Hark! The Herald Angels Scream

by Christopher Golden (Editor)

Eighteen stories of Christmas horror from bestselling, acclaimed authors including Scott Smith, Seanan McGuire, Josh Malerman, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, and many more.

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The hideous children--Want and Ignorance--beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts.
Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Christmas, Fiction, Anthologies, Holiday, Audiobook

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 23, 2018

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Reviews

[Justin Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the title! Unfortunately most of the stories didn't light up my Christmas tree. Only a small number can be categorized as horror which is a letdown. Most try to be literary while forcing in some fragment of bizarre. These tend to lack hooks and end abruptly, as if out of gas rather than having reached a destination. Still, the collection includes some standouts worth praising. They are:

Kelley Armstrong - Absinthe & Angels
Sarah Lotz - Not Just For Christmas
Jeff Strand - Good Deeds

All in all, not my favorite collection, but it does feature some big name authors who I greatly admire. If nothing else, it's a pleasure to see new words by them.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.5-stars rounded up**

From mummers to Onryo, and everything in between, the 16-tales within this Christmas-themed Horror anthology are sure to put a chill in your holiday season!



Even though I read Horror year-round, Winter is by far my favorite season for it.

There's just something about the cold and darkness, snow storms and candlelight, that always makes me scour my shelves for spooky stories to pass the nights.



Having this collection revolve around Christmas made it a no-brainer for me to pick-up during the holiday season!

The very first story Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong legit scared me.



I read it after everyone in my house had gone to sleep, in a dark bedroom, with just my book light to read by. It's a brutal story and I still can't stop thinking about it.



Some other favorites include: The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale, Hiking Through by Michael Koryta, Good Deeds by Jeff Strand and Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski.

Overall, I feel like this is a strong and well-rounded collection.



There's definitely something in here for everyone, whether you are looking for satire, classic hauntings or brutal tales of revenge.

I highly recommend this one for Horror Lovers at the holidays!

[LIsa Noell "Rocking the chutzpah!" · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I see the name Christopher Golden, it is almost like the angels screaming! I've loved this author for a very, very long time. In this whole anthology, I seriously disliked 3 stories, thought 2 were crap, and the rest? Duh, they were Golden. "Cheesy, stupid grin." Anything that has Scott Smith as one single story out of many, will always get my attention. Add some J. Maberry, and Golden? Dude, it's on. There were quite a few tales here that kinda freaked me out. Other's, they were just really good. I can read anthologies til' the cows come home, but the ones I love are few and far between. This was the best I've read in years. Literally....years. By the way, why the hell hasn't Scott Smith's stories been brought together in its own anthology. Man, I'd pay money for that! As always, my thanks to the publishers and Netgalley. I'm not sure that I would have bought this. I'd have bought Goldens book, but probably not this. I would have missed out. Truly, one of the best anthologies in the past 20 years. No shit.

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas! I really can't stand it, but this anthology appealed to me for the following reasons. 1. The killer cover! (For which I got to host the exclusive cover reveal on my blog, Char's Horror Corner, and it was very exciting!) 2. It was edited by Christopher Golden and I've had good luck with anthologies he's edited in the past. I'm happy to report this one was no exception!

This book was chock full of stories, nearly 400 pages worth, so I can't get into all of them here, but I will briefly talk about the tales that stood out for me:

YANKEE SWAP by John McIlveen. Wow! We go from a woman trying to avoid her sexually aggressive boss at a Christmas party, to her getting knocked over the head and waking up tied to a chair. This tale had it all-violence, surprises and plot twists along with a satisfying conclusion. Bravo! 5*

CHRISTMAS IN BARCELONA by Scott Smith. I love Scott's A SIMPLE PLAN, but this tale was completely different from his usual stuff. I was able to guess the end just before the story got there, but that didn't spoil the fun at all. 4.5*

THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE CHRISTMAS HOTEL by Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe Lansdale. This was a perfect "ghost gets revenge" type story and I loved it, as I do most anything he writes. 4.5*

LOVE ME by Thomas Sniegoski. This twisted little tale reminded me of the Tribble episode from Star Trek. What fun! 4*

GOOD DEEDS by Jeff Strand. I don't even know what to say about this one, but it's Jeff Strand. What else do I have to say, really? 4*

IT'S A WONDERFUL KNIFE BY Christopher Golden. I figured out the conclusion early on, but that didn't spoil the fun getting there. 3.5*

HOME by Tim Lebbon. This was a twisted little tale of the end of the world and Santa, albeit a Santa you would never recognize in a million years. 3.5*

Lastly, THE HANGMAN'S BRIDE by Sarah Pinborough. Sarah's books have quickly become some of my favorites in recent history, (and I'm glad I have a good-sized backlog to catch up with), but this tale really took the cake. My second favorite in this anthology, with a distinct Dickensian feel, young William and his soot-filled lungs stole my heart. 5*

Most anthologies are hit and miss with me-very rarely do all the stories hit their mark. In this case, though, it was pretty close to doing so, therefore I gave it a four star rating.

Even if you hate Christmas, and you "Bah Humbug" with the best of them, this anthology has something for everyone-the variety is outstanding. So as the title suggests HARK people! Come and hear the angels scream!

Highly recommended!

*Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for the e-ARC of this anthology in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is one horror theme I never get tired of, it’s holiday horror—especially when that holiday is Christmas! When you look at the roots of so many Christmas rituals and celebrations, there really is a dark and fantastical element; when you couple that with the bizarre antics so many are driven to during this stressful and busy time of year, it’s no surprise that these authors could come up with such fun stories.

The thing people really hate remembering, even as they celebrate a guy nailed to wood: all Gods demand a sacrifice. They’re so fucking hungry.
— Sarah Langan

When it comes to an anthology this solid, I feel like I’m doing a disservice if I don’t take a moment to touch on my thoughts for each individual story—especially in a case like this, where some of these were genuinely some of the most delightful and well-written short stories I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I know not everyone has the time or desire to read this long of a review, though, so I’ll make it easy on you and list my favorites first:

F A V O R I T E S :
→ Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow — Seanan McGuire
→ Good Deeds — Jeff Strand
→ Yankee Swap — John M. McIlveen

And now, if you’re still with me, let’s get into the specifics!

Stories like that don’t start in the dark. They just end there.
— Michael Koryta

→ Absinthe & Angels — Kelley Armstrong ★★★★★
All Michael and Ava wanted was a quiet Christmas weekend in the cabin, but the mummers from Ava’s childhood nightmares have different plans.
What a way to kick off a Christmas anthology! This is such a legitimately creepy story that gave me major The Strangers vibes, but with a fun twist—and certainly piqued my interest in Armstrong’s writing.

