Editing M. R. James (section)

==Reception and influence==
[[H. P. Lovecraft]] was an admirer of James's work, extolling the stories as the peak of the ghost story form in his essay "[[Supernatural Horror in Literature]]" (1927).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lovecraft |first1=Howard Phillips |title=Supernatural Horror in Literature |date=1945 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-486-20105-8 |pages=100–105 |edition=Abramson}}</ref> Another renowned fan of James in the horror and fantasy genre was [[Clark Ashton Smith]], who wrote an essay on him.<ref>Smith, Clark Ashton (February 1934). "The Weird Works of M. R. James", ''[[The Fantasy Fan]]''. Reprinted in Smith, ''Planets and Dimensions''. Baltimore: Mirage Press, 1973.</ref> [[Michael Sadleir]] described James as "the best ghost-story writer England has ever produced".<ref name="ww">[[Michael Sadleir|Sadleir, Michael]] (1992). "Introduction". ''Collected Ghost Stories'' by M. R. James. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions. {{ISBN|1853260533}}</ref> [[Marjorie Bowen]] also admired his work, referring to his ghost stories as "the supreme art of M. R. James".<ref>[[Jessica Amanda Salmonson|Salmonsom, Jessica Amanda]] (1998). "Introduction". In Bowen, Marjorie, ''Twilight and Other Supernatural Romances''. Ashcroft, BC: [[Ash-Tree Press]]. {{ISBN|1-899562-49-4}}</ref> [[Mary Butts]], another admirer, wrote the first critical essay on his work, "The Art of Montagu James", in the February 1934 issue of the ''[[London Mercury]]''.<ref>[[Harold Bloom]], Modern Horror Writers. Chelsea House Publishers, 1995 {{ISBN|0791022242}}, (p. 129)</ref> [[Manly Wade Wellman]] esteemed his fiction.<ref>"I admire and constantly reread James, [[Lord Dunsany|Dunsany]] and [[Lafcadio Hearn|Hearn]]....I wish I wrote things as well as James did.". Wellman interviewed in Jeffrey M. Elliot, ''Fantasy Voices: Interviews with American Fantasy Writers''. Borgo Press, San Bernardino. 1982 ISSN 0271-7808</ref> In ''[[The Great Railway Bazaar]]'', [[Paul Theroux]] refers to "[[The Mezzotint]]" as "the most frightening story I know". In his list "The 13 Most Terrifying Horror Stories", [[T. E. D. Klein]] placed James's "[[Casting the Runes]]" at number one.<ref>[[T. E. D. Klein|Klein, T. E. D.]] (July–August 1983), "The 13 Most Terrifying Horror Stories". ''[[Twilight Zone literature|Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone Magazine]]'', p. 63.</ref> [[E. F. Bleiler]] stated that James is "in the opinion of many, the foremost modern writer of supernatural fiction", and he described ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' as "one of the landmark books in the history of supernatural fiction" and characterised the stories in James's other collections as "first-rate stories" and "excellent stories".<ref>[[E. F. Bleiler|Bleiler, E. F.]] ''The Guide to Supernatural Fiction''. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1983. pp. 279–81. {{ISBN|0873382889}}</ref> [[Ruth Rendell]] has also expressed admiration for James's work, stating, "There are some authors one wished one had never read in order to have the joy of reading them for the first time. For me, M. R. James is one of these."<ref name="ww" /> [[David Langford]] has described James as the author of "the 20th century's most influential canon of ghost stories".<ref name=drl>[[David Langford|Langford, David]] (1998). "James, Montague Rhodes". In [[David Pringle|Pringle, David]], ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers''. London: St. James Press. {{ISBN|1558622063}}</ref>

Sir [[John Betjeman]], in an introduction to Peter Haining's book about James, shows how influenced he was by James's work:
<blockquote>In the year 1920 I was a new boy at the [[Dragon School]], [[Oxford]], then called Lynam's, of which the headmaster was C. C. Lynam, known as 'the Skipper'. He dressed and looked like an old Sea Salt, and in his gruff voice would tell us stories by firelight in the boys' room of an evening with all the lights out and his back to the fire. I remember he told the stories as having happened to himself. ... they were the best stories I ever heard, and gave me an interest in old churches, and country houses, and Scandinavia that not even the mighty [[Hans Christian Andersen]] eclipsed.</blockquote>
Betjeman later discovered the stories were all based on those of M. R. James.

