A Vampire Christmas Carol

by Sarah Gray

Ebenezer Scrooge has never been known for the greatness of his heart. A miser, a leech, a penny-pinching old coot... Say what you will about him, though—he's never actually sucked someone's blood.
That dubious honor belongs to the vampires who surround him, preying on the weak and laying traps for the strong. They've dogged his footsteps since he was born, driving him from the love of his friends, family, and faithful fiancée.

Now, on Christmas Eve, Scrooge's old friend Jacob Marley rises from the grave to warn him about the evil gathering around him. With three mysterious spirits to guide him, he rediscovers his lost love Belle, toiling fearlessly as a seamstress by day and vampire hunter by night. He sees the secrets of his nephew Fred and his clerk Bob Cratchit, who risk their lives as Belle's loyal soldiers. And he learns of the plot mounting to attack all of them, starting with the innocent sacrifice of Bob's son Tiny Tim. . .

Scrooge has only one night to save himself and all that he once treasured—but if he can vanquish the vampires, he might finally earn back the love he cast away. . .

Genres: Christmas, Vampires, Horror, Paranormal, Fiction, Holiday, Fantasy

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Elke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book sounded like fun, and I enjoy reading something christmassy around this time of year.

Pro: the idea of the book was interesting enough and of course immediately appealed to me. I have no problem whatsoever with a retelling of a great classic story. I never expected this one to outplay the original either, but to give some light entertainment, and that it did.

Contra: the language, though attempted to fit the historical time and place, sometimes had me reread sentences simply to understand them (and fail again). I don't know if this is because English is not a native language for me or because the author got muddled sometimes. Also, it would have been better to write a novella like the original instead of unnecessarily stretching it into a novel. There where several scenes that could have been canceled without doing any harm, in contrary it would have served to keep up the pace and the reader's interest to continue.

I would have liked to given two and a half stars, but as that is not possible I settled for two stars to distance this novel from my average-ok-three-star books, where it simply does not fit in.

[Russell Holbrook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where is Buffy when you need her? Probably off somewhere smooching that gigantic forehead guy.

I just really don't know what to say about this book. I LOVE Christmas horror and I was excited to read this. However, I didn't realize that the this isn't a new "reimagining" of A Christmas Carol, it's just the Christmas Carol story but with vampires and a subplot. It was not the blood-soaked tale of beheadings on Christmas Eve that I was hoping for. Still, if you're looking for an atmospheric, horror-lite take on the Dickens classic, then this is probably a good pick. I did totally enjoy the cold, wintery vibes. :)

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a bit too cheesy for me, and the whole Scrooge and Belle having a child thing, I kept picturing Beauty and the Beast, yikes. I don't know. It was okay, I guess, however, I didn't really like it. I still like the overall message, and it was an interesting take on a classic story.

[Magnolia Bonaparte · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars! Just fantastic! . Very very cool and at the same time really cozy. I love it.

[Rachel Ritchhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

A perfect read if you are quarantined due to Covid on Christmas.

[Melyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book knowing nothing more than it was a Christmas related. Finding that it is a re-telling of Dickens "A Christmas Carol" I was hesitant but decided to give it a try. I have not read any of the other classics that have been turned into paranormal books.

The story tells the tale of how Ebenezer's entire life has been shaped by the Queen of vampires. Her pet project so to speak. It follows the original story fairly closely but adds the vampire twist, with vampires being the reason for the awful things that Ebenezer faced during his life. It was a bit awkward to read with the narrator jumping in with commentary occasionally. The language felt awkward as well, even though I knew it was written in the style of the original story. Just to note, the vampires are evil. No goodness, nothing to sympathize with. The human minions are just as bad.

I had a very difficult time getting through this book but decided I would finish it to give it a fair chance. I was to the ending with our reformed Scrooge and it just abruptly stops. This was an advanced copy, received at a convention for review but to just stop with no ending?! Just when Scrooge was going to be a good guy and slay vampires and save Tiny Tim! After wading through all the other parts that I did not enjoy nearly so much! I am very disappointed.

