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."