[[H. Russell Wakefield]]'s supernatural fiction was strongly influenced by the work of James.<ref>Morgan, Chris (1985). "H. Russell Wakefield". In [[E. F. Bleiler|Bleiler, E. F.]], ed., ''Supernatural Fiction Writers''. New York: Scribner's. pp. 617–622. {{ISBN|0-684-17808-7}}</ref> A large number of British writers deliberately wrote ghost stories in the Jamesian style; these writers, sometimes described as the "James Gang",<ref name=drl /> include [[A. N. L. Munby]], [[E. G. Swain]], "Ingulphus" (pseudonym of [[Arthur Gray (Master of Jesus)|Sir Arthur Gray]], 1852–1940), [[Amyas Northcote]]<ref>Wilson, Neil (2000). ''Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950''. London: [[British Library]]. p. 383. {{ISBN|0712310746}}. "The author's [Northcote's] tales are firmly in the style of M. R. James' antiquarian school of traditional ghost stories."</ref> and [[R. H. Malden]], although some commentators consider their stories to be inferior to those of James himself.<ref name=jb /><ref>[[S. T. Joshi|Joshi, S. T.]] (2005). "Introduction". ''Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories'' by M. R. James. London: Penguin. {{ISBN|0-14-303939-3}}</ref> Although most of the early Jamesian writers were male, there were several notable female writers of such fiction, including Eleanor Scott (pseudonym of Helen M. Leys, 1892–1965) in the stories of her book ''Randall's Round'' (1929)<ref name="rp">Pardoe, Rosemary (2001). "The James Gang". ''Meddling with Ghosts: Stories in the Tradition of M. R. James''. London: [[British Library]]. pp. 267–87. {{ISBN|0-7123-1125-4}}</ref> and [[D. K. Broster]] in the collection ''Couching at the Door: Strange and Macabre Tales'' (1942).<ref name="rp"/> [[L. T. C. Rolt]] also modelled his ghost stories on James's work, but, unlike other Jamesian writers, set them in industrial locations, such as mines and railways.<ref name="rp"/><ref>Wilson, Neil (2000). ''Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820–1950''. London: [[British Library]]. pp. 433–34. {{ISBN|0712310746}}</ref>

James's stories continue to influence many of today's great supernatural writers, including [[Stephen King]] (who discusses James in the 1981 non-fiction book ''[[Danse Macabre (King book)|Danse Macabre]]'') and [[Ramsey Campbell]], who edited ''Meddling with Ghosts: Stories in the Tradition of M. R. James'' and wrote the short story "The Guide" in tribute.<ref>[[Ramsey Campbell|Campbell, Ramsey]] (2001). "Preface". ''Meddling with Ghosts: Stories in the Tradition of M. R. James''. London: [[British Library]]. {{ISBN|0-7123-1125-4}}</ref> The author [[John Bellairs]] paid homage to James by incorporating plot elements borrowed from James's ghost stories into several of his own juvenile mysteries. Several of [[Denis MacEoin|Jonathan Aycliffe]]'s novels, including ''Whispers in the Dark'' and ''The Matrix'' are influenced by James's work.<ref name="rp"/> Aycliffe/MacEoin studied for his PhD in Persian Studies at King's College, Cambridge. This makes three King's College authors of ghost stories (James, Munby and Aycliffe).

