Ingulphus (1852–1940)

Some of the scene-setting is nice, but this man was about as effective in setting up scares/ big spooky denouements as R.L. Stine. There is no reason to mention his name in the same sentence as M.R. James.

A nice edition of the Ingulphus stories, which are delightfully and bookishly ghosty in the line of M.R. James (but mostly are without the "Jamesian wallop" characteristic of the master).

I found this via [a:Rosemary Pardoe|15283|Rosemary Pardoe|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]’s book of essays on thr ghostly tradition: [b:The Black Pilgrimage & Other Explorations: Essays on Supernatural Fiction|40164900|The Black Pilgrimage & Other Explorations Essays on Supernatural Fiction|Rosemary Pardoe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1527016669s/40164900.jpg|62305804]. These are two collections of stories by different authors show more brought together. These are not pastiches of [a:M.R. James|2995925|M.R. James|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1254798756p2/2995925.jpg] but stories that partake of the same ghostly tradition of the early 20th century. The [a:E.G. Swain|1648907|E.G. Swain|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] stories are the best, being closer to the James’ tradition, while the Tedious Brief Tales by “Ingulphus” are more like odd goings on in the distant past of Jesus College. There is no attempt in the latter to any sort of scare. Lots of the stories feature lost treasures with various revenants either pointing things out or maliciously preventing acquisition of said treasure, or meteing out punishment for the treasure finders. There is also one touching tale that breaks this mold right at the end.

These stories while not great actually rise above the bulk of the late Victorian ghost stories where anyone that could lift a pen seemed to be compelled to write a collection. But hey, they didn’t have the Kardashian’s to distract them back then so entertainment had a different meaning than it has today. show less

This is a curious little book of stories which centre around Jesus College, Cambridge. Many of them are tales of mystery or horror, albiet a gentle, donnish sort of horror which won't induce you to seek the protection of a baseball bat by your night table. I'm curious to know if some of these are based on local folklore, or if they came directly out of Gray's head.