And Speaking of Supernatural Fiction: M. R. James
Last night I picked up once again Ghost Stories of an Antiquary on of M. R. James's books dedicated to the stories written for and shared during various Christmas gatherings. And once again, I was caught up in the hands of a master. I do not usually review an individual story, but the first of the tales--"Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" reminds me of all the reasons why James is at the very top of my list for those writing supernatural fiction and ghost stories. Most of James's stories are unclassifiable. Is "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" a ghost story? Perhaps. Is it a piece of supernatural fiction? Undoubtedly, but that is almost as helpful a description as saying that it is a short story. Is it a "horror" story--undoubtedly it has its horrors, but in the class of Lovecraft and King, no. "Canon Alberic's Scrapbook" traces the journey of a man interested in old churches and old manuscripts to a village somewhere in France...