In homage to the victorian tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas, Blue Orange Arts are bringing two classic tales to the stage.
M.R. James: Casting the Runes
Casting the Runes by M.R. James is a chilling supernatural tale about Edward Dunning, a scholar who unknowingly becomes the target of a vengeful occultist named Karswell. After Dunning criticizes Karswell’s paper on alchemy, Karswell uses a cursed parchment to mark him for death.
As mysterious and terrifying events unfold, Dunning discovers the truth and races against time to pass the deadly runes back to Karswell before the curse claims him. Blending academic skepticism with creeping horror, the story masterfully builds suspense and exemplifies James’s signature style of understated, scholarly ghost fiction. It was first published in 1911.
Charles Dickens: The Signalman
Charles Dickens’ classic ghost story. When a traveller chances upon a solitary railway signalman he is drawn into a tale of ghostly premonitions, tragic occurrences and human solitude that echoes the contrasting Victorian feelings towards the nascent railway system.
Published in 1866 Dickens likely based the story on the incident of the Clayton Tunnel crash that occurred 5 years prior, at the time it was the worst accident on the British railway system. A train ran into the back of another inside the tunnel, killing 23 and injuring 176 passengers.
Beware the ringing of the signalman’s bell!
