A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast

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A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast episodes

December 18, 2024Episode 99 – Curfew by Lucy M. Boston
This episode Mike and Will examine Curfew by Lucy M. Boston, a childhood tale of haunted bells, unearthed coffins and post-Jamesian highjinx aplenty.
Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes:
Curfew by Lucy M. Boston – read by Robert Lloyd Parry (Youtube.com)
The text of this story is not freely available online for copyright reasons, but why not enjoy this live-streamed reading of the story from the quintessential Jamesian actor, Robert Lloyd Parry?
About Lucy M. Boston (Wikipedia)
Lucy M. Boston had an eventful life, from scandalising her strict Wesleyan family by abandoning their religion, to serving as a volunteer nurse in Normandy during the first world war and later studying art in France, Italy, Austria and Hungary. She is most famous for her Children of Green Knowe series of children’s books which were set in a fictionalised version of her home for over 50 years, Hemingford Grey manor in Cambridgeshire.
Norton Priory, Cheshire (Wikipedia)
According to Robert Lloyd Parry’s excellent introduction to the Swan River Press edition of Curfew and Other Tales, the locations in Curfew were almost certainly based on Norton Priory in Cheshire. Lucy M. Boston lived within sight of this decaying manor house during the 1920’s, shortly before its demolition, and it certainly fits the descriptions in the story very closely.
Folklore related to this story (DarkOxfordshire.co.uk)
In this episode we compare the events of the story to various pieces of English folklore from our area of the country, including curfew bell traditions, haunted bells in ponds, black dogs and even mysterious deaths in bell towers.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone (bbc.co.uk)
The latest Mark Gatiss Ghost Story for Christmas will be based on ‘Man-Size in Marble’ by E. Nesbit.
Hypnogoria’s The Horrors of Christmas Advent Calendar (hypnogoria.com)
This Christmas Jim Moon has produced a series on the origins and history of Christmas horror movies. Highly recommended!
56 min
March 27, 2024Episode 98 – The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair
M.R. James said that sex had no place in a ghost story. But was he right? This episode we attempt to answer this question and more, as we cover The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair, a tale from 1923 about a couple who just want to enjoy their wedding night. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes.
Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode, and don’t forget to check out Ghostly Encounters, the haunting free interactive event that Debbie is helping organise in Oxford on the 20th April 2024.
Show notes:
The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair (gutenberg.org)
This story, along with the others from May Sinclair’s Uncanny Stories can be read in full at Project Gutenberg.
May Sinclair (maysinclairsociety.com)
Sinclair had a fascinating life. You can see a shortish biography of her here (or go big and read Suzanne Raitt’s 2000 biography).
‘Some Remarks on Ghost Stories’ by M.R. James (berfrois.com)
M.R. James made his feelings on sex in ghost stories abundantly clear in this article published in The Bookman in 1929.
‘Ghosts, Treat Them Gently’ by M.R. James (mrjamesarchive.wordpress.com)
James returned to the subject of sex in ghost stories a few years later in this article he wrote for the Evening News in April 1931. TLDR: still not a fan.
The Idealism and Pantheism of May Sinclair (Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast)
This story is steeped in the concepts of Idealism, a school of philosophical thought for which May Sinclair was passionate advocate.
Matrimonial Causes Act, 1923 (womenslegallandmarks.com)
This story touches on the thorny issue of divorce in the United Kingdom in the 1920s. In the same year this story was published, a landmark piece of legislation was passed that leveled the playing field between women and men in the area of divorce.
The Lipstick Revolution of the 1920s (britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
The character of Pauline in this story seems to reflect a sea-change in attitudes towards female beauty during this period, characterised by growing social acceptability of wearing lipstick. In this story it carries a hint of Pauline’s self-expression and sexual freedom.
St. Paul on sex and marriage (mit.edu)
Pauline’s name may be inspired by the words of St. Paul, who had some choice things to say on the matter of sex, marriage and in particular unmarried women who ‘cannot control themselves’!
Stages of (Victorian Mourning) and Fifty Shades of Purple (lilacandbombazine.wordpress.com)
Pauline should have probably realised that Marston was not yet over the death of his first wife when she finds that their marital bedroom is decorated almost complete in purple, the traditional colour of extended mourning.
The Lost Ancient Practice of Communal Sleeping (bbc.com)
The fact that Marston and Pauline have separate bedrooms may seem strange to modern sensibilities, but for a long time it was the norm for a husband and wife to sleep in separate beds. Only after the 1950’s did it begin to be regarded as a sign that something was wrong in a marriage.
The Victorian Cult of Child Innocence (psychlit271.blogspot.com)
Marston’s seeming obsession with the ‘childlike innocence’ of his young bride Rosamund reflects Victorian attitudes towards children and the preservation of their ‘innocent’ state. Well, the children of the upper classes anyway. The children of the poor were not regarded quite so delicately!
