"Martin's Close" by M.R. James | Classic ghost stories

[@EnCryptedHorror]

I hope you enjoy this classic tale by M.R. James. Content warning: 📢 Raised voices. Reminder: you can enjoy a whole playlist of wintry/Christmas-themed ghost and horror stories here: kzbin.info/aero/PL7JYpOrSDoCdOa4uUF8OMcBHxVfP-hpef

[@waningmooncancer9628]

Well, you've done it again, Monsieur L'Estrange 😁. Excellent work; I love the accents you adapt to so cleverly. Yet another great performance of yours, that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you 😊🤗

[@EnCryptedHorror]

@@waningmooncancer9628 You're very welcome. Really glad you enjoyed it.

[@williamfawkes8379]

When I was a young boy and would go for a walk with my grandmother, she would always point out a little bog or puddle that had standing water. She would point at it and happily explain that it was a lovely place to hide a dead body. Till this day, whenever I see a place like that beside a road or trail, I am compelled to do the same. My grandmother was a real gem, born in the first decade of the 20th century, and she taught me to somersault on her 80th birthday via demonstration. I treasure her memory.

[@williamfawkes8379]

I forgot to mention, we call them " Grandma's dead body pools."

[@EnCryptedHorror]

She sounds wonderful, William. I'm not sure I could do a somersault now, let alone at 80! I've always thought it sensible to expose children to the right sort of dark humour, otherwise they grow up a bit...sensitive 😄. I once told my own when they were young that if they looked into the eyes of those little statues of children by the roadside (meant as a warning to motorists) they would become one. For a short time after they would scrupulously look the other way when we went past 😬

[@joea.9969]

@@williamfawkes8379 my grandma used to do cartwheels in her 70s, she was just a nice grandma to me but I hear she was feisty when she was younger, she physically threw a woman out of a wedding who was bad mouthing the bride.

[@thehangingparsiple5692]

This was pretty gripping. Poor Ann. You know, how they all spoke of her, and the judge's apathy, made this tale more tragic than horrific for me, especially when the young boy testified to seeing the 'black thing' jumping up and down and waving its arms as Ann used to. Beautifully acted, Jasper. ❤

[@scoutrifle6827]

I've read/heard this story a thousand times, and I'm still listening to your reading; you're that good!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks Scout. Hope you enjoy it.

[@-Reagan]

This is the only creator who has taken the time to do a modern recording, complete with clean sound quality. The other videos are old reposts taken from Libravox w old technology and they don’t even credit the actual readers.

[@GrandOldMovies]

WONDERFUL reading! The characters come across so vividly (particularly enjoyed your depiction of the judge!). It's one of those stories by James that displays so much of his strengths--his knowledge of folklore, the supernatural, English history, class structures, city vs. country, and their different language and accents. There's also the style in which he wrote it, mostly dialogue exchanges - makes it perfect for radio or podcast readings!

[@ottopippenger1590]

Most of his stories were written to be read before a group (hence the "for christmas" aspect of the adaptations etc despite none taking place at Christmas or in winter)

[@justine_holloway]

This is one of my favourite ghost stories of all time. The nature of the ghost in this one spooks me far more than any other kind. And the whole presentation of it as a trial, and James's usual droll style thrown in, makes for a truly irresistible piece. Thanks!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks Jade. Yes, I agree that the trial transcript makes this one special - a bit of a spin on the epistolary approach often taken.

[@wisdomoftheearlychristians2037]

Oh my! M.R. James ,Martin's Close by Jasper? What an unbelievable gift! 🎁 Edit: Fabulous! Best rendition I have ever heard, and I'm including the BBC and Christmas versions put out. Outstanding!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.

[@northernlights8126]

Agree.It was simply the finest narration of this classic story that I’ve ever heard.

[@-Reagan]

THANK YOU!! I’m so excited you took our requests and recorded this! ❤ You’re the only creator on YT who’s recorded this! Superbly clean sound quality, skill and voice acting talents! That’s the TL;DR To explain: None of the three other videos on KZbin are original recordings by the creators. They’re reposted, and old so that the sound quality is not great and one must search for them by title. They’re direct reposts from old Libravox recordings, and the channels themselves don’t credit the original readers. They are free use copyright, but it still strikes me as misleading to post under the presumption one made something and not to give credit to the true creators. It’s good to have a new, clean recording to reach people who have never heard it, and for everyone (like me!) who has, to enjoy your unique version of this classic!! It’s like hearing it anew again, for the very first time!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks Reagan. I have to admit to disappointment whenever I click on a video and find it's a rip of a Librivox recording. Nothing against the good job done by Librivox volunteers but, as you say, it's misleading.

