Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad cover art

Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad

By: M. R. James
Narrated by: David Suchet
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £0.99

Buy Now for £0.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

The story tells the tale of an introverted academic who happens upon a strange whistle while exploring a cemetery on the East Anglian coast. When blown, the whistle unleashes a supernatural force that terrorises its discoverer.

Montague Rhodes James was a noted British mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918) and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature.

One of James's most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.

'Montague Rhodes James has an intelligent and scientific knowledge of human nerves and feelings; and knows just how to apportion statement, imagery, and subtle suggestions in order to secure the best results with his readers.' HP Lovecraft.

Actor David Suchet is best known for his definitive portrayal of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by the legendary mystery author Agatha Christie, in a number of international television productions. He narrates his story in Poirot and Me.

©1904 M. R. James (P)2013 Audible Ltd Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Ghosts Horror Haunted Scary Paranormal Fantasy Fiction Short Stories

Listeners also enjoyed...

 M. R. James: 'A Warning to the Curious' and 'Casting the Runes' cover art
The Tractate Middoth cover art
M. R. James cover art
M.R. James: The Complete Ghost Stories Collection cover art
The Ash Tree cover art
Ghost Stories, Volume One cover art
The M. R. James Collection cover art
The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories cover art
Good Lady Ducayne cover art
Dracula [Audible Edition] cover art
Doug Bradley's Spinechillers Audio Books, Volume 1 cover art
The Ultimate Ghost Stories Collection: Novels and Stories from Edgar Allan Poe, M.R. James, Charles Dickens, Henry James, and More cover art
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead cover art
The Vanishing cover art
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes cover art
Wretchedness cover art
All stars
Most relevant
read by a legend, in a very haunting way.
very good value with all the intensity needed in a ghost story

chilling!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I do enjoy M.R. James's stories; they're wonderfully creepy and just right to listen to when you only have a small spot of time free. This story is particularly effective because I have walked along a long beach at twilight when it's difficult to make out what's in the distance behind you, so it's very easy to feel disquiet.
The narration is excellent from David Suchet - I only wish he'd done more of James's work than the small selection I've come across.
The language is of its time, appropriate to the age in which it was written, and aiming to unnerve rather than give a fright.
I will listen to this at Christmas as no Christmas Eve is complete without a good ghost story, and I will try some of the others that have been narrated by others.

Lovely & creepy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Suchet has the perfect voice for conjuring up the fear and atmosphere that the author wishes to convey . You may not want to visit the seaside again.

Atmospheric

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What did you like best about this story?

I love M. R. James' ghost stories, and I couldn't think of a better reader than David Suchet. A treat.

A match made in heaven.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A typical James tale but my absolute favourite. Eerie enough to bring uncomfortable mental images to mind and wonderfully narrated by David Suchet. This does have tongue in cheek moments and is wrought by utilising a few stereotypes. Nevertheless, underlying this is a very serious moral which shows us to always keep an open mind to whatever may occur.

My favourite MRJames

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews