A review by unnervinggothautumn
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James

5.0

I love a classic ghost story, I love folk horror, and I have an interest in anthropology. So it honestly felt like this book was written for me. The highlights of this collection for me were The Ash Tree, Count Magnus, and The Mezzotint. These three stories were the ones that stuck with me the most after putting down the book. The Mezzotint is about a painting that seems to mysteriously change whenever the owner looks away. The build up is amazing, creating such an ominous feeling even when the narrator isn’t in any direct danger.

 The Ash Tree kicks off with a bang, as it introduces us to a house with an ash tree outside, and reveals that the owner of the house testified at a witch trial, which led to a woman being hanged. Then it gets into how the owners of the house mysteriously seem to die when they sleep in the room by the ash tree. The reveal of what is ultimately in the ash tree is a fantastic payoff. With Count Magnus, I don’t even want to give a synopsis to it, it’s good to just go in blind.