Cheerfully festive letters shared among friends. The mood quickly turns grim, however, when a popular clergyman goes missing without a trace. Finding out the unsettling circumstances, a search leads toward a bizarre, grotesque Punch and Judy show; a seemingly low-brow spectacle that hints at a far darker, ritualistic plot behind the clergyman's vanishing. The mystery connects academic curiosity, strange portents, and a horrific final truth.
From the mind of M. R. James, the acknowledged master who redefined the ghost story for the 20th century and founded the 'antiquarian ghost story' genre, comes a chilling tale of insidious evil hidden behind the mundane.
This story is a quintessential example of James' genius for building palpable creeping dread from ordinary social life, making it essential reading for fans of classic ghost stories and supernatural fiction, and proving that the most terrifying evil often wears a deceptively normal mask.