Felixstowe celebrated its literary heritage with a Halloween evening of books, history, and ghost stories at Hotel Coco, Felixstowe, complete with cocktails.
A special event at Hotel Coco brought together literature lovers, local history enthusiasts, and the business community to explore Felixstowe’s fascinating connection with one of Britain’s greatest ghost-story writers, M. R. James.
Felixstowe’s literary heritage took centre stage on Tuesday 27 October as Hotel Coco hosted a special Halloween event in the Marco Pierre White steakhouse to celebrate the town’s rich history, storytelling traditions, and enduring connection with the supernatural and welcome author Darryl Jones.
The evening brought together books, local history, literature and conversation, the event explored the life and work of M. R. James, whose unsettling ghost stories have captivated readers for generations.
A key highlight was the focus on For the Dead Remember, the first full biography of M. R. James, written by Darryl Jones, Professor of Modern British Literature and Culture at Trinity College Dublin and a leading authority on James and his work.
Jones’s research offers a fascinating insight into the man behind the stories: a distinguished scholar and medievalist who became Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, and later Vice-Chancellor of the University, while creating some of the most influential supernatural fiction in the English language.
The evening with the author explored James’s deep connections with Suffolk and the wider East Anglian landscape, including the places, historic buildings and coastal settings that helped shape his imagination.
Particular attention was given to Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad, one of James’s best-known stories, which is closely associated with Felixstowe and its atmospheric seaside setting. The discussion offered an opportunity to rediscover the town through its literary connections, from its coastline and beach huts to the M. R. James blue plaque.
Hosted in partnership with Hotel Coco Felixstowe, the Felixstowe Book Festival brought a distinctly local dimension to Halloween, celebrating the stories, places and people that make Felixstowe unique and welcomed the opportunity to bring together readers, writers, creatives, local businesses, history enthusiasts, and members of the wider community for an evening that combined literary discovery with informal networking.
Festival Founder and Director Meg Reid said;
“We are delighted author Darryl Jones was able to host this event at Hotel Coco and the combination of Halloween atmosphere, literary heritage and local storytelling, allowed us to celebrate Darryl's latest book and how some of the most intriguing facts are rooted in the world of ghost fiction."