In the modern Western world, we associate ghost stories with Halloween, but the tradition is much older. When the nights are long and cold, and the dark feels more dangerous, it makes sense for thoughts to turn to unsettling things. Many Christmas traditions are connected to the Winter Solstice celebration and the festival of Yule. The darkest days of the year are seen by many as a time when the dead has the strongest influence over the living, and many cultures have traditions to ward against the monsters of winter.
Let’s continue the tradition of scary stories around the solstice and not shy away from darker thoughts and the things lurking in the night. Cozy up with a book and remember the promise that we can start over, even if we are all a little haunted.
While the practice is ancient, there was a resurgence of telling scary tales at Christmastime in Britain, thanks in no small part to Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol. In this novella, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge has a supernatural journey on Christmas Eve, visited by his dead partner and three spirits (Past, Present, Yet to Come) who show him his lonely past, the joy of others, and a grim future, if he does not change his ways.
Cold by Mariko Tamaki, another book featuring a ghostly communication, is the story of a boy who died and a girl who wants to know why. Todd was found dead in the town park, naked and frozen in the snow. Georgia didn’t know Todd. But she can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe it’s because they’re both outcasts at their school, or because they’re both queer. It might also be because Georgia has a feeling she’s seen Todd somewhere before, somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. In the vein of The Lovely Bones, this dual narrative is told through the voices of Todd in his afterlife and Georgia as she uncovers the truth behind his death.
In Starlings by Amanda Linsmeier, Kit’s father had always told her he had no family, but his sudden death revealed the truth. Now she has a grandmother and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown for the holidays. Rosemont is picture-perfect with eternal roses that bloom year-round and a downtown straight out of the 1950s. When Kit’s mother suddenly disappears under strange circumstances and her grandmother seems more preoccupied with an upcoming New Year’s town festival, Kit knows something is not right.
If you’d prefer a survival story where nature is the enemy, give Trapped by Michael Northrop a try. Scotty and his friends are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up the day of the blizzard, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn’t seem so bad to spend the night at school. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision.
Feeling particularly brave? Christmas and Other Horrors is an adult anthology that collects stories and traditions from all around the world. My faves are “The Importance of a Tidy Home” by Christopher Golden, featuring the eerie Austrian Schnabelperchten and “His Castle” by Alma Katsu, which involves the skeletal Welsh Mari Lwyd. Lots of other great authors like Stephen Graham Jones and Garth Nix bring a little something for everyone, because the weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is hungry.
And if you’d like to learn more about the dark things in the night, The Dead of Winter by historian Sarah Clegg delves deep into the folkloric roots of Christmas in Europe. This non-fiction book investigates these strange, wonderful traditions in their historical context. And we start to see how fun it might be to let just a bit of the ancient darkness in.
Happy Holidays and may your season be just the right amount of scary!
