Tedious brief tales of Granta and Gramarye

In Short

Set within the historic halls and ancient cloisters of Jesus College, Cambridge, this collection of ghostly tales tracks the supernatural anomalies that haunt the institution from its monastic origins as the Nunnery of Saint Radegund through the early twentieth century. Scholars, alchemists, and eccentric club members repeatedly disturb the boundary between the living and the dead, unearthing buried treasures, forbidden rituals, and lethal curses. Written by a former college Master who weaves real architecture and Bursar records into fiction, the book has endured for its quiet erudition, dark wit, and hauntingly atmospheric sense of place.

The Story

The book opens with a poetic dedication to Christopher Marlowe and Robert Greene, setting a tone of Cambridge magic and tragic ambition. The narratives begin in earnest with the dark legacy of the Everlasting Club. Formed in the George II era, the society suffers a terrifying blow when its President dies, leaving the remaining members bound by an oath to log an annual protest against the gathering. Year after year, members perish under mysterious circumstances until 1766, when Charles Bellasis finds himself the sole living "Corporeal" member. Inheriting the minute book as his companions drop dead, Bellasis must choose between enduring the horrific return of the ghostly "Incorporeal" members or breaking the fatal rules of the club.

The chronicle then shifts to the Tudor era and the story of John Badcoke and Richard Harrison, whose chambers bordered the old graveyard of the Nuns of St. Radegund. Through coded scriptures hidden within a volume of the Bible, Badcoke leaves behind clues to a hidden treasure buried five cubits from the wood-yard gate—a secret that remains locked beneath the college stones. Ambition turns fatal in the tale of Anthony Ffryar, a brilliant young scholar whose work might have rivaled Bacon's. As a devastating plague empties the college, Ffryar stays behind to complete a dark chemical experiment. Ignoring the dead butler in the buttery and the ominous tolling of the chapel bell at night, he pursues his grand synthesis, only to be drawn into a shadowy, empty chapel where his unholy work reaches its end.

Subsequent tales explore further transgressions across the centuries. In the early sixteenth century, the disreputable Brother John Baldwin dies after tricking the Master, John Eccleston, into a conditional bequest; expecting gold, the Fellows open his chest to find only bricks, straw, and a torn, cryptic parchment. Later, during the English Civil War, a cautious chaplain named Byfield spies on his mysterious neighbor, Allen, suspecting him of wizardry and treason after witnessing him handle an armory pistol in the dead of night. In another era, the dull theologian Matthew Makepeace encounters an exotic mountebank named Commagenus, who demonstrates a hypnotic spell that drains a person's youth. Makepeace recklessly tests the spell on his own sleeping pupil, absorbing the young man's vitality, only to forget the vital counter-word that would reverse the process, trapping him in a nightmare of his own making.

In the chapel tower, a greedy college servant named Thomas stalks Gervase Germyn, convinced that Germyn holds the key to a vault buried beneath the disused bell-rope by the tower pier. The book reaches back even further to the medieval monastic past, detailing how the Abbat of Ramsey steals the holy relics of Saint Felix from Soham mere, and closing with the tragic confession of Alice the Portress. Alice reveals the secret forty-year penance of Sister Margery Cailly, who entered the nunnery after a forbidden romance with a young priest, leaving behind only the cold lychnoscope in the chapel wall where she kept her silent watch.

How It Unfolds

The Club's Fatal Legacy When the President of the Everlasting Club dies, the surviving members scatter in horror, yet they remain bound to sign an annual ledger. As each member passes away and becomes an "Incorporeal" member, the remaining survivors face the dread of renewing their ghastly annual gathering.

The Cryptic Bequest In the reign of Henry VIII, John Badcoke leaves behind a heavily annotated Bible directing his friend Harrison to a hidden treasure buried near the old nunnery graveyard. The message arrives too late, leaving the treasure undisturbed beneath the college grounds.

The Alchemist's Last Hour During a deadly outbreak in Cambridge, the young scholar Anthony Ffryar isolates himself to finish a secret experiment. As the chapel clock tolls in the empty college, he stumbles into a faintly lit chapel to confront the terrifying consequence of his obsession.

