For October 8
Plot:
The story opens with an exchange of letters in which the secretary of the “—Association” tells Mr. Karswell the Association has, after careful consideration, declined to accept his paper, “The Truth of Alchemy.”
Mr. Karswell wants to know who’s responsible for the decision. The secretary tells him that he cannot possibly tell him the name of the person or persons who read his paper and politely adds that he will not respond to any further inquiries on the matter.
Later, the secretary talks to his wife about the letters and calls Mr. Karswell an angry man. The only person qualified to read Mr. Karwell’s paper concluded it was “hopeless.”
The Secretary and his missus leave for a prearranged lunch with friends who live in the same area as Mr. Karswell. The wife (Florence) plans to ask—politely, subtly—if they know him and find out what kind of person he is.
Before Florence can broach the subject, the friend tells her husband she saw the “Abbot of Lufford” coming out of the British Museum gate. He’s not a real Abbot, she quickly adds. They call him that because he bought Lufford Abbey a few years ago. “His real name is Karswell.”
They tell them all about him: Nobody knew what he did with himself. His servants were a horrible set of people; he had invented a new religion and practiced no one could tell what appalling rites; he was easily offended and never forgave anybody; he had a dreadful face (so the lady insisted, her husband somewhat demurring); and never did a kind action—whatever influence he did exert was malicious.
The year before, he gave a magic lantern show for the village kidlets and scared the bejesus out of them.
The Secretary is starting to remember something… an unfortunate John Harrington wrote a scathing review of Karwell’s earlier book, History of Witchcraft. Didn’t he die some years ago breaking his neck after falling from a tree?
His host confirms this and asks, “Was [the book] as bad as it was made out to be?”
“Oh, in point of style and form, quite hopeless. It deserved all the pulverizing it got. But besides that, it was an evil book.”
The reader then follows Mr. Dunning—the one person qualified to read Mr. Karwells’ paper—on his trip to the British Museum.
On the train, Mr. Dunning sees an ad reading: “In memory of John Harrington, F.S.A, of the Laurels. Ashbrooke. Died Sept. 18, 1889. Three months were allowed.”
While he’s at the museum, he drops a bunch of papers. He thought he’d picked them all up, but a helpful stranger hands him one more.
Thoughts:
This story may not be M. R. James’ most memorable, but the author gives the reader a nice contrast between the light-hearted gentility of the chatter of the two couples and the relentless vindictiveness of the bad guy. Even the magic lantern show, which reveals his petty meanness—scaring the neighborhood munchkins with images of nasty things prowling his woods and preying on unwary children so they’ll stay off his property—shows a Snidely Whiplash aspect to this character that is vicious and laughable at the same time. I mean, come on, dude, you put a lot of effort into terrorizing children because they annoy you. You really got nothing better to do?
Were he not responsible for a man’s death, the reader could indeed laugh. The author goes out of his way to show that not only is the bad guy a spiteful bastard—he’s a bad writer who can’t take no for an answer.
Could he possibly have someone in mind? Perhaps someone like occultist and author Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)?
The ending is satisfying if contrived. The bad guy gets his comeuppance
Bio: M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James (1862-1936) was a linguist and biblical scholar. He was Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, and later of Eton. He told ghost stories to his fellow dons at Christmas. His tales tend to find the supernatural in the everyday, unlike the earlier gothic tales, which focus on atmosphere—graveyards, abandoned houses, weather, etc. Among his most well-known is “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad.”
The story can be read here:
The story can be listened to here: (Librivox):(53:57)
Title: “Casting the Runes”
Author: M. R. James (1862-1936)
First published: More Ghost Stories, 1911
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 
I have to admit I have not heard of Casting the Runes before, but it sounds intriguing. You presented it very nicely and wrote a great review.
Thank you for your kind words. I don’t think it’s one of James’s most well-known stories.