Ghost Story for Christmas: The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1974
Description: Part of the BBC1 's Ghost Stories for Christmas series. Strong cast give a first class adaptation. Even departures form Jame's tale are considered and justified. The 'thing of slime' is a Lovecraftian twist which is particularly unpleasant and so is…
Ghost Story for Christmas: The Ash Tree
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1975
Description: Part of the BBC1 's Ghost Stories for Christmas series. The climax to this adaptation is very strong (love the creatures or hate them) but the rest of the story is confused by shifting time periods which (due to the limited budget) look almost…
Casting the Runes
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1979
Description: Part of an anthology of one-off plays. Not overly aligned with James's tale but a good adaptation none the less. Cuthbertson is convincing as Karswell. The 'updating' is occasionally laboured, but provides an interesting twist at the end.
Iain…
Spine Chillers: The Diary of Mr Poynter
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1980
Description: Part of Spine Chillers, readings of ghost stories for teenage viewers.
Spine Chillers: A School Story
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1980
Description: Part of Spine Chillers, readings of ghost stories for teenage viewers.
Spine Chillers: The Mezzotint
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1980
Description: Part of Spine Chillers, readings of ghost stories for teenage viewers. Limited in ambition but narrated by the consistently excellent Michael Bryant.
Classic Ghost Stories: Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1986
Description: Part of the BBC 2 series Classic Ghost Stories, narration with effects. Well executed but limited in scope. Essentially a straightforward reading.
Robert Powell narrates.
Classic Ghost Stories: The Rose Garden
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1986
Description: Part of the BBC 2 series Classic Ghost Stories, narration with effects. Well executed but limited in scope. Essentially a straightforward reading.
Robert Powell narrates.
Classic Ghost Stories: Wailing Well
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1986
Description: Part of the BBC 2 series Classic Ghost Stories, narration with effects. Well executed but limited in scope. Essentially a straightforward reading.
Robert Powell narrates.
Classic Ghost Stories: The Ash Tree
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1986
Description: Part of the BBC 2 series Classic Ghost Stories, narration with effects. Well executed but limited in scope. Essentially a straightforward reading.
Robert Powell narrates.
Classic Ghost Stories: The Mezzotint
(TV adaptation)
Date: 1986
Description: Part of the BBC 2 series Classic Ghost Stories, narration with effects. Well executed but limited in scope. Essentially a straightforward reading.
Robert Powell narrates.
La Chiesa
(Feature film)
Date: 1989
Description: Written by horror guru Argento and (loosly) based on The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, though you may never guess. Fans of both Argento and James will likely be dissapointed by the combination.
Hugh Quarshie ... Father Gus
Tomas Arana ...…
El grabado
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2000
Description: Short Spanish TV adaptation of The Mezzotint. Interesting to watch cultural differences in play. Budget restrictions lead to a disappointing etching which looks more Bob Godfrey than Gustave Dore.
Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee: Room 13
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2000
Description: Part of the BBC2's re-invented Ghost Stories for Christmas series. Christopher Lee, who actually met James obviously enjoyed making this series. Unambitious in scope but highly successful and atmospheric in what it sets out to do.
Christopher…
Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee: The Stalls of Barchester
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2000
Description: Part of the BBC2's re-invented Ghost Stories for Christmas series. Christopher Lee, who actually met James obviously enjoyed making this series. Unambitious in scope but highly successful and atmospheric in what it sets out to do.
Christopher…
Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee: The Ash Tree
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2000
Description: Part of the BBC2's re-invented Ghost Stories for Christmas series. Christopher Lee, who actually met James obviously enjoyed making this series. Unambitious in scope but highly successful and atmospheric in what it sets out to do.
Christopher…
Ghost Stories for Christmas with Christopher Lee: A Warning to the Curious
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2000
Description: Part of the BBC2's re-invented Ghost Stories for Christmas series. Christopher Lee, who actually met James obviously enjoyed making this series. Unambitious in scope but highly successful and atmospheric in what it sets out to do.
Christopher…
Ghost Stories for Christmas: A View From a Hill
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2005
Description: Continuing the BBC's Ghost Stories for Christmas series. Highty watchable adaptation of an under appreciated tale. Builds atmosphere using a almost David Lynch scenario of mutual misunderstanding. Also looks great and is well crafted.
Mark…
More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
(Book)
Date: 1911
Description: The second collection of ghost stories, published in 1911. Some later editions under the title Ghost Stories of an Antiquary contain the preceding Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in one volume.Includes: A School Story, The Rose Garden, The Tractate…
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
(Book)
Date: 1904
Description: The first collection of ghost stories, published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in magazines). Some later editions under this title contain both the original collection and its successor, More Ghost Stories (1911) combined in one volume.…
A Thin Ghost and Others
(Book)
Date: 1919
Description: A Thin Ghost and Others is the third collection of ghost stories, published in 1919. Includes: The Residence at Whitminster, The Diary of Mr Poynter, An Episode of Cathedral History, The Story of a Disappearance and a Appearance and Two Doctors.
The Five Jars
(Book)
Date: 1922
Description: Story written for children, possibly related to After Dark on the Playing Fields. Illustration by Gilbert James.
A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
(Book)
Date: 1925
Description: M. R. James' fourth and final collection of new ghost stories, published in 1925.
Includes: The Haunted Dolls' House, The Uncommon Prayer-Book, A Neighbour's Landmark, A Warning to the Curious, A View From a Hill and An Evening's Entertainment.
Wailing Well
(Book)
Date: 1928
Description: Printed in limited edition before its inclusion in Collected Ghost Stories.
Collected Ghost Stories
(Book)
Date: 1931
Description: The tail piece Stories I have tried to write accompanies 30 classic tales of their genre set against convincing backgrounds to afflict chilling terror on the reader. Includes: Lost Hearts, The Mezzotint, The Ash-Tree, Number 13, Count Magnus, Oh…
Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories
(Book)
Date: 1987
Description: This selection of 21 stories represents the best of James's work, and includes three stories which are not in Collected Ghost Stories. Includes: Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book, The Tractate Middoth, The Mezzotint, The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The…
Curious Warnings: The Great Ghost Stories of M.R. James
(Book)
Date: 2012
Description: "Curious Warningscan fairly lay claim to being the most comprehensive collection of M.R. James'' fiction to date . . . In essence, even the rawest of MRJ newbies, after absorbing the contents ofCurious Warningsand reading the 'Afterword', could with…
Ghost Stories for Christmas: Number 13
(TV adaptation)
Date: 2006
Description: Impressive BBC adaptation. Considered to be part of the Ghost Story for Christmas series.
The original tale is departed from somewhat, especially toward the end but this seems justified.
The professor is perhaps somewhat unlikable, which is…