→ Christmas in Barcelona — Scott Smith ★★★☆☆
A couple who’s grown accustomed to Christmas holidays doesn’t let their newborn stop them from making a trip to Barcelona, where the father finds some very interesting magical toys.
This one had an incredibly slow start for me, and I began to wonder if the ending would pay off, but I was definitely horrified by the outcome. Unfortunately, the terrors of the story aren’t what had me on edge—it’s the total disregard everyone in the story has for the wellbeing of this poor infant.

→ Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow — Seanan McGuire ★★★★★
Andy’s parents have found a new babysitter for the evening, and she has a very strange Christmas story for him and his siblings.
Technically, this is the third story in the collection, but I saved it for last because Seanan is one of my all-time favorite short story authors (literally, she’s only tied with one other writer), so I knew this would be wonderful, and it absolutely was. I’m interested in seeing how people who are new to Seanan’s writing will receive it, as it’s more dark fantasy than horror, but I was endlessly delighted by the lore and care that went into crafting the babysitter’s story and the ending.

→ Love Me — Thomas E. Sniegoski ★★★★★
Fresh out of prison again, all Flynn wants is a way to see his daughter—and he’ll do anything, even if it means robbing that strange old woman above the antiques shop…
A slightly slow start, but so worth it, as the direction this story took stunned me. It’s creepy, gross, and bizarre in all the right ways, and the ending pulls no punches.

→ Not Just for Christmas — Sarah Lotz ★★★★★
Tired of the responsibilities of real pets, the people of the future have created GenPets—wifi-enabled “pets” with apps, updates, and the ability to speak.
This absolutely needs to be an episode of BlackMirror ASAP, because it reminded me so much of that show in the best way. I was torn between feeling horrified and completely amused by the whole thing.

→ Tenets — Josh Malerman ★★★☆☆
Reason #6 why you should always know exactly who the +1 invites are at your Christmas party: what if someone brings a former cult leader?
I think Josh Malerman is a talented writer, but his short stories never seem to resonate with me, and this was no exception. It had an interesting idea but the execution felt under-developed and lacking.

→ Good Deeds — Jeff Strand ★★★★★
When a particular Grinch-y man is shopping right before Christmas, he meets a little boy who desperately needs to buy his dying mother a pair of shoes—and decides to write an incredibly depressing song about it.
This has to be one of my favorite stories in the collection, if only because I laughed my ass off from start to finish. I hate that damn Christmas Shoes song and this entire story was a goldmine, even if it does get rather… well, messy.

→ It’s a Wonderful Knife — Christopher Golden ★★★★☆
It’s Cassie’s big Christmas Eve night with the hot-shots in Hollywood, when an infamous producer takes her to tour his room of macabre and unique movie items—including a very peculiar murder instrument.
This was just a really fun middle finger to the Weinstein types of Hollywood, and I loved it a lot for that.

→ Mistletoe and Holly — James A. Moore ★★★★★
It’s been a long, hard two years since Deanna’s spouse died, but who knows what kinds of miracles can be worked on Christmas?
Oooh, this one hit me right in the heart. I saw the ending coming a mile away, but that didn’t make it any less anxiety-inducing to watch it form, especially as we learned more about the truth behind Deanna’s lost husband.

→ Snake’s Tail — Sarah Langan ★★★☆☆
Every Christmas, God grows restless and takes child sacrifices—but the adults never seem to learn how to stop it.
First, this story is a nightmare for a parent; the idea of children going missing every Christmas and nobody figuring out how to stop it is devastating, and worse yet is the constant parallel being made to our own world and the way we, as adults, look away over and over again from the children dying in oil wars and unnecessary famines. While I loved the entire idea behind the story and the point it presents, I only feel that the execution lacked a little.

→ The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel — Joe R. Lansdale ★★★☆☆
An elderly man is invited on Christmas Eve to learn the story from a childhood friend about a young woman they met once, so long ago, and the terror of her ghost’s annual presence after her untimely demise.
This story was a mixed bag for me; on one hand, I enjoyed the idea of this young woman showing back up each Christmas Eve seeking revenge, and I loved the disgusting descriptions of the form she appeared in. On the other hand, the writing voice felt stilted and unnatural.

→ Farrow Street — Elizabeth Hand ★☆☆☆☆
An American woman decides to spend Christmas alone in London, but her last-minute planning lands her in poor circumstances as she explores the city.
The protagonist of this story in insufferable; she makes terrible decisions and has nobody to blame but herself for her own miserable holiday in London, but worse than how frustrating she is, is how dreadfully slow the pacing in the story is. Nothing of any interest whatsoever happens until the last two pages or so, and even then, the ending wasn’t able to make up for what the bulk of the tale lacked.

→ Doctor Velocity — Jonathan Maberry ❌
This story evidently ties into a collection of Maberry’s short stories. I gave it a try but quickly decided that it didn’t work for me as a stand-alone tale (or maybe as a story, period), so I’ve opted not to rate or review it here.

→ Yankee Swap — John M. McIlveen ★★★★★
When Kat is abducted from a company Christmas party, she wakes up tied up and being forced into the worst game of Yankee Swap anyone’s ever seen.
This was such a fun theme to play with; as soon as I read the title, I had an idea of where I hoped the story was going, and I was right. As someone who already hates Yankee Swap in real life, I don’t think I’ll ever look at it quite the same way!

→ Honor Thy Mother — Angela Slatter ★★★★★
Agnes’ family has come to visit her for Christmas, using family bonding time as a guise for their real goal: convincing her to go willingly to a nursing home. They have no idea what Agnes has been hiding.
I loved this so much. I’ve never read anything quite like this, and it’s so fun to get inside Agnes’ head and slowly unravel her secrets as she looks onto her family with disgust and venom (rightfully so, at that!).

→ Home — Tim Lebbon ★★★★★
In a post-apocalyptic setting, an old man and his silent, strange companion search.
There’s basically nothing I can tell you about the plot of this story because it’s entirely character-driven, but it’s incredible and speculative and a little bit weird.

→ Hiking Through — Michael Koryta ★★★★★
There’s a mighty interesting ghost story set in the rugged woods of Maine…
This is definitely more of a ‘wintry’ than ‘Christmas’-y story, but it’s so atmospheric and well-written. That ending, though? Perfect.

→ The Hangman’s Bride — Sarah Pinborough ★★★☆☆
On a cold Christmas Eve night, a grandfather regales his young grandson with an old ghost story about his home.
This story has a lot going for it—the writing is beautiful, and the creepy scenes are genuinely unsettling—but it’s far longer than it really ought to be, which diluted the overall effect. Unfortunately, like a few other stories in this collection, it also didn’t feel like it actually had any sort of Christmas theme to it besides one or two sentences in the very beginning. Had the story been in the middle of the anthology, it might not have been so noticeable, but it felt like a letdown to close the collection with a story that didn’t feel as though it fit the theme very well.

