Casting the Runes (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

John Harrington Karswell is an outwardly charming but profoundly sinister occultist and alchemist. When a cautious academic, Mr. Dunning, prepares to publish a scathing review of Karswell's work, he is subtly given a strange, inconspicuous piece of paper inscribed with cryptic runes. Dunning soon discovers that Karswell uses these inscriptions to inflict a fatal, year-long curse on his critics. As the supernatural threat intensifies--manifesting as a grotesque, hairy fiend--Dunning must race against time and cold logic to understand the mechanism of the curse and find a way to return the deadly missive to its sender before his final hour arrives.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 one of his most famous and terrifying tales of deliberate malice.This story is a quintessential example of James' genius for combining scholarly investigation with palpable, creeping dread. It is essential reading for fans of classic ghost stories and supernatural fiction, proving that some reviews come at a terrifying price.