The Lost Tragedy by Dennis McKail

The Lost Tragedy by Dennis McKail is an overlooked gem from the golden age of ghost stories. The lost tragedy in question is a lost work by William Shakespeare that our hero stumbles upon and has to prise from the hands of ghostly rivals. An amusing little tale by Dennis McKail.
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[@terryIKE69]

Tony Walker narrating a rare short story about an antiquated bookshop, ancient manuscript, Shakespeare, & ghosts? ... Must be heaven!

[@ClassicGhost]

Ha ha Terry. Great.

[@chuzzthefuzz1908]

I enjoyed this story, beautifully narrated as usual, and it resurrected an old memory regarding “burned” vs “burnt”. I’m a New Zealander who was educated in various countries including the US and Britain. In one of my American schools I wrote a story including the word “burnt” and my teacher corrected it to “burned”. It stuck in my mind that there was a difference between the two countries, so imagine my surprise when once recently (I’m now in my 70s) I came across the word “burnt” in an American book. First time! Thanks Tony, I love listening to you - don’t ever apologise for your comments at the end. They’re always interesting and, most importantly, make me feel as if I’m sitting with a friend of long standing, having a really good, late-night natter. Don’t ever stop!

[@ClassicGhost]

Funnily enough I was reading an Anne Rice book yesterday and she wrote burnt. Just goes to show

[@chuzzthefuzz1908]

It’s a pity that my English teacher - a good one - probably isn’t alive anymore. She’d most likely find this discussion interesting.

[@evelanpatton]

Me too!!! Like a 🌏🌍🌎 fireside evening…🎉❤🎉

[@donaldmccleary9015]

I love this one! The bookstore reminds me of the old, quaint, and tucked-away bookshops we rarely see these days. I always could get lost in them for hours. I once was in such a store and passed up on buying an early copy of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" from a store that closed years ago. I told a bookshop owner in Newport, Rhode Island, about it, and he said, "You probably should have bought that one"". I kick myself to this day over this. I am always amazed how the folks in these old shops tend to know where everything is. Great job, Tony!

[@bluegreenglue6565]

Absolutely loved this one! I don't always need spookiness, and love the more humorous ghost stories. Thanks very much!

[@clockworku-boat1692]

Highly underated

[@mariameere5807]

I definitely agree after listening to this gem 💎

[@gordonandtamarakirkham543]

"Supernatural" is the key. Supernatural doesn't have to be scary!

[@janetcw9808]

Greetings all. Good to hear you CGS, thanks again, as ever, for your work.

[@sarahthieben810]

Liked, subscribed, and thoroughly enjoyed!! I just found you a few days ago and have been listening avidly. I LOVE your chats and interpretations at the end. I have learned so much in addition to enjoying the stories and your readings. Thanks so much!

[@ClassicGhost]

Welcome aboard! Glad to have you here

[@lisap.1826]

Tony is fantastic! You are in for a treat.

[@chocolatefrenzieya]

We say "burnt" here in the midwest (US) for the most part, though "burned" sneaks in now and then depending on the sentence. "Oh, no the toast is burnt!" but "The house burned down!" but also "The house burnt to the ground!" We're just quirkly that way. :P

[@SueCooke]

Speak the same way here on the Isle Of Wight. We're quirky too!

[@ClassicGhost]

I actually think Grammarly has got this wrong.

[@cynthiapate9138]

I really enjoyed this story. You read so well, and it has a calming effect on me. Thank you. In the southern US, we do say “burnt” instead of “burned”.

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it! I like the idea that I'm calming!

[@grannykiminalaska]

Variety is the spice of life Really enjoyed it

[@hellodave1168]

Loved the ending, put me in mind of Sir Terry.

[@Story-Voracious66]

I can just imagine such a shop in Ankh! There might be trouble if a certain Librarian wanted to make a purchase though. Ook? No. Ook! No it's not for sale... Eeek!

[@susanmercurio1060]

In Minnesota USA, where I live, March is the worst month of the year: the weather is simply filthy. I have been snuggling under the covers to sit it out, and the very thing I needed was a reading by Tony Walker! You made my day. By the way (too bad it is an afterthought), McKail is an amazing writer! 44:15 Foil's sounds like the library in Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind in its vague organization. Speaking as an American, I prefer the -t ending to the -ed ending, as least in writing.

[@itgetter9]

It's the same here in Indiana, and I remedy it the same way, too! Cheers to you, and thank you, Tony, for getting us through this cold, muddy, wet, chilly spring!

[@terryIKE69]

Here in Northern Minnesota dealing with high winds, snow, & sleet also. Tony Walker's orations always warms the soul🌞

[@ClassicGhost]

Sorry to say in Cumberland, England it's beautifully sunny and Spring like. But you will get better weather soon I hope

[@lisabeth_nikolaidis]

I quite enjoyed this story. I love the idea of Shakespeare making an appearance either as a ghost or via time travel. Thanks for sharing it!