May Sinclair and Psychology (maysinclairsociety.com)
The psychoanalysis of Freud and Jung was another huge influence on May. In February 1923, Sinclair delivered a speech to the Aristotelian Society that’s highly suggestive of this story: did Marston and Rosamund’s desire elevate them all the way to May’s “Ultimate Consciousness”?
‘We tried to have sex with ghosts and here’s what happened’ (buzzfeed.com)
Is having sex with ghosts a real thing? Absolutely not. But admit it, you still want to click the link to the above Buzzfeed article, don’t you? Go on, we won’t tell anyone.
Blue Juice (imdb.com)
It would be deeply remiss of us if we didn’t point out the similarities between this story and the 1995 British comedy/surfing movie Blue Juice, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Pertwee (although Marston probably wishes he was in Ghost).
1 hr 8 min
January 15, 2024Episode 97 – Mark Gatiss’s Lot 249
Hold on to your mummy! This episode Mike and Will discuss Mark Gatiss’s recent Ghost Story for Christmas TV adaptation Lot 249, as well as the Arthur Conan Doyle short story it is based on.
Show notes:
Watch it online! (BBC iPlayer)
If you are in the UK you can watch it on BBC iPlayer until the end of 2024. If you are outside the UK, you may be able to watch if you have a Britbox subscription.
Read the original story (www.gutenberg.org)
You can read the original story on Project Gutenberg.
Filming location (Wikipedia)
Almost all of Lot 249 was filmed at Rothamsted Manor in Hertfordshire.
The cast (IMDB)
Find out more about the cast of Lot 249 at IMDB.com.
Egyptomania (britannica.com)
Lot 249 reflects the Victorian obsession with everything to do with ancient Egypt. This story was set in 1884, two years after the Anglo-Egyptian war, a conflict which perhaps had an influence on the tone of this story.
Victorian garrotting panics (wikipedia)
The Victorian fear of being randomly garrotted is reflected in the reaction to a mummy attack in Lot 249.
Sidney Paget’s illustrations of Sherlock Holmes (www.arthur-conan-doyle.com)
The character of ‘The Friend’ in Gatiss’s adaptation is clearly Sherlock Holmes. If the dialogue doesn’t give it away, his appearance bears unmistakable similarity to Sherlock Holmes in the classic Strand Magazine illustrations by Sidney Paget, particularly this one.
Tales from the Darkside (youtube.com)
Lot 249 was featured in the 1990 comedy horror anthology Tales from the Darkside. Starring Christian Slater and Steve Buscemi, the scene in which Smith finally confronts Bellingham is on Youtube, and makes quite a watch!
1 hr
December 21, 2023Episode 96 – The Real and the Counterfeit by Louisa Baldwin
This episode, Mike and Will grab their literary toboggans and gallop joyously out into the snow, only to be hit in the face by a terrifying fictional snowball in the form of Louisa Baldwin’s The Real and the Counterfeit!
Big thanks as ever to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift to please the M.R. James fan in your life? Why not head over to Debbie’s Redbubble store and pick up an awesome Jamesian Wallop, Barchestering, or No Diggin’ ‘Ere t-shirt?
Show notes:
More on Louisa Baldwin in our last episode
We covered The Weird of the Walfords back in the summer, and included a lot more biographical details about Louisa Baldwin.
Long Galleries (wikipedia)
A lot of the action in this story takes place in a long gallery, a popular architectural feature of many stately homes in England.
George’s banjo (authorama.com)
Like Lawley in this story, George in Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat was also a keen banjo player, much to the displeasure of his friends. Similarly, in Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, Bertie’s insistence on playing the banjolele is what finally drives Jeeves to leave Bertie’s service (albeit temporarily).
Other haunted abbeys (nearlyknowledgeablehistory.blogspot.com)
In this episode, Mike mentions a number of old houses in England that are, like Stonecroft, said to be haunted by ghostly monks.
Tobogganing at Funchal (carreirosdomonte.com)
The city of Funchal in Madeira is famous for providing toboggan-like basket rides from the Mount Church on the hill, down into the town.
48 min
July 02, 2023Episode 95 – The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin
Who would win in a fight between a man and a bed? Find the answer to this question and more in our new episode on The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin! Also, if you like emotionally-repressed Victorian husbands, you will not leave disappointed.
Show notes:
Louisa Baldwin (1845–1925) (Wikipedia)
Louisa was a member of an illustrious family who included Rudyard Kipling and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin.
‘The Shadow on the Blind, and Other Stories’ (Google Books)
You can read this story and others form the same volume on Google Books.
