The Diary of Mr Poynter by M. R. James

[@johnbowles5399]

Michael Hordern was a great actor and a great narrator/storyteller. He was perfectly cast in the BBC's excellent 1960's adaptation of M.R. James's story, Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad. There are few things more relaxing than to listen to M.R. James's classic ghost stories read so beautifully.

[@MsDormy]

Perfect listening this All Hallow’s Eve! Love the atmospheric illustrations and Mr Hordern’s voice.

[@mariedixon3875]

I got into these after listening to the Archers and Jim saying MR James was one of the best ghost story writers and love them lol. Thankyou so much x

[@suzannesellers7383]

I’ve read this story many times and I always worry about the friend’s little dog. I hope he got away unharmed.

[@deniseroper9030]

That was brilliant. I recommend this if you like things scary and perfectly read. 😁

[@budahbaba7856]

M R James stories have been a new thing for me. They have been wonderful! ;) Great narrator on this one! ;)

[@lacyhart2043]

Try Clark Ashton Smith he's good.

[@jwsuicides8095]

Michael Horden was a much lauded actor. He's forever associated with M R James as he was the lead in the seminal 1960's BBC film of a James story "Whistle and I'll Come To You". It's available on YT.

[@yohei72]

You may be interested to hear Hordern as Gandalf in the 1981 BBC radio adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings."

[@jwsuicides8095]

@@yohei72 I'm thinking people may also appreciate watching Michael Hordern in 2 versions of "A Christmas Carol". In the famous Sim version he plays Jacob Marley. In a later PBS version he plays Scrooge. Enjoy!

[@yohei72]

@@jwsuicides8095 I didn't know either of those! Thanks for the tip. I'd listen to him read an Ikea instruction pamphlet.

[@markvickers2607]

This is vastly macabre. One of my faves 😀

[@RPe-jk6dv]

M.r.james was a genius.

[@granny13ad33]

Very enjoyable tale as all that M.R. James has written.

[@tabongaproductions]

It's funny to think that this is the origin of the "Humans can lick too" urban legend.. imo M.R. James is responsible for so many of the modern horror tropes

[@Boogie_the_cat]

James was one of the most respected and well-known ghost story writers of his era, from what I hear. He was a master. Maybe I'm too old, but I'll have to look up your urban legend, as it is not familiar to me. I DID however, grow up in a town that was featured on "Monsters in America", as it had an area (Partrick road) that was believed to have been home to weird monkey-creatures called "rebobs". That was the main urban myth I grew up with, along with classics like "Bloody Mary", etc...

[@1potlid6]

Cheers mate, my favorite readings

[@paulgoddard]

Thank you, Michael Hordern is very good and my favourite reader of these stories too.

[@Lemma01]

Back listening again. Nothing comes close. Sleep well, all. 🕰

[@steerpike66]

The comic touches throw the macabre parts of this story into stark relief. You can enjoy the imperious Miss Denton scolding about her chintzes, and the boring London friend droning on about his family, and the jolly Mr Cattel misquoting Shakespeare and it's all very sunny and pleasant until the curtains start rustling and the awful hairy thing comes crawling across the carpet. One can only imagine that the Japanese people who invented Sadako and Kayako must have read M R James in translation.

[@lacyhart2043]

That's y he's so great man.

[@TedaR]

Great pic to accompany. Cheers

[@frankandstern8803]

The last line continued....... (THERE ARE MORE THINGS) ...........in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamt in your philosophy ACT ONE SCENE FIVE

[@katyvdb5993]

'Soft and ineffectual tearing at his back' - brrrr! So understated and so chilling. Please can anyone enlighten me about Mr Cattel's reference to 'Hercules and the painted cloth'? I recognise the reference to 'The Winter's Tale' ('unconsidered trifles') and to 'Hamlet', as Frankandstern points out, but I can't pinpoint the Hercules allusion. Thank you for all the trouble you have gone to in uploading these and matching the stories with suitable illustrations.

[@gabriellecoffey2313]

My guess is that it's a misquote of King Henry IV Part 1: "slaves as ragged as Lazarus in the painted cloth."

[@Krzyszczynski]

Ms Coffey has it right, I think, although it seems to me rather an obscure quote to have lodged in the mind of someone like Mr Cattell. It doesn't appear in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, for one thing. And the phrase "painted cloth" is nowhere to be found in Brewer's. But Dr Google will direct you to a site which provides an explanation, and suggests why Shakespeare might have chosen to make use of it.

[@willmccormick947]

Love this. Many thanks...

[@mmmdananananone]

Who did the illustration? It's great.

[@paulgoddard]

The illustration was by Paul Lowe. I found it via a Google search. For each of my M R James stories I'm trying to find art that was as near as possible to the original illustrations.

[@h.calvert3165]

It's hideous & horrifying! In other words, it's wonderful! 😵

[@luvuforeverjames]

I thought it was a shaggy dog.

[@dmx5439]

Wicked story

[@bessofhardwick9311]

Thanks for uploading. Very creepy.

[@paulgoddard]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@bessofhardwick9311]

Very much :)

[@earthcat]

AHhahahaha...good stuff😀

[@anthonyochocki6535]

LoL...the Aunt's a PILL.....

[@waningmooncancer9628]

I'm a terrible person 🙃. Case in point, I won't laugh at somebody falling because tgey could easily hurt themselves. But, someone being scared out of their minds, well that's a different matter, all together. 😆😆😆😆😆😆🤪😇😈😇😈😇😈😇

[@wendywardashley]

What a load of rubbish. M R James' hairy ghosts just don't scare me. Love Mr Hordens voice though.

[@bobbeyderbrain]

What a load of old bunkum. 😉

[@catrinlewis939]

Chacun à son goût.

[@sevenman9672]

It's a ghost story written over a century ago, so while your comment is indeed correct, I wonder why you felt the need to state the obvious.

[@thomasscott8964]

this one is tripe.

[@dixienormouse1441]

Would be interested in hearing your contribution.