[@ClassicGhost]

It's a nice little story. One day I will do Richard Middleton's Ghost Ship which is a bit like this

[@netwitchtatjana4661]

@Lisabeth Nikolaidis If you like the Shakespeare appearance then you'll definitely like The Goblin Reservation (novel 1968) by Clifford D. Simak

[@martiwilliams4592]

What a funny, delightful story (second time around) enhanced through your masterful presentation--with a bullfinch which refuses to complete his song !!! Thank you for introducing us to McKail. Am re-reading Wilde's" The Canterville Ghost. "Would love to hear your presentation of "Canterville"! Would you please?Thank you!

[@carolmikolj5134]

I've come across this story before in an anthology of mystery tales about books. A charming little tale that reminded me a little of the gently humorous ghost stories that John Kendrick Bangs wrote. I loved it and loved your reading of it.

[@lilfiery0ne]

I liked it i think this type of story is all good and fits in fine with the genre on your channel … I would hate for you to so restrict yourself to the hard and fixed lines of genre .. be daring lol

[@ClassicGhost]

I do tend to do different things. Some flop, some don't but it's nice to have a change.

[@MSYNGWIE12]

Thanks Tony, I GOT it- guessed it but it didn't take away from the tale. One line, the playing with the letter "h'- pure poesy! How clever are some folks- not the usual ghost story! Loved it! How I wish I had a bus running to Mr Bunstable's shop...Namaste

[@wmnoffaith1]

The Canterville Ghost was what popped in my head as soon as you brought this up. It must be difficult as a writer when fans expect you to be like a boilerplate factory and just turn out the same story each time, but with different character names. I can understand why Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle got so frustrated.

[@ClassicGhost]

The Canterville Ghost has been mentioned so many times that I must do it soon. You've seen Dorian Gray I presume?

[@wmnoffaith1]

@@ClassicGhost Yes, I love that story; the pathos in it can't leave you unmoved. Especially when you understand who wrote it, and his life. I feel in many ways it was autobiographical; not in terms of switching places with the picture. I mean I've read it several times over the years, and I always felt Dorian was loosely based on himself; all of those relationships that he had and discarded, all of the debauchery. He lived a life of hedonism similar to Dorian, and at the end, he might have felt real love for the first time with Lord Alfred Douglas and was really shocked and dismayed with how things turned out. I forget who said it, but one of the worst things a person can do is start to believe their own press; I think that's what happened to Oscar Wilde. He started to believe his own press. He didn't take seriously the grave warnings of his friends. He thought his fame put him above all that, and like all true lovers in history, thought love would prevail and somehow it would work out. I can't read Dorian Gray without seeing Oscar Wilde's heart on every page, no matter which genre. But perhaps that's just me. I felt the same way about Truman Capote; I read all of his works mainly out of curiosity, and after researching his life, I can see his soul on every page as well. It seems like it's the same as it is with acting. You have some actors like Tom Hanks that are just consumed by a character, and are different every time, and some actors whose soul comes through no matter whom they are playing. Some writers can just crank out a good story, like Agatha Christie, and then leave their soul aside for other works, like her books written under the name Mary Westmacott. ( If you have never read Absent in the Spring, I highly recommend it. One of the best, truest, most thought provoking books I've ever read). Then you have authors like Oscar Wilde whose soul comes through every thing he writes. Even in his ghost story, his brittle flippancy and subtle mockery comes through. But then again, this might all be my imagination, lol. :) I was a Biology major, not an English scholar. Perhaps, I'm seeing things in the work that aren't even there. Oh, and I apologize for this long rant. I don't know what came over me. You asked me one simple question, and I responded with this long diatribe. You already have one subscriber who constantly does this, I've noticed; you certainly don't need another. Excellent job on The Picture of Dorian Gray audiobook. You know, you've put me in the mood to listen to it again tonight. 🍷

[@4444marla]

This is actually one of my favorites. Having a friend who is a book seller and knowing the treasure hunt he goes on every time he goes to a book sale …the whole atmosphere of this one, although not the typical dreadful scary ….I found very intelligent and interesting! Well read!

[@ClassicGhost]

It’s a good story indeed . Did you hear The Ghost Ship? Similarly amusing

[@mariameere5807]

It was so hard to find anything about him on Google and then I was about to give up and suddenly I saw him on Wikipedia!! I tried that originally but it didn’t work! There was very little about him until I found him on Wikipedia! I just like to know what era a man comes from before I read it! I am so excited Tony thank you so much! For somebody who has given up cocaine years ago, I try not to go out on a Friday night! Occasionally I have a glass of wine socially but I don’t drink at home as a rule! So Friday night, a Tony Walker story, I’m as happy as a pig in .......... erm....I can’t remember the last word of that expression!🦋 btw I want you to know that you do such an excellent job at explaining all about the author afterwards that you satisfy every conceivable detail of curiosity and more and make it very entertaining and enlightening that it really is only the era the book/author are from that I look up before I read- I mean listen to- one of the most pleasurable things in life is being read to and it makes a difference whether someone is relaxed while doing so because it makes you feel relaxed too and as I’ve told you too many times.... I love your accent! Thanks again Tony! If indeed I already have thanked you! Sorry, msg too long again!🤦🏼‍♀️

[@-Reagan]

Slop - Happy as a pig 🐷 in slop! 😉 (me too! The club on Friday has nothing on Tony!)

