While researching church history in Denmark, Mr. Anderson notices that the inn where he is staying has no room numbered 13. Or does it...? One of the best known ghost stories by M. R. James, first heard at Christmas 1899. The story starts at 00:01:20

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00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:20 Number 13
00:44:33 Credits, thanks and further listening

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 Scrap-Book' (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.

In his preface to 'Ghost Stories of an Antiquary', the first volume of his stories to be published in book form, in 1904, M. R. James states that "I wrote 'Number 13' in 1899", which implies that it was first heard performed at the Christmas gathering that year.

Some notes on the text:
– "The old terrier of the Bishop’s property" mentioned by the Archivist: "terrier" is an historical term for an inventory or catalogue of assets, in this case belonging to the church.
– The Latin words from the Psalter, taken from Psalm 150, quoted by Herr Jensen, "omnis spiritus laudet Dominum", translates roughly as: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Recording © Bitesized Audio 2023.

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