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The Ash-tree
"The Ash-tree" is a ghost story by British writer M.R. James, included in his 1904 collection '' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot summary In 1690, the English county of Suffolk is wracked with a fear of witches. Many girls and women are accused of casting spells and causing mayhem. One such accused woman is a Mrs. Mothersole, a wealthier noblewoman who has property of her own. The only evidence of her witchcraft are eyewitness accounts by Sir Matthew Fell, the owner of a local seat named Castringham. Outside his bedroom window grows a monstrous ash tree, where on moonlit nights he would sometimes supposedly see Mrs. Mothersole climbing the trunk and snipping branches with a dagger. She always escaped and disappeared before he could catch her. Despite her pleas, she is found guilty and hanged. Before the noose is pulled, she dully intones "There will be guests at the Hall". She is buried in the local graveyard. A few weeks later, Sir Matthew and the local vicar are walking ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary
''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' is a horror short story collection by British writer M. R. James, published in 1904 (some had previously appeared in magazines). Some later editions under this title contain both the original collection and its successor, ''More Ghost Stories'' (1911), combined in one volume. It was his first short story collection. Contents of the original edition * "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" * "Lost Hearts" * "The Mezzotint" * "The Ash-tree" * " Number 13" * "Count Magnus" * 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' * "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" Reception A. M. Burrage praised ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' and its successor, ''More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary'' as "two really admirable books of ghost stories". Burrage also described 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' as "a real gem".Burrage, A. M. "The Supernatural in Fiction", ''The Home Magazine'', October 1921. Reprinted in Burrage, ''Someone in the Room: Strange Tales Old and New'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Rudkin
James David Rudkin (born 29 June 1936) is an English playwright . Early life Rudkin was born in London. Coming from a family of strict evangelical Christians, he was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and read Mods and Greats at St Catherine's College, Oxford. Beginning to write during national service in the Royal Corps of Signals, Rudkin taught Latin, Greek and music at North Bromsgrove High School in Worcestershire until 1964,Biographical information on cover of ''The Triumph of Death'', Methuen 1981 and ''The Saxon Shore'', Methuen 1986 while also directing amateur theatre productions. Career Following the success of his first play ''Afore Night Come'' (1962), Rudkin translated works by Aeschylus, Roger Vitrac, the libretto of Schoenberg's '' Moses and Aaron'', and wrote the book to the Western Theatre Ballet's ''Sun into Darkness'' (Sadlers Wells 1963)John Russell Taylor ''Anger & After'', Methuen University Paperback, 1969 reprint, p.309 and the libretto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiction About Curses
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and context of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1904 Short Stories
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album ''63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album '' Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. * "Nineteen", a song by Tegan and Sara from the 2007 album '' The Con''. * "XIX" (song), a 2014 song by Slipknot. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Sessions
John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist on '' QI'', and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the UK and Hollywood. Early life John Sessions was born John Marshall on 11 January 1953, according to most sources in Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland. His family moved to Bedford, England, when he was three. His father was a gas engineer. He had an older brother, Bill, and a twin sister, Maggie. Education Sessions was educated at Bedford Modern School, an independent school for boys (now co-educational), and Verulam School, St Albans, followed by the University College of North Wales in Bangor, from which he graduated with an MA in English literature. At university, he had begun to appear to audiences with his comedy in shows such as "Look back in Bangor" and "Marshall Arts". He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reece Shearsmith
Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith (born 27 August 1969) is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for being a member of ''The League of Gentlemen'', alongside Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. With Pemberton, he later created, wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Psychoville'', as well as the dark comedy anthology series, ''Inside No. 9''. He has also had notable roles in ''Spaced'' and '' The World's End''. Early life Shearsmith was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, as Reeson Wayne Shearsmith. He attended Andrew Marvell High School and then Bretton Hall College of Education where he met Mark Gatiss and Steve Pemberton. Career 1995–2005: Career beginnings and ''The League of Gentlemen'' ''The League of Gentlemen'' began as a stage act in 1995, transferred to Radio 4 as ''On the Town with The League of Gentlemen'' in 1997 and then arrived on television on BBC Two in 1999. The latter saw Shearsmith and his colleagues awarded a British Acad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amanda Abbington
