Casting the Runes by M.R. James

Casting the Runes is a short story that first appeared in the collection More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James in 1911. I will also be discussing, though in less detail, the 1957 film Night of the Demon which was based on the story.

Written review below. Video review here:

The story starts with some letters. And boy howdy is it confusing. First off, it’s one sided so you only are getting replies of denied submission. Second, for some reason, in the letter, the association name is blank. Council of the —— Association. So, we don’t even have the context of who the submission is for to help us understand. Third, I don’t know if the man responding is the secretary or his name is last name is Secretary. It’s capitalized and his wife is referred to as Mrs. Secretary. I’ve noticed with these creepy stories from the late 1800s, early 1900s is that they often start very convoluted. You are introduced to people who you think will be the characters in the story but are actually a vehicle for the story being told. I assume it is a written form of the fireside story which before cheap pulps and magazines was how people told these tales. It is jarring for a modern reader, and I’ve learned that it’s best to just go with the flow. Don’t try to figure it out as it’s happening, just keep reading and it will eventually make sense…in hindsight.

So, our antagonist and I think, main character is Mr. Karswell. He is a grumpy eccentric who submits a paper called The Truth of Alchemy to the Council of the —— Association which is denied. He is upset and wants the name of the man who denied him. That man’s name is Mr. Dunning.

Everything is told second hand. If this was a court of law none of it would be inadmissible. This is what his neighbors have to say about Karswell: Nobody knew what he did with himself: his servants were a horrible set of people; he had invented a new religion for himself, and practiced, no one could tell, what appalling rites; he was very easily offended, and never forgave anybody: he had a dreadful face, he never did a kind action, and whatever influence he did exert was mischievous.

It is later revealed that Karswell also wrote a book called - History of Witchcraft and at one point, in order to keep the children out of his yard he invited all the neighborhood kids to his house to show them a lantern slide in which he showed them gruesome realistic images and did spooky noises. The last few slides were of a boy on his property being chased by a horrible hopping creature in white who eventually catches up to the little boy and tears him to pieces.

A story is told of a scathing review that Karswell received for his book History of Witchcraft by a man named John Harrington. Harrington later died in a freak accident where he fell from a tree branch. What was he doing up there? It looked like some manner of beast had been chasing him.

So, as you can see, Mr. Dunning, the man whom rejected Karswell’s paper, may have some trouble coming for him.

The story switches to Dunning’s perspective and here is where I feel the main narrative starts. He sees an advertisement on the train that states, “In memory of John Harrington, F.S.A., of The Laurels Ashbrooke. Died Sept. 18th, 1889. Three months were allowed." He finds it upsetting and inquires about it. After getting in contact with the company’s ad man he is told that no advertisement like that has been submitted so they have no idea how it got there and even more mysterious, the ad has disappear.

While doing research in the Select Manuscript Room of the British Museum he hears someone whispering his name. He quickly turns to look and in the process knocks all of his papers off the desk. He picks them up and is tapped on the shoulder. A man standing there hands him a paper, “May I give you this? I think it should be yours.” Dunning thanks him and later on we learn from the library assistant that the man’s name was Karswell. Oh no! He knows exactly who the man is and has no desire to have further contact.

Alone at home that night in bed Dunning hears the door to his study door opening. He gets out of bed to have a look. I guess “an economical suburban company had decided that their light would not be required in the small hours, and had stopped working, or else something was wrong with the meter.” AKA the lights aren’t working.

He gets back in bed and when he reaches under the pillow and he finds “a mouth, with teeth, and with hair about it, and, he declares, not the mouth of a human being.”

Dunning’s sanity starts to crack. He consults with some friends. He brings up Harrington and the strange ad. His friend states that he should find the brother of Harrington as the man as stated that he suspected something amiss in his brother’s death.

Harrington’s brother Henry tells of his brother receiving a piece of paper from a strange man during a concert he was playing. Upon looking at said paper later on that night he saw that it contained Runes. They quickly go to research Dunning’s Rune paper. The two decide that the evil is in the paper, and to have ownership of it means death. They now realize that they must give the paper back to Karswell to break the curse.

And there it is. Can the two men get the paper back into Karswell’s hands?

So yeah, some fascinating concepts going on here. M.R. James was a medievalist scholar who was known for throwing ancient folklore into his ghost stories. I love the idea of a cursed paper being passed but the acceptor having to willingly accept it. Also, I couldn’t help but notice similarities with the movie The Ring. Person receives cursed item and has a countdown to their ultimate demise unless they can pass it on.

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t have too many visually creepy moments other than the demonic beast face that is only hinted at under his pillow. It’s even creepier as it’s physically impossible, which gives it a real otherworldly feel. I guess there is also the creaking door opening to his study in the middle of the night and the images of the monster in white following the boy in the picture slides and then tearing him to pieces. That visual is super unsettling. But all three were slight mentions of the horror. There is an ominous dread but with the story being so short it really doesn’t have time to build or fully develop.

The movie on the other hand amps up the visuals with the iconic giant demon. At its core it’s almost the exact same plot only more concise at the beginning and way more fleshed out. They change Dunning into a psychologist from the United States named Dr John Holden, who is in town to debunk Karswell. He is a Houdini type character who travels around demystifying the occult by exposing and explaining how they do it.

Holden doesn’t believe in magic, hexes or witchcraft. The characters in the short story do believe in the existence of black magic. In fact, they take it very seriously. I think it makes the story more rich to have the protagonist not believe in it so that way as the story goes they are talking you into it also. If you went into reading the short story and were a skeptic it makes the threat feel less threatening.

Some other changes in the movie include; they make Harrington’s brother a sister, so there could be a woman in the story. That was a good move. In the scene with the neighborhood kids party he isn’t scaring them on purpose, it’s just a regular party and he’s dressed like a clown. He does cause a wicked windstorm but that’s only to show Holden that he’s for real. Karswell’s mother is in it and she’s very ambiguous as to whose side she is on, which is kind of a weird addition but it does give them the opportunity to set up a séance scene which was fun.

So, yeah. Read the story first it’s only twenty pages long. It’s a public domain story so it’s everywhere. I’ll put a link for one of the online postings. The movie is also available for free on youtube. I’ll put that in the description also. If you are looking for an old school creepy story with occult flavor this is it. And the movie is pure old school black and white comfort. Sometimes movies from that era can be a bit slow with too much dialogue but Night of the Demon is perfectly balanced. And wait until you see that demon. It’s iconic for a reason.