What is the theme in Casting the Runes, and Other Ghost Stories by M. R. James?

The solitary man is another theme. In the majority of the stories contained in M.R. James' collection, Casting the Runes and other Ghost Stories, the protagonist is a lone man, quite often in territory unfamiliar to him as he travels for work or pleasure. The man is taken out of his element, thereby opening up the character to the fear and wariness that comes from being alone in a strange place, and heightening these feelings once something supernatural occurs. For example, in the short story, Canon Alberic's Scrapbook, the main character Dennistoun visits the town of S. Bertrand de Comminges in 1883.