[@mariameere5807]

@@-Reagan nice diversion! He is great isn’t he- Tony! I love anything paranormal and now more than ever, you can afford to pick and choose the best of the best among anything paranormal/supernatural! I think it’s because the planet is finally waking up to the fact that we are energetic beings not meat suits walking about! Sorry, getting too serious for you- me thinks! Enjoy the story! Have a fab weekend! Oh, & I love this one!!! A good one!💛🌟✨👑✨🌟💛

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes, Friday night is my new story night

[@mariameere5807]

@@ClassicGhost yay! Any night would be a good night! Thank God for all of the stories!

[@lynnc5252]

Woooooo hooo! Nearly an hour long!! Yes!! 😍

[@ClassicGhost]

Have you seen my recent Dorian Gray? I think that's 7 hours plus.

[@SMichaelDeHart]

Love your rendition of this story. I also like your Ghost Ship reading in the combo video 'Humorous Ghost Stories'. As an American retired Firefighter/ EMS Medical First Responder with over 30 years of service, we've used both burnt and burned pretty often.

[@ClassicGhost]

ha yes. I thought it was interchangeable, not what Grammarly insists on

[@violetfemme411]

I love your rambles and always learn something from them. Please don't excuse it or stop. 💜

[@ClassicGhost]

Probably can't

[@annetteeggett]

Your dialect is spot on. Love your ramblings.

[@meese9140]

I love this story so much. "Ghosts stick around for centuries to destroy badly written play." Effervescent!

[@ClassicGhost]

That's the log line. I wonder if he pitched that to Hollywood whether they'd make the movie?

[@meese9140]

@@ClassicGhost I'd watch it 👏🏻😂

[@annetteeggett]

Foyles! Waterstones. I used to work in Soho just off Pic circus. My two haunts at lunch times! I loved this thank you.

[@stardust949]

I'd never read or heard this one before---it was delightful, your interpretation was FABULOUS and I personally couldn't give a care if it's "creepy" or not. lol! Some are, some are not---it's a STORY. Thank you, it really brightened my Friday evening. I also love your impossibly amazing reading of The Picture of Dorian Gray, but haven't had time to listen to it all yet. I sure do hope you got paid for that one!!! Blessings and Take Care, have a great weekend.

[@ClassicGhost]

Thanks for this. Keep on with Dorian Gray. I wonder if it's because it's too long that it hasn't been so popular?

[@janebrown7231]

@@ClassicGhost Your reading of Dorian Gray is absolutely amazing! I would encourage anyone to listen to this classic with you reading it. A perfect combination.

[@sharonhayton1642]

The bullfinch reference the fact that shakepher was never finished his work

[@susankane5597]

Thoroughly enjoyed this thanks

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@gillrippingale1173]

I must agree with the previous comments re the ' after chat'! ☺ I thoroughly enjoyed this story, probably due to all the resonances with book shops! I must have visited hundreds over the years and always remember places by book shops ( the one in Carlisle holds fond memories, where I used to go with a friend, spend hours there and have tea in their garden) I loved the ideas conjured here - such as books hiding if they knew they were looked for! A brilliant story! ( I didn't really find it a comedy..maybe I'm not in a humourous mood this morning!)

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes, there's a man who has been travelling Britain visiting bookshops and he's launched a book and has a tour. Im going to see him.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

I used to work for an antiquarian like this years ago. He kept buying , i kept repairing but he didn't sell anything. When a client wanted something, he was hard to find. When a price was agreed, he just raised the price later. Or he just mislaid the object in question. When he died it turned out he had two morgages on his shop and was 200.000 in debt. He was a hoarder disguised as a shop owner ;)

[@ClassicGhost]

There is a book shop near me which is an old house over 4 floors. Most of the thousands of books will never be bought, they'll just moulder away.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

@@ClassicGhost Humans are strange being hey ? ;)

[@susanotway7875]

Loved this tale Tony! Thank you and for your chat at the end.

[@MartynRavensdale]

Surely the Bullfinch presages the lack of culmination. The lack of the last note. The pot boiler never read, pages uncut.

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes! I think you've got it. I really like that idea.

[@lauraJP76]

Loved it, thank you!

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad.

[@tomatoangel1]

Oh, what a delightful story this is. Also, unusual. Who knew? Shakespeare as a specter 👏👏

[@ClassicGhost]

It's similar to The Ghost Ship. Did you listen to that one?

[@tomatoangel1]

@@ClassicGhost Oh, yes!!

[@michaeldonahoo461]

The bull-finch is how the listener meets the store owner.

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes, I suppose

[@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz]

I happened to be thinking of something that gave me goosebumps, and Tony’s intro music began. It made the sensation positively more, and more viscerally intense. That piano, I never much cared for, or rather “appreciated” it, till then. Thought it almost pedestrian, but It reached out and absolutely raked through me. It was like… physical icicles.

