Show Notes
This episode Mike and Will grab their torches and disappear up ‘The Tudor Chimney’ by A.N.L. Munby. But what is that shape moving up above? Meh, it’s probably nothing.
Thanks to Debbie Wedge for providing the readings for this episode!
In this episode, we also mention Will’s new project DarkOxfordshire.co.uk, which explores the darker side of Oxfordshire’s history, including ghosts, legends, murders and mayhem!
Story notes:
The Tudor Chimney by A.N.L. Munby (Archive.org)
Contrary to what we say in the episode, this story can in fact be read online for free! Thanks to Zach Forn for sharing the link with us.
The Alabaster Hand by A.N.L. Munby (Sundial Press)
Munby’s only volume of ghost stories is currently out of print and consequently rather hard to get hold of unless you have very deep pockets. However, Sundial Press are due to publish an affordably priced paperback to follow their recent hardback edition very soon.
A.N.L. Munby book collector, academic and ghost story writer (jot101.com)
This article republishes an article written in tribute to Munby that was published in 1975, a year after Munby’s death, and contains some entertaining details about his life and personality.
The story location (Google Maps)
In the story, Munby describes the location of the hall as being located between Lambourn and Wantage. The villages of Letcombe Bassett and Letcombe Regis seem likely candidates. Other locations that may have provided inspiration include Crowsley Park and Lambourn Place (check out those chimneys!)
More from A Podcast to the Curious - The M.R. James Podcast
This episode Mike and Will examine Curfew by Lucy M. Boston, a childhood tale of haunted bells, unearthed coffins and post-Jamesian highjinx aplenty.
M.R. James said that sex had no place in a ghost story. But was he right? This episode we attempt to answer this question and more, as we cover The Nature of the Evidence by May Sinclair, a tale from 1923 about a couple who just want to enjoy their wedding night. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, yes.
Hold on to your mummy! This episode Mike and Will discuss Mark Gatiss’s recent Ghost Story for Christmas TV adaptation Lot 249, as well as the Arthur Conan Doyle short story it is based on.
This episode, Mike and Will grab their literary toboggans and gallop joyously out into the snow, only to be hit in the face by a terrifying fictional snowball in the form of Louisa Baldwin’s The Real and the Counterfeit!
Who would win in a fight between a man and a bed? Find the answer to this question and more in our new episode on The Weird of the Walfords by Louisa Baldwin! Also, if you like emotionally-repressed Victorian husbands, you will not leave disappointed.