There's something about the British Isles that inspires feelings of the supernatural. Is it the desolate moors and barren landscape of certain areas? Or the ancient homes and ruins of great castles, which have undoubtedly witnessed great crimes in their day? Or, perhaps, the abysmal weather, with frequent overcast skies and pervasive mists? Whatever it is, this land screams "ghost story", so I realized, to my dismay, that on my British reading list I missed entirely this category of interest. The problem was soon rectified- I quickly added three selections to my list. The first up was A Thin Ghost and Other Stories by M.R. James, a well-respected master of the genre. I chose A Thin Ghost because it was free on the Kindle.
I don't have much to say about it- an immensely quick read at 76 pages, A Thin Ghost features 5 (or 6) short stories revolving around tales of the supernatural or psychological. I enjoyed the book- a few stories had me on the edge of my seat. Some referenced what were probably popular works in James' day, so I didn't understand bits here and there, but overall, it was pretty good. They say James invented the modern ghost story, and I see elements common to subsequent writings in the genre herein. I look forward to more.
Rating: B
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