Publisher's Synopsis
What if prying one ancient relic from the sands could unleash a relentless apparition determined to bury you beside it?
First published in 1925, A Warning to the Curious remains one of M. R. James's most haunting explorations of guilt and supernatural vengeance. This expanded modern edition preserves every chilling nuance of James's original prose while carefully refining archaic language for the twenty-first-century reader, allowing the story's creeping dread to speak with newfound clarity.
Within these pages you will encounter:
- The Last Crown of Anglia - Trace the blood-stained legend of three royal treasures and discover why the final crown still lies beneath Seaburgh's lonely sandhills-watched over by something that never sleeps.
- A Solitary Seaside Town - Feel the bite of North Sea winds, the hiss of shingle underfoot, and the hush of deserted churchyards where secrets are whispered by salt-stung grass.
- Paxton's Fatal Curiosity - Follow a well-meaning researcher whose excitement at historical discovery slowly curdles into paranoia, terror, and inevitable doom.
- Jamesian Storytelling at Its Peak - Experience the master's trademark blend of scholarly detail, understated horror, and narrative restraint that allows dread to bloom in the reader's imagination.
- Context & Legacy - A concise afterword explores the story's influence on later ghost fiction, radio dramas, and BBC's famed Ghost Story for Christmas adaptations.
Richly atmospheric and impeccably paced, this edition is perfect for lovers of gothic fiction, folk horror, and anyone who has ever wondered what stirs beneath England's oldest ruins. Open the book-if you must-but remember the inscription carved into Seaburgh's church gate: "Qui Avertit Caput, Illum Sequitur." He who takes the crown shall be followed.