Content warnings for suicide, self-harm, violence, murder, child death, sexual harassment, ableism

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Anchor Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Rounded up for Goodreads.
Christmas is antithetical to horror. It's the season of good cheer, merriment, friends & family and generosity. We even have this spokesperson for Christmas called Santa Claus who sneaks into homes, eating cookies, drinking milk and leaving presents--he's jolly and kindly.
Or--he's ripping his good natured face off and revealing the insidious creature that *really* enters your holiday home in the middle of the night! (that cover!!!)
This Christmas themed anthology edited by Christopher Golden (I'm a fan of his anthologies) has some of the best names in the industry:
including Scott Smith, Seanan McGuire, Josh Malerman, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, and many more.
Sidenote: I will buy any anthology with a Scott Smith contribution because The Ruins and A Simple Plan are just not enough. MORE Scott Smith!
I was so pleasantly impressed with this collection. Usually anthologies are a mixed bag ranging from a total dud, to just OK with a few standouts.
This is an exception. Almost all of the stories are well above 3 stars with several 4 and 5 star standouts. My favorites were:
Absinthe & Angles by Kelley Armstrong
Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith (that ending!)
Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski
Not Just for Christmas by Sara Lotz (animal lovers will dig this)
Tenants by Josh Malerman
It's a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden
Yankee Swap by John McIlveen
and
The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough
A very solid collection. I will for sure cherry pick through this anthology every Christmas and re-read some of my favorites because it really put me in the perfect mood! I can't recommend this one enough.

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, can we all take a second to appreciate how fabulous this cover is? Good, now that you’ve feasted your eyes, listen to me gush about this anthology! Usually short story collections are a mixed bag, some good mixed in with some bad and some just average. But this collection did not follow in others footsteps. This collection was absolutely stunning! Out of all the stories there’s only one single one I wouldn’t give 5 stars to and that’s pretty damn impressive! I found so many new authors I want to read and discovered new favourites from authors I already love. There’s really something for every horror fan here, from straight up classic gore horror to more subtle mind horror, this anthology has it all. And don’t let the fact that it’s a Christmas collection fool you, I’d read this gem year round!

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love horror books and also enjoy Christmas, this collection of short stories might be for you!

There's 18 short stories either set around Christmas or has a winter theme.
You'll find well known authors from Scott Smith, Josh Malerman, Christopher Golden, Joe R. Lansdale, Elizabeth Hand, Sarah Pinborough, to many more in this collection.

Since horror themes and writing is subjective, some of the stories that I thought were average or okay might work for you.
I struggled with a few due to unfinished endings or confusion with the overall plot direction.

There's a total of 18 stories and my favorites are below.

Favorites: (5 stars)

▪️ Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith
▪️ The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale
▪️ The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough

Runner ups: (4 to 4.5 stars)

▪️ Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong
▪️ Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire
▪️ Not Just For Christmas by Sarah Lotz
▪️ It's a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden
▪️ Yankee Swap by John McIlveen
▪️ Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slatter
▪️ Hiking Through by Michael Koryta

I'm glad that I got to this since it's been on my to-be-read list for awhile. I do think that this collection is solid and I enjoyed my time reading each short story!

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warnings include suicide, family violence, murder, sexual harassment and kidnapping.

I’ll be completely upfront with you; I only wanted this book for the Seanan McGuire story. Well, that and the cover image that reminded me of one of the guys from Mars Attacks! playing dress up. I’ve never read Christmas horror before so didn’t know what to expect.

I was hoping this book would contain a bunch of Christmas stories for people who prefer Halloween; serial killer Santas, blood soaked snowmen, Christmas trees that come to life and chase people through the house … What I found were some fun, creepy stories mixed in with a whole pile of stories that just so happened to take place on or around Christmas; Santa, Frosty and Rudolph not even peeking their heads around the corner of the page.

Absinthe & Angels - Kelley Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s Christmas Eve and Ava’s childhood fear has just knocked on the front door. The concept was good but felt a bit disjointed for me.

“Give us food. Give us wine. Then our song shall be thine.”

Christmas in Barcelona - Scott Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Murphy’s Law tags along for a Christmas vacation to Barcelona with a couple and their baby. This one started slowly and didn’t feel like it belonged in this collection for most of the story but then it well and truly made up for lost time.

You feel the same thought stirring - everything is going to be okay - but this time you have the wisdom to resist its lure.

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow - Seanan McGuire ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seanan has proven, once again, why she’s one of my all time favourite authors! A babysitter tells the story of Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden to Andy, Chloe and Diane. I want to tell you more but don’t want to spoil it!

“She looks for children who could be great, if only the snow that made them were melted down and given to someone else for safekeeping.”

Love Me - Thomas E. Sniegoski ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Creeper gets more than he bargained for when he pulls his first job after being released from prison. I enjoyed the buildup but really wanted to know the history of what the Creeper finds in the apartment above the antique store.

”You came to steal from me, I know,” the woman called out.

Not Just For Christmas - Sarah Lotz ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’ve ever thought your pet being able to talk would be adorable you’ll change your mind after reading this one. Technology and the family pet don’t exactly mix. Oodles of swearing in this one.

“Do we really need any more surprises from you this year?”

Tenets - Josh Malerman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bringing a failed cult leader to your holiday party can really ruin the holiday spirit. I wasn’t sure where this one was going for a while but was getting into it when it abruptly ended. While I can imagine all sorts of things I wanted to see what really happened next.

The last thing she wanted to be thinking about at a holiday party reunion was cults and cult leaders and what all that means and how sad it was if you really broke it down.

Good Deeds - Jeff Strand ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A man does a good deed and is so proud of himself that he writes a song about how awesome he is. His song changes peoples’ lives, although not for the better. Morbid and sort of amusing (but the type you feel guilty for being amused about), this was one of the weirdest Christmas stories I’ve ever read. I expect the insensitivity of the main character and the subject matter will be offensive to some readers.

The world was a dark, ugly, selfish cesspool of misery, but I’d done my part to shine a ray of joy upon it. With only a credit card, I’d made the universe a better place.

It’s a Wonderful Knife - Christopher Golden ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sleazy Hollywood producer gets more than he bargained for when he takes an actress on a tour of his collection of rare movie memorabilia. A timely story but not really a Christmas story; just one that happened to be set around Christmas.

“That’s half the fun for a collector. The macabre stuff always goes for top dollar.”

