This is a review of the short story The Ash Tree, written by M.R. James and published in his collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. Read my review of Count Magnus, the last story I reviewed, here. M.R. James was a Cambridge scholar who wrote ghost stories in the early 20th century.
The tale begins with Mr. James telling us how he’d like to own a manor house, and thus be the Lord of All He Surveys. He segues to England’s witch trials, and how a woman (Mrs. Mothersole) was hanged because of the testimony of Lord Matthew Fell, who did own a manor house. Lord Matthew’s testimony amounts to him seeing her acting strangely, which doesn’t mean she is a witch, but it’s enough to hang the old woman. Lord Matthew dies horribly in bed soon afterwards. His limbs turn black and swollen, and anyone who touches his skin with their bare hands gets very sick.
Nowadays, there is consensus that the victims of the witch hunts during the Middle Ages were innocent, misguided, or perhaps mentally ill women. However, Mrs. Mothersole is not innocent, misguided, or mentally ill. She’s the real deal. Years later, Matthew’s grandson Lord Richard sleeps in his grandpa’s room, which has been shut up for decades. He keeps the windows open, and the next day is dead as a doornail. When the ash tree growing next to the window is examined, they find some things they don’t expect.
Doing research (i.e. Google), I was surprised to learn that ash trees were viewed as sacred in pagan folklore. Since the characters of this story are mostly Good Christian Folk (patent pending), they would not share this worldview. Ash trees are also associated with children, which is ironic given the nature of the creatures. And, of course, Mothersole could mean ‘sole mother,’ and the text of the story links the creatures in the ash tree to her. In a way, they’re her children.
Sir Richard himself is what I’d term giddy, or perhaps contrary. James doesn’t do a lot in the way of character development, but he does enough here. Sir Richard is not very likable. Does he deserve what happens to him? Well, yes and no. Sir Richard oversteps when he sleeps in his grandfather’s old room, which has been shut decades for a reason. It’s a naturalistic interpretation of a curse – what lives in that tree is real and not supernatural, and only dangerous under certain circumstances: i.e., if the Lord of the Manor sleeps in his bed. That’s enough.
I would not call this story scary or spine-tingling, but if you don’t like bugs it might squick you out. Recommended for fans of ghost stories and weird fiction!
Abandoned Places 