A View from a Hill

For the episode of A Ghost Story for Christmas, see A View from a Hill (film).

"A View from a Hill"
Short story by M. R. James
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror
Publication
Publication date	1925

"A View from a Hill" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, included in his book A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories first published in 1925.

Synopsis

Academic Fanshawe visits his friend Squire Henry Richards in the English countryside for a summer retreat. On the first evening, they decide to climb a hill with a view of the area. Fanshawe, lacking binoculars, borrows a heavy, old-fashioned pair from Richards, which are stored in a difficult-to-open box. After a minor cut opening it, they set out, with Richards pointing out the local landmark known as "Baxter's Roman villa." He explains that Baxter, an unpopular watchmaker and amateur archaeologist, crafted the binoculars and uncovered various artifacts later acquired by Richards.

At the hill’s summit, Richards instructs Fanshawe to observe Fulnaker Abbey through the binoculars. Fanshawe, however, insists the tower he sees is impressive, which Richards disputes, suggesting he’s mistakenly viewing Oldbourne Church. Fanshawe, through the binoculars, also perceives a disturbing scene on Gallows Hill: a gibbet and a crowd around it, which Richards assures does not exist. When Fanshawe looks without the binoculars, he sees only trees. Puzzled but intrigued, Fanshawe decides to investigate Oldbourne Church and Gallows Hill the following day.

That night, Fanshawe has a nightmare involving a stone marked with a warning signed by Richards' elderly butler, Patten, and a hand emerging from the ground. The next morning, Fanshawe reviews archaeological journals containing Baxter’s work and finds his tone arrogant and dismissive. One journal includes Baxter’s sketch of Fulnaker Abbey’s priory tower, identical to what Fanshawe saw through the binoculars, though no such tower remains.

That afternoon, Fanshawe sets off by bicycle to explore Oldbourne Church and Gallows Hill. At Richards' suggestion, he also visits Lambsfield Church to see its stained-glass window. There, he attempts to use the binoculars to read the window’s inscriptions but finds they do not work indoors. Oldbourne Church’s tower appears entirely different from what he saw the day before. When he arrives at Gallows Hill, he discovers it densely wooded, with no sign of the gibbet. Feeling watched, he experiences unsettling sensations of unseen figures around him and flees after finding three stones on the hill, without stepping between them.

Back at Richards' home, Patten shares troubling stories about Baxter, who behaved suspiciously and refused religious practices. A priest who once visited Baxter refused to speak about the encounter, hinting at something sinister. Baxter reportedly spent many nights on Gallows Hill, and, after a bizarre scalding incident, he exhibited strange behavior, moving as if controlled by an unseen force. He was later found dead between the three stones on Gallows Hill, his neck broken.

The next morning, Fanshawe attempts to look through the binoculars but sees only darkness. When Richards tries, he sees the same. They drop the binoculars, which crack open, releasing a foul-smelling black liquid. Richards realizes Baxter may have used bones from hanged men to make the binoculars, attempting to let viewers “see through a dead man’s eyes.” However, the spirits of the deceased likely retaliated against Baxter, leading to his grim fate. Finally, Richards decides the binoculars must be buried, putting Baxter’s misdeeds to rest.

Adaptations

"A View from a Hill" was adapted as the ninth TV movie in the BBC series A Ghost Story for Christmas. The film, the first one in the series to be produced since 1978, was first shown on British television on December 23, 2005. It stars Mark Letheren as Fanshawe, Pip Torrens as Squire Richards, David Burke as Patten and Simon Linnell as Baxter. In the adaptation, Fanshawe and Squire Richards are not friends and there is never anything more than a business relationship between them. Fanshawe works for a museum and has been sent to Richards' home to catalog the collection of historical artifacts which Richards inherited from his father. The impoverished Richards plans to sell off the collection. As a result of his unpleasant experiences, Fanshawe never finishes cataloging the collection. Fanshawe is often attacked by invisible ghosts. At the film's climax, he is dragged to Gallows Hill and hanged. Fanshawe escapes death because a search party, led by Squire Richards and Patten, reaches him in time.

External links

• The full text of A View from a Hill at Wikisource
• An omnibus collection of James's short fiction at Standard Ebooks