Complete Ghost Stories

Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King’s College, Cambridge, and of Eton College. Though James’s work as a medievalist is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. He redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichés of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith were admirers of James’s work. Michael Sadleir described him as “the best ghost-story writer England has ever produced”. Paul Theroux refers to “The Mezzotint” as “the most frightening story I know”. In his list “The 13 Most Terrifying Horror Stories”, T. E. D. Klein placed James’s “Casting the Runes” at number one.

About the Author

Montague Rhodes James was born in 1862 at Goodnestone Parsonage, Kent, where his father was a curate, but the family moved soon afterward to Great Livermere in Suffolk. James attended Eton College and later King’s College Cambridge where he won many awards and scholarships. From 1894 to 1908, he was director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, and from 1905 to 1918, was Provost of King’s College. In 1913, he became vice chancellor of the university for two years. In 1918 he was installed as Provost of Eton. A distinguished medievalist and scholar of international status, James published many works on biblical and historical antiquarian subjects. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1930. His ghost story writing began almost as a divertissement from his academic work and as a form of entertainment for his colleagues. He never married and died in 1936.

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