The Ghost Of Christmas Past

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.

From the bustling, snowy streets of 19th-century London to the ghostly apparitions of Christmases past and future, award-winning artist Roberto Innocenti vividly renders not only the authentic detail but also the emotional impact of Charles Dickens's beloved Christmas tale. In both crowded urban scenes and intimate portraits of familiar characters, we gain a sense of the timeless humanity of the tale and perhaps catch a glimpse of ourselves.

From Rhys Bowen, the author of In Farleigh Field, comes the next Molly Murphy mystery: The Ghost of Christmas Past. Semi-retired private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is suffering from depression after a miscarriage following her adventure in San Francisco during the earthquake of 1906. She and her husband, Daniel, are invited for Christmas at a mansion on the Hudson, and they gratefully accept, expecting a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. Not long after they arrive, however, they start to feel the tension in the house’s atmosphere. Then they learn that the host couple's young daughter wandered out into the snow ten years ago and was never seen again. Molly can identify with the mother's pain at never knowing what happened to her child and wants to help, but there is so little to go on. No ransom note. No body ever found. But Molly slowly begins to suspect that the occupants of the house know more than they are letting on. Then, on Christmas Eve, there is a knock at the door and a young girl stands there. "I'm Charlotte," she says. "I've come home."

Haley is starting to think this Christmas ski trip was a big mistake. When her best friend ditches her to hang with more popular girls, Haley's totally left out in the cold. And if that wasn't bad enough, someone is playing scary pranks around the old inn and Haley's getting all the blame! Christmas is going to be a really silent night if she can't figure out what's going on. But the more Haley finds out about the inn's creepy past, the more she starts to suspect that the prankster isn't a guest ... it's a ghost!--P. [4] of cover.

**Beverly Hills Book Award Finalist** A Holiday Journey Into Life...And Afterlife Based on Charles Dickens' character of the same name, the radiant spirit is given another chance to shine when it embarks on a spiritual adventure of its own to find meaning for its being.

From NY Times Bestselling Author, Angie Fox, a hauntingly fun holiday addition to the USA TODAY bestselling Southern Ghost Hunter series Southern girl Verity Long needs a Christmas miracle... Verity is ready to deck the halls, jingle some bells, and maybe, just maybe have a merry Christmas with her boyfriend’s stuffy family. Truly, if she doesn’t extend the proverbial olive branch to the overbearing Wydells, she’s afraid she’ll hit them over the head with it. But when her boyfriend’s mother pulls a shocking stunt, Verity finds herself with a big decision to make. And if that’s not enough, there’s an unexpected guest at her door. It’s the ghost of the woman who helped rescue Verity’s pet skunk three years ago that very night. And now she’s there to change Verity’s life as well. *A "between the books" stand-alone holiday story you don't want to miss!

Semi-retired private detective Molly Murphy Sullivan is suffering from depression after a miscarriage. She and her husband, Daniel, are invited for Christmas at a mansion on the Hudson, and they expect a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. When they arrive, however, they feel the tension in the house's atmosphere. Then they learn that the host couple's young daughter wandered out into the snow ten years ago and was never seen again. There is so little to go on: no ransom note, no body ever found. Molly begins to suspect that the occupants of the house know more than they are letting on. Then, on Christmas Eve, there is a knock at the door and a young girl stands there. 'I'm Charlotte, ' she says. 'I've come home."