[@snipehunter4771]

Very much enjoyed, not put off by the comic ghost story at all! Thanks, Tony.

[@kaeten838]

Thanks for a fun one!

[@brandonletzko4239]

Tony, you could read a telephone book and make it a good yarn. I enjoy everything you have shared.

[@ClassicGhost]

Thanks Brandon.

[@evelanpatton]

Tony, Your true channel fans are hear to listen to all the bits & bobs & bobbles & pits & even the wits....I say, “Keep them coming. Bring on sum more parts that might tickle our funny bones. Every dog has a good day. Go easy on yourself, ‘cause that’s what we all should be doing with each other.” Loved it & I even think the spooky music at the end pulls your choices from different edges of the ghostly park together. I mean to think the Will.i.am Shakes his spear at the crazy (potentially fay/ghosty himself) book keeper (literally) is the parting joyful bits, for as implied, we don’t know if it’s a real story in the story, or [K]not, but it’s a good thread to pull us in. Dig it! Dug it. Do it again...maybe as a little side set, you know (1 of 5) grouped w/ OScar’s... Spooky bones, psycho, darma, karma, or other’s wise...it’s all within YOUR CURIOSITY CABINET for us to enjoy. Let the nay sayers eat cake & like the unusual flavors- like pear cream cheese frosting on a white ginger pound cake with a chestnut orange filling. Not for everyone’s cuppa tea but I certainly could enjoy it! -é 🍹🍶🍷🍵Cheers❕☕️🥃🍸🍺

[@ClassicGhost]

I saw some Phish ice cream today. I thought surely that can't taste of fish. Sheila said maybe it does. I didn't buy it.

[@evelanpatton]

I liked this so much that I came back for seconds…though I don’t think I’d like Phish Ice Cream either! Yuk.🥴 I throughly enjoy your personalizations of the💀👺👻👹☠️ghostly channel current🌬💨✨🌨⚡️⛈⚡️🌩✨🌝​@@ClassicGhost

[@soundsilence2604]

Reminds me of a local bookshop. But instead of a resident bullfinch, it houses a pair of wonderfully lazy cats.

[@-Reagan]

Really enjoyed you talking about devoicing parts of words and the reduction of words and, the difference between words like ‘burnt’ and ´burned’, ´burgled’ and ´burglarized’. This whole time, I have wondered about certain words, and the way I use the British and American forms and spellings interchangeably. I try to be consistent, but I can’t! I know it does matter when writing for someone else, or anything you expect someone else to read, of course. So, thank you for the validation of saying that is permissible for an American (or wherever you might be from) to use different types of the language or colloquialisms when speaking. I feel like I was educated in a different century than everyone else here. British spelling was ´correct’ and we were taught never to print when writing, as handwriting is inherently script or cursive writing. The handwriting and the way we were taught to letters was old-fashioned, as well. I was talking back to your video saying ‘Yes! YES! Oh, and Grammarly 🙄😆 it catches me up! You asked if it were interesting so, I thought I’d let you know that, yes; it’s very interesting and relatable.

[@ClassicGhost]

As I say in the comments elsewhere. I think this idea that British (or Australian or Irish or...) say burnt while Americans say burned is bunkum. American English is fonder of creating new verbs with -ize from nouns, but some of them are very good. I really like weaponized for example.

[@Phorquieu]

Love is a triple thing - love this story, love your reading of it, and have to love the subject matter. But I've got one little nit of a problem withal - I was recently with Ben and Willie, and both were agreed that his worst stinker was "Cardenio." Old Ben guffawed like a cretin as he remembered how much he was paid to gather up all the unsold copies, and Oh, how they burned on the hearth for weeks, sparing him the expense for wood and coal. Old Shakes looked embarrassed for sure, but even he had to laugh. Thanks for sharing this lovely story!!!!

[@theimaginationshow]

Great story, loved how much effort is put into building the environment and really, really liked your narration. As for the bullfinch, my thinking was it’s mirroring the storekeeper who is doing everything a bookseller should do except actually selling any books - the final anticipated note. And isn’t it that love of books that ultimately land the lost tragedy in his hands before it’s lost to history for good?

[@raissadevereux6762]

I loved this!

[@seriousoldman8997]

I LOVED this Tony! The writing is wonderful and entertaining! I also enjoyed your post-story ramble . This is going straight to a friend.Thank you so much! P.S. I HATE burglarize!!