Mistletoe and Holly - James A. Moore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A mother of three young boys grieves the loss of her husband as Christmas draws near, but just because she misses him doesn’t necessarily mean she wants him back. This one was predictable but creepy.

It was the holidays. Best to be prepared for the emotional bloodshed.

Snake’s Tail - Sarah Langan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s Christmas Eve and children are going missing in a little town on the bay. I still have no idea what this one had to do with Christmas other than the time of year it was set.

Yes, the clock chimes, and by the time it stops resonating, the child is gone.
Disappeared from her bed.

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel - Joe R. Lansdale ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Something awful happened in that room in the Christmas Hotel many years ago and now something wants justice.

The room was fine the rest of the year, no complaints, but come Christmas Eve, no one could make it through a night.

Farrow Street - Elizabeth Hand ⭐️⭐️⭐️

After her holiday plans fall through, Melanie decides to book accommodation in London and spend some time alone. On Christmas day she ventures out, trying to find an open restaurant, and finds herself in Farrow Street. I don’t think she ever gets her meal. I kept waiting for something to happen and when the action is about to start the story ends.

She cast a final look behind her. A feather of candlelight touched the floor at the foot of the stairs and faded into darkness.

Doctor Velocity - Jonathan Maberry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Destroyer talks to Doctor Velocity about his desperation and fear of having lost the spark that made his artwork come to life. Doctor Velocity has a Christmas present for him.

“Most often a person has survived because the monster did not want to destroy them all the way. To kill them would be to empty them of screams, of struggle, of fear and pain, and that’s what those monsters feed on.”

Yankee Swap - John M. McIlveen ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

After avoiding her slimy boss at their work holiday party Kat finds herself in another nightmarish situation, and she’s not alone.

That he had chosen her to go first was a terrible omen that seemed to validate her fear of not leaving there alive.

Honor Thy Mother - Angela Slatter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Agnes’ family are having Christmas at her home this year; she insisted. Her sons plan to talk her into moving out of her home and into an aged care facility. Agnes’ plan is better.

She likes her privacy, knows it’s integral to her safety; her husband used to joke that if she could have got away with it, she’d have put a plaque on the front fence that read, “Nothing ever happened here.”

Home - Tim Lebbon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The man and Old Bob make their way through an apocalyptic landscape. Is the man leading Old Bob or is Old Bob leading the man? And where are they going? It’s not until near the end of the story that its connection with Christmas becomes clear.

Standing, stretching, the beauty and horror of what he saw struck home as it did every single morning.

Hiking Through - Michael Koryta ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

While planning a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail a seasoned hiker hears a campfire story about a witch. I really enjoyed this one; I always love a good campfire story.

We all laugh harder around a campfire, because we don’t want to acknowledge that some part of us is deeply concerned about what’s out there just beyond the reach of the firelight.

The Hangman’s Bride - Sarah Pinborough ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The longest story in the collection and one of the best, the characters came to life for me and I want to read more by this author. Without giving away too much, Alexander’s grandfather tells him a story of a chimney sweep whose name is not Tom, a hangman, Miss Darkly, Mr and Mrs West, and the hangman’s bride.

‘People will do terrible things for love.’

Once I got over the gap between my expectation and reality I was able to enjoy most of these stories and have been inspired to attempt to write my own Christmas horror story, with plenty of tinsel, snowmen and blood. Wasn’t it Toni Morrison who said, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it”?

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Anchor, an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book. My average rating was 3.86 so I’ve rounded up.

[Scott Neumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially liked the "James A Moore, Sarah Pinborough and the Tim Lebbon" stories review to follow once I let these stories sink in. Have a Scary Christmas!

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought it because the title and cover (who could resist?). Thankfully it was as good as I had hoped it to be. Most of the stories are suitably chilling and holiday inspired. A couple fell short. My favorites are Good Deeds, Hangman’s Bride, and Absinthe & Angels.
My thoughts on all in the collection are as follows:

Absinthe & Angels- Kelley Armstrong:
A great spooky start to the collection. I’m not familiar with the mummer tradition and now I definitely do not need the experience.

Christmas in Barcelona - Scott Smith:
A Christmas vacation from hell. Just when things seem to be going to be Okay, somehow they take a turn for the worse. Will a magical detour through the back alleys of Barcelona turn this traveler’s luck around?

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow- Seanan MccGuire:
A babysitter spins a tale of a Russian snow maiden that watches over children in winter.

Love Me- Thomas Sniegoski:
A thief thinking he has found an easy score instead finds Christmas evil on this holiday night.

Not Just for Christmas- Sarah Lotz:
A dog is for life, not just for Christmas. You may have second thoughts on gifting a pet after reading this.

Tenets- Josh Malerman:
Too long. Couldn’t get interested in the story. Unfortunate since it concerned a cult leader being invited to a Christmas party.

Good Deeds - Jeff Strand:
Deeply, darkly, hilarious. This is the reason for buying the book as far as I’m concerned. I can’t stop laughing, but I am twisted that way.

It’s a Wonderful Knife - Christopher Golden:
A heartwarming tale of Christmas Eve, a famous Christmas movie…and a knife.

Mistletoe and Holly - James A. Moore:
Be careful what you wish for, especially at Christmas time.

Snake’s Tail - Sarah Langan:
Not sure what this mess has to do with Christmas.

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel- Joe R. Lansdale:
A fairly tame Christmas ghost story, considering the author, but creepy and in the spirit.

Farrow Street - Elizabeth Hand:
Strange. Pointless. Too drawn out.

Doctor Velocity - Jonathan Maberry:
One of my least favorite. Barely any ties to Christmas, just an artist whining about losing his inspiration.

Yankee Swap - John McIlveen:
If the Saw movie franchise had a Christmas movie. Disturbing, yet darkly humorous.

Honor Thy Mother - Angela Slatter:
Make sure you enjoy visiting your aging parents and don’t considering it your duty, or burden to bear during the holidays. Otherwise, there may be consequences…

Home - Tim Lebbon:
A bleak, desolate landscape and Old Bob!

Hiking Through - Michael Koryta:
A chilling Christmas ghost story in the mountains of Maine.

The Hangman’s Bride - Sarah Pinborough:
A perfectly creepy Christmas ghost story.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had an absolute blast listening to the audio book version of this holiday themed horror anthology! Packed with 18 horrific holiday tales, this collection ranges from humorous to spooky and even snarky. Fun! It was great timing on my part as I was packing away all the holiday decorations, moving furniture and mopping up after the holidays while listening to these stories. Made it more fun!

