Lovely to hear this superb tale of supernatural malice read so well. It’s a favourite of mine, and you do it justice, Mr F. Listening to your mellow tones reading M.R. James is like sipping a fine sherry by the light of a crackling fire on a cold winters night.
Thanks, Chris. Boy, where does the time go? That was recorded in 2014. I vowed to return to M.R.'s writings when I'm more proficient at English voices.....so, this is nice to hear. E.E.F.
Great story, a favorite of mine. Superior reading, remarkably good reader. Full of life, personality, dramatic talent, emotional fluidity, precision, timing, and skill. Have to subscribe. This guy has a gift, one of the best readers I have ever heard. I love hearing one of favorite stories brought to life, thanks so much! Great break between work and a meeting, the time flew by as I listened on a bench in the sunshine, tempered by a cool breeze and the late morning air.
Absolutely phenomenal narration!! Not only do I love your character portrayals, and timing, but you're the first person I've listened to in a very long time that doesn't mispronounce words. You have a true fan now!
The ghost of the Sphinx arises ! Please text me with a number to contact you (818)317'9997 or email : edwardfrench06@hotmail.com.....YES! I am the mello, but evil Rod McKuen for a the new millennium.
As another English M.R. James fan and also fellow narrator who has uploaded readings of James' stories, I was also skeptical of what a James story sounded like with an American accent. My skepticism was felled a few lines into the reading. Very well done, Mr French!
Benjamin, that's a wonderful compliment. You're obviously quite accomplished as an audio book narrator, so it's especially gratifying to read this. I share your skepticism as far as listening to a "Yank" reading the very British M.R. James and if I start to listen to an authentic Brit narrator recite these brilliant stories (such as the great Michael Horden), I become discouraged with my own attempts. At that point I remind myself that I'm reading for the pleasure of reciting his wonderful way with words, good humor and ideas. Best regards, Ed
@@FrenchEdward06 Believe me, I have heard worse on screen especially in Sherlock Holmes adaptations. Some of the extras' attempts to sound like Londoners make nails on a blackboard sound pleasant. As you can guess, I am English myself so I notice such things.
Superb. As a Brit and long-time James fan, hearing the story delivered with an American accent was initially a little jarring, but the quality of the reading soon shone through loud and clear. Very well done.
+edward french Oh please. Americans can appreciate good writing. I am a Brit. I will admit that the English have quite a handle of ghosts and horror, but Monty James is way above most writers. He really takes the cake for chilling one to the bone. Thank you for uploading.
OpinionIsTheMedium You must be talking about a narration in received pronunciation English. I think that if a Geordie or Liverpuddlian had told this story, you'd have found it more than jarring! I've always found that those non natives who learn to speak English from an American teacher, always speak with greater clarity than those taught by an English teacher.
Granny 13AD There's a series of 5 Walter de la Mare stories on RUclips, all with excellent narration. All Hallows, read by Richard E Grant, is particularly recommended listening.
Just great - you have just the voice for this kind of spooky story - and it's easy to listen to you as your voice is so modulated. . . hope there's more. (n.b. i didn't even think about your accent! :}
There will be more M.R. James in the future......British listeners have been very kind regarding my American voiced readings of this distinctly English literature. I'm glad because I'm very attracted to these stories. It's possible that they are so well written that's difficult for an old Yankee like myself to mess them up too much.
I also adore the marvellous M.R. James... his collections of ghostly tales are beyond comparison & damn bloody scary even in current modern times. He manages to make yr skin crawl & mastered the psychological effect of what scares mankind down to his primitive roots. His stupendous use of words conjure up the most horrendous images in our minds. He knew the key words to infiltrate our subconscious fears & the invisible wraiths or shadow persons / snake like undulating demons watching us, unseen. Very few authors can do what Montague Rhodes James could Create.