[@joea.9969]

I love MR James was just reading his short stories. I have a fondness for weird or gothic ghost stories. Nice recording Mr Jasper.

[@andrewcooper162]

I'm a huge fan of the M R James stories, your characterful narration is excellent, more please 🙏

[@EnCryptedHorror]

I'm sure there will be! 😊

[@oilygr1n]

Content Warning: Raised voice, talent and exceptional performance. Once again, thank you.

[@ripleypipe]

Brilliant characterisation Jasper, what superb storytelling, thank you very much for sharing this with us.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@Cthulhuismyhero]

Hit the like button before I've even listened fully. 😁 Feel like a kid again being read a favorite scary story, different voices for different characters and all, when I listen to your recordings. Thank you for all the hard work.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're very welcome 👍

[@manuelluisnavarro7701]

Beautifully narrated! All those different voices. I can visualize the courtroom and the people in it.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you so much, Manuel. Glad you enjoyed.

[@donaldmccleary9015]

Great story and narration. I really like this one. Good ole' M.R. knew how to get it done! He was a great writer. I always feel reslly bad for Ann. The judge cracks me up. He is awesome. Fantastic job as always! Thanks!

[@veradennis7502]

Excellent! I loved the characterisation of the fearsome Judge Jeffreys. And extra points for showing restraint with the 'country yokel' accents...not every reader manages this ;)

[@EnCryptedHorror]

It helps if you're a bit of a yokel yourself (loiks wot oy ahm 😄)

[@waningmooncancer9628]

@@EnCryptedHorror 😆😆😆😆😆👌 Made myself laugh out loud trying to say it. This Ohio native almost got it. 😆😆😆😁 I don't care what anybody says, all English accents are awesome 👍😎

[@veradennis7502]

@@EnCryptedHorror For 15 years, I lived not a million miles from North Tawton... ;)

[@veradennis7502]

@@EnCryptedHorror Proper job :)

[@bobbymarcum772]

I simply love the dialogue in this story and you bring it to living, pristine color

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks Bobby. It was a fun one to read - so many characters!

[@libertycowboy2495]

Here is a cup of coffee for the best narrator on KZbin. Enjoying listening to your past tales. Have a wonderful Christmas my friend.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you! That's really kind of you! 🙏

[@TheRickie41]

Very accomplished, this narration. I appreciate very much.

[@spews1973]

Yes! Very pleased to see Monty's second most Christmassy story here. One of my favourites. A very pleasant way to spend the first evening of December.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Glad you think so! 😊

[@danniramey5876]

I really love how this tells a ghost story in a different way then usual, with most of it being told through a courthouse record instead of directly. Like how most ghost stories like this one normally takes place right as the murder and haunting is happening.

[@chrish9852]

Jasper rocks.....a true artiste storyteller and master of the craft....BRAVO!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you Chris! 👍

[@tomaaron6187]

It’s refreshing, as a non Native speaker, to be able to understand every word. Such excellent articulation. Doubly so when characters speak in their own voice. Trivia: 61% of those who watch English language videos on You tube do not have English as their first language. Many KZbin hosts do not realize this.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks Tom. That's great to hear. Someone on here told me the other week that I don't speak properly, so I'm comforted to think it might be a minority opinion 😄

[@ClassicGhost]

@@EnCryptedHorror You do speak properly!

[@gillgallett4864]

Really enjoyed that! Thank you ❤

[@JacqTracks]

Bravo. A tour de force! Thank you so much!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're very welcome!

[@bluegreenglue6565]

M.R. James strikes again! Very nicely done, too. Your sound mixing and editing is exceptional: the cherry on top of a sundae of brilliant voice acting. Thanks very much!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you! Never been likened to a sundae before. I like it 😂

[@CarlotaZimmerman]

Wow that was magnificent, you just get better! I was spellbound.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@ScullyPop]

Excellent work, Encrypted!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're very welcome, Scully's House of Thrillers!

[@suziq1963]

Merry Christmas Encrypted Horror.!! Time for bed, and another great story for my listening pleasure.. Goodnight.. 😴💤💤👌🏻..

