u/TheHauntedPassage

We all have memories of being little and going to some kind of religious service and being scared when the holy man scared talking about hell, or whatever your religion takes on it is. However, as we grow up we realise the idea that it is more of a proverb it is more the idea that you shouldn't do bad things because of this, it is a shaping tool for the behaviour of kids.

However, within the world of M.R James hell and the demonic is a very real force that can reach out and grab you if you take your eye off the ball. Not even if you're evil, simply if you stumble into it. Therein lies the terror that not only is it all real but it exists all around us and we are none the wiser.

James is no stranger to religion in his works, however one could argue here that it is a central focus wherein other texts it is more of a background player.

Religion as a concept is inherently scary, the idea of death, hell and the afterlife are designed to be scary and to answer complex questions. However, herein the fear is the mixing of the mundane with the extraordinary. The idea that you could just discover and evil demonic orb or that you could stumble onto a hole in a map that leads to hell.

James uses religion herein to create fear, by suggesting that rather than an abject concept or even as something you only have to face when you die that the negative aspects of religion can quite literally reach out and grab you.