===Works inspired by James===
H. Russell Wakefield's story "{{-'}}He Cometh and He Passeth By!{{'-}}" (1928) is a homage to James's "Casting the Runes".<ref>[[Don D'Ammassa]], ''Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction''. Infobase Publishing, 2009. {{ISBN|1438109091}} (pp. 159–160).</ref>

[[W. F. Harvey]]'s ghost story "The Ankardyne Pew" (1928) is also a homage to James's work, which Harvey admired.<ref>[[A. Langley Searles|Searles, A. L.]] (1983). "The Short Fiction of Harvey". In Frank N. Magill, ed., ''Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature'', Vol 3. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press. pp. 1532–1535. {{ISBN|0-89356-450-8}}</ref>

The composer [[Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji]] wrote two pieces for piano with a link to James: ''Quaere reliqua hujus materiei inter secretiora'' (1940), inspired by "Count Magnus", and ''St. Bertrand de Comminges: "He was laughing in the tower"'' (1941), inspired by "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book".

[[Gerald Heard]]'s novel ''The Black Fox'', published in 1950, is an occult thriller inspired by "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral".<ref name="rp" />

[[Kingsley Amis]]'s 1969 novel ''[[The Green Man (Amis novel)|The Green Man]]'' is partly a homage to James's ghost stories.<ref name="rp" />

Between 1976 and 1992, Sheila Hodgson authored and produced for [[BBC Radio 4]] a series of plays which portrayed M. R. James as the diarist of a series of fictional ghost stories, mainly inspired by fragments referred to in his essay "Stories I Have Tried to Write". These consisted of ''Whisper in the Ear'' (October 1976), ''Turn, Turn, Turn'' (March 1977), ''The Backward Glance'' (22 September 1977), ''Here Am I, Where Are You?'' (29 December 1977), ''Echoes from the Abbey'' (21 November 1984), ''The Lodestone'' (19 April 1989), and ''The Boat Hook'' (15 April 1992). David March appeared as James in all but the final two, which starred [[Michael Williams (actor)|Michael Williams]]. [[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]] also broadcast ''The Fellow Travellers'', with Aiden Grennell as James, on 20 February 1994.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pardoe |first=Rosemary |title=M. R. James on TV, Radio and Film |url=http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/MediaList.html |work=Ghosts and Scholars |date=30 August 2007 |access-date=30 September 2009}}</ref> All the stories later appeared in Hodgson's collection ''The Fellow Travellers and Other Ghost Stories'' ([[Ash-Tree Press]], 1998).

On Christmas Day 1987, ''The Teeth of Abbot Thomas'', a James parody by Stephen Sheridan, was broadcast on Radio 4. It starred [[Alfred Marks]] (as Abbot Thomas), [[Robert Bathurst]], [[Denise Coffey]], [[Jonathan Adams (British actor)|Jonathan Adams]] and [[Bill Wallis]].

In 1989, [[Ramsey Campbell]] published the short story "The Guide", which takes an antiquarian on a macabre journey to a ruined church after following marginalia in a copy of James's guidebook ''Suffolk and Norfolk''. In 2001, Campbell edited the anthology ''Meddling with Ghosts: Stories in the Tradition of M. R. James''.

The novelist [[James Hynes]] wrote an updated version of "Casting the Runes" in his 1997 story collection ''[[Publish and Perish]]''.

In 2003, Radio 4 broadcast ''The House at World's End'' by Stephen Sheridan. A pastiche of James's work, it contained numerous echoes of his stories while offering a fictional account of how he became interested in the supernatural. The older James was played by [[John Rowe (actor)|John Rowe]], and the younger James by Jonathan Keeble.

Chris Priestley's ''Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror'' (2007) is a volume of ghost stories influenced by James in mood, atmosphere, and subject matter, as the title suggests.

