Robertson Davies was Master of Massey College at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario from 1963 until 1981. Shortly after joining the College, he decided that he would tell a ghost story at the College's annual Christmas party — its Gaudy Night — as an entertainment. The telling of a ghost story became a tradition, and for eighteen years Davies wrote a new story, which he read aloud at the Gaudy Night celebration.
After Davies' retirement from Massey College, the eighteen stories were collected and published in the book High Spirits.
Contents
How the High Spirits Came About, A Chapter of Autobiography