A.K. Benedict’s contribution to Bafflegab’s The Conception of Terror anthology for Audible is a reworking of Lost Hearts (read our review here), transferring the action to a tower block. A long time fan of M R James’ work, she jumped at the prospect, as she explained to Paul Simpson…

How did you become involved with The Conception of Terror?

Following a recommendation from Mark Morris, Simon Barnard wrote to me and asked me to pitch for the project. I’m a long-term fan of James and am ever so grateful to be able to play in Monty’s whistle-stippled sandpit.

When did you first read an M R James story? What effect did it have on you, both at the time, and subsequently in your writing?

I think my first encounter with James was when I was around 8 or 9. My local library had a set of the Fontana Ghost Stories series and I would spend hours reading them, sat between the stacks on a leaking beanbag. I read ‘A School Story’ then went straight to the shelves for more. A battered copy of Ghost Stories of an Antiquary later and that was it. Hooked. Heart lost. Since then, if in need of a scare – M. R. James; in need of comfort – M. R. James.

My main motivation for going to King’s College, Cambridge (other than the hope that it was like Miskatonic University…) was to study where James wrote and read aloud many of his stories. I loved being where the stories were born; pictured him in front of his enraptured ‘Chit Chat’ audience, candles flaring at his words.

Why did you choose this particular story to adapt?

Lost Hearts is such an aural experience, even in prose. I read it and hear those long fingernails scraping down the window panes. It therefore felt like an ideal story to adapt, but then so many of James’ stories are great in audio – they were meant to be heard.

What were the particular challenges with bringing it into the 21st century? I’m particularly thinking of the very different social and societal set up that existed when they were written.

The differences were a way into the adaptation rather than a challenge. I wanted to look at how orphaned, homeless or displaced children are treated in the 21st century. Children still go missing.

What was your process – did you work out the beats from the original and then allow imagination to flourish, or did you want to use as much of James’ structure as possible?

I wanted to use the key scenes and scares of the original, and then I built the rest around them, trying to keep the story’s dislocating sense of comfort and increasing unease. Simon was great as script editor, encouraging me and bouncing ideas back and forth. I loved writing this.

Did you find the original story limiting in any way, i.e. the fact that this was an adaptation rather than riffing off the same themes that James used meant it needed to be recognisable?

The original wasn’t limiting at all – it is a great story! The fun is in finding ways to show off James in a modern setting.

What was the biggest challenge overall of the project for you?

One issue was finding a way into telling one of the stories without the traditional loner Jamesian scholar in his panelled library. Once I’d shaken that off, it was more liberating than a challenge. The biggest challenge was daring to adapt a story by someone who means so much to me.

And finally, do you have another James story you’d like to tackle?

I’d love to adapt Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad: playing with its integral sound could be wonderfully creepy on audio. But then there’s The Tractate Middoth and A Warning to the Curious and The Haunted Doll’s House and …