Diary of Mr. Poynter (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

The Diary of Mr. Poynter follows a scholar who acquires a simple, innocuous scrap of fabric design; a seemingly harmless illustration torn from a discarded old volume. But this pattern carries with it a malignant presence from the past. Slowly and subtly, the spectral force attached to the design begins to invade the scholar's quiet, rational home. As the design becomes an obsessive fixation and the atmosphere turns cold, the scholar realises he has invited a genuine, palpable terror into his life.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 haunting.This story is a quintessential example of James' genius for building creeping dread from mundane objects, making it essential reading for fans of classic ghost stories and supernatural fiction, proving that the most terrifying haunts are often the quiet, calculating ones.