Our 5th annual Christmas Horror Stories list includes tales by six of my all-time favorite writers. William Hope Hodgson is the only one missing from that list. Each of these authors is a true master of the horror genre. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in any of these stories, and if you want more suggestions, follow the links below to the previous Christmas Horror Story articles featured here at Vintage Horror:
December 2007: http://vintagehorror.com/2007/12/ghosts-of-christmas-past/
December 2008: http://vintagehorror.com/2008/12/more-christmas-horror-tales/
December 2009: http://vintagehorror.com/2009/12/christmas-weird-tales-continue-2009/
December 2010: http://vintagehorror.com/2010/12/christmas-horror-stories-4-2010/
- “The Dead Sexton” by J. Sheridan LeFanu (1871) – A sinister stranger arrives in the small town of Golden Friars shortly after the discovery of a body in the church bell tower around Christmas time. The deceased man died attempting to rob the church. The devious stranger arrives on an eerie steed looking to obtain the corpse for unknown purpose.
- “Between the Lights” by E.F. Benson (1912) – Friends gather to celebrate Christmas at Everard Chandler’s house. After a day filled with Billiards and playing hide and seek, the members of this party gather around the fireplace to tell each other ghost stories. Everard’s is the most unsettling, however, as he recounts a disturbing vision he had the previous Christmas Eve, and the strange being he later encounters. This story balances both festive and eerie atmospheres perfectly. A prime example of what I’m looking for in a Christmas-themed horror story. Here’s a snippet of Benson setting the scene where Everard is beginning to tell his story. “The room still remained in dubious darkness except for the sudden lights disclosed on the walls by the leaping flames on the hearth, and there was wide field for conjecture as to what might lurk in the dim corners. Everard moreover, who had been sitting in the bright light before, was banished by the extinction of some flaming log into the shadows. A voice alone spoke to us, as he sat back in his low chair, a voice rather slow but very distinct.”
- “Transition” by Algernon Blackwood (1913) – A man embarks on a bizarre and nightmarish journey home to his family with a bundle of newly purchased Christmas presents for them.
- “An Appearance and a Disappearance” by M.R. James (1919) – Told in the form of letters written from one friend to another, the writer laments that he cannot attend their usual Christmas gathering because he is looking into the disappearance of his uncle. The man tells of a disturbing dream he had involving a dark version of the famous Punch and Judy puppet show. His terrifying nightmare proves to be more than just a meaningless dream.
- “Someone in the Lift” by L.P. Hartley (1955) – A boy and his family are spending the holidays in a hotel. The lift (elevator) has a see-through bared door. The boy is the only one who keeps seeing a tall figure when the lift moves into view. His mother becomes concerned with this fixation and asks his father to talk to him about it. He does so by suggesting the figure in the lift is possibly Father Christmas. This is a very short but good classic tale of holiday horror.
- “The Christmas Present” by Ramsey Campbell (1969) – A young student joins a group of festive partiers at an establishment without being invited. Feeling obliged by the holiday, they invite him to continue to revel with them as their party moves to a house. The student gives the homeowner a wrapped present but tells him not to open it until midnight. As the group walks to the house, they notice the power going out behind them and strange shadows moving from a recently moved graveyard.
I hope you’ll give some of these stories a read around the Christmas tree to recapture the lost tradition of telling ghost stories during this festive season. There’s something about the rich history and tradition of Christmas that begs for a little eerie seasoning.
Merry Christmas,
Matt Cowan