As with any story collection there were tales I loved, some that were good, and two that I really didn't like. It happens. The stories are varied in tone, length and type of horror....makes the collection appealing to a wide range of readers. My favorite story from the book is Good Deeds by Jeff Strand. There is a particular Christmas song overplayed by radio stations every year that I absolutely hate. Every time I hear the depressing tune about a kid buying his dying mother a pair of shoes, I just roll my eyes and wonder if my ears are going to start bleeding. Ugh. I hate that song! How lovely of Jeff Strand to bring a smile to my face with a horror story based on the fact that EVERYONE pretty much hates that song. It brought joy to my heart and I will think fondly on that story every time I am subjected to The-Holiday-Song-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Following a close second for me was Absinthe & Angels by Kelly Armstrong. Totally creepy holiday tale about mummers who appear outside a couple's cabin on Christmas Eve. Loved it!

All in all, this is an enjoyable holiday anthology that doesn't have to be enjoyed during the holidays. These stories are entertaining and could be read at any time of the year.

I listened to the audio book version (Highbridge). At just over 11.5 hours, it took me a couple days to get through all of the stories. Narrated by Teri Schnaubelt and Charles Constant, the audio is high quality and very enjoyable. Both narrators read at a nice pace with great acting skills. A very enjoyable listening experience! This was definitely the perfect audio book to listen to while packing up the tinsel and reindeer! :)

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

He gazed into the flames, lost in his memories for a while, and then, after touching the talisman that sat under his shirt, threw another log onto the merry, roaring fire.

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, Christmas. It's a beloved yet complicated holiday. I've always had this love/hate relationship with all the traditions around Christmas. And I'm talking about commercial Christmas, people who go to church once a year, Christmas. Not the reason for Christmas. Still, many of you are bristling right now. Calm down, I'm not coming for Christmas. It's just not my favorite holiday, for a myriad of reasons. However, Christmas horror? Yes, please!

This collection is tons of Yuletide fun. I've really enjoyed some of Christopher Golden's previous anthologies, and this one is no exception. As usual there were some standouts for me.

Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith is one of my favorites. I love how Smith never holds back. I actually forgot about that while I was reading this one. I was just as enchanted with the story as the characters were, so that ending was like a punch to the gut. I sincerely expect nothing less from Smith though.

Tenets by Josh Malerman is such an uncomfortable read. Holiday parties are the worst, and I can't even imagine going to one as cringe worthy as this. I like to think I would avoid falling into the group hysteria in this one, but when you are with a group of friends it's hard not to adopt a hive mentality. I think the scariest part of this one is who we are capable of becoming while in a group.

It's a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden was fun and totally unexpected. I had no idea where this story was going and I love that. It takes such a bizarre and hilarious turn. I think the less I say about this one, the better. You need to just experience it on your own.

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale is a great Christmas revenge tale. Revenge is a theme that seems to be explored quite a bit around Christmas. 'Tis the season. This one is creepy and satisfying.

Yankee Swap by John McIlveen is another of my favorites. I'm literally not going to say anything about this one because you need to experience it without any information. It had me turning pages like no other story in this anthology.

And finally I loved The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough. It's so cool how Pinborough mixes the styles of A Christmas Carol with modern day Japanese horror. It's unique, and has some truly creepy moments. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

So this collection was a bit hit or miss for me, but the ones I enjoyed were so strong that I definitely recommend this one. Everyone needs a little horror around Christmas.

[exorcismemily · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was the holidays. Best to be prepared for emotional bloodshed." - James A. Moore

I had so much fun reading Hark! The Herald Angels Scream. This anthology was edited by Christopher Golden, and I was pleasantly surprised with the anthology as a whole. It opens up with Kelley Armstrong's creepy Absinthe & Angels, and then leads you on a crazy Christmas journey from there.

I had read a few of these authors before, such as Josh Malerman, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, and Angela Slatter. I found quite a few authors I had not read anything from (whose stories I enjoyed) - Kelley Armstrong, Scott Smith, Thomas E. Sniegoski, and Michael Koryta. It was a good mix of authors, and I appreciated that there were quite a few women authors in this anthology.

My top 5 stories were Not Just for Christmas by Sarah Lotz, Good Deeds by Jeff Strand, Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore, Snake's Tail by Sarah Langan, and The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough. With the exception of Sarah Pinborough, it was my first time reading anything from these other authors & I adored their stories. I would love to read more from them. Sarah Lotz's story was hilarious & I can't stop talking about it. Please go read it & laugh about it with me.

This anthology dealt with some heavier topics than I expected - although there were fun & light stories, some (like Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith) were pretty serious. It's a good blend between light and heavy, and I think there's something for all horror lovers in this anthology.

I didn't love everything in Hark! The Herald Angels Scream, but the hits definitely outnumbered the misses for me. This is one of the better anthologies I've read. If you're looking for some good holiday horror, I highly recommend this one. Thank you so much to Vintage & Anchor Books for sending me a copy to review!

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a mixed bag with many of the stories lacking in the scary Christmasy feelings I was expecting but there were a few standouts worth checking out.

Absinthe and Angels by Kelley Armstrong

A couple are spending a quiet Christmas at a remote cabin here when they hear a knock at the door. This was super creepy and filled with nightmare fuel. It was a great start to the collection and is definitely worth a read.

Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith

A tired couple with a new baby head out for a vacation they booked when they were still childless. Now they’re rethinking things because everything that could add stress to the trip has happened. Screaming baby, lost bags, no food, etc and so on. When they arrive at their destination, the husband decides to wander about and find something for his wife. His intentions are good but man, this guy really isn’t too bright. As they used to say in romancelandia, he is tstl. Bad things happen which none of them deserve. I guess the moral of this story is to make sure your partner has some brains before you let him wander around outside on his own.

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire

This is a haunting story about emotionally empty parents and reads like a very dark fairytale. It’s quiet in its horror but loud in its impact.

Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski

This one features another stupid man. An ex-convict just released from doing time for thievery decides the way to win his way back into his child’s life is to do some more thievery and sets out to rob an old woman who is home alone. He gets more than he bargained for when he takes something from her because he is a dumb ass.

Not Just for Christmas by Sarah Lotz

This is a hard one for anyone who cares about pets. It features yet another man lacking brain cells who tries to weasel his way back into his child’s life by buying something called a Gen Pet. It’s a bit comical and a bit depressing but he gets what he deserves so I’m good.

Tenets by Josh Malerman

I didn’t like this one at all. It’s about a tight knit friend group at a party and everyone is in a tizzy because someone decided to bring a former cult leader as their +1 new bestie. This felt unfinished and was a bit meh for me.

