FROM THE PODCASTS
Seventeen Papers From a Class of Sixteen Baffle Boarding School Latin Room
A Latin master's abrupt exit leaves pupils with a surplus exercise in red ink and a message that vanishes by afternoon.
NEAR LONDON, ENGLAND — A curious episode at a boarding school near London, said to have occurred soon after 1870, has been revived by the Weird Darkness podcast in its Midnight In The Macabre program, aired on October 25, 2026. The account is an adaptation of M.R. James's ghost story "A School Story."
According to the episode description, the Latin master made a noise in his throat partway through marking an exercise and hurried out of the room. The boys then approached his desk and counted the papers left upon it.
The tally, the description states, came to seventeen papers, though the class numbered only sixteen. The surplus sheet was written in red ink in a hand that none of the pupils recognised. Its message, as quoted in the description, read: "If you don't come to me, I'll come to you."
One of the boys kept the paper, the account continues. When he took it from his locker that afternoon, the writing was gone. The description offers no explanation for the disappearance, and none is attempted here.
Readers should note that the source is a work of fiction by M.R. James, presented as an audio episode. The full story, according to the listing, may be found at the sources page linked from the episode's blog.