The great M. R. James is the undisputed master of the ghost story. So what happened when he set his sights on writing a fairy tale? Nothing less than eerily bewitching magic? Here is a fascinating journey into a world none of us mere mortals can usually see: a world of weird enchantment, where all is not as it seems, where fantastic beauty is commonplace, where strange beings are hidden just out of sight everywhere, and yet disturbing danger lurks around every corner? Told in James? matter-of-fact prose, this journey into the unknown stirs rich colours into a cloud of imaginative fancy, stunningly creating an alternative world, just next to ours, which is both captivating and eerie. This edition contains 7 evocative illustrations by Gilbert James, which are precursors, in their combination of fine line-work and otherworldly atmosphere, to the work of Edward Gorey.