Season’s greetings listeners!

We have a Christmas bonus episode for you here, an exclusive readings of one of Charles Dickens’s supernatural Christmas tales ‘The Story of the Goblin who Stole a Sexton‘ which appeared as part of The Pickwick Papers in 1836.

For more information on Charles Dickens and M.R. James, check out Episode 41 in which we talk to M.R. James scholar Jane Mainley-Piddock.

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This week Mike and Will attempt some foul necromancy with MR James’ little-known tale ‘The Experiment’.  Ghosts and Scholars described it as “weak and difficult” story: can your hosts revive it from the dead?

Story notes

• Rosemary and Daroll Pardoe’s invaluable notes, from Ghosts and Scholars
• Bishop Moore: a hardcore bibliophile after James’ own heart, his manuscript collection doubled the size of the Cambridge University Library when it was purchased in 1714.
• Was the murder of the rector of Rockland St Peter on Twelth Night in 1608 one of James’ inspirations for this story?
• Will and Mike also investigated some spooky goings on at Mill Hill Surgery: do check out the Halloween special of BBC soap Doctors before it disappears from iPlayer.

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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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