| "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by M. R. James | |
 1904 illustration by James McBryde | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror |
| Publication | |
| Publisher | Edward Arnold |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Publication date | 1904 |
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904). The story is named after a 1793 poem of the same name penned by Robert Burns. [1]
Parkins, the protagonist, is a young "Professor of Ontography" at Cambridge University, who when the story opens is about to embark on a golfing holiday at the town of Burnstow (a fictionalized version of Felixstowe, Suffolk), on the east coast of England. He has secured a room at The Globe Inn for the duration of his stay, though he is somewhat uncomfortable that the room will contain a second bed. At dinner in his College, an archaeological colleague asks him to investigate the grounds of a ruined Templar preceptory near the Globe, with a view to its suitability for a dig.
On his first day at Burnstow, after a round of golf with Colonel Wilson, another guest at the Globe, Parkins proceeds to find and examine the site of the preceptory. He happens upon a hole in the masonry, in which he finds an ancient bronze whistle. As he returns to the inn along the desolate beach, he notes that "the shape of a rather indistinct personage" in the distance appears to be making great efforts to catch up with him, but to no avail.
After an evening meal at the inn, Parkins inspects the whistle while alone in his room. First clearing the hard-packed soil from the item onto a sheet of paper, he then empties the soil out of the window, observing what he believes to be a sole individual "stationed on the shore, facing the inn". Parkins then holds the whistle close to a candle, discovering two inscriptions on the item. On one side appears:
| FUR | FLA FLE | BIS |
of which Parkins is unable to make anything. [n 1] The inscription on the other side reads "QUIS EST ISTE QUI UENIT", a Latin phrase which Parkins translates as "Who is this who is coming?" [n 2] Upon blowing the whistle, Parkins notices sudden surge of wind outside his window, and has a vision of a "wide, dark expanse at night with a fresh wind blowing", in the middle of which he sees a solitary figure.
Unable to sleep that night, Parkins experiences visions of a man desperately running and clambering over high groynes, while anxiously looking back. After the man collapses to the ground in exhaustion, Parkins sees the cause of his flight, "a figure in pale, fluttering draperies, ill-defined", moving in a strange manner and with incredible speed. Realising he is unable to dispel the visions, Parkins decides to read through the night, although when he attempts to light a match, he hears the sound of scurrying on his floor in the direction away from his bed, which he believes may be the sound of rats fleeing. Parkins then reads himself to a sound sleep, with the candle beside his bed still burning when he is woken the following morning.
As he prepares to leave the inn, Parkins is informed by a maid that both beds in his room appeared to have been slept in. The maid had already made both beds, explaining the sheets on the bed he had not slept in were "crumpled and thrown about all ways". Parkins supposes he must have disturbed the sheets while unpacking. He then leaves the inn to play golf, again with Colonel Wilson whom he tells about the whistle. The Colonel, who has "pronouncedly protestant views", says that he would "be careful about using a thing that had belonged to a set of Papists".
Returning to the inn, Parkins and Wilson encounter a terrified boy running from it, who explains he has just seen a strange, white figure waving at him from the window of one of the rooms. Parkins realises from the boy's description that the room must be his own. Investigating, they find the room still locked, but find that the sheets on the unused bed are twisted and contorted.
That night, Parkins is woken from sleep by the collapse of an improvised partition that he had constructed to block the moonlight. He sees a figure sitting on the unused bed, which causes him to jump from his own bed in the direction of the window, to retrieve his cane. As he does so, the "personage in the empty bed" moves into a position in front of the door, with arms outspread. This apparition remains stationary in the shadows for several moments as Parkins's fear escalates. It then gropes blindly about the room in a stooping posture, darting towards Parkins's bed, and feeling about the pillow and sheets for his body. Realising he is no longer in the bed, the apparition moves into the moonlit part of the room; Parkins's impression is of "a horrible, an intensely horrible, face of crumpled linen".
Parkins lets out a cry of disgust, revealing his general location by the window. The figure moves rapidly at him, and he is backed half-way through the window, screaming, as its face is "thrust close into his own". Arriving just in time, Colonel Wilson kicks the door to his room open; before he reaches the window, the apparition tumbles to the floor, a heap of bed-clothes, while Parkins collapses in a faint. The following day, the hotel staff burn the linen from the room and the Colonel throws the whistle into the sea. [3]
The BBC has filmed the story twice as Whistle and I'll Come to You, firstly in 1968 in a version directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Michael Hordern, and again in 2010 starring John Hurt and Sophie Thompson.
Sir Michael Murray Hordern, CBE was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death he had appeared in nearly 140 films. His later work was predominantly in television and radio.
"The Spider and the Fly" is a poem by Mary Howitt (1799–1888), published in 1829. The first line of the poem is "'Will you walk into my parlour?' said the Spider to the Fly." The story tells of a cunning spider who entraps a fly into its web through the use of seduction and manipulation. The poem is a cautionary tale against those who use flattery and charm to disguise their true intentions.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1904. Some later editions under this title contain both the original collection and its successor, More Ghost Stories (1911), combined in one volume.