Royal beds in English history (wikipedia)
There are a number of stately homes in England with similar legends about royalty spending a night in a specific bed, for example Sawston Hall in Cambridgeshire.
Wyrd (wikipedia)
The ‘Weird’ of the Walfords is actually a ‘wyrd’, an old English term meaning fate or destiny.
Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode. Don’t forget to check out Debbie’s new Jamesian Wallop t-shirt and others inspired by M.R. James on Redbubble.com.
1 hr 1 min
May 21, 2023 Episode 94 – Exploring Eleanor Scott with Vicky Margree and Dan Orrells
This episode we speak with two experts to better understand Eleanor Scott and her story Randall’s Round, Dr Vicky Margree and Prof Dan Orrells. We discuss what’s known about Eleanor Scott, her time at Oxford University in the early 1900s and the role of gender, folklore and imperialism in her writing.
Vicky is a specialist in literary fiction and feminist theory. Her book British Women’s Short Supernatural Fiction, 1860-1930: Our Own Ghostliness looks at stories by Margaret Oliphant, Charlotte Riddell, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Edith Nesbit, Alice Perrin, Eleanor Scott and Violet Hunt.
Dan focuses on the history of the interpretation of classical literature. He’s interested in the Greeks and Romans in the Victorian imagination, including how these inspired Gothic and ghostly tales at the turn of the 20th century. He co-edited with Vicky a study of Richard Marsh, a fascinating late-Victorian author who wrote about “shape-shifting monsters, morally dubious heroes, lip-reading female detectives and objects that come to life.”
In our conversation we learn more about the folklore revival, Edward B Tylor’s ideas about primitive cultures and notions of “survivals” amd the experience of women at Oxford and Cambridge (Dan recommends the Dorothy L Sayers novel Gaudy Night!).
Massive thank you to Vicky and Dan for being such engaging and insightful guests and sharing their expertise with us! If you want to read ahead, we’ll be back next time with The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin.
44 min
January 08, 2023Episode 93 – Count Magnus Awakens
A BBC Ghost Story for Christmas is thankfully as traditional as quaffing eggnog and leaving out a carrot for Rudolph. And what a treat, as this year Count Magnus made the Black Pilgrimage onto our screens. But has Mark Gatiss been naughty or nice? We give you our verdict.
Show notes
A recent interview with Mark Gattis including his ambition to adapt Casting the Runes
Our coverage of Count Magnus in episode 6, exactly 11 years before this adaptation aired!
A rather splendid reading of the Innkeeper’s story, read by Jacqueline Simpson in episode 53
49 min
December 12, 2022Episode 92 – Randalls Round by Eleanor Scott
This episode Mike and Will explore freaky folk-dance, village-based villainy and Cotswold chicanery in Eleanor Scott’s awesome Jamesian folk-horror tale Randalls Round!
Big thanks to Kirsty Woodfield for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes:
Eleanor Scott (The Haunted Library)
This article contains some biographical information as well as plot summaries of the stories that appears in Randalls Round, her only collection of ghost stories. You can also see a photo of her here.
The War Among the Ladies by Eleanor Scott (shinynewbooks.co.uk)
Helen Leys started using the Eleanor Scott pseudonym when she published this controversial novel that exposed the dire experiences of teachers and girls within the English high school system.
Somerville College, Oxford (www.some.ox.ac.uk)
Eleanor Scott was a student at this ladies college in the days before women were allowed to take degrees. The Somerville website contains some charming photos that give you a sense of what life was like for students at the time.
‘Merrie England Once More’? The Morris Revival c.1886-1951 (morrisfed.org.uk )
At the start of Randalls Round, Heyling and Mortlake discuss the folk dance revival that was then in full swing. This article describes that revival. Note the reference to the Headington Morris dancers who get a special mention in this story!
The Witch-cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray (Wikipedia)
This 1921 book popularise Murray’s witch-cult hypothesis, the idea that the people persecuted as ‘witches’ in Europe may in fact have been involved in a survival of a pre-Christian pagan religion. Although her ideas were widely dismissed by historians, the ideas of ‘hidden’ folk/religious practices enduring in England, hidden away from the eyes of religious authorities, captured the public imagination and sparked the sort of debate that Heyling and Mortlake are having at the start of this story.
The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer (Wikipedia)
Aaron Worth suggests that the ‘volume of a very famous book on folk-lore’ that Heyling reads in this story would be The Golden Bough, Frazer’s influential multi-volume study on comparative religion, first published in 1890.
Morris Dance as Ritual Dance, or, English Folk Dance and the Doctrine of Survivals (open.ac.uk)
This article by Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe explores the origins of the idea that folk dance originates in a survival of pre-Christian belief.