The Fraudulent Legacy Brother John Baldwin dies after coercing the Master of Jesus College to bury him near the High Altar in exchange for his property. When the Fellows open his chest, they find only bricks and straw, prompting them to cast his body into an obscure corner of the yard.

The Stolen Vitality The dull author Matthew Makepeace learns a spell of magical transference from a dark stranger, using it to steal the youth and vitality of his sleeping pupil. The victory turns to horror when Makepeace instantly forgets the word required to undo the spell.

The Secret of the Chancel In the aftermath of the plague, Alice the Portress confesses that Sister Margery Cailly brought a fatal curse and lifelong grief into the Nunnery of Saint Radegund over a ruined love affair. Margery spends forty years in silent penance, leaving only a small wall aperture as her legacy.

The People

• Charles Bellasis: A once-petulant Cambridge student who matures into a decorous man, only to find himself the final living member of the Everlasting Club. He faces the terrifying duty of maintaining the club's ledger while encircled by the specters of his dead companions.
• Anthony Ffryar: A brilliant, ambitious scholar under thirty who seeks to master a great chemical experiment. His drive to outshine the famous minds of his era blinds him to the plague surrounding him and leads to his untimely, unrecorded end.
• John Baldwin: A disgraced former Augustinian brother who gains entry into Jesus College under false pretenses. He wants a grand burial before the High Altar and tricks the Master with a fake bequest, ending up cast into an unhonored grave behind the elder bushes.
• Matthew Makepeace: A pedantic, obscure theologian who authors a heavy, unread Latin tome discrediting Roman miracles. Desperate to experience true power, he uses hypnosis to steal his pupil's youth, only to spend his remaining days trapped by his own forgetfulness.
• Alice the Portress: The long-serving gatekeeper of Saint Radegund who holds a forty-year secret regarding her childhood friend, Margery Cailly. Burdened by guilt for facilitating a forbidden romance that brought tragedy to the cloister, she asks only to be dismissed in peace.

In Its Own Voice

“For five years five names are appended to that entry in the minutes, and that is all the business of the Club.”

When the President of the Everlasting Club dies, the survivors try to evade his spectral presence by limiting their annual meetings to a single written protest.

“Sickened and alarmed Ffryar hurried back to his chamber. More than ever he must hasten the great experiment.”

After discovering the college butler dead in his bed, the young scholar resolves to press forward with his dangerous alchemy despite the horrors gathering around him.

“In the dark, as nearly as he could, he went through the magical passes, and with extraordinary vehemence he willed himself back into Matthew Makepeace.”

Having successfully drained his student's youth, the panicked theologian tries in vain to reverse the magic after the essential spell word slips from his memory.

What It's Really About

Beneath its eerie encounters and gothic trappings, the book explores the overwhelming weight of history and the hubris of human ambition. It examines how institutions like Cambridge preserve the memory of the obscure while silently burying their dark failures. Scholars, alchemists, and monks alike are driven by a desire for immortality—whether through academic fame, stolen youth, or sacred burials—only to be thwarted by mortality, forgetfulness, or their own moral failings. The stories suggest that the past is never truly buried; it lingers in the architectural fabric of the college, where the living continuously step in the footprints of forgotten, tormented souls.

Why Read It Today

This collection will deeply appeal to fans of classic English ghost stories, antiquarian mysteries, and dark academia. Reading it feels like sitting in a drafty, candlelit college hall late at night while an insider whispers the institution's most unsettling secrets. Arthur Gray writes with an authentic, scholarly authority, using real architectural plans, bursar records, and historical dates to ground his supernatural fiction in palpable reality.

The primary difficulty for modern readers lies in its dense period detail and unhurried pace. The prose assumes a familiarity with academic Latin, ecclesiastical history, and specialized architectural terminology like "lychnoscopes" and "oriels." Furthermore, the narrative structure relies on deliberate antiquarian framing rather than fast-paced horror action. Yet, for those who enjoy the understated, cerebral dread of writers like M.R. James, the book offers an exquisitely crafted atmosphere. The stories linger long after reading, transforming quiet stone quadrangles and ancient chapel aisles into places of haunting intrigue.