British writer and
scholar (1862-1936). Full name:
Montague Rhodes James. Born in
Goodnestone,
Kent, where his father was the
curate, he developed an interest in
old books when he was very
young. In fact, when he was just
six years old, while recovering from
bronchitis, he asked to see a
17th century Dutch Bible owned by a friend of his
father's. The
book was brought to him, and he reportedly spent his recovery time sitting upright in
bed, studying the
dusty old book.
James was a
distinguished scholar, writing many
articles and
monographs on
bibliography,
paleography, and
history. Thanks to his
love of
old books, his strong
work ethic, and unusually accurate
memory, he was also considered one of the foremost
linguists and
biblical scholars of his time. He translated the
Apocryphal New Testament in 1924 and catalogued the huge
manuscript collection at
Cambridge, a task that took 40 years to complete.
Nowadays, James is best remembered for his
ghost stories. He was fascinated by the
supernatural and was an admirer of
Irish mystery writer
J. Sheridan LeFanu, whose ghost stories he edited. The
Jamesian ghost story influenced the future writings of
horror writers like
H. P. Lovecraft and
Stephen King. James usually based his stories around
bookish scholars like himself, discovering
spectral terrors while researching old
churches and
mansions, either in the
English countryside or in
dark corners of
Europe. He never revealed his
ghost completely, preferring to let his readers'
imaginations
conjure up
undreamed-of terrors. He also scattered bits of
comic relief and
spice-of-life details through his stories to make them more
realistic.
James never married and never had any children. His
books, his
university work, and his studies of the
past were his whole life. Some of his best known works include "
Canon Alberic's Scrapbook," "
Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad," "
The Ash-Tree," "
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas," and "
Casting the Runes" (the basis for the classic
horror film "
Curse of the Demon"). If you can find his book "
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary," grab it. It has most of his best stories.