The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral | A Ghost Story by M. R. James | Narrated by Simon Stanhope скачать в хорошем качестве

The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral | A Ghost Story by M. R. James | Narrated by Simon Stanhope

When Dr. Haynes is appointed Archdeacon of Barchester, his zeal and enthusiasm is in marked contrast with his elderly predecessor. But he has something on his conscience, and the grotesque carved figures in the choir stalls appear to seek retribution for his sins... The story starts at 00:01:10 Narrated/performed by Simon Stanhope. Note for returning listeners who think you may have heard this one before: you may have. My 2020 recording was previously available on the channel, but this version has been re-recorded with higher quality audio and to correct numerous processing and editing errors. If you enjoy this content and would like to help me keep creating, there are a few ways you can support me (and get access to exclusive content): Occasional/one-off support via Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/bitesize... Monthly support on Patreon:   / bitesizedaudio   Donate via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted... Visit my Bandcamp page to hear more of my performances of classic stories, and you can purchase and download high quality audio files to listen offline: https://bitesizedaudio.bandcamp.com/ Become a Bitesized Audio Classics member on YouTube, from $1 / £1 / €1 per month:    / bitesizedaudioclassics   00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:10 The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral 00:46:06 Credits, thanks and further listening This is one of a series of the ghost stories of M. R. James I've narrated for this channel; you can hear the others on this playlist:    • M. R. James Ghost Stories   Or for a selection of Victorian ghost stories by various authors, including Charles Dickens, Amelia Edwards, Edith Nesbit, H. G. Wells, and many more:    • Victorian Ghost Stories   About the author: Montague Rhodes James (1862–1936) was a medievalist and scholar, and is probably the best known and most celebrated English ghost story writer of the 20th century, although he actually began composing supernatural tales in the late Victorian era, beginning with 'Canon Alberic's Scrapbook' and 'Lost Hearts' (both 1893). He was born in Kent, but spent most of his childhood in Suffolk, a county which features prominently in many of his stories, including 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'. Several of James's protagonists also reflect his own antiquarian interests, with academics and historians featuring regularly. James published four volumes of ghost stories in his lifetime: 'Ghost Stories of an Antiquary' (1904), 'More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary' (1911), 'A Thin Ghost and Others' (1919) and 'A Warning to the Curious and Other Stories' (1925). During a long academic career which encompassed several positions at King's College, Cambridge, and Eton College, M. R. James developed a tradition of reading his ghost stories aloud to a group of friends, most famously on Christmas eve, and the majority of his published stories were first heard in that setting. 'The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral' first appeared in issue number 35 of the Contemporary Review in 1910, and was subsequently republished in 'More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary', James's second collection of short stories, in 1911. The cathedral city of Barchester is fictional, but notably it was the name chosen by Anthony Trollope as the setting for his Chronicles of Barsetshire (1855–1867). The story was selected by Lawrence Gordon Clark to be the first instalment of the BBC's 'A Ghost Story for Christmas', broadcast on 24 December 1971. This recording © Bitesized Audio 2026