“A School Story” by Montague Readers James is one of the ghost stories. This story is very interesting, and can increase the reader’s adrenalin. A School Story is different with other ghost or mystery stories. James's had written many ghost stories that were published in a series of collections. One of the most favorite stories is “A School Story”. What makes this story different is because the author’s ability in providing and developing the setting of this story that makes the readers know well about the setting of the story that held in a class and dormitory of the private school.
M. R. James has superiority in describing about the setting where the story took place that makes the readers feel so excited to read it. It was shown in these sentences “The school I mean was near London. It was established in a large and fairly old house --a great white building with very fine grounds about it; there were large cedars in the garden, as there are in so many of the older gardens in the Thames valley, and ancient elms in the three or four fields which we used for our games” (P.13, L.1-6). Because of that, “A School Story” had ever been taken as an episode in one of serial televisions titled “Glee”. It really can imagine the reader how the situation of the school environment that is way the setting is used. It can be better the writer can describe the situation of the place by adding more spooky accent.
Most of the setting in this story took place in around the private school environment such as class. The setting showed that it was in class when “Sampson was doing Latin grammar” (P.17, L.1-2) with the students. One of the incidents in class is when “Sampson made some odd sort of noise in his throat, and rushed out by a door that was just by his desk”(P.19, L.8-9). It seemed like he was angry. One of students there thought that someone must have write down some nonsense or impolite words on his paper. In fact, there was a paper written in red ink on the top of other papers “-which no one used --and it wasn't in anyone's hand who was in the class”(Pg.19, L.15-16). Then one of Students has an idea to count all of the papers, and there were 17 papers while the students in class are only 16. This gives a question mark and make the reader’s curiosity is higher, to read this story until finish. Why not further investigated the incident in class, and why teachers do not take the role or decision in this event.
The beginning of the end of this story took place in a “dormitory at right angels to the main building” (P.26, L.1-2). At that time, Sampson was sleeping in the main building on the first floor when “there was very bright full moon” (P.26 ,L.3). Two students saw there was wet dressed man “sitting or knelling on Sampson’s window” (P.26, L.15-16). At the next day Sampson was gone and no one can find him. It became a mystery at the school because “the students who seen the tragedy nor they ever mentioned what he had seen to any third person whatever” (Pg.27, L.7-8). The incident was shocking and scary because it happens at night when everyone was asleep. It becomes a question of who the person in front of the window, and where Sampson disappeared. The two students should go to the scene and awakened all the students who were sleeping in dormitory to see correctly what happened that night.
This “A School Story” finally gives the readers who like horror stories to feel satisfied and interested. Based on the setting the author provided in this story could make the readers feel excited and involved as well as in the story. It is shown when M. R. James always gives the detail setting in his ghost stories. Moreover, it was delivered smoothly but directly the readers can imagine the background where the story took place.
