Montague Rhodes James (1862 – 1936), who wrote as M. R. James, was an English medieval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. James redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic cliches of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. However, James's protagonists and plots tend to reflect his own antiquarian interests. Accordingly, he is known as the originator of the "antiquarian ghost story."

This volume collects 27 of his classic tales, including:

CANON ALBERIC'S SCRAP-BOOK

LOST HEARTS

THE MEZZOTINT

THE ASH-TREE

NUMBER 13

COUNT MAGNUS

QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT

THE TREASURE OF ABBOT THOMAS

PART 2: THE FIVE JARS

THE DISCOVERY

THE FIRST JAR

THE SECOND JAR

THE SMALL PEOPLE

DANGER TO THE JARS

THE CAT, WAG, SLIM AND OTHERS

THE BAT-BALL

WAG AT HOME

PART 3: MORE GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY

CASTING THE RUNES

THE ROSE GARDEN

THE TRACTATE MIDDOTH

THE STALLS OF BARCHESTER CATHEDRAL

MARTIN’S CLOSE

MR HUMPHREYS AND HIS INHERITANCE

PART 4: A THIN GHOST AND OTHERS

THE RESIDENCE AT WHITMINSTER

THE DIARY OF MR. POYNTER

AN EPISODE OF CATHEDRAL HISTORY

THE STORY OF A DISAPPEARANCE AND AN APPEARANCE

TWO DOCTORS