| "Martin's Close" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by M. R. James | |
 | |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror |
| Publication | |
| Publication date | 1911 |
"Martin's Close" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his 1911 collection More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary .
The story is presented as a report of a trial in the year 1684, before Judge Jeffreys. Squire George Martin has been accused of murdering a young girl named Ann Clark, with whom he had a one-sided romance. The prosecution presents the case that Martin murdered Ann Clark, because she ruined a good marriage proposal for him. During the trial, an event is described in which Martin acted in a guilty manner when confronted with a possible apparition of the girl. In the end, Martin is found guilty of the crime, despite his attempt to have the case dismissed on a legal technicality, and is sentenced to death. [1]
A version of the story, Martin's Close , adapted by Mark Gatiss, was broadcast on 24 December 2019 on BBC Four as part of the long-running A Ghost Story for Christmas series. It stars Peter Capaldi, Elliot Levey, Wilf Scolding, Sara Crowe, James Holmes, Jessica Temple, Simon Williams, Fisayo Akinade, and Ian Hallard. [2]
Montague Rhodes James was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1913–1915).
Peter William Sutcliffe, also known as Peter Coonan, was an English serial killer who was convicted of murdering thirteen women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980. He was dubbed in press reports as the Yorkshire Ripper, an allusion to the Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper. He was sentenced to twenty concurrent sentences of life imprisonment, which were converted to a whole life order in 2010. Two of Sutcliffe's murders took place in Manchester; all the others were in West Yorkshire. Criminal psychologist Dr. David Holmes characterised Sutcliffe as being an "extremely callous, sexually sadistic serial killer."
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A Ghost Story for Christmas is a strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One between 1971 and 1978, and revived sporadically by the BBC since 2005. With one exception, the original instalments were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and the films were all shot on 16 mm colour film. The remit behind the series was to provide a television adaptation of a classic ghost story, in line with the oral tradition of telling supernatural tales at Christmas.
"A Warning to the Curious" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his book A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories first published in 1925. The tale tells the story of Paxton, an antiquarian and archaeologist who holidays in "Seaburgh" and inadvertently stumbles across one of the three lost crowns of East Anglia, which legendarily protect the country from invasion. Upon digging up the crown, Paxton is stalked by its supernatural guardian. Written a few years after the end of the First World War, "A Warning to the Curious" ranks as one of M. R. James's bleakest stories.
Peter Britton Tobin was a Scottish convicted serial killer and sex offender who served a whole life order at HM Prison Edinburgh for three murders committed between 1991 and 2006. Police also investigated Tobin over the deaths and disappearances of other young women and girls.
"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James. It was published in his book Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
The Babes in the Wood Murders were the murders of two nine-year-old girls, Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, on 9 October 1986, by a 20-year-old local roofer, Russell Bishop in Wild Park, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, Sussex, England. Bishop was tried and acquitted in 1987. The case remained open until 10 December 2018, when Bishop was found guilty of the murders in a second trial. The investigation into the two girls' murders is the largest and longest-running inquiry ever conducted by Sussex Police.
“The Tractate Middoth” is a short ghost story by British author M. R. James. It was published in 1911 in More Ghost Stories, James's second collection of ghost stories.
"The Mezzotint" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his first collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).
"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, originally published in 1910. It is included in his collection More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.
Jennifer Ann Mee is a convicted American murderer known as the "Hiccup Girl" for her long-lasting case of the hiccups. Mee appeared on national American television shows such as NBC's Today Show many times. Mee was arrested for first-degree murder in 2010. After a trial she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2013. M. William Phelps wrote a book about her that was published in 2016. Her transmutation from "media darling" to convicted murderer attracted renewed national attention.
"The Trial for Murder" is a short story written by Charles Dickens in 1865. It was originally published under the title "To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt" as a chapter in Dr. Marigold's Prescriptions in an extra Christmas volume of the weekly literary magazine, All the Year Round. It was later published in 1866 in a collection of ghost stories known as "Three Ghost Stories", along with "The Haunted House" and "The Signal-Man".
Martin's Close is a supernatural television drama produced by the BBC. Running at 30 minutes, the drama was based on the ghost story Martin's Close by British writer and academic M. R. James, included in his 1911 collection More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. Adapted and directed by Mark Gatiss, it was broadcast on 24 December 2019 on BBC Four as part of the long-running A Ghost Story for Christmas series and again on 24 December 2020.
There have been many adaptations of the works of M. R. James for television, radio, audio and the stage, as well as a 1957 film adaptation of "Casting the Runes" by Jacques Tourneur, titled Night of the Demon.
The full text of Martin's Close at Wikisource
Martin's Close public domain audiobook at LibriVox  | This article about a horror short story (or stories) published in the 1910s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |