Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936), the translator, was educated at King's College, Cambridge University. He continued at King's as Fellow, Lecturer, Tutor, and Provost. He spent the last part of his career as Provost of Eton. He is also the translator of 'The Apocryphal New Testament' and numerous other ancient works.

M.R. James (Montague Rhodes James) initially wrote his ghost tales to be read to groups of friends on Christmas Eve, and these were later published in various collections. He was a scholar and academic first and foremost, and many of his stories reflect his background and include characters with an interest in medieval or biblical studies or archaeology. Many of his plots revolve around an everyday situation in which the protagonist happens upon a mysterious object or wanders into a supernatural event, often led to their own demise by their own curiosity. Collections of his stories with similar titles abound, and include Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, More Ghost Stories of An Antiquary, Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories, and A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories. Several of his short stories-A Warning to the Curious and Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad-have been adapted for TV, and Casting the Runes was adapted as the movie The Night of the Demon, a personal childhood favourite of mine.