue
OnlineLevel of study
Availability
Course overview
Course description
Human beings have told each other stories about ghosts since the ancient times, but the ghost story as we know it was created by the writer and scholar M. R. James (1862-1936). At Christmas, James would read his stories aloud to friends and colleagues at the University of Cambridge. The BBC began adapting James’s stories in 1971 as part of their ’Ghost Story for Christmas’ series.
The stories we will look at are:
‘Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book’
‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’
‘The Mezzotint’
‘Number 13’
‘Casting the Runes’
‘A Warning to the Curious’
‘The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral’
We will consider each story on its own, looking at James’s use of suspense and humour. How does James write a ghost story? Are they scary? And, most of all, what are we scared of?
No previous knowledge of ghost stories is necessary – everybody is most welcome!
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