M. R. James makes it to Penguin Classics. I hadn't read James before (shocking!) so I really enjoyed this. Good, often amusing yet creepy, ghost stories. Lots of spiderlike creepy things too ( )

In the preface to this book, M.R. James explains that for a ghost story to be successful the ghost must be “malevolent or odious”, and he has certainly fulfilled this promise. Whilst not terrifying by modern standards (the characters, mostly Victorian-type gentlemen, do not have the strongest nerves) the stories are definitely chilling and, at their best, are highly enjoyable. Fifteen accounts are included in this volume, most of which involve a grisly murder and all of which contain some element of mystery; at the end of each the reader is left to mull over the macabre world of the paranormal. Many of these short stories are written from the point of view of an impartial observer who is investigating an unexplained death, and the style works very well, particularly in my favourite /Number 13/, which could explain why many hotels do not have a room 13 to this day.

These tales are most enjoyable when read, as intended, close to Christmas, late at night and with the brandy in easy reach, just in case a flickering shadow or a startling noise causes one’s heart to beat a little faster. ( )