All in all I did not enjoy having this beloved Christmas classic being made into a vampire story.

[Manuela · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't the first classical novel that I read with Vampires. But unlike others with this one I had to work to get through the pages. The story was dragging, the explanations given sounded weird and coming out from nowhere and the characters were not developed enough to either be like the original ones or to be totally new creations of their own story. I finished it and was thankful for the last page.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps having recently read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens made it difficult to enjoy Sarah Gray's reboot, A Vampire Christmas Carol. (Or I could just be really burnt out on vampires and their rampant [over]use in books, film and TV.) Gray's was a strong idea and she did manage to create an interesting backstory and explanation for Scrooge's character and lifestyle. But something just felt off for me.

The first four chapters were rather clunky and hard to connect with. Also, the narrator seemed judgy and somewhat offensive. It took a good deal of work for me to push through the prose, which didn't quite hit the mark. (Keep in mind I loved the original and have no issue with older styles of prose.) I wonder, if Gray would've transplanted Scrooge, and the new world she'd crafted for him, into today's world, being able to then write more modern prose, would she have crafted a story easier and more enjoyable for today's readers? I also would've liked to have seen a lot less of the original text; long passages were copied verbatim.

Overall, 2.5 stars, and that's mostly for Gray's idea, and Dickens' underlying themes remaining intact.

[Diana]

I tried. I really did. I waded through almost 10 chapters. I thought it might be a fun vampire story like "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" but it was too much! I didn't mind the rambling and jumping around, but when the author described something as glowing "like a bad lobster in a dark cellar" I just couldn't take anymore!

[tysia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zdecydowanie gorsza wersja ,,Opowieści Wigilijnej''. Przyznam, że niektóre wątki były bardzo ciekawe i całkowicie nowe, jednak duża ich część była po prostu tandetna i dosyć prymitywna. Nie miałam zbyt dużych oczekiwań co do tej książki i nie myliłam się, typowa lektura na świąteczny wieczór.

[Joanie]

Update-I can't make myself read past the 3rd page. Back to the library it goes.


Saw this at the library and had to grab it. I'm sure it's horrible but I couldn't resist.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different take on a Christmas classsic

Vampires and their minions are all around but Ebenezer Scrooge is blind to them. They have been grooming him since he was a young boy waiting for the day to come when they can make him one of their own, but love interferes and brings the 3 spirits with Jacob Marleys help. The 3 spirits try to open Ebenezers eyes to the vampires around him .

I had high hopes for this book but in a way it let me down. not as good as i was hoping it would be.
I didnt like some of the telling in this story, im not sure if the author was trying to use old English phrases or what. At times some of the phrases she said didnt make sens to me. also she would cut into the story and say " you readers... then go on to give her point of view and then say " back to the story. At one point she even made a political statement which had nothing to do with the story. I found these breaks in the story very annoying...

This author also put her Vampire view into the story Wuthering Heights, it is Wuthering Bites... If I find this one I may give it a shot...

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before I get into my rating and review two things should be made clear: First, I love the Christmas Carol and read it nearly every year. Second, I love cheesy creature stories and yes I claim vampires as creatures.

This book should have been a match made in heaven for me, but it just fell extremely short.

I must applaud the author Gray for her ability to weave her story and voice in with that of Dickens, so overall no real complaints on that.

However, I think this would have been more enjoyable if they author had just tried to create her own telling of a Christmas Carol rather than this blending. It’s like when you buy a paint-by-number of a masterpiece like the Mona Lisa. By the time you are done painting you look at it and wish you had either done a free hand interoperation, or just bought a blasted copy; because, what you have created now is affront to the master, and also an insult of your own given talent and abilities.

I wanted to love it, but A Vampire Christmas Carol turned out to just be a huge disappointment.

[Beverley Albright · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to give any book a rating of one star. But I honestly did not like this book. The biggest problem for me was the author was too flowery. Her descriptions would last sometimes four pages for a single room or on people's clothing. I don't need that much information on peripheral items.

