"There Was A Man Dwelt by a Churchyard" is a short ghost story by the British author M.R. James. It was first published in the December 6, 1924 issue of the Eton College magazine Snapdragon.
The title is taken from William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. In Act II scene i of the play, the child character Mamillius begins to tell his mother Queen Hermione a story of "sprites and goblins". He says, "There was a man dwelt by a churchyard", but is interrupted before he can tell any more of the story. In "There Was A Man Dwelt by a Churchyard", M.R. James imagines the ghost story which the boy was going to tell. In his introduction to the tale, James says, "It was not going to be a new story. It was going to be one which you have most likely heard and even told."
The story takes place in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. It describes how a vengeful ghost comes to a man after he steals money from a woman's grave.
