An Evenings Entertainment (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

By M.R. James

M. R. James, the master of the antiquarian ghost story, frames a tale of unsettling folk-horror around a seemingly quaint family scene, proving that the most terrifying stories are not just the ones told around the fire, but the ones that leave a physical, lingering mark of the unholy past.

It is a quiet evening by the fireside, and a grandmother promises her grandchildren a treat: the next day, they shall go blackberrying to make jam. When her young grandson, Charles, points out the perfect spot, the grandmother s demeanor instantly changes.She forbids him from ever setting foot there, and to explain her fear, she tells a story from her own youth.

A young man's body is found hanging from an oak tree, and another body is found bound and butchered in a cottage, the scene of a suspected human sacrifice. The townspeople are so horrified by the pagan "wickedness" of the place that they dare not give the bodies a Christian burial. Years later, a young woman is bitten by a large, noxious fly, bringing a painful, supernatural infection that can only be cured by a local "wise man."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1473305527
• ISBN13: 9781473305526
• Release Date: May 2013
• Publisher: Fantasy and Horror Classics
• Length: 22 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"