She was also the contributing editor of Electricomics flagship release, co-writing the sci-fi story Sway, with art by Nicola Scott. This graphic novel style adaptation of four James stories is a top quality production and a wonderful idea! James doesn’t expand on his creatures, they appear and disappear with scarcely a word of explanation, but they linger menacingly in the reader’s imagination long after the story ends. With a contemporary ink inscription to the front free endpaper, dated December 25th 1911, and a Blackwell's bookseller's label to the front pastedown.

He has written articles for the likes of Fortean Times, Strange Attractor Journal, Darklore, and Paranormal Magazine, and is a contributing editor for The Daily Grail online. As each unwitting lead character arrives at a holiday destination or new country mansion that they have recently inherited we picture their locale perfectly. My personal favorite story of James' from the first eight stories is "Lost Hearts," a story about a young orphaned boy who is adopted by his eccentric uncle, and begins to become disturbed by sights of two other children - children who match the description of ones whom his uncle had previously taken into his care and then they disappeared without trace. But, open your mind a bit, let the lush words and phrases wash over your thinking, and allow the author his due in his way of ending his tales and you will soon find yourself enjoying every bit of it. The popularity of this collection led to widespread requests for more: consequently More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary followed in 1911, A Thin Ghost and other Stories in 1919, and A Warning to the Curious in 1925.There are four stories here (And in Vol 2 which I have also purchased), each artist brings something of themselves into the stories which makes for an interesting read. Renowned for their wit, erudition and suspense, these stories are each masterfully constructed and represent a high achievement in the ghost genre. In the twentieth-century literature of the supernatural, the single most important book, in the opinion of most scholars and enthusiasts, is Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by Montague Rhodes James.

Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.The strength of these stories lies in the fact that James, rather than using unconvincing pedantry in the form of invented or archaic terminology, which he believed always failed to convince a reader, uses instead references based on genuine scholarship. The tone of language is perfect at capturing James' distinctive voice, entwining with the wonderful imagery. That’s not a matter for complaint, but I can’t help thinking it would have been nice to have the same voice reading all eight of the Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. Only if you are willing to allow James to convince you for a few seconds that something utterly impossible could gain a momentary indisputable reality, will you perceive his skill and enjoy the shiver of horror that the upsetting of all our preconceptions can bring. James' ghost stories were printed in general magazines in the 1890s and he was commissioned to publish this collection by Edward Arnold.