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Stories that inspired M.R. James

Twelve tales of terror recommended by the master of the genre!

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Episode 53 – Jacqueline Simpson interview

June 26, 2016 | Episodes | Comments (8)

This episode Mike and Will interview folklorist Jacqueline Simpson about the influence of Scandinavian and English folklore on M.R. James’s ghost stories, as well as Jacqueline’s collaboration with Terry Pratchett on ‘Folklore of the Discworld’.

Many thanks to Jacqueline for her hospitality!

More about Jacqueline:

Also:

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8 Comments

  1. Brynmore says:

    Good to see you guys back!

  2. This interview is absolute gold! And it has, unfortunately, given me new books to buy for my explosively crammed book shelves.

    In some shameful plugging for my own folkloric efforts, here’s an English-langauge collection of scary folktales from my native Sweden, which I put together a few years ago. If anyone’s interested in reading some archetypical Swedish folktales, then here’s an easily accessable bunch.
    http://www.lulu.com/shop/richard-svensson/the-girl-who-married-a-werewolf-and-other-creepy-folktales-from-sweden/paperback/product-15162062.html

  3. A Rat In The Wall says:

    That was a wonderful interview! The whole thing about laying ghosts was very interesting, I’d love to read more on that whole practice. The mention of c-section babies apparently having magical powers was neat, too, seeing as I’m a c-section baby, albeit apparently without sorcerous ability.

    Looking forward to part 2 of Eton and Kings, hopefully not too long away!

  4. Ed Kent says:

    That was such a good interview. Jacqueline is clearly incredibly learned in the folklore of England & Scandinavia. I bet her talk at the conference was spellbinding.

  5. Luke says:

    What a wonderful, interesting woman. I’d love to hear more from her, in fact I’d love to hear her do some narration of M.R. James stories or other spooky stories of that era. Well done, Jacqueline!

  6. Wally H says:

    Jacqueline needs to do all your story readings from now on!!!

  7. Miggs says:

    Holy crap, best interview ever. Jacqueline release her own audio series where she reads ALL OF THE GHOST STORIES.

  8. Spencer says:

    Jaqueline Simpson is a national treasure. She has the perfect voice and control for telling ghost stories, from the restrained way she reads out the Count Magnus excerpt to “You pull…and I’LL PUSH!”

    Shame I’m on the wrong side of the pond to attend any of her speeches. =/

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