Count Magnus

First published in 1904, Count Magnus is a classic paranormal tale written by M.R. James, an author considered to be the originator of the modern age ghost story. Though popular in written form, his stories were in fact designed to be read out loud - something he would do every Christmas in his role as housemaster to young boys boarding at Eton school. In this particular story, a traveller in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominous figure, Count Magnus. Apparently the count went on a ‘black pilgrimage’, the details of which are discovered by the traveller in an alchemical textbook. However, it might not be the best of ideas to go poking around in the history of such a mysterious man…