Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of Kingâs College, Cambridge, and of Eton College. Though Jamesâs work as a medievalist is still highly regarded, he is best remembered for his ghost stories, which are regarded as among the best in the genre. He redefined the ghost story for the new century by abandoning many of the formal Gothic clichĂŠs of his predecessors and using more realistic contemporary settings. H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith were admirers of Jamesâs work. Michael Sadleir described him as âthe best ghost-story writer England has ever producedâ. Paul Theroux refers to âThe Mezzotintâ as âthe most frightening story I knowâ. In his list âThe 13 Most Terrifying Horror Storiesâ, T. E. D. Klein placed Jamesâs âCasting the Runesâ at number one.