Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Episode 11 – The Tractate Middoth
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Episode 11 – The Tractate Middoth
In this episode Mike & Will whip out their library cards and prepare to crack the spine of ‘The Tractate Middoth’ by M.R. James.
Questions addressed in this episode include: Does Mr Eldred like MC Hammer? Did Sir Jimmy Saville make a pact with the devil? Is Miss Simpson a slamming hotty or merely a comely wench? And is it even politically correct to call someone a wench in this day and age?
Show Notes:
This American television version of ‘The Tractate Middoth’ was part of the ‘Lights Out’ mystery series, and stars none other than a young Leslie Nielson!
The real world location of this story was the university library at Cambridge, though the current library is no longer housed in the same building as it was in James’s time.
The likely real-world location of Dr Rant/Mr Eldred’s house, Bredfield in Suffolk. Note Melton station about three miles to the south east (or shorter if you go across country!).
Information on E.W. Pugin, who may or may not be linked to this story.
More information on the real book can be read in ‘A history of the Mishnaic law of Holy Things, Volume 2’, available on Google Books.
The plot of this story by M.R. James’s favourite author of ghost stories bares some resemblance to the plot of ‘The Tractate Middoth’.
Information on Piccadilly/Dundreary Weepers and other fabulous contemporary facial hair styles can be found here.
Liverpool architect and builder William McKenzie (1794 – 1851) was supposedly buried sitting up in a pyramid-shaped tomb to trick the devil, to whom he had sold his soul in exchange for luck at cards.
We were slightly mistaken in the podcast, Sir Jimmy Saville was not buried sitting up but propped up at a 45 degree angle so he could ‘see the sea’!
View all episodes
By A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast
4.9
154154 ratings
In this episode Mike & Will whip out their library cards and prepare to crack the spine of ‘The Tractate Middoth’ by M.R. James.
Questions addressed in this episode include: Does Mr Eldred like MC Hammer? Did Sir Jimmy Saville make a pact with the devil? Is Miss Simpson a slamming hotty or merely a comely wench? And is it even politically correct to call someone a wench in this day and age?
Show Notes:
This American television version of ‘The Tractate Middoth’ was part of the ‘Lights Out’ mystery series, and stars none other than a young Leslie Nielson!
The real world location of this story was the university library at Cambridge, though the current library is no longer housed in the same building as it was in James’s time.
The likely real-world location of Dr Rant/Mr Eldred’s house, Bredfield in Suffolk. Note Melton station about three miles to the south east (or shorter if you go across country!).
Information on E.W. Pugin, who may or may not be linked to this story.
More information on the real book can be read in ‘A history of the Mishnaic law of Holy Things, Volume 2’, available on Google Books.
The plot of this story by M.R. James’s favourite author of ghost stories bares some resemblance to the plot of ‘The Tractate Middoth’.
Information on Piccadilly/Dundreary Weepers and other fabulous contemporary facial hair styles can be found here.
Liverpool architect and builder William McKenzie (1794 – 1851) was supposedly buried sitting up in a pyramid-shaped tomb to trick the devil, to whom he had sold his soul in exchange for luck at cards.
We were slightly mistaken in the podcast, Sir Jimmy Saville was not buried sitting up but propped up at a 45 degree angle so he could ‘see the sea’!
More shows like A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast
View all
Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast
345 Listeners
Dan Snow's History Hit
4,804 Listeners
THE ADAM BUXTON PODCAST
1,230 Listeners
Loremen Podcast
337 Listeners
Shedunnit
708 Listeners
WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk
1,400 Listeners
Classic Ghost Stories
543 Listeners
FROM THE GREAT LIBRARY OF DREAMS PODCAST
32 Listeners
The Rest Is History
15,206 Listeners
Gone Medieval
1,848 Listeners
Uncanny
838 Listeners
Kermode & Mayo’s Take
325 Listeners
After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal
1,102 Listeners
The Rest Is Entertainment
879 Listeners
Scarred For Life
13 Listeners