The Broad (Wikipedia)
In this episode Mike mentions the Broad, a Cotswold folk custom that bears some similarity to the activities that Heyling witnesses on the village green.
The Wicker Man (Wikipedia)
We found it hard to discuss Randalls Round without repeatedly returning to this iconic 1973 British horror film!
Randwick (Wikipedia)
The village of Randwick in Gloucestershire is at the top of Will’s list of possible real-world locations that may have inspired the fictional village of Randalls. As well as having a similar name and large mound to the north west, it even has its own curious folk celebration known as the Randwick Wap!
@EndlessMummer (Instagram)
This Instagram account celebrates the weirdest (or should that be wyrdest?) elements of folk customs and traditions. This group of Morris men parading a strange, monstrous effigy seems particularly reminiscent of the events of Randalls Round!
1 hr 8 min
November 05, 2022Episode 91 – Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley
In the first episode of Season 4 tm, Mike and Will are delighted by Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley, a tale of crypts, clergymen and crikey, what is that in the dog’s mouth?
Big thanks to Jim Moon for allowing us to use extracts from his excellent reading of the story. You can listen to the whole thing over on the Hypnogoria podcast feed.
Show notes:
Mary Cholmondeley (Victorian Fiction Research Guides)
You can learn more about Mary’s life and work in this article, or for a briefer summary, try wikipedia.
Temple Bar Magazine (Wikipedia)
This story first appeared in the April 1890 edition of Temple Bar magazine, a literary periodical that ran for nearly fifty years.
‘The Dead’ by Mathilde Blind (Poetry Nook)
The two lines quoted at the start of this story come from this poem by 19th century British author and poet Mathilde Blind.
The Dark Triad (Wikipedia)
During this episode Mike describes the character of Blake as possessing at least two of the personality traits that make up the Dark Triad, a psychological theory of personality first described by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002.
History of Charnel Chapels (Rothwell Charnel Chapel Project)
In this story we discuss the crypt at Wet-Waste-on-the-Wold church as being more of a charnel house.
Bartleby the Scrivener (Wikipedia)
Blake’s repeated use of the phrase “I’d prefer not to…” put us in mind of Herman Melville’s famously work-shy clerk Bartleby!
Asaph (wikipedia)
In this story, the vicar is locked in an ongoing arguement with a neighbouring clergyman about the meaning of the word ‘Asaph’. Dry stuff, but if you are interested there is a summary of the different opinions on this matter on Wikipedia.
Fists of fear: severed hands in films – ranked! (theguardian.com)
Here’s a fun listicle of movies where, like in Let Loose, a severed hand returns to cause havoc. A special mention should go to the our personal favourite, the ‘hand’ scene from Evil Dead 2!
Gelert the Faithful Hound (NationalTrust.org.uk)
Here’s another famous example from legend of a faithful dog who was killed by his master after a tragic misunderstanding. #RIPBrian
Women’s Weird: Strange Stories by Women, 1890-1940 (Handheld Press)
We quoted a line from Melissa Edmundson’s introduction to this anthology, ‘[Let Loose] predates James’s stories if haunted churches and crypts, so that it could be legitimately said that James’s stories were in the style of Mary Cholmondeley’.
1 hr 15 min
September 17, 2022Episode 90 – Right Through My Hair by Noel Boston
Join Will and Mike for haunted cathedrals, lecherous minor canons and hair-based horrors in Noel Boston’s ‘Right Through My Hair’!
Big thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode.
Show notes
Noel Boston (The Haunted Library)
Biographical information about Noel Boston is a bit hard to find online, but there is an excellent introduction in the Ash Tree Press edition of Yesterday Knocks, available as an ebook.
Norwich Cathedral (Norwich Cathedral website)
The location of this story is most likely based on Norwich Cathedral, where Noel Boston started his ecclesiastical career as a minor canon in the 1930s. A Google Image search for ‘Norwich triforium’ will also give you a good idea of what to picture when imagining Minor Canon Jogglebury getting menaced in this story!
All Hallows by Walter De La Mere (Project Gutenberg)
In this episode, Will sings the praises of this Walter de la Mere tale. It explores similar themes of the dangers lurking in a cathedral after dark!
Upon Julia’s Clothes by Robert Herrick (Poetry Foundation)
On seeing Pamela, Minor Canon Jogglebury’s mind immediately goes to this poem by notoriously randy 17th-century poet Robert Herrick. At least it wasn’t Herrick’s companion poem On Julia’s Breasts!
The Heavenly Twins by Sarah Grand (Project Gutenberg)
The novel mentioned in this story as The Heavenly Twins by Sally Smalls is actually a reference to a book of the same name by Sarah Grand, which features an anecdote that closely matches the events related in this story about Old Martle. The anecdote can be found in Book III, Chapter I of the novel.
1 hr 3 min