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Post by ropardoe on Sept 15, 2016 10:09:17 GMT
Rosemary Pardoe [ed] - Ghosts & Scholars M. R. James Newsletter #30 (Haunted Library, Sept. 2016) Rosemary Pardoe - Editorial Rosemary Pardoe & Rick Kennett - News
Helen Kemp - 'Haunted Studies: The Ghost Stories Of M. R. James.' A Conference Report John Reppion - Haunted Images: Adapting M. R. James into Comics
Daniel McGachey - By No Mortal Hand Carol Tyrell - The Gypsy's Curse
Mark Valentine - Who Could damn Hardest': A Muggletonian Influence On Casting The Runes Scott Brewster - Ghost Walks: M. R. James and the Casual Tourist
Reviews: Rosemary Pardoe - Fritz Leiber, The Pale Brown Thing (Swan River Press, 2016) Peter Bell - Louis Marvick, Dissonant Intervals, (Side Real Press, 2016) Rosemary Pardoe - Richard Whittington-Egan, The Master Ghost Hunter: A Life of Elliott O'Donnell, (Mango Books, 2016) David Harris - C. E. Ward, Malevolent Visitants, (Sarob, 2016)
Reviews of Unwritten Books: Ian Buntling - Shiela Hodgson, Knock, Knock, Whitminster Press, 2016Arrived today, which means it's time for an urgent rematch with Martin's Close and The Fenstanton Witch (am OK with The Ash Tree) before tackling the fiction. That's the rest of the week's reading accounted for then. The demon in my front-cover collage (and separately on the back-cover) is Volac, who is the same as Valak. Valak appears in the recent film The Conjuring 2. Not having seen this film (though it's on my list), I did not know this. I did the collage a couple of years ago and was waiting for an opportunity to use it in G&S (it doesn't relate to a specific story). It's a very weird coincidence that I should have used it now, so soon after the film. Mind you, Valak apparently appears in the film as a Marilyn Manson-looking nun - not the disturbing winged demonic child of orthodox demonology.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 18, 2016 17:18:30 GMT
I envy those of you who had the good sense to snap up the three volumes of Book Of Shadows before they sold out. If, as I've no reason to doubt, the prequels and sequels in the books are as inventive and entertaining as those featured in recent issues of the newsletter, we are talking a contemporary classic. Carol Tyrell - The Gypsy's Curse : I've a huge fondness for the grimly hilarious Martin's Close, so this delightful prequel came as a tremendous treat. It seems the ghost which made George Martin's final days of freedom such a torment may not have been that of poor, toad-faced simpleton Ann Clark after all, but a previous conquest, Eliza, with whom he enjoyed a one afternoon fling shortly before enrolling at Cambridge. Squire Ruthven had always warned his charges not to dally with the gypsy girls, but George and Eliza are attracted to one another from the first, even though the tarot cards tell her that this young man spells disaster. Just George's luck that the wench should fall pregnant and threaten to identify the father! The subsequent murder of Ann was pre-ordained from the moment George lost his grip on Eliza's hand and watched her carried under the water. What I ask of a ghost story is that it delivers an "I don't fancy that!" moment, and George's encounter with the seriously ghastly spectre in the cornfield certainly satisfies on that score. Was also very taken with the Murder In The Red Barn ambience of the story's non-supernatural content.
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Post by ropardoe on Sept 19, 2016 8:34:59 GMT
I envy those of you who had the good sense to snap up the three volumes of Book Of Shadows before they sold out. If, as I've no reason to doubt, the prequels and sequels in the books are as inventive and entertaining as those featured in recent issues of the newsletter, we are talking a contemporary classic. Carol Tyrell - The Gypsy's Curse : I've a huge fondness for the grimly hilarious Martin's Close, so this delightful prequel came as a tremendous treat. It seems the ghost which made George Martin's final days of freedom such a torment may not have been that of poor, toad-faced simpleton Ann Clark after all, but a previous conquest, Eliza, with whom he enjoyed a one afternoon fling shortly before enrolling at Cambridge. Squire Ruthven had always warned his charges not to dally with the gypsy girls, but George and Eliza are attracted to one another from the first, even though the tarot cards tell her that this young man spells disaster. Just George's luck that the wench should fall pregnant and threaten to identify the father! The subsequent murder of Ann was pre-ordained from the moment George lost his grip on Eliza's hand and watched her carried under the water. What I ask of a ghost story is that it delivers an "I don't fancy that!" moment, and George's encounter with the seriously ghastly spectre in the cornfield certainly satisfies on that score. Was also very taken with the Murder In The Red Barn ambience of the story's non-supernatural content. Thanks very much, Kev. I liked the way the story humanised George Martin - even made one sympathise with him just a little bit, despite his upper class unpleasantness.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 19, 2016 18:18:11 GMT