Good Deeds by Jeff Strand

This is yet another story about a man kicked out of the family who is trying to do something good to get back in again. I sense a theme here and I really don’t like it. Just be good men to begin with, you damn fools. Anyhow, this guy here is super narcissistic and turns his “good deed” into something that is all about him. It backfires badly. It’s over the top and darkly humorous as is usually the case with a Jeff Strand story.

It’s a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden

Cassie is at a Hollywood party and is promptly preyed upon by a lecherous producer. Things don’t quite turn out so well for him, haha. This one was decent and I’m glad the asshole got what was coming to him unlike what happens in our current reality.

Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore

This is a revenge tale featuring sisters, a new love and an old one that needed a bit more fleshing out, if you ask me.

Snakes Tail by Sarah Langan

On Christmas Eve children begin to go missing. This was an alarming and chilling story and the end seemed to come out of nowhere. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the end but I kind of wish it had been fleshed out a bit more. I was reading just to get through it and wasn’t really involved in the mayhem and desperation so the impact of the horror missed me.

A side note:

It is at this point that I realized that most of the stories could be set at any time of the year which is incredibly disappointing. I feel like many didn’t make good use of the theme 🤷‍♀️

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R Lansdale

This is the story of a spooky hotel room and two old men who decide to do some ghost hunting. It had some major Ghost Story by Straub vibes and was a bit slow going and meh for me.


Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand

This time the tables are turned and this one is about a stupid/naive woman who spends the holiday alone by traveling to London when her plans go awry. It plods on for ages with nothing happening besides this entitled and spoiled lady getting angry at employees just trying to do their job. She’s all worked up that places are closed on Christmas and expects a holiday meal. What a thoughtless dope. She, of course, loses her cell phone and decides to wander around London by herself. She makes her way into the only pub/private party that sort of welcomes her and she won’t have to worry about her next meal again is all I’m saying.

Doctor Velocity by Jonathan Mayberry

This one wasn’t meant for me. I couldn’t deal with its tortured, whiny ass artist protagonist poor-meeing for pages on end and pondering his own demise so I skimmed. The names were also strange and throwing me off. Destroyer? Doctor Velocity? Am I in a comic book or a horror story? I wasn’t sure and didn’t care enough to find out.

Yankee Swap by John McIlveen

This story is a good one and fits the theme much better than many of the others. It’s maniacal, evil and kind of fun and definitely not boring.

Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slater

I LOVED this one. It’s so dark and full of vengeance and throws out some hard truths about sons and daughter-in-laws who care more about $$ than they do their own momma. It’s probably my favorite from this entire collection.

Home by Tim Lebbon

A post-apocalyptic story about a man on a planet where most everything has died. His only companion is a guy he carries around named Bob. Actually, is Bob a guy? Is he a dog? Is he alive? I’m not telling. He wanders around with Bob in tow, as people do in these types of situations, apparently. It’s a weird story but that ending sticks the landing.

Hiking Through by Michael Korita

This is a haunting story about hiking the woods of Maine. Don’t do it alone, folks 😬

The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough

This is a ghastly tale to tell your little grandson lol. But why is it so long? I’m really tired and have nothing coherent to say about this one. It was ok but it wasn’t memorable and the details have already started to leave me.

Anyhow, I’m done. I’m settling on a three because I kept reading for the hidden gems. You can read this or not. I’m not sorry I read it, only sorry I didn’t skim more of the stories.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars
This is a fun collection of horror short stories all set around the holiday season. I was fairly happy with the variety of the stories in the collection with each author taking a unique angle on the season with stories about everything from vacations to office parties.

The stories were light-hearted and easy to read. There were some dark moments, but, overall, the stories didn't seem to take themselves too seriously. Unfortunately, I found most of the stories to be quite lackluster and forgettable. However, I did enjoy a few of the stories. Since I have a particular love for invasion/hostage related horror, my favourite stories in the collection were:

Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong
Yankee Swap by John M. Mcillveen

I requested this anthology from Netgalley because I love holiday-themed horror and, honestly, I was pulled in by the amazing cover art!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's the best Christmas story book I've ever read! It's perfect! All and every story is amazing, interesting and with goosebumps effect on me. In each story I saw a morality, a good lesson. There's no futile and aimless and empty story. I gulped it in several days, despite I didn't have much free time.
The last and the longest story just inflamed and stirred me up. I'm fascinated with this anthology and surely will reread it next Christmas!
Ten stars!

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confession time: I'm not really into Christmas. Yes, I appreciate the time off work, some good presents, and an excuse to watch Die Hard for the thousandth time, but as far as holidays go, it doesn't do much for me. Christmas is up there with Columbus Day as far as important holidays go for me, which is to say it's not important to me at all. I could easily forget all about these federal holidays if given the opportunity and I find their actual historicity all but ignored in favor of doe-eyed revisionism with an emphasis on fantastical feel-good schlock. Hey, Merry effin Christmas, y'all!

So, why the hell did I subject to myself the Christmas-themed anthology, Hark! The Herald Angels Scream? Well, two reasons. First, Christopher Golden put this sucker together and I dig the guy. I like his work, and following him on social media I've found him to be a stand-up dude, just an all around good human being. That's a pretty good combination right there. Second, this is a horror anthology, which is a spin on all this yuletide dreck that I greatly appreciate. I mean, good lord, look at that cover! How could I not want to read this? I'll take fare like Black Christmas, Gremlins, or Batman Returns over so-called Christmas classics like It's A Wonderful Life or the insufferably dreadful A Christmas Story, so Santa taking off his face to reveal a Crypt Keeper-like visage is 1000% up my alley. I want blood on the snow, damnit, holiday trees decorated in guts, not garlands.

Used to be, you see, that Christmas was a pagan tradition called Yule, which celebrated the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year. Like Halloween, it was believed that the veil separating the living from the dead was as its thinnest, and for a good long while we humans used to actually celebrate the day with ghost stories. We thought a lot about death, our lost loved ones, and looked ahead to the rebirth of spring and summer, decorating homes with branches of evergreen, all the while eating and drinking A LOT. But then the Puritans had to come along and screw up everything, and eventually the day just became a giant crass celebration of commercialism and capitalism with dashes of religious gobbledygook and nuttery that absorbed far older ways and had the pretension to claim they'd invented it.

This is a fun review, right? Anyway.

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream intrigued me because it looked like Golden and his merry band of elves writers were going to Make Christmas Scary Again! And for the most part, they succeeded!, which makes me happy. I found myself enjoying a good deal of the eighteen stories collected herein, each of which tell a solid horror story with some degree of Christmas backdrop. We get ghosts and witches, groups of people driven to mass suicide, psychotic murderers, and killer toys. All the things that make Christmas worth a damn. I won't go into every single story, but I will highlight here a few I greatly enjoyed.

