I especially like this story for an odd reason. I think it is the only one in which Working People are afforded the chance to admonish one of the Privileged. And that Privileged man finds out that had he merely asked the couple who own the hotel, they'd have been able to tell him. Instead he ends up potentially putting them to great risk and difficulty. He was fortunate that they were so forbearing. Not that I can think of any HARM they could have done him. But they could have been a lot more angry. I suppose they're made of stern stuff. After all they willingly bought the place, complete with a predecessor forever hanging about.

One of My Favorites and Superbly Told.

I really enjoy M. R. James, and your narration is marvellous. Thank you for your work x

Syfy read by the doctor what’s better then that

And how many band's main members now volunteer as a RNLI Lifeboat crew member? That's putting your Punk Pacifist creds where you mout is.

Who can explain this part to me? "As he drove out of the village, the hall clock struck four, and Mr. Dillet started up and clapped his hands to his ears. It was not the first time he had heard that bell." Is his driving within a dream and the hall clock wakes him up? If something else, please explain.

I love Miss Annie!

Ruined by ads ☹️

Put this track on our #2 fanzine cover mounted cassette. The snakebite city series were courtesy of Paul Talling from Bluefire Records. Always excellent

AH THE MAN WHO NARRATED PADDINGTON BACK IN MY PRIMARY SCHOOL DAYS I LOVE MICHAEL HORDERN 🚬🛡️⚔️❤️💥

Don't like to hear Michael swearing, seems so wrong!!

Horrific images of a past vibrant NED, this was the end of the joy !

Best comp ever1982

My favourite show ever. I remember clearly being transfixed by this radio show as a young boy. I know John peel was famous for other reasons, but to me, I’ll always remember him as the master inquisitor. He could probe and delve into the every man’s life without it feeling intrusive

The thing about M. R. James’ stories is that he always leaves you wanting more. This one is one of my favorites, and I always wondered what the significance of the engraving was. It might just be a literary device so that the body can be recognized. But I always felt there is much more to the story including The reason the ghost was murdered and put down the well in the first place.

Love Michael Horden in the short film Whistle and I'll Come to You. Enjoyed this, thank you 💕

This man was an absolute legend. I have never seen him give a less than stellar performance and I’ve seen him in many many different roles.

Traditional halloween fayre 😊

Was this the whole story???

Wow! These guys never disappoint!

Legendary. I listened to most Saturday morning broadcasts better than its successors and missed.

Brilliant!

A brilliant show I enjoyed for many years. Better than its successors & much missed. John Peel is a legend

👅👅🤘🤘🖤❤

I know this story too well to listen again, but I love the art.

m r james ghosts are not very "ghostly", they are some kind of living corpses. how did the "wet looking"corpse-ghost manage to get out of the well and travel from ireland to the vicinity of london? how did he got poor sampson into the well?

Spoiled by ads. Half unheard.

Oh my goodness, even the same cover as my tape I had in the 1980s. Thank you so much :)

Is that a Fall album in his hands

In case anyone's puzzled by the term "British Vitruvius" towards the end of the story: Vitruvius was a noted Roman architect and engineer who lived from 80-15BCE. He wrote a highly influential book on the subject which remained a standard text for centuries. So the narrator is trying to say that the James Merewether who died in 1786 was at one time a promising architect who could have made an outstanding name for himself, had his life not been derailed by the tragedies that occurred to his children and wife.

Knowing Mr James's proclivities, I was thinking as Mr Dillet prepared to probe behind the curtains of the miniature four-poster at 8:19: "DON'T"! I myself had just such a moment as Mr Dillet, must be, oh, about 20 years ago now. I was closing the bedroom window (which was hinged at the top) just before retiring for the night. As my fingers were about to close on the outer edge of the frame so that I could pull it inwards, they encountered something warm and yielding .... .... and then a couple of seconds later I recalled to mind the pair of doves belonging to the young girl next door, which had for some strange reason of their own taken to perching on our bedroom window-sill .....

120-130 boys a LARGE school?! (But it certainly would have needed a large number of staff when the class sizes were so small.) Oh dear, time was I could have translated all those Latin sentences, and clearly understood any mistakes that had been made. Not now!! Wonder if James was influenced by F Marion Crawford's famous tale The Upper Berth, which also features a long-dead - and wet - nocturnal beastie.

I can see the sea

Very beautiful voice - what a narrator. So nice to hear that his mother was Irish.

M.R. James and M. Horden, makes these readings the absolute classics! Wonderfully written and beautifully read! Thank you for sharing them.

I don’t like the music and sound effects.

This tune is every bit as good as I remembered. Loved it as a 14/15 year old kid back in the day. Going to dig the cd out now…

Love his MR James readings and his role in "Whistle and I'll come to you" role on Brit TV.

why oh why doesn't the bloody bbc allow access to these shows on its web archive?? i loved this show and would happliy listen again to this with my family every saturday instead of the rubbish saturday live....

What classy actors we had them ! Andrew Keir , Frances Matthews , Barbara Shelley ,Michael Goodliffe etc . All spent years in Rep theatre before making films . And it shows !!! Unlike today's crop....

loved that compilation cd with this track on it!

Thank you so much for uploading this. Me and my partner loved this show. It was our weekend treat to lie in with tea and coffee (me) and toast and Mr Peel

Booo!)))

He gave the finest narration, I've ever heard, in 'Barry Lyndon'. The only other voice of his caliber was Michael Rennie's, in my opinion.

I just discovered this man not too long ago. He was the narrator in Barry Lyndon and also played both Scrooge and Jacob Marley in 3 Christmas Carol adaptations. He had a rich voice in Barry Lyndon, but he sounds sweet and gentle here. Plus, I share a birthday with him (I wasn’t born in 1911 though lol)!

Quite simply, one of the best we ever had. Richard Burton rated Sir Michael that highly, he wrote in his diary that he thought him one of the five best actors in the world - Personally I'd go as far to as top three!

I'd like to get my hands on whoever decided to incorporate that ghastly organ music into the recording.

Loonies here, Loonies there .....we need more LOONIES Everywhere !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is such a great tune.

These stories are read so Well by Michael hordem