I liked the way the story humanised George Martin - even made one sympathise with him just a little bit, despite his upper class unpleasantness. The way I read it, pre-Cambridge George is no better or worse than Ruthven's sons, Thomas and Daniel. If what Daniel repeats behind his back is true, it's not like the Squire sets the best example where matters "wild oats" are concerned. Am glad I don't have to choose a favourite from this issue's fiction, because BOTH stories are exceptional. Daniel McGachey - By No Mortal Hand: On the sudden death of the Reverend Mr. Bernard Fallow, Mr. Hale is announced as the new vicar of Castringham. This being his first parish, the young man is especially grateful to Mr. Crome for taking time away from his studies to show a novice the ropes. As a local man, Crome well knows that it may take time for the outsider to adapt to the wilder beliefs of the villagers. A century on from the first outbreak, the farmers continue to live in fear of the "Castringham Sickness", and the memory of she who laid the curse, Mistress Mothersole, is still evoked to frighten errant children. It is not long before Mr. Hale's curiosity is piqued to ask the history of this fearsome bogeywoman "in her black veil that ain't lace but cobwebs hung thick with dust and grave dirt," who yet refuses to rest still underneath the soil. Reasoning that Mr. Hale will soon hear a version of the story anyway, Mr. Crome refers him to Bernard Fallow's sober account of the events of twenty years ago, in the autumn of 1770, when Dr. Percival Stanbridge temporarily took charge of his old college chum, Dr. Kearley's practice to enable that worthy a deserved holiday. It transpires that Stanbridge's charitable gesture was entirely self-serving. He and his servant, Thomas Bridewell, are acolytes of the Cambridge parsons expelled from Kings for their ill-advised experiment in necromancy (see The Fenstanton Witch in Ghosts & Scholars 12). Stanbridge is intent on plundering Mistress Mothersole's casket for a relic he might use in his own unholy procedure. As Sir Matthew Fell and his heir found out, dead or alive, our lady of the grey-haired spiders is not one to suffer perceived insult lightly ....
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Sept 19, 2016 18:43:56 GMT
What I ask of a ghost story is that it delivers an "I don't fancy that!" moment, and George's encounter with the seriously ghastly spectre in the cornfield certainly satisfies on that score. I had planned to set this aside and read it after I had read Volume 3 of 'The G&S Book of Shadows', but found myself drawn into reading it last night anyway. And I can only whole-heartedly agree with this sentiment concerning that particular apparition. Brrrrrr... An excellent story! And many thanks for the kind words about 'By No Mortal Hand'. I'm still thrilled to see it in print, and in such good company, too! :-)
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Post by dem bones on Sept 22, 2016 17:59:11 GMT
On performing my ritual flick-through prior to actually reading the issue, one word from the Knock, Knock review came screaming out of the page, and for a glorious moment I thought that, for The Guardians, Sheila Hodgson (via Mr. Bunting) had sent M. R. J. on safari (!). It is such a shame that this desperately rare collection seems destined to remain a mystery to all but the privileged few - lamentably, a copy of the execrable Shrieking Cobweb Publications' typo-strewn pirate edition recently exchanged hands on eBay for €250,000. Have been reliably informed by a source close to the Chillminster operation that The Beckoning Hand and the now legendary Penny Falls in particular find the author at the height of her considerable powers. Not being the least familiar with either the beliefs and practices of seventeenth century religious sects or the writings of Augustus Jessopp (save for An Antiquarian's Ghost Story, a brief, unvarnished account of a spectral manifestation in the library at Mannington Hall), it seemed a stone dead certainty that Who Could damn Hardest': A Muggletonian Influence Upon 'Casting the Runes' would fly way over my head - but it didn't! Mark Valentine makes his case so eloquently that the article isn't the least difficult to follow. Against all odds, and despite strong competition from the book reviews in particular, it is my pick of the issue's non-fiction.
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Post by ropardoe on Sept 23, 2016 9:53:31 GMT
On performing my ritual flick-through prior to actually reading the issue, one word from the Knock, Knock review came screaming out of the page, and for a glorious moment I thought that, for The Guardians, Sheila Hodgson (via Mr. Bunting) had sent M. R. J. on safari (!). It is such a shame that this desperately rare collection seems destined to remain a mystery to all but the privileged few - lamentably, a copy of the execrable Shrieking Cobweb Publications' typo-strewn pirate edition recently exchanged hands on eBay for €250,000. Have been reliably informed by a source close to the Chillminster operation that The Beckoning Hand and the now legendary Penny Falls in particular find the author at the height of her considerable powers. Not being the least familiar with either the beliefs and practices of seventeenth century religious sects or the writings of Augustus Jessopp (save for An Antiquarian's Ghost Story, a brief, unvarnished account of a spectral manifestation in the library at Mannington Hall), it seemed a stone dead certainty that Who Could damn Hardest': A Muggletonian Influence Upon 'Casting the Runes' would fly way over my head - but it didn't! Mark Valentine makes his case so eloquently that the article isn't the least difficult to follow. Against all odds, and despite strong competition from the book reviews in particular, it is my pick of the issue's non-fiction. I agree with everything you say in your first paragraph. On Mark's article, I'm so envious of his ability to combine accessibility with a wonderful style (I think I can do the former, but definitely not the latter!). In the case of this particular article, I never thought that my historical heroes, the Diggers, would ever be mentioned in the pages of G&S, but trust Mark to manage it!
