# Catholic Insomniac: Spinechiller Stories of M.R. James

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-catholic-men-s-podcast-1133041/catholic-insomniac-spinechiller-stories-of-m-r-james
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-catholic-men-s-podcast-1133041/catholic-insomniac-spinechiller-stories-of-m-r-james.md
Podcast: [The Catholic Men's Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-catholic-men-s-podcast-1133041)
Published: 2026-05-21T03:23:48+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/catholic-insomniac-spinechiller-stories-of-m-r-james--72092682
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72092682/243_catholic_insomniac_spinechiller_stories_by_m_r_james.mp3
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Duration seconds: 4859

## Resource

Watch the livestream: https://youtube.com/live/YN9HBmNIKMw?feature=share Mez·zo·tint Definition: a print made from an engraved copper or steel plate for the reproduction of paintings. Now please keep in mind, some of these stories are summarized or excerpts of the original stories by M.R. James. Maybe it will whet your appetite so that you will read the full stories. I added two additional lines of dialogue at the beginning of "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" for listener clarity, as I was very confused reading it the first time. I only read a slight excerpt of "A Warning to the Curious," because I was WAAY over my hour limit and the actual ending is VERY dark anyway. I don't want to spoil it, but it's kind of like the ending of Old Yeller. Mr. Montague Rhodes James was a medievalist scholar and provost of both King's College and Eton College. His stories have a strong foundation in historical research with an element of truth at their core, making their plots almost believable. My highschool fencing instructor at St. Louis de Montfort Academy, Mr. Roark Mitzell, was enchanted with the writing style of M.R. James which departed from the goth ghost tales of the Victorian era. He told me that Professor James would attempt to teach history class to his students, but they would keep begging him to tell one of his historical ghost stories during class. I don’t know how he got such a reputation for spinning yarns, but I heard that he had made a deal with his students: if they had good marks, he would oblige them in making up a sufficiently chilling tale. He never had any intention of publishing these fictional digressions, until his students forced his hand to write them down and that’s how we have the books today. The main characters of his tales are often archaeologists or a…

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## Transcript

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