Montague Rhodes James is cited as perhaps the greatest English writer of ghost stories an opinion few would disagree with.<p><p>James was born on 1st August 1862 at Goodnestone Parsonage in Kent where his father was Curate but at age 3 the family went to live at Livermere near Bury St Edmunds in East Anglia. <p><p>From early childhood he had a passion for mediaeval books and antiques. He was educated initially as a boarder at Temple Grove School in East Sheen west London before gaining a scholarship to Eton and thence Cambridge where he gained a double first becoming a distinguished linguist and mediaevalist. <p><p>Before the Great War vacations were usually spent touring Europe absorbing cultures and references for his later writing.<p><p>A man of enormous knowledge it was said he timed his breakfast egg whilst he completed the Times crossword. <p><p>Many of his elegant yet terrifying tales were created by discarding the prevailing gothic cliches and placing his characters and narrative in a realistic setting. Thereby the stories gained atmosphere and menace on a grand scale and he was famed as the originator of the antiquarian ghost story.<p><p>Although story-telling and writing these 30 or so tales was a hobby when published their effect transformed the genre and still chill the bones in our more modern times.<p><p>James was also a medievalist scholar and translator whose work remains highly respected. He was also Provost of Eton College between 1918 and 1936.<p><p>M R James died on 12th June 1936 at Eton in Buckinghamshire. He was 73. <p><p>His classic story ‘Whistle and I’ll Come to You My Lad’ exquisitely reveals how a young professor on holiday chances on a buried whistle and folklore becomes terrifying fact.