@@FrenchEdward06 yes! Mr James was a one off, indeed. I also love Shirley Jackson. Have you read any Angela Carter books? She has a magic like M.R. James but witchier. Her book, In The Company of Wolves & the film of the same name with Angela Landsbury was amazing, the werewolf changes were legendary ( did you do the make up for that???) Also i wish someone would make a film of her book Nights at the Circus, with the heroine Feathers the acrobat with real wings set in Victorian London. Shes my #1 fave modern author sadly taken too soon. I imagine Angela def requested angel wings when she got to the other dimention after leaving this one. Im in heaven myself listening to all yr back narrations. The most wonderful part of discovering a new channel is the pure delight of knowing you have all the back recordings to listen to. Its like dipping into a crackling paper bag of sugared plums or the powdery glassiness of Turkish Delight...mmm Stay safe, sound & brave 😁🍬🍭🇬🇧
Thanks, Ballet Star Galactica. M.R. James is one of my favorite authors. Please subscribe to the channel. I post new stories every weekend. Cheers. E.E.F.
Somehow I had forgotten this tale, having read it over 40 years ago; and thank you for this absolutely gripping- and chilling! - rendition, delivered as always in your exquisite narrative voice!
Excellent! One of my favorite tales - delivered with such precision, elegance and dread! You are indeed a master orator, and I'm so happy to have found you here!
You have the most naturally talented narration voice, Mr French! Its perfect in modulation, pronounciation, diction & rich chocolatey brown velvet voice accented with mellow honey whisky undertones Ive heard some amazing narrators, some top notch voice actors but yr voice is a dream to listen to. AND to boot its not yr main career...how jammy is that! Ive always loved watching make up effects & spec/fx in films & admire the make up artistes so much. I loved creating my own make up blends & experiments over the decades, loved my tools brushes esp, ive always bought the best brushes i could afford & cared for them too. My daughter watched facinated as a tiny tot when i did my make up. She recently graduated in a 3yr make up, spec/fx, skin care, holistic skin care & face massage remodelling, etc etc Degree Course, here in UK & has travelled all over doing shoots, fashion etc but wants to do really ultra tech Spec/FX. Sorry im rambling but you have AT LEAST 2 brilliant amazing talents, yr a makeup maestro & a Fabulous narrator. Thank you you make these stories sing
KIND words, itallia666. I appreciate them. The art of makeup is not unlike the little magic trick of storytelling. If your daughter experiments with FX makeup and photographs her experiments they can lead to FX makeup gigs. Don't give up on your dreams. Dreams are also the magic we make. You love your brushes. Remember that they are brushes with imagination! Cheers. E.E.F.
@@FrenchEdward06 lovely description of make up brushes, someone should stencil that onto the barrel of best quality cosmetic brushes. Harriet does photo her best make up jobs & won a prize for the design & finished makeover for a new face to Willy Wonka. It was glorious! I would love you to tell me of the films etc where you did the make up & spec f/x that you were most proud of. There's no hurry of course, you must be very busy so only when you can. Thank you for replying to both of my comments, methinks you have a sprinkling of Magic Ooffle Dust sparkling through your DNA. ☄🎉🗣📚🗝
I quite enjoyed this reading - Your style of reading is pleasantly restrained. You wouldn't happen to have a reading of Number 13 (Also by M. R. James) lying around somewhere?
Thanks Niels. I've recorded other works of M.R. on the channel, but haven't gotten around to "Number 13"- Yet. I have, however, recorded a haunting little ditty called "Number 90." Cheers. E.E.F.
@@FrenchEdward06 That went on my to-listen-to list at once. Though that 'Yet' sounds promising. To this day, Number 13 is the finest ghost story I have come across.
This is a bit of a tangent, but at the end, you have a bit of text about M. R. James, and I noticed that you wrote that you found it interesting that his ghost stories were written for Christmas. I have a pretty good idea as to why he wrote them for Christmas, but before writing it all out, I'd just like to be sure that you find the circumstance interesting, because it puzzles you.
@@FrenchEdward06 That is correct as far as I am aware. What was getting at was the more general connection between ghosts and the Yuletide which may seem less obvious to us today, since Christmas has become very much a bright and cheerful event. However in the Germanic tradition the idea of the close presence of the dead, which we now commonly associate with Halloween, is instead connected to the winter solstice, and thus carry over to Christmas. To use the example I know best, in Denmark traditionally food and drink would be left at the table, candles would be left burning and the doors would be left unlocked, and finally people would sleep on the floor on Christmas Night, so the dead could come back and feast and sleep in their old home. Likewise the Wild Hunt is associated with the Christmas time. Giving it an all together more eerie atmosphere. Which in turn makes ghost stories seem a lot more fitting.