Amanda Abbington (born Amanda Jane Smith; 28 February 1974) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Miss Mardle in ''Mr Selfridge'' and Mary Watson in '' Sherlock'', the BBC adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Early life An only child, Abbington was brought up in Hertfordshire, England. Career She appeared in the TV series ''The Bill'' until 2007 playing various characters. During that time she also appeared in the TV series '' Wycliffe'', ''Casualty'', ''Dream Team'', ''The Sins'', '' Shades'', ''Doc Martin'', ''Coupling'', and ''Teachers''. She appeared in the 2005 comedy sketch show ''Man Stroke Woman'' and the 2007–2008 comedy '' After You've Gone'' with Nicholas Lyndhurst. She has also appeared in recurring series such as ''Bernard's Watch'' and ''Case Histories''. In 2013, she began appearing in the television series ''Mr Selfridge'' as Miss Mardle alongside Jeremy Piven and Frances O'Connor. In 2014, Abbington appeared in the th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthew Holness
Matthew James Holness (born 1975) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He is best known for creating and playing the fictional horror author Garth Marenghi. Early life and education Born in Whitstable, Kent, Holness became a fan of Hammer horror films at a young age, to the extent that when, at the age of six, he asked Hammer star and fellow Whitstable resident Peter Cushing for his autograph, Cushing expressed concern that the child knew so much about the films. Holness attended Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury and went on to read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. As a member of the Cambridge Footlights, he appeared in a number of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the mid-1990s. He also served as vice-president when David Mitchell was president. Other contemporaries included Robert Webb, Richard Ayoade and John Oliver. Holness received the Master of Arts from Cambridge, graduating ''in absentia'' due to his comedy work. Career In 2000, H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Gordon Clark
Lawrence Gordon Clark, is an English television director and producer, perhaps best known for his ''A Ghost Story for Christmas'' series of mostly M. R. James ghost stories, which were broadcast annually by the BBC throughout the 1970s. These are: *''The Stalls of Barchester'' (1971) *''A Warning to the Curious'' (1972) *''Lost Hearts'' (1973) * '' The Treasure of Abbot Thomas'' (1974) *'' The Ash Tree'' (1975) *'' The Signalman'' (1976) *''Stigma'' (1977) He also directed two other ghost stories: an adaptation of James' ''Casting The Runes'' in 1979 for Yorkshire Television, and an adaptation of K. M. Peyton's 1972 novel '' A Pattern of Roses'' in 1983, which was the acting debut of Helena Bonham-Carter. Elsewhere, Clark has directed four episodes of the 1979 series '' Flambards'', which starred Christine McKenna, and later went on to be a director of continuing dramas for BBC One including ''Casualty'', ''Pie in the Sky'' and '' Dangerfield''. In the 1980s he directed ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Ewing
Barbara Ewing (born 14 January 1939) is a New Zealand actor, playwright and novelist based in the UK. In the 1980s Ewing played the character Agnes Fairchild in British comedy series ''Brass.'' Ewing's novel ''The Petticoat Men'' was shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award in 2015. Early life Ewing was born in Carterton, New Zealand. Her father's job at the Ministry of Education included reviewing books, and he brought many home for Ewing to read as she was growing up. She started writing when she was young. Ewing attended Wellington East Girls' College then graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BA in English and Māori language before receiving a New Zealand Government scholarship and moving to Britain in 1962 to train as an actor at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London. There was no national acting school training in New Zealand at the time. She graduated in 1965. Career Actor Her first television role was in ''A Choice of Kings'' (1966). Her f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Petherbridge
Edward Petherbridge (born 3 August 1936) is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead''. At the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980, he was a memorable Newman Noggs in the company's adaptation of Dickens's ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby''. Career Petherbridge was born in West Bowling, Bradford, the younger son of William and Hannah Petherbridge. He attended Newby Primary school in West Bowling, Bradford, before later attending Grange Grammar School in Little Horton, Bradford, where his favourite subjects were Art and English Literature. The composer Herbert Howells wrote of Petherbridge's boy soprano rendition, at the Wharfedale Festival, of Schubert's 'Trout': "A fine young musician with a fine gift of word delivery." Petherbridge trained as an actor at Esme Church's North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949. Purpose It was established in 1933 to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom. BFI activities Archive The BFI maint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
