Casting the Runes: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox short story <!--See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]]--> |
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}{{Infobox short story <!--See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]]--> |
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| name = Casting the Runes |
| name = Casting the Runes |
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| image = [[File:More Ghost Stories - MR James.jpg|200x285px]] |
| image = [[File:More Ghost Stories - MR James.jpg|200x285px]] |
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| language = [[English language|English]] |
| language = [[English language|English]] |
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| series = |
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| genre = [[Horror fiction|Horror]] |
| genre = [[Horror fiction|Horror]] |
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| pub_date = 1911 |
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[[File:Église Saint-Vulfran d'Abbeville-3339.jpg|thumb|The Abbeville church where the story's antagonist met his justice |
[[File:Église Saint-Vulfran d'Abbeville-3339.jpg|thumb|The Abbeville church where the story's antagonist met his justice]] |
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"'''Casting the Runes'''" is a short story written by the English writer [[M.R. James]]. It was first published in 1911 as the fourth story in ''[[More Ghost Stories]]'', which was James' second collection of [[ghost story|ghost stories]]. |
"'''Casting the Runes'''" is a short story written by the English writer [[M.R. James]]. It was first published in 1911 as the fourth story in ''[[More Ghost Stories]]'', which was James' second collection of [[ghost story|ghost stories]]. |
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==Plot summary== |
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Mr. Edward Dunning is a researcher for the British Museum. At the beginning of the story he has recently reviewed ''The Truth of Alchemy'' by |
Mr. Edward Dunning is a researcher for the British Museum. At the beginning of the story he has recently reviewed ''The Truth of Alchemy'' by Mr. Karswell, an alchemist and occultist. Afterwards, he begins seeing the name John Harrington displayed wherever he goes. He learns that Harrington also reviewed Karswell's work and died in a freak accident not long after. |
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Harrington's brother helps Dunning discover that Karswell [[curse]]d both men by slipping them a piece of paper with some runes on it. They deduce that the curse, once cast, will cause the bearer to die in three months. They track down Karswell a day before the curse is set to kill Dunning and manage to return the runes to him. Karswell dies the next day, killed by a stone that falls from scaffolding around St. Wulfram's Church in [[Abbeville]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=James|first1=M.R.|title=Collected ghost stories|date=1993|publisher=Wordsworth|location=Ware, Hertfordshire|isbn=1853260533|pages=128–145|edition=Repr.}}</ref> |
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==Adaptations== |
==Adaptations== |
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The 1957 film ''[[Night of the Demon]]'' (directed by [[Jacques Tourneur]]) is an adaption of this story.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stafford|first1=Jeff|title=Curse of the Demon (1957)|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/72018/Curse-of-the-Demon/|website=TCM|accessdate=2015-02-19}}</ref> In this version, the central character is called Dr John Holden (played by [[Dana Andrews]]) |
The 1957 film ''[[Night of the Demon]]'' (directed by [[Jacques Tourneur]]) is an adaption of this story.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stafford|first1=Jeff|title=Curse of the Demon (1957)|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/72018/Curse-of-the-Demon/|website=TCM|accessdate=2015-02-19}}</ref> In this version, the central character is called Dr John Holden (played by [[Dana Andrews]]). Holden is an American [[psychologist]] who plans to expose occultist Julian Karswell ([[Niall MacGinnis]]) as a [[charlatan]], only to discover that Karswell's powers are real and that he has put a curse on Holden. |
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The story has been adapted twice for British television. The first was in 1968 as an episode of the anthology series ''[[Mystery and Imagination]]'' (Season 3, episode 1, 1968) with [[John Fraser (actor)|John Fraser]] as Dunning and [[Robert Eddison]] as Karswell. In 1979, the story was adapted again as an episode of ''[[ITV Playhouse]]'' (Season 11, episode 9). In the 1979 version, the central protagonist is a woman, Prudence Dunning (played by [[Jan Francis]]), the producer of an investigative television programme which is critical of an occultist named Karswell (played by [[Iain Cuthbertson]]), and soon finds that Karswell has a curse put upon her. No complete copies of the 1968 version are known to exist, but the 1979 version has been released on DVD. |
The story has been adapted twice for British television. The first was in 1968 as an episode of the anthology series ''[[Mystery and Imagination]]'' (Season 3, episode 1, 1968) with [[John Fraser (actor)|John Fraser]] as Dunning and [[Robert Eddison]] as Karswell. In 1979, the story was adapted again as ''[[Casting the Runes (1979 film)|Casting the Runes]]'', an episode of ''[[ITV Playhouse]]'' (Season 11, episode 9). In the 1979 version, the central protagonist is a woman, Prudence Dunning (played by [[Jan Francis]]), the producer of an investigative television programme which is critical of an occultist named Karswell (played by [[Iain Cuthbertson]]), and soon finds that Karswell has a curse put upon her. No complete copies of the 1968 version are known to exist, but the 1979 version has been released on DVD. |