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Post by jamesdoig on Sept 29, 2016 21:00:14 GMT
My copy arrived yesterday - looks very nice indeed! While on MRJ, David Tibet's anthology, The Moons at Your Door, has three of his stories - great anthology with an interesting intro. The hard cover is out of print, but there's an affordable paperback edition available.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 30, 2016 8:24:15 GMT
My copy arrived yesterday - looks very nice indeed! Would love to read your take on this issue, James, the fiction in particular. From the half dozen I've read, the newsletter's short fiction is a terrific anthology in waiting.
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Post by jamesdoig on Sept 30, 2016 23:53:46 GMT
Would love to read your take on this issue It's the usual high quality - G&S always strikes the right balance between fiction, articles, reviews, news etc - I must get that biog of Elliott O'Donnell. I liked both stories - I take it they're stories that didn't quite make the Sarob anthology. "By No Mortal Hand" is a sequel to the "Ash Tree" and has some nice touches. "The Gypsy's Curse" is a traditional ghost story and a prequel to "Martin's Close" - it's not as substantial as the other, but provided pleasant qualms.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 1, 2016 4:44:05 GMT
Much appreciated, James. Thank you! As with the House of Fanatic publications, so too with Ghosts & Scholars. Every book that comes under the microscope sounds so devilishly indispensable, including, I might even go so far as to say especially, those that don't actually exist. As an unashamed fan of his Weekend Book of Ghosts & Horror series, it's good to know Richard Whittington-Egan is still knocking around and fighting the good fight. Weekend Book of Ghosts #5 includes an article on Elliott O'Donnell, Death of a Haunted Man, though this one written by Molly Tibbs.
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Post by ropardoe on Oct 1, 2016 9:17:37 GMT
Much appreciated, James. Thank you! As with the House of Fanatic publications, so too with Ghosts & Scholars. Every book that comes under the microscope sounds so devilishly indispensable, including, I might even go so far as to say especially, those that don't actually exist. As an unashamed fan of his Weekend Book of Ghosts & Horror series, it's good to know Richard Whittington-Egan is still knocking around and fighting the good fight. Weekend Book of Ghosts #5 includes an article on Elliott O'Donnell, Death of a Haunted Man, though this one written by Molly Tibbs. Sadly, Richard Whittington-Egan isn't still knocking around - he died a few weeks ago.
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Post by ropardoe on Oct 1, 2016 9:20:24 GMT
Would love to read your take on this issue It's the usual high quality - G&S always strikes the right balance between fiction, articles, reviews, news etc - I must get that biog of Elliott O'Donnell. I liked both stories - I take it they're stories that didn't quite make the Sarob anthology. "By No Mortal Hand" is a sequel to the "Ash Tree" and has some nice touches. "The Gypsy's Curse" is a traditional ghost story and a prequel to "Martin's Close" - it's not as substantial as the other, but provided pleasant qualms. When you say "didn't quite make the Sarob anthology", strictly speaking you're partly right, but I wouldn't want it to be thought that this was for quality reasons. Timing was more the matter in question. Dan McGachey's story was written after the book was completed and intended specifically for G&S; Carole Tyrrell's did just meet the deadline but by that time I'd already filled up the book.
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Post by ropardoe on Jan 2, 2017 12:20:03 GMT
A little rant - be warned! I was just looking at the M.R. James Appreciation Society Facebook page which, since it's public, I can access, though I can't contribute to, since I'm not on Facebook. I see someone is under the misapprehension that the Ghosts & Scholars Newsletter is an e-zine. This is not at all unusual despite the fact that the G&S Newsletter has been around for fifteen years - as long as the original Ghosts & Scholars - and only the first handful of issues were available as both a hard-copy and on the G&S website. There was, admittedly, a very short period early on when I considered going to a web-only edition, but it never happened. Just how long, I wonder, does the G&S Newsletter have to exist before everyone realises that it's a print magazine? Oh well, maybe the situation will change in three issues' time, when the Newsletter reaches the same number of issues as the original G&S and I revert to the original title, dropping the Newsletter bit (yes, that's the plan).
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Post by andydecker on Jan 2, 2017 18:29:30 GMT
Dear ropardoe,
how to order G&S in Europe? I am interested in an issue or two but can't seem to find the right link for ordering. Do you accept Paypal?
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