Short Fiction · Question
How does Short Fiction develop the theme of Supernatural and the Uncanny?
Answer
Short Fiction by M. R. James develops Supernatural and the Uncanny across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book is dominated by ghostly apparitions, cursed objects, and inexplicable events that intrude upon ordinary life, such as the changing mezzotint, the haunted library, and the spectral figures in various stories.
The terrifying sepia drawing of a demonic figure that causes horror and psychological distress.
Ghostly children with transparent hands and gaping wounds appear, and strange cries echo across the grounds, blurring the line between dream and reality.
The mezzotint's figure inexplicably changes position, moving from the edge to the center of the lawn, defying natural explanation.
Evidence in the book
- Canon Alberic's Scrapbook
The terrifying sepia drawing of a demonic figure that causes horror and psychological distress.
- Lost Hearts
Ghostly children with transparent hands and gaping wounds appear, and strange cries echo across the grounds, blurring the line between dream and reality.
- The Mezzotint
The mezzotint's figure inexplicably changes position, moving from the edge to the center of the lawn, defying natural explanation.
- The Ash-Tree
The mysterious deaths of Sir Matthew and Sir Richard Fell, the monstrous spiders, and the skeleton in the ash tree evoke a supernatural curse.
- Number 13
The mysterious absence and presence of Room 13, the shrinking room, the hissing breathing, and the missing portmanteau create an atmosphere of uncanny dread.
- Count Magnus
The Black Pilgrimage, the mysterious opening of Count Magnus's sarcophagus, and the relentless pursuit by cloaked figures embody the supernatural horror central to the chapter.
- Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad
The whistle's power to summon a ghostly figure and the eerie, blind entity that appears in Parkins's room embody the supernatural and uncanny.
- The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
The treasure is guarded by a ghostly, malevolent entity that manifests as a shapeless horror, embodying the uncanny.
