Book Review: The Haunted Dolls' House and Other Ghost Stories by M. R. James

The Haunted Dolls' House and Other Ghost Stories by M. R. James

This book contains a second set of ghost stories by M. R. James after Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories. This collection of creepy tales follows the same format that makes James so successful: a mundane setting is interrupted or offset by an uncanny event or unseen force that causes terror and problems for the characters in the story. My favorites are "A View from a Hill," "There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard," and "Wailing Well." All the stories are interesting and give a little chill. The final tale is in fact a dozen medieval ghost stories from a medieval text (with the original Latin and James's translation). 

As with the previous volume, an appendix has writings by James about ghost stories, both his and others'. He provides a lot of leads for further reading. In one essay, he reveals the heart of his idea of an excellent ghost story: "...here you have a story written with the sole object of inspiring a pleasing terror in the reader; and as I think, that is the true aim of the ghost story." [p. 254] If you don't know what a "pleasing terror" is or find it intolerable, then ghost stories aren't for you. I do have a good sense of it and share James's idea, which is why I enjoy certain ghost and, more broadly, horror stories. This is another excellent collection.

Recommended, highly if you like a pleasing terror now and then.