Andy Williams Said It !
There be parties for hosting
Marshmellows for tosting
And caroling out in the snow
There be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases
Long long ago
Far be it for me to say Mr. Williams was incorrect. The history of telling ghost stories stems back as far as the 1800’s. Most are familiar with Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843). As for myself, I remember distinctly arguing before a literature class that the ghost of Marley was not a spiritual manifestation (“why else would he have to unlock the door ?”)...and I realize the hypocrisy of my statement given my current tales of the supernatural. While here in America celebrate Halloween as the annual division between the Veil and our Earthly world, the pre-Christian practice was to hold Solstice festivals at mid-winter to celebrate he shortest time of daylight an night - when the Veil is at its thinnest. As with most holidays celebrated now, the date of 25 December for Christmas was adapted from these pagan holidays (noting that in the 1600’s Puritans attempted to disestablish Christmas because of no Bibilical relation to the date - see this link).
That being said, the telling of ghost stories is highlighted in the Victorian Age (see this link for Molly Hanson’s work - which heavily influenced this post), and probably perpetuate by Dickens himself. As stated in Colin Dickey’s article in the Smithsonian (link here - which I think influenced Hanson’s work), Dickens had provided a bond between Christmas an ghost telling through his editorial works an other works (he Chimes and The Haunted Man) even complaining to a colleague at one point in 1868 he felt “as if I had murdered a Christmas number years ago (perhaps I did!) and its ghost perpetually haunted me.”
In 1886 William Dedan Howells wrote in Harper’s an editorial that “the ethical intention which gave dignity to Dickens’ Christmas stories of still earlier date has almost wholly disappeared.” You can be the judge, here are 10 stories highlighted by the Carter Haugh School for Christmastime spookiness:
“The Old Nurse’s Story” by Elizabeth Gaskell (1852)
“Horror: A True Tale” by John Berwick Harwood (1861)*
“Bring Me a Light!” by Jane Margaret Hooper (1861)*
“The Ghost’s Summons” by Ada Buisson (1868)*
“The Kit-Bag” by Algernon Blackwood (1908)
“Between the Lights” E. F. Benson (1912)
“The Dead” by James Joyce (1914)
“Smee” by A. M. Burrage (1931)
“Dark Christmas” by Jeanette Winterson (2013)
*TCan be found in the collection The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories.
Five Miles Downrange:
In Celebration of spooky stories told over Christmas, we will be having a free giveaway of both Blue Summer and Gruff Ending (on Kindle) 20-24 December. Please feel free to leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads !
Slipping the Gears has published its 14th episode on Kindle Vella - don’t miss out !
