There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard

This is an unabridged audio recording of M R James' excellent ghost story "There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard". Read by David Collings, this is sure to scare and delight in equal measure.

Public Domain (P)2010 Craftsman Unabridged Audio

Story reminds us: don't live by a grave yard

A bit of M.R. James to clear the head.. don't get too comfortable..he know how to get one's attention.

He Did Something He Shouldn’t

A short chilling story set in a framework of Shakespeare. I love gothic horror, it leaves its work to the imagination instead of guts and gore. MR James is now one of my favorite authors. Expertly narrated as well.

A Delightful Bedtime Story by M. R. James

David Collings gives us a masterful rendition of one of Dr. James' lighter tales.
You may notice a similarity between this tale and Mark Twain's story of "The Golden Arm" so entertainingly brought to life by Hal Holbrook in his one man show "Mark Twain Tonight."

There is no question of plagiarism, I think. Both tales are inspired by earlier examples of folk tales with "trick endings" that have been around since storytelling became a thing among our earliest ancestors.

But these two, having been given to us by Masters of Storytelling in their own right remain to delight generations of children for all time to come.