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152:'s typical style, and uses a multi-layered narrative device to tell the tale. Time is taken to describe a pleasant traditional Victorian holiday resort, Seaburgh. The narrator states that he collects stories about the area as a result of his happy memories there as a child, and that this is one he was told by a man for whom he had done a favour.
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The next day the narrator and Long are to meet Paxton for a walk, but discover him gone; a servant states that she saw Paxton running towards the beach, having heard his friends call for him. The two men set off after Paxton onto the beach, where a thick sea mist descends, making visibility poor. The
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Paxton states that he found the crown but has been stalked ever since, to the point of desperation, by its supernatural guardian. Both the narrator and Long are moved by Paxton's story, and decide to help him return the crown. During their successful mission, both men have some appreciation of being
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into a full-cast audio drama. In this adaptation, Paxton's gender was changed from male to female and the character of the narrator was expanded. Later into 2021 an updated version of this story entitled 'A Curious Tale' was made by an independent outfit and subsequently won three awards. The story
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two men come across Paxton's body; he has met a violent end. An independent witness at the subsequent inquest absolves them of any involvement. The narrator states that they keep the location of the crown secret, finishing by saying that he has never been back to, or even near, Seaburgh since.
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We now hear the story first-hand from the second narrator. He states that he was on holiday at
Seaburgh with his friend, Henry Long, when they are approached by another guest, Paxton, who has a tale of woe to tell.
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was slightly changed whereby the protagonist was a musician seeking the fabled crown whilst on an archeleogical break, which was set in the fictitious Sussex village of
Snowgood.
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adding an extra layer to Paxton's search for the treasure. The narrative layering of the original James story is dispensed with and a chronological narrative is used instead.
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In adapting the story, Clark changed the protagonist of the original from a young, innocent amateur who discovers the crown by accident to a middle-aged man (
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Paxton explains that he has some interest in the architecture of medieval churches, whilst visiting one such place he learns of a local legend about a buried
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Annotation 14 from "A Warning to the
Curious" in "A Pleasing Terror, The Complete Supernatural Writings" (Kindle Edition), Editors: C Roden & B Roden;
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and the accompanying path through the graveyard similarly are relatively untouched. A few miles outside
Aldeburgh is the small village of
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crown that protects the country from invasion; linked to this are a deceased family, called Ager, who were sworn to guard the crown.
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203:) who travels to Seaburgh specifically to find the crown. The era is updated to the 1930s, the background of the
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common to the east coast, but the majority of buildings mentioned in the story survive to this day; the
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setting of
Seaburgh for "A Warning to the Curious" is a thinly veiled disguise for the seaside town of
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Duffy, Steve; Introduction to "A Pleasing Terror, The
Complete Supernatural Writings",
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notes from "The
Haunted Dolls' House and Other Ghost Stories", Penguin Classics 2006
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MR James' 'The Stalls of
Barchester Cathedral' and 'A Warning to the Curious'
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390:"A Warning to the Curious in Aldeburgh, Suffolk: East Anglia's Ghost Trail"
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132:, Suffolk) and inadvertently stumbles across one of the three lost
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Introduction, "The
Haunted Dolls' House and Other Ghost Stories",
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still stands and has been converted into a holiday residence by
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first published in 1925. The tale tells the story of Paxton, an
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128:who holidays in "Seaburgh" (a disguised version of
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753:A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories
210:Clark also included the character of Dr. Black (
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167:under surveillance by a supernatural presence.
506:An omnibus collection of James's short fiction
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632:'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'
761:The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James
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274:St Peter and St Paul's Church, Aldeburgh
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220:. The adaptation was filmed around the
187:as the second instalment of the BBC's
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400:from the original on 4 September 2010
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110:" is a ghost story by British writer
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179:In 1972, the story was adapted as ‘’
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676:The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral
239:In 2020, the story was adapted by
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690:Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance
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388:Burton, Nigel (22 August 2007).
241:Shadows at the Door: The Podcast
24:A Warning to the Curious (film)
419:Fisher, Mark (15 April 2007).
31:Short story by M. R. James
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729:Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
836:Short stories by M. R. James
790:Whistle and I'll Come to You
641:The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
297:Parry, Robert Lloyd (2012).
798:A Ghost Story for Christmas
190:A Ghost Story for Christmas
19:A Ghost Story for Christmas
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831:Short stories about ghosts
588:Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book
343:"A Warning to the Curious"
37:"A Warning to the Curious"
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214:), who first appeared in
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704:A Warning to the Curious
697:The Haunted Dolls' House
527:A Warning to the Curious
516:A Warning to the Curious
500:A Warning to the Curious
332:. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
321:A Warning to the Curious
217:The Stalls of Barchester
181:A Warning to the Curious
148:The story is written in
108:A Warning to the Curious
745:A Thin Ghost and Others
114:, included in his book
421:"Bleak and Solemn ..."
348:British Film Institute
303:British Film Institute
394:worldtravelblog.co.uk
185:Lawrence Gordon Clark
134:crowns of East Anglia
826:Horror short stories
662:The Tractate Middoth
424:abstractdynamics.org
16:For the episode of
821:1925 short stories
782:Night of the Demon
737:More Ghost Stories
318:Angelini, Sergio,
270:The Landmark Trust
234:Wells-next-the-Sea
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721:Collections
595:Lost Hearts
573:M. R. James
465:S. T. Joshi
449:S. T. Joshi
230:Happisburgh
212:Clive Swift
175:Adaptations
161:Anglo-Saxon
150:M. R. James
122:antiquarian
112:M. R. James
92:Publication
47:M. R. James
43:Short story
815:Categories
711:A Vignette
284:References
205:Depression
616:Number 13
571:Works by
434:22 August
404:22 August
360:22 August
258:Aldeburgh
248:Aldeburgh
130:Aldeburgh
428:Archived
398:Archived
350:Database
144:Synopsis
82:Genre(s)
72:Language
530:at the
324:at the
278:Friston
254:Suffolk
76:English
66:England
62:Country
793:(1968)
785:(1957)
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732:(1904)
226:Waxham
194:strand
183:’’ by
86:Horror
22:, see
521:IMDb
480:2012
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378:2001
362:2010
252:The
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100:1925
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