@@nielsebbesen7821 Same thing in Sweden. The dead walk at Christmas, which is the solstice originally. Leave food for them, etc. But it's still odd that it shoudl be so Christmas-associated in Britain, where I have in fact never heard of such traditions....
@@blixten2928 In my experience Danes who aren't into folklore, will never have heard of the customs I mentioned above. To them the Yuletide will be all safe and fun and very much a family oriented event. So it is a safe assumption that these things can be forgotten, and some times quite rapidly. So, my guess is that what happened in England is that the association between Christmas and the Dead survived, but the actual content of the idea transformed into a vague feeling of eerieness.
@@nielsebbesen7821 It's been forgotten in Sweden too, of course. I know about it because I got a book on the history of Swedish traditions. But what we never had in Scandinavia, it seems, is any tradition of telling ghost-stories at Christmas!
A favorite film of mine, "The Curse (Night) of The Demon," was based on this tale. Thank you Edward Emerson French, for the superb narrative.
Lovely to hear this superb tale of supernatural malice read so well. It’s a favourite of mine, and you do it justice, Mr F. Listening to your mellow tones reading M.R. James is like sipping a fine sherry by the light of a crackling fire on a cold winters night.
Thanks, Chris. Boy, where does the time go? That was recorded in 2014. I vowed to return to M.R.'s writings when I'm more proficient at English voices.....so, this is nice to hear. E.E.F.
A master craftsman of vocal acting and a superlative artist of storytelling. Our absolute favorite voice of the macabre.
Lll
Your careful inflection is SO important to making this story come alive. James requires care to read well, so few can do it. THANK YOU!
Wonderful! I’ve loved the stories of M R James all my life. This is one of my favourites - thank you!
You are WELCOME, GradKat. Glad you enjoyed it. Peace and safety, E.E.F.
Great story, a favorite of mine. Superior reading, remarkably good reader. Full of life, personality, dramatic talent, emotional fluidity, precision, timing, and skill. Have to subscribe. This guy has a gift, one of the best readers I have ever heard. I love hearing one of favorite stories brought to life, thanks so much! Great break between work and a meeting, the time flew by as I listened on a bench in the sunshine, tempered by a cool breeze and the late morning air.
Absolutely phenomenal narration!! Not only do I love your character portrayals, and timing, but you're the first person I've listened to in a very long time that doesn't mispronounce words. You have a true fan now!
I appreciate your kind comment. E.E.F.
Well done, old fellow. The years have mellowed your voice into fine wine.
The ghost of the Sphinx arises ! Please text me with a number to contact you (818)317'9997 or email : edwardfrench06@hotmail.com.....YES! I am the mello, but evil Rod McKuen for a the new millennium.
Absolutely wonderful! I continue to listen to your rendition of classic tales of horror with awe.
You can't go wrong with an M.R. James story. I hope you will subscribe to the channel. Cheers. E.E.F.
My favorite author and my favorite reader!
Please do more M R James. Just love it and you do it so well.
As another English M.R. James fan and also fellow narrator who has uploaded readings of James' stories, I was also skeptical of what a James story sounded like with an American accent. My skepticism was felled a few lines into the reading. Very well done, Mr French!
Benjamin, that's a wonderful compliment. You're obviously quite accomplished as an audio book narrator, so it's especially gratifying to read this. I share your skepticism as far as listening to a "Yank" reading the very British M.R. James and if I start to listen to an authentic Brit narrator recite these brilliant stories (such as the great Michael Horden), I become discouraged with my own attempts. At that point I remind myself that I'm reading for the pleasure of reciting his wonderful way with words, good humor and ideas. Best regards, Ed
@@FrenchEdward06 Believe me, I have heard worse on screen especially in Sherlock Holmes adaptations. Some of the extras' attempts to sound like Londoners make nails on a blackboard sound pleasant. As you can guess, I am English myself so I notice such things.
Superb. As a Brit and long-time James fan, hearing the story delivered with an American accent was initially a little jarring, but the quality of the reading soon shone through loud and clear. Very well done.
+edward french Oh please. Americans can appreciate good writing. I am a Brit. I will admit that the English have quite a handle of ghosts and horror, but Monty James is way above most writers. He really takes the cake for chilling one to the bone. Thank you for uploading.
