Wailing Well: The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James

"Wailing Well" is a short ghost story by the British author M.R. James. It was first published in 1928.

The story concerns a Boy Scout named Stanley Judkins, a rude and badly behaved boy with no respect for authority. While on a camping trip, Stanley Judkins and the other Scouts are told not to enter a certain field. An old shepherd tells Stanley that the field is called Wailing Well and that it is haunted by four ghosts. Stanley does not believe the old man and makes up his mind to fetch some water from the well in the field.

ghost story, horror, fear, short story, classic