You know "Casting the Runes" is one of the classic ghost stories ever, right?
And you know this is still one of the creepiest movies ever. Of course you do. You can't get more menace anywhere, especially from a guy wearing a clown nose.
Gads, I could go into detail. You know I could. I could go into detail on how even bad special effects are effective in this particular flick. I could go into detail on how it's effective even though you know the outcome because you've already read the story. (Of course you have!) I could go into detail about any number of M. R. James stories or tell you the tale of how my mentor, Ron Primeau, sent me to talk with a James scholar (in the film department) and how that kind of transformed what I wanted to with my own ghost stories.
But I won't.
Go. Read. Watch.