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"Casting the Runes" has also been adapted several times for radio. The first was in 1947 by [[CBS]] for their radio series ''[[Escape (radio program)|Escape]]''. CBS produced a second version in 1974 for their ''[[CBS Radio Mystery Theater]]'' show. In 1981, [[BBC Radio 4]] produced a loose adaptation called "The Hex". |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*{{Wikisource-inline|single=true}} |
*{{Wikisource-inline|single=true}} |
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* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/m-r-james/short-fiction|Display Name=An omnibus collection of James's short fiction|noitalics=true}} |
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*[http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/134 Full text of "Casting the Runes"] |
*[http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/134 Full text of "Casting the Runes"] |
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*{{librivox book|title=Casting the Runes|author=M. R. James}} |
*{{librivox book|title=Casting the Runes|author=M. R. James}} |
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{{Works of M.R. James}} |
{{Works of M.R. James}} |
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[[Category:1911 short stories]] |
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[[Category:Short stories adapted into films]] |
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[[Category:Short stories by M. R. James]] |
[[Category:Short stories by M. R. James]] |
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[[Category:Horror short stories]] |
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[[Category:Fiction about alchemy]] |
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[[Category:Fiction about curses]] |
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[[Category:1979 British television episodes]] |
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[[Category:1981 radio dramas]] |
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[[Category:1974 radio dramas]] |
Revision as of 09:12, 23 February 2024
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
"Casting the Runes" | |
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Short story by M.R. James | |
![]() | |
Land | England |
Sprache | Englisch |
Genre(s) | Horror |
Publication | |
Publication date | 1911 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/%C3%89glise_Saint-Vulfran_d%27Abbeville-3339.jpg/220px-%C3%89glise_Saint-Vulfran_d%27Abbeville-3339.jpg)
"Casting the Runes" is a short story written by the English writer M.R. James. It was first published in 1911 as the fourth story in More Ghost Stories, which was James' second collection of ghost stories.
Plot summary
Mr. Edward Dunning is a researcher for the British Museum. At the beginning of the story he has recently reviewed The Truth of Alchemy by Mr. Karswell, an alchemist and occultist. Afterwards, he begins seeing the name John Harrington displayed wherever he goes. He learns that Harrington also reviewed Karswell's work and died in a freak accident not long after.
Harrington's brother helps Dunning discover that Karswell cursed both men by slipping them a piece of paper with some runes on it. They deduce that the curse, once cast, will cause the bearer to die in three months. They track down Karswell a day before the curse is set to kill Dunning and manage to return the runes to him. Karswell dies the next day, killed by a stone that falls from scaffolding around St. Wulfram's Church in Abbeville.[1]
Adaptations
The 1957 film Night of the Demon (directed by Jacques Tourneur) is an adaption of this story.[2] In this version, the central character is called Dr John Holden (played by Dana Andrews). Holden is an American psychologist who plans to expose occultist Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis) as a charlatan, only to discover that Karswell's powers are real and that he has put a curse on Holden.
The story has been adapted twice for British television. The first was in 1968 as an episode of the anthology series Mystery and Imagination (Season 3, episode 1, 1968) with John Fraser as Dunning and Robert Eddison as Karswell. In 1979, the story was adapted again as Casting the Runes, an episode of ITV Playhouse (Season 11, episode 9). In the 1979 version, the central protagonist is a woman, Prudence Dunning (played by Jan Francis), the producer of an investigative television programme which is critical of an occultist named Karswell (played by Iain Cuthbertson), and soon finds that Karswell has a curse put upon her. No complete copies of the 1968 version are known to exist, but the 1979 version has been released on DVD.
"Casting the Runes" has also been adapted several times for radio. The first was in 1947 by CBS for their radio series Escape. CBS produced a second version in 1974 for their CBS Radio Mystery Theater show. In 1981, BBC Radio 4 produced a loose adaptation called "The Hex".
References
- ^ James, M.R. (1993). Collected ghost stories (Repr. ed.). Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth. pp. 128–145. ISBN 1853260533.
- ^ Stafford, Jeff. "Curse of the Demon (1957)". TCM. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
External links
The full text of Casting the Runes at Wikisource
- An omnibus collection of James's short fiction at Standard Ebooks
- Full text of "Casting the Runes"
Casting the Runes public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- Alternative LibriVox reading of the story
- A Podcast to the Curious: Episode 12a - Casting the Runes