Casting the Runes, and Other Classic Stories of the Supernatural

By: M. R. James, Robert Hichens, W. W. Jacobs, F. Marion Crawford, Sheridan Le Fanu

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir, Justine Eyre, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

English author Montague Rhodes James (1862 - 1936) is considered by many aficionados the unquestioned master of the modern ghost story, and several of his tales have served as source material for multiple creepy film versions. He broke new ground by abandoning many of the conventions of Gothic mysteries, and substituting contemporary settings, situations, and characters. Nevertheless, as a Cambridge medieval scholar, James was steeped in the esoteric lore of the Middle Ages, and he applied that scholarship brilliantly to his stories.

The four stories in this compilation, not by James, are meant to serve as prime illustrations of the best work of a few of his contemporaries and immediate antecedents.

Contents include:

• "Casting the Runes" - M. R. James
• "Wailing Well" - M. R. James
• "Rats" - M. R. James
• "Mezzotint" - M. R. James
• "Count Magnus" - M. R. James
• "Number 13" - M. R. James
• "Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come" - M. R. James
• "The Monkey’s Paw" - W. W. Jacobs
• "Green Tea" - Sheridan Le Fanu
• "The Screaming Skull" - F. Marion Crawford
• "How Love Came to Professor Guildea" - Robert Hichens

Public Domain (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

List of Titles

There are 7 tales by M.R. James, and one each by the other authors.

Casting the Runes
Wailing Well
Rats
The Mezzotint
Count Magnus
Number 13
Oh Whistle and I'll Come For You, My Lad.

Other tales
The Monkey's Paw - W.W. Jacobs
Green Tea - Sheridan Le Fanu
The Screaming Skull - F. Marion Crawford
How Love Came to Professor Guildea - Robert Hichens

Exceptional readings of brilliant material

Nuanced readings, not necessarily distracting performances, of brilliantly articulated stories of the uncanny make this collection intriguing, engaging and satisfying.

Awful Narration

A deep speaking voice is all this narrator has going for him. Poor inflection and no style. It's free, but it still wasn't worth listening for more than 20 minutes. A pity they wasted the excellent stories of M R. James on this.

White noise at best.

I can't even speak for the actual stories because the narration was so dull and monotone, my attention wandered constantly. It was nothing but white noise.

mostly good choices

I've read most of these stories before; all except Green Tea and How Love Came to Professor Guildea, both of which were disappointing. All the other stories are worth checking out. The narration is good and not in the least distracting.
Casting the Runes (1911). 5 stars. Creepy good fun.
Wailing Well - M. R. James (1928). 2.5 stars. One of my least favorite of James' stories.
Rats - M. R. James (1929). 3 stars. A story about curiosity.
Mezzotint - M. R. James (1904). 5 stars. A terrific uncanny story.
Count Magnus - M. R. James (1904). 3.5 stars. Subtle, yet suspenseful.
Number 13 - M. R. James (1904) 4 stars. A fun weird tale.
Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come - M. R. James (1904) 4 stars. A tightly written atmospheric story.
The Monkey’s Paw - W. W. Jacobs (1902). 5 stars. A classic.
Green Tea - Sheridan Le Fanu (1872). 1 star. Long, slow, boring.
The Screaming Skull - F. Marion Crawford (1911). 3 stars. Another winner.
How Love Came to Professor Guildea - Robert Hichens. (1900), 1 star. What a bore.

Pretty good

But there was only one story I hadnt heard before, so you might want to check that before purchase. Still entertaining, though!

Amazing Old School Tales of Terror

I greatly enjoyed these tales of terror. They had a beautiful Victorian Gothic vibe to them. Great stuff.

Distractingly TERRIBLE Fake British Accents

If you want British accents, hire British narrators! These cartoonishly inept narrators could not pull off a British accent to save their lives. Horrible. Catastrophically awful.

Fabulous collection

This is a wonderful collection of supernatural stories that intrigue more than creep out the listener. I recommend this highly.

Excellent Anthology

Masterful stories well read. There was no story that didn't fit nor any of the readers whose voice or reading style broke the spell.

Great stories, poor readings

Although Stefan Rudniki has a great voice, ideal for reading something ominous and powerful, it just doesn't suit MR James, who needs a much lighter touch. James is full of ironic humour and local accents. David Collings is ideal!

Great collection

Great collection of famous and well loved stories. Well read and dramatised. Thank you all

Very enjoyable.

Really enjoyed these stories. I had a good chuckle at the title of the first story as the titled it Casting the Rooms instead of Runes.