Review of “Count Magnus” by M. R. James: Halloween Countdown

Plot:

The story’s narrator says he has come into possession of some papers belonging to Mr. Wraxall, a traveler and writer of travel guides. In the early summer of 1863, Mr. Wraxall sets off to explore Sweden. At the time, most Britons considered Scandinavia to be a backwater.

Snobs.

He spends time conducting research at a herrgård (manor house) called Råbäck, located outside Stockholm. The estate dates to around 1600 and was built by the De la Gardie family, whose descendants still reside there.

Mr. Wraxall notices a portrait of De la Gardie ancestor, Magnus, and calls him an “almost phenomenally ugly man.” He inquires of the innkeeper where he’s staying about what the local lore says regarding what kind of man Count Magnus was.

He is not a favorite. He tortured and beat tenants for showing up late to work. Once or twice, a house with all inside burned down if it was on land the count wanted. The count also made the Black Pilgrimage and brought back something or someone.

When Mr. Wraxall asks what the Black Pilgrimage is, the innkeeper becomes busy elsewhere.

Nearby, the eight-sided mausoleum of the De la Gardie ancestors stands next to a church. The church is open, but the mausoleum is locked.

“Ah, Count Magnus, there you are. I should dearly like to see you,” Mr. Wraxall says to the mausoleum.

Really? Dude, maybe all that blåbärssoppa (blueberry/bilberry soup) didn’t agree with you?

Nevertheless, Mr. Wraxall glances inside the mausoleum and sees statues and three coffins. Two have crosses atop them. The third has a bas-relief showing disturbing scenes of war, an execution, and a black-cloaked figure chasing a man into the woods.

Thoughts:

This story shares many similarities with other James stories I’ve read; a researcher, unknowingly, yet perhaps foolishly, awakens an ancient evil that comes back to haunt him. In most stories, the protagonist walks away a scared but wiser man, having escaped a close shave with evil and/or death.

The story begins slowly, letting the reader know that it will not end happily for Mr. Wraxall. This took the wind out of the sails for me. If you’re going to bore me, at least give the protagonist a fighting chance.

In all seriousness, it’s not that bad. Once the creepy stuff starts, it grows like a snowball rolling downhill, aimed at an innocent and unsuspecting victim at the bottom of the hill.

The innkeeper at last tells the gruesome story of a Black Pilgrimage without precisely defining it. When Mr. Wraxall gains entry to the De la Gardie mausoleum, he notices one of the three locks on the count’s coffin has dropped off. Hmmm….

James often includes some subtle humor in his stories. I didn’t see it here. If it is hidden in the cluelessness of the unfortunate Mr. Wraxall, that strikes me as simple cruelty rather than a deserving miscreant getting his comeuppance.

My feelings about the story are mixed. On the one hand, I liked the creepiness—on the other, I disliked the slow start and the cruel, undeserved fate of the main character.

Bio: M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James (1862-1936) was a British 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, and so on. His work was enormously influential. H. P. Lovecraft was among his admirers. Several of his stories have been adapted for television. Among his most well-known is “Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad.”


This story can be read here:

This story can be listened to here: (36:57)


Title: “Count Magnus”
Author: M. R. James (1862-1936)
First published: Ghost-Stories of an Antiquary, 1904
Length: short story