1luvamystery65
It's the end of the year for us. Let's wrap things up by reading some holiday themed horror! There is plenty of Christmas themed horror and murder books to fill the entire month. Almost every Victorian author has Christmas themed ghost stories. If you want just a touch of spooky Christmas then short stories might be for you. I'll list a couple of anthologies.
This is Holiday theme so don't limit yourself to Christmas. If you have some Halloween themed stories you weren't able to get to then go for it. Any other holiday is game too.
This is Holiday theme so don't limit yourself to Christmas. If you have some Halloween themed stories you weren't able to get to then go for it. Any other holiday is game too.
2luvamystery65
Recommendations
Christmas Horror
The Wraith by Joe Hill (graphic novel)
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Visitor by Serio Gomez
Krampus the Yule Lord by Brom
Secret Santa Andrew Shaffer
The Twelve Terrors of Christmas by John Updike
Anthologies
Dead of Winter by Kealan Patrick Burke
The Shrieking Skull by James Skipp Borlase (Victorian ghost stories)
The Valencourt Book of Christmas Ghost Stories (There are several volumes)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (Not all are holiday but many are)
Hark the Herald Angels Scream by Christopher Golden
Christmas Horror
The Wraith by Joe Hill (graphic novel)
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Visitor by Serio Gomez
Krampus the Yule Lord by Brom
Secret Santa Andrew Shaffer
The Twelve Terrors of Christmas by John Updike
Anthologies
Dead of Winter by Kealan Patrick Burke
The Shrieking Skull by James Skipp Borlase (Victorian ghost stories)
The Valencourt Book of Christmas Ghost Stories (There are several volumes)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (Not all are holiday but many are)
Hark the Herald Angels Scream by Christopher Golden
4sturlington
I think a reread of The Twelve Terrors of Christmas is in order, and I'll likely also pull down some ghost stories. Perhaps continue the Edward Gorey theme with a look at The Haunted Looking-Glass--I feel there must be at least one Christmas-themed story in that anthology. I might save all this for Christmas Eve to enjoy with a mug of hot chocolate. This is helping me look forward to the holidays!
5LibraryCin
I'm planing on The Hunting Party / Lucy Foley. I believe it is set at New Year's.
6JayneCM
I just finished Wildacre: A Christmas Ghost Story by Shani Struthers. Only 186 pages - very good.
7DeltaQueen50
I read Christmas Horror, Vol. 1 an anthology that includes stores from authors such as Joe R. Lansdale and J. F. Gonzalez. There are 8 stories, all original and all pretty gruesome and I enjoyed them all.
8MissWatson
I found Maroni, Mord und Hallelujah on my bookswapping site, and one of the stories in the book describes the customs of the Salzburg region for the Twelve Nights of Christmas, or Rauhnächte in German. They are very scary!
9mstrust
I read Secret Santa and recommend it if you're looking for a mostly fun holiday horror. Set in NYC in the 80's at a publishing firm.
10LibraryCin
>9 mstrust: Oh, that's tempting!
11VivienneR
I'm planning to read The last day of Christmas: the fall of Jack Parlabane a short story by Christopher Brookmyre.
12sturlington
I reread The Twelve Terrors of Christmas. This little book is illustrated by Edward Gorey, which is what makes it worthwhile, because John Updike's outlook on Christmas is pretty depressing. He makes some good points about the downsides of the holiday season, but really, what kind of person doesn't like trees? I enjoyed him comparing Santa Claus to "one of Stephen King's clowns," though.
13LibraryCin
The Hunting Party / Lucy Foley
4 stars
Emma has arranged for a get together of (mostly) university friends over New Year’s Eve in a remote area of Scotland. Emma didn’t actually know this group of friends in university, but she has been dating one of them for three years. Although they only get together every New Year’s, she still feels a bit like an outsider. The beautiful Miranda is married to Julien; Mark (Emma’s boyfriend) always had a crush on Miranda; Katie is Miranda’s best friend – or was when they were students. There is a gay couple and one couple with a new baby. Heather and Doug are not part of the group of friends, but work at the lodge the friends are staying at; they both have their own reasons for wanting to work somewhere so very isolated and remote. As a blizzard arrives, trapping them in place with no way in or out, one of the guests (friends) has disappeared.
The story took a bit of time to build. It was told from a few different points of view, including Emma, Katie, Miranda, Heather, and Doug. The atmosphere – the remoteness, the loneliness, the cold of the place – was done really well. The reader is not told who is the missing guest until a ways into the story. I have to say none of the characters was particularly likable. It was a good buildup to the finale, and hard to tell who the culprit was, as it could have been just about anyone.
4 stars
Emma has arranged for a get together of (mostly) university friends over New Year’s Eve in a remote area of Scotland. Emma didn’t actually know this group of friends in university, but she has been dating one of them for three years. Although they only get together every New Year’s, she still feels a bit like an outsider. The beautiful Miranda is married to Julien; Mark (Emma’s boyfriend) always had a crush on Miranda; Katie is Miranda’s best friend – or was when they were students. There is a gay couple and one couple with a new baby. Heather and Doug are not part of the group of friends, but work at the lodge the friends are staying at; they both have their own reasons for wanting to work somewhere so very isolated and remote. As a blizzard arrives, trapping them in place with no way in or out, one of the guests (friends) has disappeared.
The story took a bit of time to build. It was told from a few different points of view, including Emma, Katie, Miranda, Heather, and Doug. The atmosphere – the remoteness, the loneliness, the cold of the place – was done really well. The reader is not told who is the missing guest until a ways into the story. I have to say none of the characters was particularly likable. It was a good buildup to the finale, and hard to tell who the culprit was, as it could have been just about anyone.