Kelly Armstrong kicks off the anthology with "Absinthe & Angels", establishing the tone readers should expect in the stories to follow, which is to say there's plenty of darkness ahead. I dug her take on the Christmas retreat to a cabin in the woods. Santa isn't able to find the couple there, but thankfully some other wicked forces lurking in the forest make their presence known.

Jeff Strand's "Good Deeds" ... Sweet Baby Jesus, what do I even say about this one. It's Jeff Strand, for starters. His protagonist here has to be one of the most clueless narcissists I've read in recent memory, and I freaking loved it. If this ever gets adapted as a short flick, I demand Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) play this dimwit. After an indulgent and uncharacteristic display of seasonally-motivated kindness, the dude just has to let the world know how amazing and caring he is, so he writes a song. You know what they say about the road to hell being paved with good intentions? That's what this is, and it's pretty damn glorious.

Golden typically doesn't like to include his own stories in anthologies he's editing, but I'm glad he made an exception here. "It's A Wonderful Knife" revolves around a Hollywood elite and his collection of dark movie props, like the gun that killed Brandon Crow during the filming of The Crow. Golden puts a neat little spin on things, and even though the story itself isn't exactly surprising it is awfully neat. I dug it.

"Home" by Tim Lebbon is a cool post-apocalyptic story. Of this, I will say no more. John McIlveen's "Yankee Swap" also gets some points for sheer cool factor in a Saw's Very Merry Christmas kind of story. A group of strangers have been kidnapped by a psycho decked out like Santa and are forced to unwrap a variety of deadly presents.

Michael Koryta was one of the few authors in this anthology that I hadn't read before, and it's works like this that really help to remind me why anthologies can be so damn rewarding. Kortya's been on my radar for a good long while, but I just hadn't been able to squeeze in one of his books. That damn sure is gonna change soon. I freaking loved Kortya's voice here, and his authorial style captured me and dragged me into this story straight off the bat. Our protagonist is set on hiking the Appalachian Trail, and when he encounters some strangers on the beaten path, they swap stories. Local legend has it, there's a ghost wandering the Trail, an old woman who stops for nothing and just keeps on walking, and walking, and walking. 'Tis the season she was spotted again, and, incidentally enough, not too long after the remains of a lost hitchhiker are mysteriously discovered in the woods.

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is a well crafted anthology, its various pieces organized and balanced against one another quite nicely, and I found it to have more hits than misses. I wasn't quite ready to yell Yippie-Ki-Yay, motherfucker! at the end of it all, but there were a few times I got awfully close. And if, by chance, the Ghost of Christmas Future sees Golden and his publisher delivering us another slay ride chock full of serial killer Santas and Krampus coolness, I'm certainly game to hop on board.

[Note: I received an advance reading copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.]

[Chandra Claypool (WhereTheReaderGrows) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every year I say that Halloween doesn't get what it deserves... Thanksgiving is shortly behind and Christmas is frantically trying to cut the line. So when I received a horror anthology catering to a Christmas theme, well color me ecstatic!

Now, I'm not usually big on short stories - sometimes they stick, but usually I just have this hankering for more... this one hit a few buttons for me. Equal parts thrilling, filling and just ok - I got what I expected... but THEN SOME. I recognized most of the names of those who contributed but found some new cats I can't wait to skin.

While some stories dealt with actual Christmas type events, others just were set during Christmas time and didn't quite bring in a Christmas theme - personally, I was A-OK with that! The best part of the Halloween to Christmas time is that we get to take this time of ghoulishness to jolly celebration and make them all into something sinister if we want. Bring it on! As far as I'm concerned, it's Halloween October 1 - December 31st... oh who am I kidding, bring on the creepy ALL YEAR LONG!

Stand outs for me are: Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith, Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slatter and Yankee Swap by John M. McIlvee. The reason why they're stand outs is that I haven't read these authors before. Other stories were also well done by authors I do like to read such as Sarah Pinborough and Josh Malerman. Ultimately I will say that this was one of my favorite short story collections to read. With the mix of good and not so good that comes with any anthology, this one was an easy one to fly through.

Thank you to Anchor for this copy.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you resist the title? Or the wonderful cover? It's an excellent collection of Christmas horror stories, just in time to get you in the mood for the season. Actually, the Christmas connection is a little tenuous in some of the tales, but that's okay. I particularly enjoyed the Golden (which revisits the Hollywood memorabilia collection from his earlier story The Hiss of Escaping Air (I think)), the Lotz (a good sf tale!), the Sniegoski (creepy!), the Malerman (we've all been to parties like this), the Strand (weird fun), the Moore (Yuletide Monkey's Paw), the Lansdale (yep), the Hand (just stay home for the holidays, right), the McIlveen (would make a great movie), the Slatter ('cause the season can make you sad, too), the Lebbon, and the Koryta (a good traditional horror). I was a little let down by the Maberry and didn't really get the McGuire, which is odd because they're two of my favorite writers. The best story in the book, by far, is the novella by Sarah Pinborough, a terrific Christmas tale even if Connie Willis or Charles Dickens didn't write it. So, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is a smashing example of what an anthology can be!! All the contributing authors brought their A-Game, a few favorites are Absinthe and Angels, Tenents, Yankee Swap, and The Hangmans Bride. This is holiday horror at it's best!!

[Ashley (spookishmommy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas horror? This is a thing I needed. I was initially drawn to the cover. As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be mine. And I will say the cover is beautiful but this was also a STRONG anthology. I'm not a big anthology lover. Usually I get bored or the stories just aren't strong enough but THIS!! This was so fun. Of the 18 stories, I'd say only about 2 or 3 were duds. My favorites were: Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith, Good Deeds by Jeff Strand, Not Just for Christmas by Sarah Lotz and Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

My last review of 2025! This year, I wanted to read a collection of Christmas-themed horror short stories, and Hark! The Herald Angels Scream was advertised as just that. I mean look at that cover, isn't it great? Unfortunately, the cover, and the spectacular final story, the 60-page novella The Hangman's Bride by Sarah Pinborough, are the best things about this book.

Though there are some other good stories in here, a third of this entire collection is made up of stories I gave between 1 and 1.5 stars, which really drags the entire collection down. There isn't really a single story in here that is scary whatsoever, other than some scenes in the final story I mentioned earlier.

Like many modern anthologies I've read in recent years, it's mostly false advertising, with many of the stories being neither horror nor Christmas-related as the collection was advertised. Many are simply weird fiction, where something strange happens, or something slightly unsettling, but not anything scary at all. Just something bizarre.