[@alisonduffy6206]

Wonderful to have the company of Jasper on a sick day in bed. The stolid MRJ brought spectacularly to life with the usual aplomb. Thanks so much, J.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Get better soon! 💐

[@carolrios9216]

Thank you, Jasper, this is a good one, and new to me!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're welcome! Glad you liked it 👍

[@possumintheblossom]

Wow!!!! That was fantastic! The storyline was OK but became gripping because your narration was absolutely amazing.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you! So pleased you enjoyed 😊

[@ginap6327]

I absolutely love your voice and telling of these stories! Thanks for sharing.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you Gina! You're very welcome.

[@evelanpatton]

I hope you are ever so well. Busy working on the stage, in a series, on the celluloid, or on the page.❤ You ARE MISSED & I throughly enjoy reviewing/listening to the library of lovely gothic tales. Your gift of storytelling so fantastic! I hope to offer some belated compensation$ for your time & energy, as it is so worthy of. Blessings to you & your health, Evelan

[@martiwilliams4592]

Really creepy! One of my favorites. Enhancing narration-love the vivid sound images! Thank you!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're welcome! 😊

[@daigreatcoat44]

This has always been one of my favourite stories by MRJ, and I enjoyed your reading very much. The Attorney, particularly, obviously moved to anger by Anne Clarke's treatment, was very effective. One small point: when the Attorney says that "God will require the blood of the innocent" I'm sure that there's a misprint in the text, and that the word should be "requite". Peter Capaldi seemed a bit hesitant, in the TV version, when he said the words.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

@@daigreatcoat44 Bloody hell, this story was difficult enough to read aloud without my supposedly updated and revised edition leaving in the "require/requite" misprint that seems to be in every edition since it was first published. I assumed Monty must have known what he meant...🙄. The trials and tribulations of the narrator 😄

[@daigreatcoat44]

@@EnCryptedHorror I remember reading somewhere that MRJ said that if a word was real, he might fail to spot a typing error when proof-reading. Maybe that's what happened here.

[@mijiyoon5575]

*Whistle* while you work ... la la la & TY *Jasper* for this creepy creepy & creepy ol' story on a dark & cold December night

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks Miji! The best time of the year.

[@EddieDeeVee-pf1iu]

Oh EXCELLENT!

[@annetteeggett]

❤❤👻 spooky as hell. Never tire of this x

[@clairegreenaway9653]

Thanks once again Jasper! I really appreciate all your hard work 👍😃

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're very welcome. Claire.

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

Excellent as always. Thank you for all the time you put into these stories. 😊

[@EnCryptedHorror]

You're very welcome. Thanks Rosie.

[@stevebartley8902]

A masterly reading.

[@hindleygj]

Absolutely loved this, so well done 👍

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thanks George! 🙏

[@markletts8802]

BRILLIANT..Thanks

[@LisaCarso]

Thank you ✨thank you ✨thank you. One of James' most terrifying in my humble opinion.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Yes, I agree.

[@thurayya8905]

When you read the judge, I believed there was a crusty old seventeenth century man of the bench voicing the words.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

This one was so much fun to narrate. Because it's mostly court transcript it's essentially a play...and I love doing all the voices 😆

[@bobbymarcum772]

I understand having a creative dry spell, or when your muses call in sick etc. But we need you back! I am going to join next paycheck as a good faith investment bc life is cold and without hope if your stories arent in it

[@mariameere5807]

I really enjoyed it! Cheers! 🌟

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Good to know! Thanks Maria 👍

[@ottopippenger1590]

Had you seen the BBC version of this prior to recording? I noticed Sarah is very similar vocally, but the judge has gone in a very different Judge Jeffries direction. Big fan of this reading, the sound design really helps bridge the gap between audiodrama and audiobook! I know everyone else has done them, but I'd love to see you cover the whole corpus if you're ever at a loss (though I'm also very much enjoying the varied selection of authors and eras you've been covering since your return).

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Yes, I did see the BBC version (a couple of Christmasses ago, was it?) when it came out. I've generally been a bit disappointed with the recent ones, but maybe it's nostalgia colouring my thinking. I always intend to do more M.R. James. I suppose what puts me off is that they've been done to death (so to speak). This one hasn't, strangely.

