Today would have been the 150th birthday of English writer M.R. James. Having written such famous and inspirational stories as ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad,’ and ‘The Ash-Tree’, we decided to honour the great man by asking some superb writers and members of staff to tell us about their favourite M.R. James stories and what the great man meant to them. Here is the first of a number of articles that we will post throughout the week to celebrate M.R. James. The following pieces are reverential, from the heart and in some cases controversial. We hope that you enjoy them and they inspire you to dust off your own copies of James’ work and honour the great man by reading your favourite story today.