In 2008 the English experimental [[neofolk]] duo The Triple Tree, featuring [[Tony Wakeford]] and Andrew King from [[Sol Invictus (band)|Sol Invictus]], released the album ''Ghosts'' on which all but three songs were based upon the stories of James.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Triple-Tree-Ghosts/release/1482003|title=The Triple Tree-Ghosts|website=[[Discogs]]|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref> One of the songs, "Three Crowns" (based on the short story "A Warning to the Curious"), also appeared on the compilation album ''John Barleycorn Reborn'' (2007).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-John-Barleycorn-Reborn/release/1070437|title=Various-John Barleycorn Reborn|website=[[Discogs]]|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>

[[Helen Grant (author)|Helen Grant]]'s novel ''The Glass Demon'' (2010) was inspired by "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Grant|first1=Helen|url=https://helengrantbooks.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-antiquary-and-crocodile-mrjames.html|title=The Antiquary and the Crocodile: M. R. James Resources|date=20 January 2017|website=Helen Grant Blog|access-date=25 February 2024}}</ref>

In February 2012, the UK [[psychedelic rock|psychedelic]] band [[The Future Kings of England]] released their 4th album, ''Who Is This Who Is Coming'', based on James's {{"-}}[['Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad']]{{-"}}. An instrumental work, it evokes the story from beginning to end, with the tracks segueing into one another to form a continuous piece of music.

On 23 February 2012 the [[Royal Mail]] released a stamp featuring James as part its "Britons of Distinction" series.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.royalmail.com/node/6424655 |title=Britons of Distinction |work=Royal Mail|date= 23 February 2012}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Fan Museum]] in London hosted two performances of ''The Laws of Shadows'', a play by Adrian Drew about M. R. James. The play is set in James's rooms at Cambridge University and deals with his relationships with his colleague [[E. F. Benson]] and the young artist James McBryde.<ref>"[http://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/events.html In Celebration 2013: The Laws of Shadows] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108021804/http://www.thefanmuseum.org.uk/previous1.html |date=8 November 2014 }}". The Fan Museum, Greenwich, London. Retrieved 16 September 2013.</ref>

On 9 January 2019, in the third episode of the seventh series of the [[BBC One]] programme ''[[Father Brown (2013 TV series)|Father Brown]]'', titled "The Whistle in the Dark", the character Professor Robert Wiseman reads a collection of ghost stories by M. R. James and later suggests that the whistle in his possession is the one described in James's {{" '}}Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad{{' "}}.

Comedian and writer [[John Finnemore]] is a fan of the ghost stories of M. R. James.<ref>"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvoY5dt9rJ8]". [[YouTube]]. Retrieved 28 August 2021.{{dead link|date=October 2024}}</ref> His radio sketch series ''[[John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme]]'', first broadcast in 2011, features the recurring character of a storyteller (a fictionalised version of Finnemore) who tells tall tales partly influenced by M. R. James's ghost stories. During the ninth series broadcast in 2021, which underwent a format change due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic|coronavirus pandemic]], Oswald 'Uncle Newt' Nightingale, analogous with Finnemore's storyteller character, meets M. R. James during the Christmas of 1898 as a young boy, who proceeds to tell him the story of ''The Rose Garden''. Later in Uncle Newt's life (or earlier in the series), he tells an iteration of said story whilst babysitting Deborah and Myra Wilkinson.

In 2022, British [[post punk]] band [[Funboy Five]] released "Kissing the Ghost of M R James"<ref>{{cite web |title=Kissing The Ghost Of M R James by Funboy Five |url=https://funboyfive.bandcamp.com/track/kissing-the-ghost-of-m-r-james |website=Bandcamp |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> and "A Warning to the Curious (Disturbed Mix)",<ref>{{cite web |title=A Warning To The Curious (Disturbed Mix) by Funboy Five |url=https://funboyfive.bandcamp.com/track/a-warning-to-the-curious-disturbed-mix |website=Bandcamp |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> a remix of a song, based on the James story, that first appeared on their 2019 release ''[[An Autumn Collection]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Autumn Collection by Funboy Five |url=https://funboyfive.bandcamp.com/album/an-autumn-collection |website=Bandcamp |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref>