The Black Mass was a production of listener supported KPFA Berkey and the Pacifica Network. The show was the concept of KPFA Drama & Literature Director Jack Nessel, who worked with Erik Bauersfeld, a professor of aesthetics and philosophy at the California School of fine Arts, as a vehicle for showcasing tales of the supernatural from authors not that well known in the field and, perhaps better known in other fields. Among the authors showcased were Walter de la Mare, J. Anthony West, Herman Melville, Franz Kafka, Nicolai Gogol, Thomas Mann, John Collier, Henry James, Lord Dunsany, Virginia Woolf, and Saki. authors more generally associated with horror included Edgar Allen Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, Ambrose Bierce, and M. R. James. The stories were adapte4d by Bauersfeld, then Bauersfeld would be recorded (at times assisted by other actors) by KPFA Production Director John Whiting; Whiting and Bauerfeld would then grab whatever studio time they could to assemble each episode, often working long into the night -- a low budget operation, remember -- they did not even have access to multitrack recording equipment. You can judge the results for yourself.
In 1690, the English county of Suffolk was wracked by a fear of witches. One of those suspected was a wealthy noblewoman names Mrs. Mothersole. Her sole accuser was Sir Matthew Fell, who claimed to have seen her climbing a huge ash tree on moonlit nights and snip off branches with a dagger; the woman also made he escape before Fell could catch her. Mrs. Mothersole was tried, found guilty, and hung. Before she died, she stated, "There will be guest at the Hall." Later a creature was pied among the branches of the tree, but it escaped. A few days later, Sir Aatthew is found dead in his bed, a look of sheer terror on is face.
Fast forward to 1735, Sir Matthew's son an heir has died and to make way for his body in the graveyard, old Mrs. Mothersole's grave is exhumed, only to find the coffin empty. The new heir is Sir Richard. He spends the night in the bedroom where Sir Matthew had died and was disturbed by scratching at his window. He presumed it to be the branches of the ash tree...but they do not reach that far. the next night, something climbs through the window, bites Sir Richard, and kills him.
Soon townspeople discover the secret of the tree, and it is much more horrible than they could imagine...
The story was first published in James's collection Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904). Many critics and readers alike feel that James was the finest author of ghost stories in the English language.
"The Ash Tree" is a fitting tale for this Halloween.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKOiKXmyktM
I've read many M. R. James spooky stories, but my favorite is "The Ash Tree." This is a fitting tale for Halloween, indeed!
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