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The Inn Closes for Christmas: and Other Dark Tales
A deliciously unnerving tale of the uncanny originally published in 1947, The Inn Closes for Christmas chronicles one man's obsession with a murderous prosthetic leg.
Discover the lost masterpiece from the father of Celtic noir.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a deliciously dark and haunting tale of one man's nightmarish obsession and how far he'll go to escape it. For fans of Shirley Jackson, MR James, and Andrew Michael Hurley, rediscover this forgotten classic.
The Bank manager, as he had done for so many Christmases now, opened the file. And as always, as he opened it he wondered why he must do this each year. For the man had asked him that he should do this every Christmas for as long as he should live.
In the file, the bank manager sifts through some papers - local newspaper cuttings, a pathologist report, a statement from the town's dentist William Sterrill, and a death notice for his wife, Mrs Doreen Sterrill. But it is the last paper that stops him in his tracks. It is the confession of William Sterrill.
In William's confession we learn about the terrible accident that caused his wife to have her leg amputated, the prosthetic leg she then had to wear, how this leg slowly drives William to murder, and then the descent into madness as we walk through William's nightmares, visions, and thoughts.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is also accompanied by a selection of short stories, full of the uncanny and creepy where Hughes points us towards the darkest places in the human psyche with the lightest of touches.
Discover the lost masterpiece from the father of Celtic noir.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a deliciously dark and haunting tale of one man's nightmarish obsession and how far he'll go to escape it. For fans of Shirley Jackson, MR James, and Andrew Michael Hurley, rediscover this forgotten classic.
The Bank manager, as he had done for so many Christmases now, opened the file. And as always, as he opened it he wondered why he must do this each year. For the man had asked him that he should do this every Christmas for as long as he should live.
In the file, the bank manager sifts through some papers - local newspaper cuttings, a pathologist report, a statement from the town's dentist William Sterrill, and a death notice for his wife, Mrs Doreen Sterrill. But it is the last paper that stops him in his tracks. It is the confession of William Sterrill.
In William's confession we learn about the terrible accident that caused his wife to have her leg amputated, the prosthetic leg she then had to wear, how this leg slowly drives William to murder, and then the descent into madness as we walk through William's nightmares, visions, and thoughts.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is also accompanied by a selection of short stories, full of the uncanny and creepy where Hughes points us towards the darkest places in the human psyche with the lightest of touches.
- GenresChristmasShort Stories
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
3 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 16, 2025
Cledwyn Hughes is a completely new author for me – in fact, I had never heard of him until I spotted this new edition of his work on NetGalley recently. Hughes (not to be confused with the Labour politician of the same name) is a Welsh author of short stories – over 250 of them, apparently – novels, children’s books and nonfiction books about Wales. This new collection from John Murray Press includes his 1947 novella, The Inn Closes for Christmas, and several other, much shorter stories.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a bizarre, macabre story. It begins at Christmas with a bank manager in the town of Welton sitting down to open a file containing a bundle of papers. The man who left it to him – the dentist, Mr Sterrill – has asked him to read through these papers every Christmas for as long as he should live. First, the bank manager examines some newspaper cuttings relating to the death, inquest and funeral of the dentist’s wife. Finally, he turns to the longest document in the file – a document written by Mr Sterrill himself.
The dentist starts by describing his marriage to his wife, Doreen, and giving an account of the car accident in which she lost one of her legs. Faced with spending the rest of her life with a missing limb, Doreen is delighted when she is provided with a prosthetic replacement. Her husband, however, is not pleased at all. He hates the way his wife looks at her artificial leg, the way she speaks so fondly of it and keeps it beside her in bed at night. In other words, he’s jealous of it. So when Doreen dies from what seems to be an infected abscess, Sterrill looks forward to getting rid of the leg at last. The only problem is, the leg doesn’t want to go…
This is such a strange story – I wonder what made Cledwyn Hughes think of it! I can’t say any more about the plot without spoiling it, but it really is one of the most unusual stories I’ve read. The way Hughes describes the mental deterioration of the narrator as he becomes more and more obsessed with the leg and consumed by guilt and fear reminded me of some of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. It’s quite creepy in places, but also with an undercurrent of dark humour which made it both entertaining and unsettling.
Despite the title, this is definitely not a festive Christmas tale and could be read at any time of year. The US title was originally He Dared Not Look Behind which is probably more appropriate (you’ll understand why once you’ve read the story). This new edition includes six other stories by Hughes which I found too short to be very satisfying and I felt that they were only there to make the book feel a bit more substantial. The title novella alone makes it worth reading, though, and it’s not one I’ll forget in a hurry!
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a bizarre, macabre story. It begins at Christmas with a bank manager in the town of Welton sitting down to open a file containing a bundle of papers. The man who left it to him – the dentist, Mr Sterrill – has asked him to read through these papers every Christmas for as long as he should live. First, the bank manager examines some newspaper cuttings relating to the death, inquest and funeral of the dentist’s wife. Finally, he turns to the longest document in the file – a document written by Mr Sterrill himself.
The dentist starts by describing his marriage to his wife, Doreen, and giving an account of the car accident in which she lost one of her legs. Faced with spending the rest of her life with a missing limb, Doreen is delighted when she is provided with a prosthetic replacement. Her husband, however, is not pleased at all. He hates the way his wife looks at her artificial leg, the way she speaks so fondly of it and keeps it beside her in bed at night. In other words, he’s jealous of it. So when Doreen dies from what seems to be an infected abscess, Sterrill looks forward to getting rid of the leg at last. The only problem is, the leg doesn’t want to go…
This is such a strange story – I wonder what made Cledwyn Hughes think of it! I can’t say any more about the plot without spoiling it, but it really is one of the most unusual stories I’ve read. The way Hughes describes the mental deterioration of the narrator as he becomes more and more obsessed with the leg and consumed by guilt and fear reminded me of some of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories. It’s quite creepy in places, but also with an undercurrent of dark humour which made it both entertaining and unsettling.
Despite the title, this is definitely not a festive Christmas tale and could be read at any time of year. The US title was originally He Dared Not Look Behind which is probably more appropriate (you’ll understand why once you’ve read the story). This new edition includes six other stories by Hughes which I found too short to be very satisfying and I felt that they were only there to make the book feel a bit more substantial. The title novella alone makes it worth reading, though, and it’s not one I’ll forget in a hurry!
November 21, 2025
If you’re expecting or hoping for cosy, festive read here, you’re barking up the wrong tree entirely. If on the other hand you’re thinking - ooh I’d like a festive read, but in the style of Shirley Jackson, this might just be for you.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a thoroughly creepy novella written in 1947 (and republished this month) about a dentist who despises his wife’s prosthetic leg, so much so that he convinces himself that the only way to get rid of the leg is to kill her. Red flags all over the place with this one.
Atmospheric, strange and haunting, this novella has stood the test of time. There are some additional short (very short) stories after it but these don’t really land. It doesn’t matter though, because I’ll be haunted by the leg forever!
With thanks to John Murray Press for the early copy via Netgalley.
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a thoroughly creepy novella written in 1947 (and republished this month) about a dentist who despises his wife’s prosthetic leg, so much so that he convinces himself that the only way to get rid of the leg is to kill her. Red flags all over the place with this one.
Atmospheric, strange and haunting, this novella has stood the test of time. There are some additional short (very short) stories after it but these don’t really land. It doesn’t matter though, because I’ll be haunted by the leg forever!
With thanks to John Murray Press for the early copy via Netgalley.
December 3, 2025
I definitely found the cover/pub date/title misleading as this is not christmassy!!!! The titular novella (about 150pp) took me by surprise because I went completely blind and it turned out it was about a dentist and a haunted leg (not a spoiler as it’s all in the blurb which I had chosen not to read). It’s very dark and sinister and weird, so it kept me reading. I was a bit like wtf is going on here, but I did like the weirdness. A few very short stories also included here (probs to be able to retail this at £14.99) are fine. A couple had a twist, but otherwise they’re just ok.
January 16, 2026
Picked this one at my lovely independent bookshop in town, fancied something a little bit creepy for the period between Halloween and Christmas and I was not disappointed!
This had me hooked from the go. The story was intriguing and continued to evolve at a rapid but smooth pace through the use of short chapters. I loved how the tension built as the main character unravelled as he tried to rid himself of the problem.
The other stories did not land as well for me as the first, I think maybe Hughes was exploring ideas and approaches. I will say the one with the pirates was interesting as an idea and alarming at the same time.
Overall, this book was a little gem because of the first story and because I love getting the chance to read authors I've never heard of/explored before and having them grip me from the first page.
This had me hooked from the go. The story was intriguing and continued to evolve at a rapid but smooth pace through the use of short chapters. I loved how the tension built as the main character unravelled as he tried to rid himself of the problem.
The other stories did not land as well for me as the first, I think maybe Hughes was exploring ideas and approaches. I will say the one with the pirates was interesting as an idea and alarming at the same time.
Overall, this book was a little gem because of the first story and because I love getting the chance to read authors I've never heard of/explored before and having them grip me from the first page.
January 2, 2026
The Inn Closes for Christmas (although published with a very Christmassy cover) really has very little to do with anything in or of the ‘festive’ period. Indeed, it is particularly ‘un-festive’ in tone and content but does fit quite nicely with the ghost stories for Christmas theme popularised by M.R. James a mere 120 years ago… and which you might still find on certain television channels at that time of year.
It is, however, a novel idea for a story, and to someone who has read quite a number of ghost stories, it is still particularly creepy. And like all the best ghost and mystery stories, The Inn Closes for Christmas leaves you wondering if the apparition was actually real or just in the mind of the central character. Normally I would finish a review like this by saying something like, “great fun!” But I’m still too creeped out to even think of it as anything akin to fun.
It is, however, a novel idea for a story, and to someone who has read quite a number of ghost stories, it is still particularly creepy. And like all the best ghost and mystery stories, The Inn Closes for Christmas leaves you wondering if the apparition was actually real or just in the mind of the central character. Normally I would finish a review like this by saying something like, “great fun!” But I’m still too creeped out to even think of it as anything akin to fun.
October 28, 2025
I really liked this collection of stories as it was slightly creepy but also had an easy to follow vibe. I liked the writing and found it added to the atmosphere. The main story, The Inn Closes for Christmas, was interesting and i liked the story witthin a story element. The rest in the collection were only a few pages long and they really added something by being so punchy. This is a great November read as it is spooky enough but still feels seasonal too.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
October 2, 2025
Whilst this is a collection of short stories, it really is a short novella and then a handful of very short (just a page or two in some cases) snippets that, for the most part, didn't really feel worth it. But that first novella is as creepy as anything! I still can't quite say if I liked it or not...it was definitely unsettling, and I think that's probably the effect the author was aiming for. But I don't know that I enjoyed reading it, so much as I couldn't stop because I needed to know what would happen!
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.
November 3, 2025
The main story is a quick and easy read which The Spectator seemed to enjoy back in 1947. It would have made a decent Ealing comedy, given a different ending. But it's not really a comedy, merely "droll". It's descriptions of an unpleasant act and of the main character's specialism were too detailed for me. Despite it's brevity, it was a bit tedious. I stuck with it because I wanted to know how the story ended. Now I know.
The other tales are largely so short that they felt like English homework, where the pupil has tried to get away with the bare minimum.
The other tales are largely so short that they felt like English homework, where the pupil has tried to get away with the bare minimum.
Read
July 28, 2025Hard to review due to the crackers nature of the title story!
September 20, 2025
Solid short story. Then some really tiny, not even a page long, stories. The longer one was good, really creepy and atmospheric. The others were a bit pointless.
September 26, 2025
A creepily fun read. The main story which takes up about 80% of the book was perfect for a cosy evening’s entertainment. The extra short stories at the end were great however not necessarily needed.
December 4, 2025
An enjoyably dark tale. Full review at https://murderatthemanse.substack.com...
December 26, 2025
A quaint tale of a man who killed his wife and was haunted by her prosthetic leg!
September 25, 2025
The Inn Closes for Christmas is a longer short story, not quite long enough to be considered a novella. An unassuming dentist has a car crash, his wife was a passenger and loses her leg. She had been a pretty young thing, but now he becomes obsessed with her artificial leg. It is told in a first person narrative, so we follow along as he tells us his nightmares and thought processes which lead inevitably to the final denouement.
A really creepy, unsettling story, perfect for this time of year with the nights drawing in.
*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
A really creepy, unsettling story, perfect for this time of year with the nights drawing in.
*Many thanks to Netgally and the publishers for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
Read
April 25, 2017A Welsh man's tale of murder. Inconsequential but good writing.
(read 9/21/67)
(read 9/21/67)
January 21, 2026
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/2025/...
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/2025/...
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews