Martin's Close

"Martin's Close"
Author	M.R. James
Country	England
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror short story

"Martin's Close" is the sixth story in the second collection of ghost stories published by M. R. James, More Ghost Stories.

The story is presented as a report of a trial in the year 1684, before Judge Jeffreys. Squire Martin has been accused of murdering a young girl named Ann Clark, who he had an one-sided romance with. The prosecution presents a case that Martin murdered Ann Clark, because she ruined a good marriage proposal for him. During the trial, an event is described in which Martin acted in a guilty manner when confronted with a possible apparition of the girl. In the end, Martin is found guilty of the crime, despite his attempt to have the case dismissed on a legal technicality, and is sentenced to death.

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