A School Story

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"A School Story"
More Ghost Stories - MR James.jpg
AuthorM. R. James
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Horror
Publication date1911

"A School Story" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his collection More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.

Plot summary[]

Two men are discussing the folklore of the private schools they attended. One tells of a Latin teacher named Mr. Sampson who kept a Byzantine coin that he would show his students. The narrator's friend gives the teacher a strange message in Latin which translates to "remember the well among the four yews",[1] though he doesn't know why he wrote it. Later another paper shows up translating to "If you don't come to me, I'll come to you",[2] and it visibly worries Sampson. Later at night the narrator's friend sees a man sitting on Sampson's window-sill, but when he returns with the narrator he's gone. Sampson is missing the next day. Years later a body is found - with Sampson's coin - in a well that sits between four trees.

References[]

  1. ^ James, M.R. (1993). Collected ghost stories (Repr. ed.). Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth. p. 100. ISBN 1853260533.
  2. ^ James, M.R. (1993). Collected ghost stories (Repr. ed.). Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth. p. 101. ISBN 1853260533.

External links[]


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