OpinionIsTheMedium
You must be talking about a narration in received pronunciation English. I think that if a Geordie or Liverpuddlian had told this story, you'd have found it more than jarring!
I've always found that those non natives who learn to speak English from an American teacher, always speak with greater clarity than those taught by an English teacher.
Granny 13AD
There's a series of 5 Walter de la Mare stories on RUclips, all with excellent narration. All Hallows, read by Richard E Grant, is particularly recommended listening.
Just great - you have just the voice for this kind of spooky story - and
it's easy to listen to you as your voice is so modulated. . . hope there's more.
(n.b. i didn't even think about your accent! :}
There will be more M.R. James in the future......British listeners have been very kind regarding my American voiced readings of this distinctly English literature. I'm glad because I'm very attracted to these stories. It's possible that they are so well written that's difficult for an old Yankee like myself to mess them up too much.
Thank you for this. MR James is one of my favorite authors...
You are WELCOME Baruch. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you will listen to the other MRJ stories I've posted here. E.E.F.
Loved your reading of this. Having a very stressful time at the moment and this has really gone some way to alleviating that even for 50 mins.
Great to hear that, I'm sorry for your stressful time and hope you will find some other readings here to provide some solace. E.E.F.
I also adore the marvellous M.R. James... his collections of ghostly tales are beyond comparison & damn bloody scary even in current modern times.
He manages to make yr skin crawl & mastered the psychological effect of what scares mankind down to his primitive roots. His stupendous use of words conjure up the most horrendous images in our minds.
He knew the key words to infiltrate our subconscious fears & the invisible wraiths or shadow persons / snake like undulating demons watching us, unseen.
Very few authors can do what Montague Rhodes James could
Create.
M.R. is a fav of mine, along with Shirley Jackson. I particularly like how M.R. accents the horror with sly humor. E.E.F.
@@FrenchEdward06 yes! Mr James was a one off, indeed. I also love Shirley Jackson.
Have you read any Angela Carter books? She has a magic like M.R. James but witchier. Her book, In The Company of Wolves & the film of the same name with Angela Landsbury was amazing, the werewolf changes were legendary ( did you do the make up for that???) Also i wish someone would make a film of her book Nights at the Circus, with the heroine Feathers the acrobat with real wings set in Victorian London. Shes my #1 fave modern author sadly taken too soon. I imagine Angela def requested angel wings when she got to the other dimention after leaving this one. Im in heaven myself listening to all yr back narrations. The most wonderful part of discovering a new channel is the pure delight of knowing you have all the back recordings to listen to.
Its like dipping into a crackling paper bag of sugared plums or the powdery glassiness of Turkish Delight...mmm
Stay safe, sound & brave 😁🍬🍭🇬🇧
Wonderful. Thank you so much!
Thanks, Ballet Star Galactica. M.R. James is one of my favorite authors. Please subscribe to the channel. I post new stories every weekend. Cheers. E.E.F.
Great reading using the complete text Unseen horrors are always the best
I agree. M.R. James is one of my favorite authors. E.E.F.
Somehow I had forgotten this tale, having read it over 40 years ago; and thank you for this absolutely gripping- and chilling! - rendition, delivered as always in your exquisite narrative voice!
Thanks. Julian 3 . M.R. James is the master of the supernatural tale. I dearly love his writings and shall return to them eventually. E.E.F.
Excellent! One of my favorite tales - delivered with such precision, elegance and dread! You are indeed a master orator, and I'm so happy to have found you here!
Excellent reading. The great prose rendered wonderfully
Excellent! From a big MR James fan in need of a break from politics. I enjoy your delivery and choice of stories. Thank for the time well spent!
Glad you read this story in one go. And didn't split it up in two parts.
Very well read indeed!
Glad to hear that, Emily. M.R. James is one of my favorite authors. Cheers. E.E.F.
You have the most naturally talented narration voice, Mr French! Its perfect in modulation, pronounciation, diction & rich chocolatey brown velvet voice accented with mellow honey whisky undertones
Ive heard some amazing narrators, some top notch voice actors but yr voice is a dream to listen to. AND to boot its not yr main career...how jammy is that!
