Have yourself a creepy little Christmas

Why are there not enough Christmas ghost stories?

This is what I asked myself during another bout of winter/holiday blahs. I don’t hate Christmas (not the way I used to, anyway – long story) but some of the schmaltzier trappings (50s nostalgia, ugly, uncomfortable sweaters, relentlessly cheerful carols) put me off.

Text of tweet from theryangeorge: Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime is about friends practicing witchcraft but then someone walks in and they suddenly have to play it cool. Lyrics: The moon is right / The spirits up / We're here tonight / And that's enough / [somebody walks in] SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASIME / SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME
Via.
So it was with great joy that I learned that the Victorians had a tradition of Christmas-themed ghost stories.

And why not? You’ve got everyone huddled around a fire during the darkest and coldest time of year with a pile of mixed Christian and pagan traditions going on. Pre-tv specials and internet memes, what else can you do but tell ghost stories?

cartoon of the Addams Family, Morticia and Gomez peeking at Wednesday and Pugsley from around a corner. The kids are stoking the fire in the fireplace. Text: The little dears! They still believe in Santa Claus!
Or other things to be done around the hearth. Via Pinterest though certainly not the original source and probably still under copyright. Yes, I’m a bad, bad person.

So I went in search of something in addition to “A Christmas Carol”. My friends (and the internet) did not fail me:

So what will you be huddled around the fireplace (and looking over your shoulder) with this season?

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Allison Thurman

Raised on a diet of Star Wars, Monty Python, and In Search Of, Allison Thurman has always made stuff, lately out of words. She lives in a galaxy far, far away (well, the DC metro area) with too many books and not enough swords.

One thought on “Have yourself a creepy little Christmas”

  1. Oh yes! My annual re-reads!

    “Mistletoe & Mayhem: Horrific Tales for the Holidays” anthology edited by Richard Dalby. A mix of eras, from Victorian to modern. http://jlsjlsjls.freehostia.com/booklist/subject/record1955.html (linking you to description of my personal copy so you can see table of contents)

    “It Ate Billy on Christmas” by Roman Dirge. Monster rather than ghost but still a classic for the gruesome inner child in all of us: http://jlsjlsjls.freehostia.com/booklist/subject/record2753.html

    “Overtime” by Charles Stross. A Christmas tale set in his Laundry Files series; any story that describes Santa as “the Filler of Stockings, who oozes through chimneys and ventilation ducts every Dead God’s Birthday-eve to perform unspeakable acts against items of hosiery.” Free online version at the Tor website: https://www.tor.com/2009/12/22/overtime/ (note that this is just one story in their “December Belongs to Cthulhu” collection, all of which are freebies on the Tor site: https://www.tor.com/series/december-belongs-to-cthulhu/)

    And “Hogfather” by Terry Pratchett. No ghosts but the Auditors do a pretty good job of doing scary ghost things: http://jlsjlsjls.freehostia.com/booklist/subject/record1425.html

    The only other Christmas book I own is a history of folklore/traditions. Which, come to think on it, has its own little darknesses …

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