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"Write out of love, write out of instinct, write out of reason. But always for money."
Louis Untermeyer

Collected Ghost Stories

By M.R. James
Wordsworth Editions Limited, 352 pp, 1992

This is a collection of nearly all the ghost stories written by the great English writer, M.R. James. The collection was first published in 1931, and has been in print ever since.

After reading them, I can see why, because every story is imaginative, with darkly rich atmosphere, spooky settings, and chilling terror. James is a master at understatement while at the same time providing just enough detail to provide a good scare. Any horror fan should add this to his or her compilation.

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