[@janebrown7231]

Tony, just a note on the bullfinch (which, I agree, seemed out of place as a promising but unresolved thread in the story). I took it that the caged bullfinch spending a far longer-than-normal lifespan never quite completing its song was representative of the trapped author spending 300+ years never quite completing his mission - but I would have liked the bullfinch to sing that last note to finish the story. Also.... a finch is supposed to be symbolic of wealth, and "a symbol of hope, wisdom, the elevation of your standards, and the enlightenment of your soul". I wonder whether Denis Mackail threw in a little symbolism here to represent the fortune the book's finder had at his fingertips. As we know, Victorian artists, particularly the pre-Raphaelites, were very strong on including traditional symbolism in their work. As the grandson of Edward Burne-Jones, Denis was apparently the particular 'pet' of his grandfather, who probably passed on his love of nature and its symbols. One particular anecdote is rather delightful. Denis was habitually punished by his parents by being sent to stand in a particular corner. One day, he was delighted to find that his corner had been decorated by his grandfather, who had covered the walls with birds, rabbits, flowers and fairies to relieve the child's boredom - and stimulate his imagination, no doubt. As you point out, Denis would have been exposed to all sorts of literary and cultural influences, having within the family alone an Oxford Professor of Poetry as a father, a fellow-novelist as a sister, and a younger sister who was much involved in music, particularly with Holst. It's known that the older sister, Angela, when she had her own four children, insisted on 'literary time' every evening... and perhaps that represents the way she, Denis and Clare were brought up. With all those cultural friends of the family and Rudyard Kipling as a cousin, etc, he could hardly fail to be influenced. I absolutely loved this story, even though I was unconvinced by Ben Jonson, who killed at least one rival during his lifetime, helping Will Shakespeare on his mission. I expected a final twist, Jonson double-crossing his hated literary rival, to ensure Shakespeare's pot-boiler was published to discredit him! But I enjoyed it especially because it's a secret lifelong dream of mine to discover a lost Shakespeare play, ideally the known lost work, 'Love's Labours Won'. And it would cap it all to find that work and discover it was badly written! It would support my theory that the Shakespearean plays and sonnets are of multiple authorship, as illustrated by their significant variance in style - but that's another story and a whole lot of other research, which will take me the rest of a lifetime. Thanks for this offering - it was great fun.

[@toadyuk8391]

Just a quick one tony. Edit; sorry just seen this after it’s done and it wasn’t quick. I’m sure others of your exclusive and intelligent listeners will have commented on their reading of the bullfinch ? In case they don’t bother to say, then I will offer up my own interpretation (the great thing about responses to texts is nobody is EVER wrong). I interpret the bird as a literal example, exemplifier of the owner himself. He is in the book trade, he buys in books, he places them in a shop, he even allows supposed customers inside, however he can never fulfill the final part of “being” a book seller and part with a book ! Likewise the bird is a bird, it’s in the singing game, it learns it’s tune, it even plays the tune, however it also fails in its last requirement and just cannot tweet the last note and even after ten years it cannot be taught ! For me this is a nice example of literary symbolism, there may actually be a “posh” word for this form but I cannot quickly locate it ! Me a University educated literature student as well ! You know like a witches cat will represent many of her aspects, this bird represents the booksellers and “our man” should perhaps have been aware of this at first meeting ! By the way, a few final notes from me, you will have noticed by now I just am incapable of saying a one liner. This is because I love, life, ideas and people and sort of regard your comments as a book club. It’s because you do the unusual thing of discussing the story at the end and i love that, because it for me certainly, invites reply. With that in mind, unless asked otherwise I will continue publicly responding so anyone else can if so minded read my thoughts. I’m not one for exclusive clubs, even though I would urge anyone who can afford to, become a patron as it provides this good man who gives us this service a possible income (at some point). My final note is this, i really really like the softer ones. I like wit, humour and this period and feel for whatever “jamesian” reasons much of the lighter work is left out. This was a ghost story and variety is how we decide what we may or may not like. Eating the same food, day after day can be very boring. If this wasn’t your thing, sorry, but there are plenty of others in Tonys collection I promise you as I am listening to them all. A little aside between you and me, given the commitment in time I am leaving the longer ones aside for now. What’s bad about that you ask ? Well, I’m hoping he will read one day the midnight folk. It’s not long as such, but it’s also in no way a short tale ! In fact for my patreon story (if I get one) that would be all I desire. Perhaps Tony it’s a story that sits well with late summer, “box of delights” is very much Christmas, but midnight folk is I think set around summer (I’m h away to check). For now peeps, tell someone you love them because after all that’s said and done, not much else remains.

[@gordonandtamarakirkham543]

Great insight with the bullfinch. I think that's EXACTLY why it's in the story!

[@ClassicGhost]

As you know i love the Midnight Folk and made a pilgrimage to masefield's house in Maida Vale. They wouldn't let me in. But yes, exactly i would love the comments to be like a book club, yes

[@tzaph67]

I think it’s a shame that these days editors pare everything down so much (like the bullfinch!). I don’t want to read through loads of irrelevant ramblings, but some things I’ve read have seemed so spare, as to be lacking. Good fun story. I was chuffed I picked up on Will’s identity as am usually very slow with things like that! The biographical stuff was really interesting, as were your Foyles recollections. Don’t get me started on the burned/burnt issue and the general standardisation of language that Grammarly et al (not to mention spell checkers) are implementing! Thanks for another really good video Tony.

[@JennyLane8666]

That was WONDERFUL!! Wherever do you find these treasures?!?

[@ClassicGhost]

People suggest some. Others I stumble across in anthologies

[@janebrown7231]

Full of little gems. 24:50 “Did you see the way his eyes were rolling?” “Yes,” I said, “quite a fine frenzy, wasn’t it?” But of course, my little literary allusion was lost on Mr Trumpet. :D "The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven" (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Scene 1).

[@jenniferlevine5406]

That was a wonderful story!

[@Story-Voracious66]

Take II... Thanks so much again Tony. This was a charming and valid ghost story, and like so many of the other stories, and cometaries you have brought to us, I found it so thought provoking. It reminded me of H.G . Wells, "The Inexperienced Ghot", by its spooky levity. There is such a book shop tucked away behind a ramshackle plant nursery down here in Tasmania. Whenever I go back there it is completely serendipitously. Inside the shop, it seems that time has actually stopped. I am transported back to the first time I came across it more than twenty years ago. I think that such shops must be magically peppered across time and worlds. My thoughts on the Bullfinch are that it is a clever reference to the nature of the book seller. It seems to suggest that he is solitary and a little bit shabby. The bird came cheap because it couldn't learn the song. A rich establishment of the time might keep a giant Maccaw that talks, on perch, at the front of the store to attract customers. The little finch is humble and just for company. ✨✨✨🙏🏼

[@ClassicGhost]

I wish I could visit that bookshop in Tasmania.

[@Story-Voracious66]

If you ever come down,we'll give you a room. 😁

[@toekafrank6998]

I am blessed with exactly such a harbour and haven here in Cuenca. 😊♥️

[@annabellreads]

What a sweet ghost story! You do creepy so well Tony, but it's nice to have a little deviation sometimes, too. I hope, in this case, "creepy" is seen as the compliment it's intended to be, haha. "Tonify" isn't really a word (and don't you put that evil on us Americans) but I think we may be able to re-coin it for this channel. Excellent job 'Tony-fying' this story, as always!

[@ClassicGhost]

Hello Anna. You know when a sow gives birth it's called farrowing. of course you do. My friend Tim and I used to imagine words like pigletize. What fun we had making up stupid new verbs. Tonify though. I quite like that...

[@annabellreads]

@@ClassicGhost That's the fun thing about English, especially once you get into Dada and then Postmodern stuff... as long as you follow some of the rules, nearly anything becomes a perfectly cromulent word you can then use in your Tonifying.

[@leonaheraty3760]

Thanks Tony! 😊

[@riikkapauliinaussa1910]

This was lovely, thank you!

[@geoffreyraleigh1674]

The one I find unusual is in England I hear "I was sat in the chair" which sounds peculiar to me as I have always used the term "I was sitting in the chair". But definitely use both burnt and burned. Love the channel! Carry on being fantastic. :)

[@ClassicGhost]

I think i was sat is a working class usage. Middle class people don't say it

[@geoffreyraleigh1674]

@@ClassicGhost Ahh... makes sense. Cheers!

[@martiwilliams4592]

Ditto this time around, Thank you!

[@jenna4960]

As a Brit in Canada, I can confirm that Canadians are just very confused as to how to pronounce and spell things 😂 they kinda just go with whatever they feel like 😛 also "burglarize" is one that my mum and I always notice, too

[@ClassicGhost]

:))

[@Arwcwb]

Thank You!

[@ClassicGhost]

You're welcome!

[@katyvdb5993]

Delightful, entertaining and lovely, atmospheric description of the bookshop. You are quite right, ghost stories have a perfect right to be gentle and amusing - perhaps G K Chesteron's 'The Shop of Ghosts' might be added to your reading list next Christmas, as another example of a positive ghost story!

[@ClassicGhost]

I've put it on my list, Katy

[@jcristi321]

I don’t know what other people think, but I loved it!

[@roxanavasilakis9435]

📚 Thank you so much 😁

[@ClassicGhost]

Welcome!

[@along5925]

Loved this reading! Thank you.

[@ClassicGhost]

You are so welcome

[@earthcat]

Unfamiliar with this one but I quite like it. Thank you ❤️

[@davidbailey4404]

Awoke in the dawn -- rare for me as I'm not a morning person. When this happens I usually read a few pages of something, or let an audiobook lull me back to sleep. Hah! Not this time. Your reading of this tale had me fully awake from the start. My particular thanks for this one.The humorous ghost tale is not my preferred sub-genre, but this one was charming and your reading was deft and subtle. Also, let me say again that I greatly enjoy the comments at the end of your stories. I love labyrinthine old book shops, I've worked at a couple over the years and they were my favorite jobs, along with the time I spent tutoring gifted kids. (Sadly, the number of these shops has dwindled over the years here in the US.) So this added to the story's attraction for me. I do say "burnt" and even "burgled." I lived in Canada for a couple of years, so I may have picked it up there, or perhaps just from reading. I say "hallucinatory" like an American though, accent on the second syllable. Personal quirk: for some reason I hate the word "disorientated," finding "disoriented" more satisfactory. I confess to being disappointed (as a child) to find that either is correct. But I digress. Thanks once again for starting off my day on such a high note!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you David. Variety is the spice of life. We will do something gruesome soon for a change. I did a Ramsey Campbell recently and that was fairly gruesome, but I like these too.

