I first learned about the tradition of telling ghost stories during Christmas a few years ago and I’ve been fascinated ever since. This year I decided to read twenty-five ghost stories throughout the month of December. I tried reading and posting on social media once per day but that went out the window pretty quickly and I was playing catch-up most of the time. Still, it was a fun and interesting experience as I read a nice variety of authors from a variety of anthologies. I also revisited some favorites. Here are all my posts. Since my word count was limited when posting I’ve added to some of the entries.
Day 1
Schalken the Painter (1839) by J. Sheridan Le Fanu from Classic Horror Stories, Barnes & Noble, 2015. A painter’s true love is promised to a mysterious figure who keeps his face hidden. Atmospheric and incredibly creepy. I can see why M. R. James highly admired Le Fanu. This story was adapted by the BBC in 1979 in the tradition of their earlier A Ghost Story for Christmas television specials.
Day 2
The Four-Fifteen Express (1867) by Amelia B. Edwards from Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, The British Library, 2018. A chance encounter on a train ride leads to an unsolved mystery about a missing person. This felt like a Hitchcock film before turning into a well-done Victorian ghost story.
Day 3
The Wind in the Rose-Bush (1902) by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman from Classic Horror Stories, Barnes & Noble, 2015. An aunt arrives in a small town to fetch her niece from her stepmother. As they wait for the niece to show up, strange things start to happen. Tension builds well until the finale.
Day 4
Lucky’s Grove (1940) by H. Russell Wakefield from Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, The British Library, 2018. Eerie things start happening after a tree is removed from a sacred grove to be used as a Christmas tree. A great build up with a powerful finale.
Day 5
The Signalman (1866) by Charles Dickens from The Haunted Looking Glass, New York Review of Books, 2001. A railway signalman tells the narrator of the story about an apparition that appears to be haunting him. Chilling with a sense of foreboding throughout. This was adapted into one of my favorite episodes of the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas in 1976.
Day 6
The Upper Berth (1886) by F. Marion Crawford from Classic Horror Stories, Barnes & Noble, 2015. A man sailing across the Atlantic decides to investigate after discovering that his stateroom may be haunted. A classic ghost story.
Day 7
The Old Nurse’s Story (1852) by Elizabeth Gaskell from Christmas Gothic Short Stories, Flame Tree Publishing, 2022. A nurse tells her charges a spooky story about their mother. An isolated manor, winter storms, organ music at night, ghostly apparitions, and secrets from the past. The ultimate gothic ghost story. Outstanding.
Day 8
“Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” (1904) by M.R. James from Classic Horror Stories, Barnes & Noble, 2015. Eerie things begin happening after a professor finds an old whistle among some beachside Templar ruins. Atmospheric with an incredibly creepy climax. My favorite M.R. James story. This was adapted by the BBC in 1968 as an episode of Omnibus and is a precursor to their A Ghost Story for Christmas specials.
Day 9
Man-Size in Marble (1887) by Edith Nesbit from The Haunted Looking Glass, New York Review of Books, 2001. After a newlywed couple move into a country cottage, the husband hears tales about marble statues in an old church that supposedly come to life on All Saints’ Eve. Frightening and disturbing. Adapted for this year's A Ghost Story for Christmas special.
Day 10
The Kit-Bag (1908) by Algernon Blackwood from Christmas Gothic Short Stories, Flame Tree Publishing, 2022. Just before Christmas a man borrows a duffel bag from his boss, a lawyer who represented a murderer. Later he hears strange noises and sees movement in his supposedly empty building. Chilling.
The Lady’s Maid’s Bell (1902) by Edith Wharton from The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton, Wordsworth Editions, 2009. After a young woman is hired as a lady’s maid, she begins hearing a bell ringing in the middle of the night. Haunting, suspenseful, and enigmatic.
Day 12
Wolverden Tower (1896) by Grant Allen from Christmas Gothic Short Stories, Flame Tree Publishing, 2022. Maisie Llewelyn is invited to Wolverden Hall for Christmas and meets two mysterious young girls. A recently rebuilt church tower, secrets of the past, ancient rituals, and an ethereal atmosphere throughout.
Day 13
The Snow (1929) by Hugh Walpole from Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, The British Library, 2018. As it snows, a woman fighting to control her temper seems to be plagued by the presence of her husband’s vindictive first wife. Suspenseful with beautiful prose. That ending!
The Old Portrait (1896) by Hume Nisbet from Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season. After a painter buys an old painting for the frame, he examines it more closely on Christmas Eve and makes what starts out as an intriguing discovery. Short and sinister.
Day 15
Smee (1929) by A.M. Burrage from Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, The British Library, 2018. A game of hide and seek at a Christmas party takes an eerie turn. Chilling atmosphere.
Day 16
The Real and the Counterfeit (1895) by Louisa Baldwin from Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season, The British Library, 2020. During Christmas a man plays a practical joke on his friend, who hopes to see the ghost of a Cistercian monk. Transitions well from lighthearted to spooky.
Day 17
The Crown Derby Plate (1933) by Marjorie Bowen from Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season, The British Library, 2020. While home for the holidays, an antique collector visits an old house hoping to recover a missing plate from a set of china. Descriptive prose helps to create an eerie atmosphere.
Day 18
Christmas Re-Union (1947) by Andrew Caldecott from Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season, The British Library, 2020. Secrets from the past and a mysterious Santa make for an eerie story set during a Christmas party.
Day 19
A Christmas Meeting (1952) by Rosemary Timperley from Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season, The British Library, 2020. A woman alone on Christmas Day receives a visit from a young man who enters her room by mistake. After he leaves, she learns the truth about his visit. Short and bittersweet.
Day 20
Someone in the Lift (1955) by L.P Hartley from Chill Tidings: Dark Tales of the Christmas Season, The British Library, 2020. A young boy keeps seeing a shadowy figure in a hotel lift during Christmas. Although the ending is telegraphed it’s still quite chilling.
Day 21
Told After Super (1891) by Jerome K. Jerome from Christmas Gothic Short Stories, Flame Tree Publishing, 2022. A group of people tell ghost stories while drinking whiskey punch on Christmas Eve. Between some of the character names (Teddy Biffle, Dr. Scrubbles) and the witty humor, it was like reading a ghost story by P. G. Wodehouse. Great fun.
Day 22
How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery by E.F. Benson from The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson, Carroll & Graf, 1992. House Church-Peveril has many ghosts, but only the ghosts of the twin toddlers who haunt the long gallery are feared, for a terrible fate awaits anyone who sees them. From humorous to terrifying.
Day 23
The Shepherd (1975) by Frederick Forsyth from Great Flying Stories, Corgi, 1992. After a pilot’s jet suffers electrical failure mid-flight between Germany to England on Christmas Eve of 1957, he gets lost in the fog. Tension filled, mysterious, and beautifully written.
Day 24
Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk (1889) by Frank Cowper from Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, The British Library, 2018. A man trapped on a derelict shipwreck at night discovers that he may not be alone. Complete darkness and unsettling sounds help to create an atmosphere of claustrophobia and terror.
Day 25
The Ghost at the Cross-Roads - An Irish Christmas Night Story (1893) by Frederick Manley from Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights, The British Library, 2021. After a traveler seeks shelter from a snowstorm, he tells a tale of playing a card game with a mysterious black-clad stranger. A nice example of crossroads folklore. Of course, I love the fact that one of the characters is named Reddy.
That wraps up my ghost stories for Christmas reading for this year. Looking forward to reading more in the future.
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