A psychologist on M.R. James

"There is something that interests me as a psychologist and that is why the ghost stories had such a lasting influence. Why is it that we just love to be frightened?”

Professor Uta Frith is Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University College London's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Here she delves into the origins of James’s unsettling stories and what they reveal about our love of a good scare.

If you are interested in developmental psychology, I recommend you follow Uta Frith on Twitter.

And if you like M.R. James's ghost stories there is A Podcast to the Curious.