CANON ALBERIC’S SCRAPBOOK – Written by Montague Rhodes James, and I’m shocked that I still encounter people today who are not familiar with him and his works. Anyway, that made me decide to examine his first supernatural horror story.
Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook was originally written by James and was read aloud by him in October 1893 to his friends in the ChitChat Society at King’s College, Cambridge. It was published in 1895.
The story features Dennistoun, a Cambridge Scholar who takes a vacation on the Continent so he can tour, photograph and sketch old cathedrals in France. Dennistoun bicycles to the town of St.-Bertrand-de-Comminges near Toulouse to cover its cathedral.
A very nervous old Verger is assigned to accompany him and while Dennistoun contentedly whiles away the day lost in the ancient appeal of the cathedral he becomes increasingly aware of the Verger’s discomfort. The older man refuses to leave our main character alone in the building, even when sinister, hollow tittering is heard throughout the cathedral. Continue reading
