Seasons greetings listeners! For this special festive episode Mike and Will turn off the lights and dive into the wardrobe for a game of hide-and-shriek, courtesy of A.M. Burrage’s Christmas classic ‘Smee’!

Big thanks go to our reader this week Kirsty Woodfield.

Also mentioned in this episode were ‘The Dead Room’, the new Mark Gatiss ghost story due to air at 10pm on BBC4 this Christmas Eve. Also Robert Lloyd Parry, who is going to be live-streaming a performance of an M.R. James ghost story on Facebook this Christmas Eve at 7pm.

Last but not least, don’t forget to test your M.R. James knowledge with Monty’s Quiz, our brand new (and 100% free) quiz game with over 300 M.R. James-based multiple-choice questions!

Show notes

• A.M. Burrage (wikipedia)
  
• Smee by A.M. Burrage (original version)
  The easiest way to get hold of the original/full version of this story is to shell out for the ebook from Burrage Publishing.
• Smee by A.M. Burrage (abridged version)
  This is the abridged (and free-to-read) version of ‘Smee’ that seems to be doing the rounds online, masquerading as the original story. We believe it has it’s origins as a simplified version of the story intended for those learning English as a foreign language!
• Who was A.M. Burrage? (greatwarfiction.wordpress.com)
  This biographical essay focuses on Burrages life rather than his ghost stories, but features a wealth of information about the man himself.
• A Review of Smee (booksofdaniel.com)
  This interesting essay explored how ‘Smee’ fits in to the wider tradition of Christmas ghost stories.
• A Game of Bear by M.R. James (Ghosts & Scholars)
  The framing of ‘Smee’ bears (ahem) similarities to an unfinished M.R. James story draft, which also makes reference to the hidden terrors lurking in party games that “entail stealthy creepings up and down staircases and along passages, and being leapt upon from doorways with loud and hideous cries.”
• Deadly Game or Hide and Seek (seeksghosts.blogspot.com)
  This blog post explored the ‘Mistletoe Bough’, a classic German ghost story dating back to the early 19th century which features an unfortunate bride whose wedding day game of hide and seek turns deadly! The story inspired one of the first celluloid Christmas ghost stories in 1904.

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This episode Mike & Will false-start their way through the unfinished M.R. James manuscript ‘Merfield Hall’ (or should that be ‘Merfield House’?).

Big thanks to our reader this episode Debbie Wedge.

Show notes:

• ‘Merfield Hall’ manuscript (Ghosts & Scholars)
  What exists of the manuscript(s) for this story can be read online at the Ghosts & Scholars website.
• Potton, Bedfordshire (Wikipedia)
  Potton, mentioned in this story, is a real town in North East Bedfordshire.
• Fishing temple at Southill Park, Bedfordshire (bedfordshire.gov.uk)
  Could the fishing temple at Southill Park, Bedfordshire be an inspiration for the one mentioned in this story?
• Charles Cotton’s fishing temple (derbyshireuk.net)
  The most famous of all fishing temples, that made famous by Izaak Walton, author or ‘The Compleat Angler’.
• James Essex (Wikipedia)
  Architect of the gothic revival James Essex gets a mention in this story as having designed part of the titular house/hall.
• The Roxburghe Club (Roxburgheclub.org.uk)
  William Stedman in the story is said to have been a member of this most exclusive of clubs.

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This episode Mike & Will tackle ‘Moose’ by M.R. James.

No wait, that’s not right. Ah yes, ‘Rats’ by M.R. James, that’s the one.

The episode features readings by Lewis Davies and the illustration to the right by Alisdair Wood.

Show notes:

• Tom Tiddler’s Ground by Charles Dickens (Project Gutenberg)
  The quote about rats which opens this story is from this story by Charles Dickens, which also contributions from Wilkie Collins among others. ‘Tom Tiddler’s Ground’ is also the name of an old children’s game.
• ‘Rats’ short film by Stephen Gray (Vimeo)
  This gorgeous-looking short film adaptation of ‘Rats’ is a real treat. If you want to learn more about the director, listen to our Interview with him in Episode 21.
• Orlando Whistlecraft (Flickr)
  The improbably-named Orlando Whistlecraft, mentioned in this story, was a ‘weather prophet and poet’ well known in the 19th Century for his yearly weather almanac.
• ‘Atmosphere and Crescendo: M.R. James, C.D. Heriot and the Mechanics of the Ghost Story’ by Tom Mullen (Ghosts & Scholars)
  We didn’t mention it in the episode, but this excellent essay examines how M.R. James and others use pace and rhythm to great effect in their ghost stories.
• Finally, if you are lamenting the lack of rats in ‘Rats’, here’s Master Splinter.

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