am currently reading the Complete ghost stories of M.R.James. I have recently finished the creepy, unsettling short ghost story “Count Magnus”. It concerns a writer named Wraxall, the author of several travelogues, including one about Brittany, who, While travelling in Sweden comes across an ancient manor house (herrgård) in Vestergothland and decides to do some research there. He is offered lodgings there, but declines and stays at the local village inn. Wraxall stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominous figure, Count Magnus. The local church has a mausoleum nearby, built by Count Magnus for himself and his family, de la Gardie. He then discovers that The Count was known locally for being a harsh landowner, who severely punished his tenants if they were late with their rent and also burnt Houses down if they were built too near his lands.
While reading a book of alchemical tracts, entitled Liber nigræ Wraxall discovers that Magnus had also been on the Black Pilgrimage to Chorazin which involved a salute to the Prince of the Air. Wraxall visits the mausoleum and expresses a desire to see Count Magnus. Later on, Wraxall meets with the Deacon and asks him about Chorazin. However, the Deacon is suspiciously evasive so He talks to the landlord of the inn about what Count Magnus brought back from Chorazin. He is told a tale about two men who went poaching one night on the Count’s lands with gruesome results. The next day, Wraxall visits the mausoleum again with the Deacon. And sees The Count’s ornate copper sarcophagus which contains many scenes, including a depiction of the Count on its top and a man being pursued by a sinister cloaked and hooded figure with tentacles. The lid is secured with three padlocks, however later on Wraxall discovers that the padlocks are unlocked and the lid begins to rise….
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