I am a big fan of horror all year round, so I am going to be that person right now and be all “Ghost stories at Christmas are Victorian tradition!” And they were, and I like to embrace this particular tradition. There are 17 creepy seasonal horror stories in this book, so next year if I am on the ball I might even be able to set up a spooky reading advent-ish adventure for myself.
This collection is not just about Christmas, other winter holidays get their moment to be the setting for spooky happenings. The Ephianany, the Solstice (both in the Northern and Southern hemispheres) Mari Lwyd, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all feature in stories in this book. Sometimes the holiday drives the story, and other times it is more, ambiguous if things are happening because it is a special time of year or if this just happens to be when the horror takes place.
Standout stories for me personally were:
“The Importance of a Tidy Home” by Christopher Golden
I am hot and cold when it comes to Golden’s writing but this story – yikes! Dealing with spirits called Schnabelperchten, the story really does drive home the need to keep your home tidy when the year turns over. This one creeped me out a fair bit and really set the scene for what was to come in the other stories.
“His Castle” by Alma Katsu
I didn’t just love this story because it is the second story I read this year featuring Mari Lwyd. But that helped. This one was one of the ones where while the horror was tied to Christmas, you got the sense that the story could have easily taken place anytime. Not a knock on the story, I enjoyed that while it had the trappings of Chrismtas, the story was also just a good creepy one.
“All the Pretty People” by Nadia Bulkin
It is a stor yabout Festivus! Or a story that takes place at a Festivus party, and the concept of airing of grievances takes a turn.
I’m going to paraphrase a holiday wish I say on Facebook now, I hope anyone reading this review looking for a holiday story, has (or had!) a warm and bright holiday season, and that it was not at all spooky… unless you’re into that sort of thing!
