David Collings

The tale tells the story of Paxton, an antiquarian and archaeologist who holidays in 'Seaburgh' and inadvertently stumbles across one of the three lost crowns of Anglia, which legendarily protect the country from invasion. On digging the crown up, Paxton is stalked by its supernatural guardian. Written a few years after the end of The First World War, 'A Warning to the Curious' ranks as one of M. R. James's bleakest stories.

The tale tells the story of Stephen, a young orphan boy, who is sent to stay with his much older cousin at a remote country mansion. His cousin is a reclusive alchemist obsessed with making himself immortal. Stephen is repeatedly troubled by visions of a young gypsy girl and a traveling Italian boy, who are missing their hearts.

This is the unabridged audio recording of M.R. James' excellent ghost story 'The Treasure of Abbot Thomas'. The author's stories were written with the purpose of being read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. This highly-praised version, narrated by David Collings, is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

This is the unabridged audio recording of M.R. James' excellent ghost story 'Martin's Close'. The author's stories were written with the purpose of being read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. This highly-praised version, narrated by David Collings, is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

This is the unabridged audio recording of M.R. James' excellent ghost story 'A School Story'. The author's stories were written with the purpose of being read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. This highly-praised version, narrated by David Collings, is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

This is the unabridged audio recording of M.R. James' excellent ghost story 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book'. The author's stories were written with the purpose of being read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. This highly-praised version, narrated by David Collings, is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

This is the unabridged audio recording of M.R. James' excellent ghost story 'Rats'. The author's stories were written with the purpose of being read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. This highly-praised version, narrated by David Collings, is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

This is the unabridged audio recording of M.R. James' excellent ghost story 'The Experiment'. The author's stories were written with the purpose of being read aloud in the long tradition of spooky Christmas Eve tales. This highly-praised version, narrated by David Collings, is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

M. R. James was a prolific and hugely successful author, now credited with redefining the ghost story form. By abandoning many of the formal gothic clichés of his predecessors and using more contemporary settings, James set the stage for future generations of writers. Originally published in 1904, "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is the story of a man who digs up a bronze whistle, which, after blowing it, leads to unexpected consequences....