The Stalls Of Barchester Cathedral by M R James
by M R James
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral.mp3
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The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral by M R James was published in 1910. It is one of Montague Rhodes James's most famous and best loved, or most feared, stories. As often with M R James, these are not just comforting cuddly ghosts — the ghost cat is decidedly disturbing — but there is something scary and demonic about the stalls themselves.
Thanks to Gavin Critchley for sponsoring this Halloween 2022 episode of The Classic Ghost Stories Podcast. It's not the first he has sponsored but his kindness has allowed me to do this for all of you. Thank you, Gavin.
The stalls are the wooden seats in a cathedral where the clergy and other officials of the church sit. Not for the first time either do I see something decidedly folk horror in James's work with reference to the old tree that was used for unspeakable old folk things being the substances of the stalls.
The BBC did a well-loved ghost story for Christmas of The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral, but this is my audio book version for you.