The Shadows Of Christmas Past

"New York Times" bestselling author Feehan and award-winning author Sizemore craft two passionate paranormal holiday novellas for this two-in-one collection. Original.

Sixteen-year-old Nickolas is the only son of the man known to the world as Santa Claus. Constantly surrounded by the glitter and glitz of a Christmas season that never ends, and by enthusiastic, over-achiever elves who only appear to share his age, Nick wants nothing more than to escape the North Pole. To go where he can see the ocean instead of endless ice. He longs to attend a normal school with normal kids. He wants a real life. Though Christmas is a time of hope, of wonder and magic, it is also a time of strangeness. Of lurking shadows and unexplained occurrences. This year, when a ghost of Christmas Past is awakened, old secrets are unearthed. The bright candy shell skin of Nick's world is peeled away, revealing a much darker layer. He is not who--or what--he has been led to believe. And neither are those closest to him.

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.

Christmas Past by Susanna Fraser Time-traveling PhD student Sydney Dahlquist's first mission sounded simple enough—spend two weeks in December 1810 collecting blood samples from the sick and wounded of Wellington's army, then go home to modern-day Seattle and Christmas with her family. But when her time machine breaks, stranding her in the past, she must decide whether to sacrifice herself to protect the timeline or to build a new life—and embrace a new love—two centuries before her time. Rifle captain Miles Griffin has been fascinated by the tall, beautiful "Mrs. Sydney" from the day he met her caring for wounded soldiers. When he stumbles upon her time travel secret on Christmas Eve, he vows to do whatever it takes to seduce her into making her home in his present—by his side.

Death denied Felicity a future with the man she loved, but her spirit lingers in the the Harwood House Hotel hoping to heal broken hearts and help them to find love again.... Widowed World War I nurse Audra Donaldson returns from France planning to devote her life to helping those suffering the lingering effects of war—effects she knows all too well, as she suffers from them herself. When, staying at the Harwood House Inn on a Christmas visit to her brother, she hears a man in the throes of a violent nightmare, she goes to him without question—and is stunned by a physical attraction as strong as her desire to help. About to embrace the beautiful angel come to save him from the horrors of the battlefield, former soldier Drew Harwood recoils when he realizes Audra is real—and has seen his “weakness.” Brusquely rejecting her offer of help, he intends to avoid her. But more than just her beauty continues to draw him back. Though this compassionate, kind, and giving soul has seen more of war than he has, somehow, talking with her brings him peace--and seems to comfort her, too. If he can just resist acting on the desire she's ignited in him since his first glimpse of her... But someone else was watching, too. After tragedy denied Felicity a future with Drew, her dying wish was that he live his life and be happy for them both. To her sorrow, a year later, her former fiancé is still struggling. Deciding Audra is the perfect lady to heal the wounds of her beloved, this determined ghost resolves to bring Drew and Audra together. Who can resist a love that lasts beyond time?

Adapted for the stage by Tony-nominated playwright David Thompson, "A Christmas Carol" follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge as he discovers the true meaning of Christmas: charity, redemption, and compassion for his fellow human beings. Praised as "intelligent" and "literate" by the press, Thompson's adaptation creates a "perfect balance of Dickensian fidelity and modern theatricality." Original Christmas songs throughout the play infuse the beloved classic with an uplifting festivity that truly captures the joy and fellowship of the holiday season.

The classic story of A Christmas Carol is retold in this brand new adaptation. Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. But one Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of the late Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Will the things that they show Scrooge be enough to make him change his miserly ways forever? With a running time of around 50 minutes, this is a magical and spooky Christmas treat for family audiences and young performers.