The collection, "Casting the Runes and other Ghost Stories," by M.R. James, is told primarily using a Gothic and formal tone. James writes during the Victorian period in England, an era characterized by descriptive and detailed writing. The tone of the stories is primarily suspenseful, luring the reader in by using implication and suggestion to involve the reader in the story. James frequently allows the reader to participate in the story by trying to determine what is happening or why something is happening.