[@christopherbarton2135]

Hello.I really enjoyed this, being an archivist/libraran, no surprise but you don’t have to be to like it. I remember the good old days at Foyles too.

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes, it's nowhere near as good now

[@susanhepburn6040]

Lovely! Thank you very much.

[@ClassicGhost]

Glad you like it!

[@SaltyMinorcan]

Yes, some of us are very interested in dialects, linguistics, inflections. TY.

[@ClassicGhost]

I always have been. At least there are a few of us :)

[@SaltyMinorcan]

@@ClassicGhost I got interested probably due to a great second grade phonics teacher. Then studying my own ancestry Catalan and Scottish speakers...what a delight.

[@mlsg8]

Loved this! ... loved the trying to remember where he's seen that face before, reference to west accent, and Ben calling him you know what.. lol Great recommendation... So glad u followed up.. your request list must be a mile long (with check boxes for dates submitted and the requestor name/location? Lol just a hint.) Bless you tonnes !

[@ClassicGhost]

My spreadsheet is better than it was. I was working through the list and found a free ebook of Famous Ghost Stories from about 1940. As I saw the contents, I thought: I must do all of these! So it will take me a bit longer to get through the list now.

[@blixten2928]

It's a very funny story indeed. With the two toughs (Shakespeare and Johnson) busting in at the end to terrorise our suspicious and illicit reader... I really don't think it possible that "other people" could possibly be angry at it not being "scary". Really, seriously?

[@ClassicGhost]

It has been amazing to me how people get offended about very small things. You cant please everyone and increasingly I realise I don't have to try do to so

[@blixten2928]

@@ClassicGhost There are studies showing that (within couples) it takes 4-5 nice comments to take away the sting of 1 nasty one. It's odd, isn't it. I'm at teacher, and one nasty student evaluation can undo all the glow of 15 good ones. One gets so sensitive when one puts oneself out there!

[@careyannewesternpa5512]

The best voice on you tube 🙃

[@Arwcwb]

Lets not be hasty - this is a great voice but we shouldn't miss the opportunity to force a showdown.

[@careyannewesternpa5512]

@@Arwcwb my opinion only...

[@SueCooke]

Bitesized Audio too. Simon has a very "English" voice. Love Tony aswell.

[@ClassicGhost]

ha ha! It's all subjective anyway.

[@chuzzthefuzz1908]

I thoroughly agree - Tony has a great voice.

[@maryjanemikula4782]

I read the book of humorous ghost stories. I grew up loving them. They broke the anxiety that grows with the serious stories. And I also grew up with Casper the friendly Ghost. And I still turn it on and discuss it with my Grandchildren. Please continue reading a good mix. (PS I really like your stories!!!)

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you for liking my stories :). I am going to do The Ghost Ship by Richard Middleton soon

[@leonaheraty3760]

I love Casper! He's a sweetie. 😊

[@Kojoanna]

I liked this story😊

[@janebrown7231]

On 'burnt' - it was the normal spelling in Shakespeare's time. Formerly it was 'burned', but many 'ed' endings were changed to the fashionable 't' alternative. This was especially useful for poets such as Shakespeare, who aimed for perfect scansion. 'Burned' was a two-syllable word, and 'burnt' was one syllable, so these converted words provided more alternatives in literary writing. , Later, the fashion changed, and both persisted, but it just happened to coincide with the first emigration to America. The current existence of 'burnt' in American English is a typical remnant of the pre-Mayflower (1620) spellings. Many American 'differences' are actually old English remnants, where the Brits have moved on - for example, the quaint American 'gotten' is typical of many '-en' endings in Britain of the early 1600s. 'Burnt' was actually one of the words which was subjected to reform in the US, and changed to 'burned', but both forms persist in both countries. There's a (justifiable) school of thought which says that 'burned' is the correct usage as an active verb, and 'burnt' is the participle. As in: 'The building burned down' and 'The building has burnt down'.

[@ClassicGhost]

Interestingly a lot of younger British people say 'gotten' now. I hear it all the time on the news and even locally. Another thing which must be down to American influence is the restoration of the 'h' which was lost in my local dialect by my grandmother's time (though not 30 miles further north where it remained). Now, I hear dialect speakers using h again which must be due to TV with Standard British RP English and American/Australian/Canadian/NZ etc who all keep h.

[@CelebrimborCurufinwe]

Very much wondering if either Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman read this at some point, Mr Bunstible would certainly fit right in with Aziraphale when it comes to book selling practices x)

[@jcristi321]

Burnt vs. burned. I used them both in a different way, but I always know what you mean when I hear it. If the toast turns blackish brown, I would say it was burnt. If I said the toast is burned, I would mean the toast caught fire. But that’s just me. 😂

[@ClassicGhost]

+jcristi321 linguistically there is something in that. The first is an adjective and the second a past participle I suppose

[@Bbergster]

Libby calls be badger, my girl does. Her family is from independence Missouri…. Her grandparents. He was a dentist with a bronze star from the sinking of the U.S.S New Orleans in Guada canal, anyway we have this huge, art print book, from the plays of Shakespeare. It’s heavy and beautiful, blue cover…. Maybe dividers between some of the pages. I’ll get a picture if u are interested. I’m curious about it. Love bookstores! Smell so good. Most cool, or whatever they said at the beginning. Thanks

[@ClassicGhost]

Sounds like a beautiful book. I like books too much. I have more books than I can read or store.

