# Count Magnus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Count_Magnus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Count_Magnus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Magnus > Source revision: 1355434070 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Infobox short story | name = Count Magnus | image = File:Ghost stories of an antiquary.jpg | caption = [Ghost Stories of an Antiquary](/source/Ghost_Stories_of_an_Antiquary) | author = [M.R. James](/source/M.R._James) | country = [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland) | language = [English](/source/English_language) | series = | genre = [Horror](/source/Horror_fiction) | published_in = | publication_type = | publisher = | media_type = | pub_date = 1904 | preceded_by = | followed_by = | wikisource = Count Magnus }} "'''Count Magnus'''" is a [ghost story](/source/ghost_story) by British writer [M. R. James](/source/M._R._James), first published in 1904. It was included in his first collection ''[Ghost Stories of an Antiquary](/source/Ghost_Stories_of_an_Antiquary)''. ==Plot == A traveller in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominous figure, [Count](/source/Count) Magnus.{{cite book|last1=James|first1=M.R.|title=Collected ghost stories|date=1993|publisher=Wordsworth|location=Ware, Hertfordshire|isbn=1853260533|pages=54–64|edition=Repr.}} Mr. Wraxall is an author of several [travelogue](/source/Travel_literature)s, having previously published one about [Brittany](/source/Brittany). During his travels in Sweden, he comes across an ancient manor house (''herrgård'') in [Vestergothland](/source/Vestergothland) and decides to do some research there. He is offered to lodge there, but declines and stays at the local village inn. The local church has an attached [mausoleum](/source/mausoleum), built by Count Magnus for himself and his family, [de la Gardie](/source/de_la_Gardie). Wraxall inquires of his landlord about local traditions surrounding Count Magnus. The Count is known locally for being a harsh landowner, who severely punished his tenants if they were late with their rent. Houses built too near his lands often burned down, with their occupants inside. He had also been on the "Black Pilgrimage" and brought something "otherworldy" back. Later, in doing research among the family papers, Wraxall discovers an explanation for the Pilgrimage in a book of alchemical tracts, entitled {{langx|la|Liber nigræ peregrinationis|lit=Book of the Black Pilgrimage}}. The pilgrimage is to [Chorazin](/source/Chorazin) and involves a salute to the [Prince of the Air](/source/Prince_of_the_Air). Walking home, Wraxall finds himself at the mausoleum and expresses a desire to see Count Magnus. Later on, he meets with the [Deacon](/source/Deacon) and queries him about Chorazin. However, he is evasive towards Wraxall's subject. He presses the landlord of the inn about what Count Magnus brought back from Chorazin and is told a tale about two men who went [poaching](/source/poaching) one night on the Count's lands following the latter's death. One of the men was found [catatonic](/source/catatonic), while the other was dead; his face having been pulled off his skull. The next day, along with the Deacon, Wraxall visits the mausoleum. The Count's copper [sarcophagus](/source/sarcophagus) is ornate and bears carvings of scenes from his life, as well as a depiction of the Count on its top. One of the scenes shows a man being pursued by a cloaked and hooded figure with tentacles, while the Count watches from a hill. The lid is secured with three padlocks, one of which is already unlocked. Later, on his way back to the mausoleum, Wraxall's mind wanders and he finds himself [chant](/source/chant)ing. Soon, he realizes that a second padlock is now unfastened. The following day, Wraxall makes preparation to finish his researches and return to England. He stops at the mausoleum to bid farewell to Count Magnus and for a third time expresses a desire to see him. As he does so, the third padlock detaches and the lid begins to rise. Quickly, he leaves, but is unable to lock the mausoleum behind him. He returns to England safely by canal boat, but feels that among his fellow passengers are two strange figures who fail to appear at mealtimes. He arrives at [Harwich](/source/Harwich) and takes a carriage to [Belchamp St. Paul](/source/Belchamp_St._Paul). Along the way, he sees the two strange figures once more. He finds lodgings there and spends the next day awaiting the two figures' arrival. The next day, he is found dead in a terrible condition and a jury rules it to be a [visitation by God](/source/Act_of_God). The house where he died is abandoned and eventually acquired by the narrator, who has it torn down since nobody will stay there. == Publication == "Count Magnus" was first published in ''[Ghost Stories of an Antiquary](/source/Ghost_Stories_of_an_Antiquary)'' in 1904. In 1931, it was collected in James' book ''[The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James](/source/The_Collected_Ghost_Stories_of_M._R._James)''. It has since been collected many times, including in ''[Sleep No More](/source/Sleep_No_More_(anthology))'' in 1944. == Reception == Bob Hodges writes that "For [Lovecraft](/source/H._P._Lovecraft) and [China Miéville](/source/China_Mi%C3%A9ville), ["Count Magnus"] is the apotheosis of James's synthesis of the [ghost story](/source/ghost_story)'s typical religious and folklore overtones, as well as indirect style, with the [weird tale](/source/weird_tale)'s characteristic madness and inexplicable otherness." == Adaptations == {{also|Count Magnus (film)}} In {{circa|1965-1966}}, a dramatisation of "Count Magnus" directed by Frank Sawyer was broadcast by [WNYE-FM](/source/WNYE-FM), the radio station of the [New York City Board of Education](/source/New_York_City_Board_of_Education), as part of its "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" programme. The story was not included in the original 1970s run of ''[A Ghost Story for Christmas](/source/A_Ghost_Story_for_Christmas)'' for budgetary reasons. Director [Lawrence Gordon Clark](/source/Lawrence_Gordon_Clark) wanted to make the story in 1978, later acknowledging; "I wanted to make Count Magnus by M.R. James but they wouldn't put up the money for it, which I felt was pretty shortsighted considering the success we'd had with the series."