Ive always loved watching make up effects & spec/fx in films & admire the make up artistes so much. I loved creating my own make up blends & experiments over the decades, loved my tools brushes esp, ive always bought the best brushes i could afford & cared for them too.
My daughter watched facinated as a tiny tot when i did my make up. She recently graduated in a 3yr make up, spec/fx, skin care, holistic skin care & face massage remodelling, etc etc Degree Course, here in UK & has travelled all over doing shoots, fashion etc but wants to do really ultra tech Spec/FX.
Sorry im rambling but you have AT LEAST 2 brilliant amazing talents, yr a makeup maestro & a
Fabulous narrator. Thank you you make these stories sing
KIND words, itallia666. I appreciate them. The art of makeup is not unlike the little magic trick of storytelling. If your daughter experiments with FX makeup and photographs her experiments they can lead to FX makeup gigs. Don't give up on your dreams. Dreams are also the magic we make. You love your brushes. Remember that they are brushes with imagination! Cheers. E.E.F.
@@FrenchEdward06 lovely description of make up brushes, someone should stencil that onto the barrel of best quality cosmetic brushes.
Harriet does photo her best make up jobs & won a prize for the design & finished makeover for a new face to Willy Wonka. It was glorious! I would love you to tell me of the films etc where you did the make up & spec f/x that you were most proud of. There's no hurry of course, you must be very busy so only when you can.
Thank you for replying to both of my comments, methinks you have a sprinkling of Magic Ooffle Dust sparkling through your DNA. ☄🎉🗣📚🗝
M R James giving a warning about bad reviews. Your reading brought out all the subtle terror
I quite enjoyed this reading - Your style of reading is pleasantly restrained.
You wouldn't happen to have a reading of Number 13 (Also by M. R. James) lying around somewhere?
Thanks Niels. I've recorded other works of M.R. on the channel, but haven't gotten around to "Number 13"- Yet. I have, however, recorded a haunting little ditty called "Number 90." Cheers. E.E.F.
@@FrenchEdward06 That went on my to-listen-to list at once.
Though that 'Yet' sounds promising. To this day, Number 13 is the finest ghost story I have come across.
Ed, it’s cool you got dick van dyke as a guest voice on this one.
This is a bit of a tangent, but at the end, you have a bit of text about M. R. James, and I noticed that you wrote that you found it interesting that his ghost stories were written for Christmas.
I have a pretty good idea as to why he wrote them for Christmas, but before writing it all out, I'd just like to be sure that you find the circumstance interesting, because it puzzles you.
Hi Niels- My understanding was that he liked to tell them to his college students at Christmas parties. E.E.F.
@@FrenchEdward06 That is correct as far as I am aware. What was getting at was the more general connection between ghosts and the Yuletide which may seem less obvious to us today, since Christmas has become very much a bright and cheerful event.
However in the Germanic tradition the idea of the close presence of the dead, which we now commonly associate with Halloween, is instead connected to the winter solstice, and thus carry over to Christmas. To use the example I know best, in Denmark traditionally food and drink would be left at the table, candles would be left burning and the doors would be left unlocked, and finally people would sleep on the floor on Christmas Night, so the dead could come back and feast and sleep in their old home. Likewise the Wild Hunt is associated with the Christmas time. Giving it an all together more eerie atmosphere.
Which in turn makes ghost stories seem a lot more fitting.
@@nielsebbesen7821 Same thing in Sweden. The dead walk at Christmas, which is the solstice originally. Leave food for them, etc. But it's still odd that it shoudl be so Christmas-associated in Britain, where I have in fact never heard of such traditions....
@@blixten2928 In my experience Danes who aren't into folklore, will never have heard of the customs I mentioned above. To them the Yuletide will be all safe and fun and very much a family oriented event. So it is a safe assumption that these things can be forgotten, and some times quite rapidly.
So, my guess is that what happened in England is that the association between Christmas and the Dead survived, but the actual content of the idea transformed into a vague feeling of eerieness.
@@nielsebbesen7821 It's been forgotten in Sweden too, of course. I know about it because I got a book on the history of Swedish traditions. But what we never had in Scandinavia, it seems, is any tradition of telling ghost-stories at Christmas!
Can we get you reading who goes there
Stay tuned.....E.E.F.