"Fair Margaret and Sweet William" is a traditional English ballad which tells of two lovers, of whom either one or both die from heartbreak. Thomas Percy included it in his folio and said that it was quoted as early as 1611 in the Knight of the Burning Pestle. In the United States, variations of Fair Margaret have been regarded as folk song as early as 1823.
Lord Saltoun and Auchanachie, is a Scottish folk song.
"Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad" is the title and refrain of a poem and song by Robert Burns, first written in 1787, and then expanded in 1793.
The Reverend James Boyer (1736–1814) was the tyrannical headmaster of Christ's Hospital from the years 1778 to 1799.
"Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a 1968 BBC television drama adaptation of the 1904 ghost story "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" by M. R. James. It tells of an eccentric and distracted professor who happens upon a strange whistle while exploring a Knights Templar cemetery on the East Anglian coast. When blown, the whistle unleashes a frightening supernatural force.
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.
The Keepsake Stories is the title given to three short stories by Sir Walter Scott which appeared in The Keepsake for MDCCCXXIX, a literary annual published for Christmas 1828. The short stories were entitled "My Aunt Margaret's Mirror", "The Tapestried Chamber, or The Lady in the Sacque", and "Death of the Laird's Jock".
The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James is an omnibus collection of ghost stories by English author M. R. James', published in 1931, bringing together all but four of his ghost stories.
The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is a ghost that reportedly haunts Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England. It became one of the most famous hauntings in the United Kingdom when photographers from Country Life magazine claimed to have captured its image. The "Brown Lady" is so named because of the brown brocade dress it is claimed she wears.
Put Me Off at Buffalo is a song by the vaudeville team of the Dillon Brothers, with lyrics by Harry Dillon and music by John Dillon. It was first published in 1895, and also appeared in the play A Trip to Chinatown. After an initial period of popularity, the tune was revived in 1901 in connection with the Pan-American Exposition held in Buffalo. The song's lyrics were planted in the lawn of Buffalo's city hall during the event.
Robert Burns came to know James Cunninghamme, Earl of Glencairn in Edinburgh in 1786 through a 'Letter of Introduction' provided by Dalrymple of Orangefield who was married to Lady Glencairn's sister. The Earl received the poet warmly in his house and introduced him to his friends. One of several gifts from the earl to the poet was a diamond point pen, stylus, or cutter which he used to write upon many windowpanes and glasses, scribing verse, his signature, epigrams, or other writings for posterity. Many of these diamond-point engravings survive, some however are contentious as regards either their authenticity, meaning, or both.
The Future Kings of England are a British progressive rock band from Ipswich. Influenced by early Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, and a bit of King Crimson their music also contains some post-rock along the lines of Mogwai or Sigur Rós.
Jean Lorimer (1775–1831) was a friend of the poet Robert Burns, often referred to by him as the "Lassie wi' the lint-white locks" or "Chloris". Lorimer was born at Craigieburn House on a small estate near Moffat and from 1788 to 1791 was a neighbour of Burns when he was living at Ellisland Farm, her father's new farm being at Kemmishall or Kemys Hall, Kirkmahoe Parish, two miles to the south of Ellisland on the opposite bank of the Nith. Burns commented "The Lady on whom it was made, is one of the finest women in Scotland" in a letter to George Thomson, enclosing one of the two dozen or so songs that he wrote for her. They first met when she was a teenager through his excise duties bringing him to their farm.
Whistle and I'll Come to You is a BBC television drama adaptation based on the 1904 ghost story "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" by writer M. R. James. The story tells the tale of an introverted academic who happens upon a strange whistle while exploring a Knights Templar cemetery on the East Anglian coast. When blown, the whistle unleashes a supernatural force that terrorises its discoverer. It was screened on BBC Two during the 2010 Christmas television season. The film was written by Neil Cross and directed by Andy de Emmony, stars John Hurt in the lead role. This adaptation removes the whistle of the original James story but hints at Robert Burns' original Scottish folk song "Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad", which Hurt's character recites at the beginning of the story to his wife and is played over the end credits.
Edward Whigham (1750–1823) was the landlord of a coaching inn, a bailie, Provost of Sanquhar, bibliophile and one of Robert Burns's close friends during his Nithsdale and Dumfries days. Edward married Jane Osborne who died on 6 October 1846.
"The Haunted Dolls' House" (1923) is a short story by M. R. James, collected by him in A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories (1925). It was commissioned by Queen Mary, wife of George V, as a miniature book for her famous Dolls' House, which can still be seen in Windsor Castle. It is in many ways a typical James story, thematically linked to other works of his, especially "The Mezzotint". Though usually considered a story for adults, it has also been claimed as children's fiction.
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.
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Data from Wikidata
"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" public domain audiobook at LibriVox