[@ottopippenger1590]

@@EnCryptedHorror The new ones sadly, have mostly been awful- Gatiss likes all the right stuff, I guess,but he just isn't very talented.( His old partners at Inside No 9 actually did an amazing Jamesian pastiche though in The Bones of St. Nicholas) The Martin's Close one though, I thought was fairly excellent!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

And The Bones of St Nicholas I thought was fantastic 👌

[@Carlos_DK]

Ahh, MR James. Even I feel a bit christmassy now 👍

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Good! Ho ho ho 🎅😄

[@JasonJason210]

I really enjoyed this reading. Generally I like the sound effects. The only thing that jarred a little for me was the whistle sound. It was somewhat mundane sounding, and I think with MR James, things that have a supernatural aspect need to be handled very carefully. So for this whistle sound, I would skip it completely or use a much higher pitch, on the very edge of audibility. I just discovered you so will subscribe and looking forward to listening these stories.

[@rameyzamora1018]

The Rector wanted the narrator to get the view from a Hill. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Haha! Thanks Ramey 😄

[@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz]

“… and then he sat down, and such a groan that he gave…”

[@samnelson2343]

Scuse me mr l'estrange...it is friday 6 of January at 19:30 and there is an article on radio four that may divert you. I've not got the use of twitter & fb etc so this was my only way of bringing it to your attention. Thank you for the readings (and writings as well) New year!

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Thank you, Sam. I'll check it out. I like Robert Eggers. I think I have developed a slight aversion to Mark Kermode 🙂 By the way, if you didn't catch it, there was a nice thing on R4 with Mark Gatiss and the Rev Richard Coles about ghost hunting and M R James. You can find it on BBC Sounds.

[@samnelson2343]

@@EnCryptedHorror i heard the end of it (like, i suppose many of your listeners, i keep unusual hours!) Thank you again for the stories..

[@juliadia007]

I adore historic trial documents, albeit the one here was fictitious. I like the way Martin tried to pull the old Sovereign Citizen card.

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Yes, the slippery bugger that he was 😄

[@johnthorpe8341]

Does anyone remember the voice of Oliver Postgate

[@EnCryptedHorror]

I do!

[@johnthorpe8341]

HE HAD AN INCREDIBLE AND MUCH LOVED VOICE--NOGGIN THE NOG HAS STUCK IN MY MIND AND DUE TO HEARING MR LE STRANGES VOICE IT HELPED ME REMEMBER THANK YOU FOR YOUR BRIEF REPLY @@EnCryptedHorror

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Indeed he did have an incredible voice (as well as being a talented animator, puppetmaker, and writer whose creations defined the childhoods of a generation or two). His voice, and that of Michael Hordern, and a few others I grew up listening to on the TV and my childhood collection of story tapes are definitely among my inspirations for this channel. Thanks John!

[@johnthorpe8341]

HAS BEIN A CHILD/CHILDHOOD CHANGED SO MUCH NOW THAT THESE MY CHILDHOOD REMNANTS STAND ALONE IN MY MIND UNLIKE TODAYS THROW AWAY CULTURE THE MEMORY IS NOT BEHOLDING TO THE ERA IT FOUND ITSELF IN THO TO ME IT IS LIKE THE SMELL OF TOAST N COFFEE IN THE MORNIN WE ONLY HAD THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR WINTERS TODAY WE HAVE NON BUT THE PRESENT CHAOS B4 THE STORM @@EnCryptedHorror

[@christineheminger7762]

Why was the judge “terrible red and bloody” for hanging people? Did the old method differ from today’s rope noose?

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Hi Christine. Judge Jeffreys in the story is based on the real Judge Jeffreys known variously as "the hanging judge" and "the bloody judge". Hanging back then meant slow death by strangulation I think, rather than breaking the neck. But Jeffreys, for crimes of treachery, would have ordered the traitors to be hung, drawn and quartered. Disembowelled basically. He had a reputation for being quick to sentence to death.

[@ryanjohnson3615]

Note to self: "Don't be "too" nice to tarded women"

[@ottopippenger1590]

The implication of the story (more developed in the adaptation) is that he was sexually taking advantage of her.

[@Angela-cc1hd]

The recording and narration is excellent however the long winded old fashioned terminology (which l realise is the original text) is apt to make one lose a little interest in listening to this story, sorry to say?

[@EnCryptedHorror]

Not sure what the point of this comment is, but thanks.

[@JennyLane8666]

That was brilliant. I love M.R. James

[@EnCryptedHorror]

A fun one to narrate too, being a transcript 🙂