And there were definitely not enough vampire doings in the book. Plus, what doings there were, was glossed over. The premise of Scrooge being manipulated his whole life by the vamps and the reason behind it was a very good one. She just never made it interesting.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite my initial suspicions, this book is neither really really bad nor really really good. It's a good bit of fun, written in the original Dickens style and borrowing the familiar tropes from the original while injecting just enough new vampire stuff to make it new and fresh. The plot's not the best, and that's okay because one doesn't necessarily look for plot when reading this. A light read for the holidays for those of us just twisted enough to enjoy this sort of thing.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The clothes Scrooge's life with vampire influence in a bloody recasting of the Christmas story, using all of the scenes from the original work, only twisted. Amusingly, she also borrows from Dickens to give Scrooge's youth the events from David Copperfield.

[Patrick Lemley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read & did a wonderful job of pulling from the original, but also goes a long way towards explaining WHY Ebeneezer Scrooge was the way he was.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting concept! Well written! Enjoy!

[Annie]

🤬‼️ When I changed the Tag on this, Goodreads moved it from Read to Want to Read. One of my Books and Brews Reads for December 2021 Theme of A Christmas Carol. Will have to see if I can find my review on Facebook.......couldn't find were I posted anything specific about this, which proably means it was middle of the road.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't really get into this book, but I'm sure others may enjoy it.

[Vickie Woodard · Rating 2 out of 5]

NEW TWIST ON A CLASSIC

But let's be fair: more than 50% of this was written by Dickens. Even the dialogue.
Good thing Dickins is dead so Gray can't be legally challenged.

[Erica Gabel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 10%

I just sporadically read this during the day between presents and food. Love the idea. Don’t love old timey writing. May finish this next year.

[Dark Faerie Tales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: An old favorite with a new twist

Opening Sentence: Marley was dead to begin with.

The Review:

For this piece, I won’t give you a complete run down of the hero or heroine, because I am going to assume that the three of you have already met. That’s right, as in the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; we follow the life and times of one Ebenezer Scrooge, and all his associates and family members.

Ok, so a lot of the characters and events here are the same as the other stories. Scrooge still starts out all cranky and miserly and downright nasty. Scrooge still employs Bob Cratchit, who still has a family including Tiny Tim. Ebenezer’s nephew Fred also appears. Mr. Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased partner, Jacob Marley, and by three spirits, Christmas Past, Present and Future. And afterwards, he is reborn nice and friendly and generous. And as a reader, I was happy to get on with the part where he becomes a changed man.

There are also some very notable differences. We get to spend much more time with his past love, Belle. Belle, bless her heart, has never given up hope for the return of the man she once knew, and as thus has never married in this version. We also get to see more of the current lives of Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and Ebenezer’s nephew Fred.

Also, in this here book, there has been one very large plot twist added. Scrooge’s London is being overrun with creatures of a paranormal nature. Vampires. Vampires? Dickens with Vampires, you say?!?! Why yes, and I’ll be darned if the story isn’t that much better with them. And here’s why…

I like it because it gives me a more concrete reason why Scrooge is so… well, Scrooge-y.

I like it because it gives Bob and Tiny Tim and Fred some more importance in the world.

I like it because it makes the woman of the story strong and independent.

And well, I like it because there are vampires in it.

We are introduced to The King and Queen of Vampires, Wahltraud and Griselda, and their army of vampires. We find out that vampires in this world have slaves they call minions, who like vampires, ingest human blood and thus become sensitive to sunlight. Scrooge has even unknowingly hired one of them, a Mr. Disgut. There is also rumor of some prophecy concerning Scrooge’s offspring, (that’s right, offspring) and the downfall of all vampires. I won’t tell you more, because that would need a spoiler alert.

