Episode 3 sees us tackle ‘The Mezzotint’ by M.R. James and delve into the world of sinister collectable artwork of a kind not often featured on the Antiques Roadshow. In this episode: Terror! Art! Golf! Alternative endings! How NOT to choose a babysitter! Mike gets all sentimental about his university days. Will moans a lot and bellows “In your FACE Cambridge!” Many thanks to our excellent reader Rob Douglas and to Stephen Gray of Thin-Ghost.org for providing the monstrous mezzotint photo above. Links: Hauntography: The Mezzotint Read the excellent commentary on ‘The Mezzotint’ by Tom at Freaky Trigger, including an interesting mezzotint-as-comic-strip interpretation. Art in Horror Fiction Interesting exploration of how art has been used as a plot device in horror fiction. Golf as a Metaphor in the Ghost Stories of M.R. James An extended essay looking at the role golf plays in various M.R. James stories, namely ‘Oh Whistle…’, ‘The Mezzotint’ and ‘The Rose Garden’. Topographical Drawings at the British Library The British Library contains a large collection of topographical drawings of the kind Mr. Williams curated. Canterbury College, Oxford James refers to the setting as ‘Canterbury College’, which existed up until the disillusion of the monasteries in the 16th Century but not at the time this story is set. Annesley Hall, Nottinghamshire Anningley Hall in Essex is not a real place. However there is an Annesley Hall in Nottinghamshire, built in the 13th Century and with a fairly spooky past of its own!

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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