{{cite web | title=An Interview with Lawrence Gordon Clark, Master of Ghostly Horror – Smug Film | date=12 February 2014 | url=https://smugfilm.com/an-interview-with-lawrence-gordon-clark/ }} On 22 December 2000, a dramatisation of "Count Magnus" by [Robin Brooks](/source/Robin_Brooks) aired on [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4)'s programme ''The Red Room''. Directed by Clive Brill, it starred Charlie Simpson as Wraxall and Alan Cox as Nielsen. Beginning in 2012, Robert Lloyd Parry of Nunkie Theatre Company staged a one-man show, ''Count Magnus'', retelling "Count Magnus" and "[Number 13](/source/Number_13_(short_story))".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/05/british-rural-horror-mr-james|title=In search of a very British, and rural, kind of horror|first=Tom|last=Cox|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|date=5 February 2013}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23021389.count-magnus---two-ghost-stories-m-r-james-met/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013111329/https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23021389.count-magnus---two-ghost-stories-m-r-james-met/|title=Count Magnus – two ghost stories by M R James at The Met|archive-date=13 October 2022|first=Saiqa|last=Chaudhari|work=[The Bolton News](/source/The_Bolton_News)|date=6 October 2022}} In 2022, "Count Magnus" was adapted by the BBC as ''[Count Magnus](/source/Count_Magnus_(film))''. It was written and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark's successor [Mark Gatiss](/source/Mark_Gatiss).{{Cite web |title=A Ghost Story for Christmas, Count Magnus |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001gdp9 |access-date=2 April 2026 |website=[BBC](/source/BBC)}} ==Influence== Horror podcast ''[The Magnus Archives](/source/The_Magnus_Archives)'' derived its name from James' "Count Magnus".{{cite podcast |url=https://play.acast.com/s/themagnusarchives/mag-s1-q-a |title=MAG S1 Q&A |publisher=Rusty Quill |time=13:27 |date=October 2016}} == References == {{Cite magazine |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e4acfbd78a4a4664a34634121d884679 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103111658/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e4acfbd78a4a4664a34634121d884679 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |title=The Red Room: 5: Count Magnus |date=16 December 2000 |magazine=[Radio Times](/source/Radio_Times) |access-date=8 May 2025 |issue=4,008 |page= |language=en-GB |issn= |via=[BBC Genome Project](/source/BBC_Genome_Project) }} {{Cite web|url=https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23021389.count-magnus---two-ghost-stories-m-r-james-met/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013111329/https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/23021389.count-magnus---two-ghost-stories-m-r-james-met/|title=Count Magnus – two ghost stories by M R James at The Met|archive-date=13 October 2022|first=Saiqa|last=Chaudhari|work=[The Bolton News](/source/The_Bolton_News)|date=6 October 2022}} {{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/05/british-rural-horror-mr-james|title=In search of a very British, and rural, kind of horror|first=Tom|last=Cox|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|date=5 February 2013}} {{cite book |title=Horror Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears |volume=1 |editor-first=Matt |editor-last=Cardin |chapter=James, M. R. (1862-1936) |publisher=[ABC-Clio](/source/ABC-Clio) |isbn=9798216099000 |page=293 |year=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GanOEAAAQBAJ |first=Bob |last=Hodges }} {{cite web |last=Pardoe |first=Rosemary |title=M.R. James on TV, radio and film |url=https://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/MediaList.html |access-date=13 April 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260221013233/https://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pardos/MediaList.html |archive-date=21 February 2026 |date=2010 }} ==External links== *{{wikisource-inline|Ghost Stories of an Antiquary/Count Magnus|single=true|Count Magnus}} * {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/m-r-james/short-fiction|Display Name=An omnibus collection of James's short fiction|noitalics=true}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20141003042301/http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/135 Full text of "Count Magnus"] * {{ISFDB title|577233|short=yes}} *{{librivox book|title=Count Magnus|author=M. R. James}} *[https://www.mrjamespodcast.com/2011/12/episode-6-count-magnus/ A Podcast to the Curious]: Episode 6 - Count Magnus *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiTwJh_9BVQ&t= Count Magnus] - Audio narration on video {{Works of M.R. James}} Category:Short stories by M. R. James Category:1904 short stories Category:Chorazin Category:Horror short stories Category:Västra Götaland County in fiction Category:Short stories set in Sweden Category:Short stories set in England Category:Short stories adapted into radio programs Category:Short stories adapted into television films Category:British short stories adapted into films --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Count Magnus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Magnus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Magnus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.