Well, forgive me my ignorance, for it has been quite a few years since I have read the original, but I hazard to say that Ms. Gray sticks pretty close to the classic Dickens version of the story, (at least to the Jim Carey movie version I just saw not too long ago) with the notable exception of those pesky vampires and their minions. Now for all those with bittersweet memories of being forced to read good old Chuck’s handy work in all its non-vampirish glory, this story might not be for you. And then again, it might. Though, I have to say, as a teen, I would have been much more excited about reading this version, cause vampires are just that much cooler J Where was this my freshman year?

Notable Scene:

Griselda squealed with delight and threw her arms around her husband, embracing him close. “And so Ebenezer Scrooge is ours?” she begged, looking up at her walking-dead husband in eager anticipation. This project, tedious in time and effort, had taken nearly a full human lifetime. But it would all be worthwhile for Wahltraud and Griselda if Scrooge went the way of Marley. In fact, it would be better, for they had great plans for this human.

Wahltraud brought his lips to Griselda’s and they kissed. Then nipped like pups at play. She was the first to draw blood, he the first to howl with pleasure. “Tell me all,” she cried. “Have we the cellars, my precious? Have you gained them for me?”

You see, Wahltraud and Griselda were not wine purveyors, Prussian brewers, or even ordinary English citizens. Unbeknownst to Scrooge and most of London, they were not even human. Wahltraud was the undisputed King of Vampires, Griselda his crowned queen, and Scrooge her pet project which had kept her busy the last half-century. But, how could Scrooge have known? How could anyone have known? You might say if Scrooge had scrutinized his situation with more care, he might have realized that the events played out in his life up to this day were not of his own making. But, again, I get ahead of myself.

Back to Marley…Dead as a door-nail.

FTC Advisory: Kensington provided me with a copy of A Vampire Christmas Carol. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Londoners fear the dark for the creatures lurking in its shadows and the holidays approaching with tidings of great bleakness instead of joy, all that stands in the way are handfuls of those who are willing to stand up to these creatures and await the promised one who will be born to destroy the last of the evil vampires feasting on the unaware. In this retelling, Scrooge has been directed his whole life unknowingly by the Queen and King of vampires who have a vested interest in him. From the moment of his birth to his years at school to the very present, Scrooge has played a pivotal role in their machinations. And now at the most precarious moment for the humans of London and the world only one person's hope for Scrooge's deliverance can sway the balance. With the visit of three spirits Scrooge will become the fulcrum of the destiny of mankind. Will his humanity awaken to his fellows or will the cruelties visited upon him through his life render him incapable of compassion. With appearances by the characters that have made A Christmas Carol a classic for generations, this retelling will be a welcome addition to any bookshelf. For every warm fireside needs a little bit of chill to fully enjoy the warmth.

[Joe Hempel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So that's what made Scrooge so grumpy...the VAMPIRES!! I get it now!

Interesting little mix, I haven't read any of the others like Pride & Predjudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, so it was a neat little thing to see the scenes with the vampires mixed in with the Dickens Classic. Incedentally I couldn't be ruined because I've never read the Dickens classic.

At least these Vampires don't sparkle.

It was interesting though...but it won't be for everyone.

[Kathy (ebookkat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just read the classic "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens I decided to search the library ebooks for another Christmas themed story. I came upon "A Vampire Christmas Carol" by Sarah Gray and thought the spoof of the original Dicken's classic with a vampire twist might be entertaining to read. I was delighted when the book turned out to be a clever and sometimes funny read.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A retelling of Dicken's classics with a twist: vampires are causing Scrooge's meanness!

If you are going to use an existing story to tell your own, it had better be damn clever. And this wasn't. It was painful and slow-going, too much of it was copied directly from A Christmas Carol. Lazy. Despite that, I wish we would have read this for our book club's December book.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it's done primarily in the writing style of Dickens, so you should expect a bit harder reading level from it. I wouldn't say it's the greatest book ever, but I found it to be better than a lot of the reviews here on goodreads made it seem. I would be willing to give another book by this author a try.

[Lesa Neace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes the original Dickens story and adds vampires as the guiding force that made Scrooge the man he was prior to his encounter with the Christmas ghosts. An interesting twist on a holiday classic.

[Misfit]

Make. It. Stop. Now.