[@Bbergster]

@@ClassicGhostShe says they are lithographs….. I can barely read English, yet alone ancient Lithoneese! I had the bronze star in a bowl of miscellaneous stuff, not knowing the significance. And mentioned Independence Missouri because that is where settlers started west. Good place to dump a 60 lb lithography book…. My storage space if full of books too. I can’t really access them, but I want to🤠. Cheerio!

[@deloreslowndes762]

Makes me want to be a bookseller in a dusty shop down drab lane with a door that won't open. Ghosts welcome, as long as they don't want to buy any books,.

[@ClassicGhost]

+Delores Lowndes that is a fantastic first paragraph for a story

[@deloreslowndes762]

Lol.....feel free to use it.

[@tinahale9252]

I've never actually read a comic ghost story but I find it nice and I caught this one the characters are eccentric with little stories in between. I compare it to my oil painting. Perhaps the bullfinch is compares to the bookseller because he never finishes a book sale. Like a hoader

[@verityledner3927]

I love your voice ❤

[@lindajarvis4517]

Im sure I've been in this shop, in Felixstowe, Suffolk, UK.... takes hours to get out again, I think some people never do...

[@ClassicGhost]

Felixstowe is a town I've never been to. I keep saying to Sheila we need to do a tour of East Anglia.

[@lindajarvis4517]

Many M R James stories were set in the area

[@SC-jh9qp]

Your long ramblings at the end of stories are great, I always want to join the conversation with you but there is too much to put in the comments. 😊

[@ClassicGhost]

I had pondered about doing joint rambles on a live stream...

[@andreac5724]

I say burnt....and I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes, I think that division that Grammarly insists on is rubbish. I can say leaped or leapt and I burned it or I burnt it

[@toekafrank6998]

I do too...born in South Africa, raised in Cape Town.

[@ruthwalton3457]

Thank you 🥰 Wonderful bookshop in a back street in Leicester 40 years ago . Chap would love to show you round his crammed floors and floors and multiple rooms stuffed with books . Wow betide you if you actually wanted to buy one 😂 he would sell you second hand text books . I think that is the only money he made . It was wonderful. Does anyone know of a book with a toad on a salver on the front cover . It made my skin crawl that picture . The book was disturbing about man who landed up in a wheelchair . Can't remember authors name or name of the book 🙈 the book keeps poking at me from the recesses of my head 😂

[@ClassicGhost]

There is in fact a huge bookshop like this in Carlisle called Bookends. I don't think they mind selling you the books but there are floors and floors of them.

[@ruthwalton3457]

@@ClassicGhost sounds wonderful. They smell so different too . I love book shops and spice shops 😂

[@kevmasengale6903]

Have you heard the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?

[@ClassicGhost]

+Kev Masengale no, i don't know thst one

[@bethcastagnoli2911]

Isn’t that so?

[@levoxsixty-nine6843]

Conversate/conversating is the Americanism that confuses me. What happened to conversing?

[@ClassicGhost]

+Levox Sixty-Nine i didn't even know that was a word

[@levoxsixty-nine6843]

@@ClassicGhost it isn’t! But it seems to be acceptable parlance in the US, these days. I guess we have to accept that language is a constantly evolving beast.

[@blixten2928]

What, not sinister?! Would YOU like Ben Johnson to threaten to disembowel you?

[@ClassicGhost]

Ben and I go way back. I was in one of his plays at school you know

[@blixten2928]

@@ClassicGhost And were a star I am sure!

[@michaeltwombly]

A

[@tamsinthai]

Listened to you for a while to aid sleep. Please get rid of the idiot intro ' Everybody dies, don't they' isn't that so' intro. Thanks

[@ClassicGhost]

No, I won't.

[@tamsinthai]

@@ClassicGhost What on Earth (no pun intended) made you add that phrase in the first place? It has nothing to do with the content other than the fact that by their nature the subject of 'ghost stories' are dead? And don't sound like a sulky child 'No I won't' lol.

[@heycathey1593]

My heart!! What a story, so well told. Having bent myself toward professional scholarship (Medieval, Early Modern, and 19th-century poets #swinburne #williammorris) only to switch to the equally impoverishing field of rare book librarianship -- HOW have I missed this little gem by McKail?! This story gave me back a little of the warm fuzzy wonder that got me into that whole mess. PS I use "burnt" -and- "burned." The former, more adjectivally: "I prefer my toast a bit burnt." or "Her dress was a stunning burnt orange silk." I seem to have intuited something about transitive vs. intransitive when using them as verbs:- "He burned for her" while "The house was burnt to the ground." I am American, from Northern Kentucky so may also have inherited some weird north/south US dialectical variations.