Haunted Christmas

A present contains a monstrous secret. An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party. A shadow slips across the floor by firelight. A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams. Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas.

Reading a ghost story on Christmas Eve was once as much a part of traditional Christmas celebrations as turkey, eggnog, and Santa Claus. When he finds an abandoned duck punt on Christmas Eve, a hunter rows out into the marsh and comes across a shipwreck. He climbs aboard to explore—and finds himself trapped when a surge snaps the mooring line and his punt floats away. Sleep eludes him, and soon he discovers that he's not the only one trapped on the derelict ship.

In plenty of time for the holidays, here is a gathering of thirty tales of ghosts, hauntings, and other paranormal happenings purported to have taken place on or around Christmas, or that are otherwise related to this holiday. By a long-time believer in the paranormal who in the introduction tells the story of her own Christmas ghost, Haunted Christmas includes stories such as: HAUNTED BETHLEHEM—Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is famous for haunted locales such as the Hotel Bethlehem, the first house built in the town, in 1741. There, guests have come to expect visits from several spirits. Predictably, things heat up at Christmas—after all, this is Bethlehem. THE DEATH COACH OF CHRISTMAS—One Christmas Eve in Ireland many years ago, young Nora Mahoney was returning from the bogs when an invisible something suddenly rushed past her with the sound of grinding wheels and thundering horses' hooves. Had Nora encountered the “death coach” of Irish legend?

A magical mistletoe, mystical dream walks and a angel's helping hand, perfect recipe to put a heart back together?

It’s Christmastime and Alec and his friends are off to the country for a spooky visit! When relatives of Alec’s best friend Ken Gonzalez begin experiencing ghostly happenings and things that go bump in the night, they call asking for help. After Alec and his friends arrive with Ken’s mom and Mrs. Edgar, they find supernatural intruders who were not invited to the party. Or were they? Settle in with a cozy blanket and some hot cocoa for this haunted short story.

A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.

Magic. Mystery. Time-travel. Join Jack, Annie and the Magic Tree House in this historical holiday story that puts a twist on Charles Dicken's classic The Christmas Carol--from the #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time! Jack and Annie must help the famous writer Charles Dickens! The brother and sister are whisked back in time to Victorian England and the foggy streets of London. There, Jack and Annie discover that Charles Dickens has been thrown in jail! How can they help him? They will need all their magic-and help from three ghosts-to keep the great writer from ruining his life! Formerly numbered as Magic Tree House #44, the title of this book is now Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #16: A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time. The Merlin Missions books are more challenging adventures that will delight experienced readers who are fans of the original chapter book series! The Magic Tree House series has been a favorite for over 25 years and is sure to inspire a love of reading—and adventure—in every child who joins Jack and Annie! Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid? • Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books • Magic Tree House Graphic Novels: Jack and Annie's original adventures come to life with full-color, vibrant art, perfect for graphic novel fans and reluctant readers • Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader • Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure • Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

The first-ever collection of Victorian Christmas ghost stories, culled from rare 19th-century periodicals During the Victorian era, it became traditional for publishers of newspapers and magazines to print ghost stories during the Christmas season for chilling winter reading by the fireside or candlelight. Now for the first time thirteen of these tales are collected here, including a wide range of stories from a diverse group of authors, some well-known, others anonymous or forgotten. Readers whose only previous experience with Victorian Christmas ghost stories has been Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" will be surprised and delighted at the astonishing variety of ghostly tales in this volume. "In the sickly light I saw it lying on the bed, with its grim head on the pillow. A man? Or a corpse arisen from its unhallowed grave, and awaiting the demon that animated it?" - John Berwick Harwood, "Horror: A True Tale" "Suddenly I aroused with a start and as ghostly a thrill of horror as ever I remember to have felt in my life. Something--what, I knew not--seemed near, something nameless, but unutterably awful." - Ada Buisson, "The Ghost's Summons" "There was no longer any question what she was, or any thought of her being a living being. Upon a face which wore the fixed features of a corpse were imprinted the traces of the vilest and most hideous passions which had animated her while she lived." - Walter Scott, "The Tapestried Chamber"