Many also have nothing at all to do with Christmas for the majority of the story, with the author then throwing in a very forced reference to gift-giving or a brief reference to it being Christmastime to be able to call it a Christmas story for the purposes of making it into this collection.

Humbug! Aside from a fantastic final story, which is worth seeking out on its own rather than paying for this entire collection just to read it, and a few other stories, most of the eighteen stories in Hark! The Herald Angels Scream are either not horror, not Christmas-related, forgettable, downright awful, or in some cases all of the above. My last book of 2025 is a hard pass, and I don't recommend it. There's probably a true Christmas horror short story collection out there for you to read in December by a crackling fire with a hot cup of cocoa, but it certainly isn't this one.

Merry Christmas GR friends, and Happy New Year!

My ratings for each story and for the book as a whole are below:


Absinthe and Angels: 3/5
Christmas in Barcelona: 3/5
Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow: 2/5
Love Me: 3.5/5
Not Just for Christmas: 2.5/5
Tenets: 1/5
Good Deeds: 4/5
It's a Wonderful Knife: 2.5/5
Mistletoe and Holly: 2/5
Snake's Tail: 1/5
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel: 3/5
Farrow Street: 1/5
Doctor Velocity: 3/5
Yankee Swap: 4/5
Honor Thy Mother: 1.5/5
Home: 1.5/5
Hiking Through: 1/5
The Hangman's Bride: 4.5/5

= 44 / 90 = 48.88% = 2.44 stars

[Melanie (TBR and Beyond) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic anthology! Let's go through the stories! Don't worry - no spoilers.

Absinthe & Angels by Kelley Armstrong (5 stars) - OMG The Mummers is a thing? Read this story and then go Google The Mummers - that is horrifying.

Christmas in Barcelona by Scott Smith (4 stars) - Really slow burn on this one and went in a crazy different direction that I thought at the end. Whoa...

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire (3.5 stars) - I feel like everything is 5 stars for Seanan and maybe if this were in a different book I would've rated it higher. It was beautiful and well written but really just threw me a bit in an anthology with stories like these.

Love Me by Thomas E. Sniegoski (5 stars) - This one is so freaking messed up in the best way possible. I'm burning any dollies in this house now.

Not Just for Christmas by Sarah Lotz (4 stars) Well, hello Black Mirror, so nice of you to join us. This one would be PERFECTION on the Black Mirror tv series. Smart and fun.

Tenets by Josh Malerman (1 star) - WTF Josh Malerman, I expected so much more. It was boring and the ending made little to no sense.

Good Deeds by Jeff Strand (5 stars) - I knew Jeff wouldn't let me down and it might just be my favorite of the book. Jeff is just so damn good at horror satire. I laughed my ass off from beginning to end. It's way too on point.

It's a Wonderful Knife by Christopher Golden (5 stars) - Really smart and current plot and worked perfect. Great revenge story.

Mistletoe and Holly by James A. Moore (4 stars) - I don't even know what to say about that ending - damnnnn

Snake’s Tail by Sarah Langan (not rating) - Cool story that I didn't really get LOL I think I understand what the author was trying to do, but I'm not sure it was execute that well.

The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel by Joe R. Lansdale (2 stars) - This was well-written and I don't really know what I didn't like about it. It just didn't work for me, I got bored.

Farrow Street by Elizabeth Hand (4 stars) - More of a historical little tale and I liked the slow pacing and reveal.

Doctor Velocity: A Story of the Fire Zone by Jonathan Maberry (0 stars) - I never like anything I read by this author and this is more of the same.

Yankee Swap by John M. McIlveen (5 stars) - I was excited for this one for the name alone and I wasn't wrong. Fun stuff and a couple great twists.

Honor Thy Mother by Angela Slatter (4 stars) - Fantastic story and it almost took me reading all of it to pull it all together and make it click but when it did - well done!

Home by Tim Lebbon. (unrated) - I know I liked this one, but I honestly forget most of it.

Hiking Through by Michael Koryta (5 stars) - This feels like a classic urban legends tale and I'm here for that.

The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough - (unrated) - This is another one I know I really enjoyed but I'm blanking on it and, of course, I didn't take any notes on the last few stories lol

[Meghin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is like sitting around a campfire with a bunch of white people telling spooky stories but all of them are boring as hell so you’re falling asleep and John is like “you’re going to loveeeeee this next one guys!” No I’m not John….shut the hell up and for the love of god just go back to making s’mores.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good collection of stories. Most are good with just a very few being meh. Some, I'm not quite sure how they fit into the horror genre. By far and away, the best story was The Hangman's Bride. Other favorites were Its a Wonderful Knife, Yankees Swap, Good Deeds, Love Me, and Hiking Through. I would recommend it if you're looking for a good winter themed short story collection.

[Brandy Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprisingly held a couple of firsts for me. It’s the first Christmas themed horror book I’ve ever read, and the first anthology written by a collection of different authors I’ve ever read.

I was initially drawn to the gorgeous cover, but as soon as I saw a few of the contributing authors names, I just knew I had to request it.

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is the perfect book for those looking to fill the season with some holiday themed thrills and chills. It starts out with a bang, opening with a story called Absinthe and Angels by Kelley Armstrong. In it, we’re taught about mummers, something I could’ve happily gone the rest of my life without knowing about. From there on we have amazing tales such as, Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire, Good Deeds by Jeff Strand, and The Hangman’s Bride by Sarah Pinborough; and that’s only a few of the incredible shorts we get from Hark!

There were only one or two stories that I couldn’t get into, otherwise I really enjoyed each and every one. Just want to give a special nod to Good Deeds by Jeff Strand. The story was so insanely hilarious that I had tears rolling down my face from laughing so hard. You’ll definitely find a little bit of everything within HTHAS, and I would most highly recommend it to any and all lovers of horror and then some. 

[Tanya W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the stories in this book. My personal favorite was 'Love Me' by Thomas Sniegoski. The last half of the story had me hooked like no other. If you enjoy basic & just bizarre Christmas themed horror tales this book is for you. Highly recommend it!

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Snow is falling and Agnes is sure she can hear it whisper through the air and land with the softest of sighs on tree branches, cars, outdoor furniture, and on the layer of flakes already deposited on the ground. She loves how it looks, loves that there is a season that can be relied upon. Christmas in Salem will always be white.”

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is a collection of 18 stories centered around two of my absolute favorite things – Christmas and horror!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate that radical cover?! What a fucking throwback. I LOVE IT!

There’s something about horror anthologies, y’know? This nostalgia that cocoons itself comfortably around me like a burrito blanket. Before Goodreads, Bookstagram, Twitter.. there were anthologies. I was never a big fan of short stories, with one exception. Horror. Horror anthologies were where I discovered new (and old) authors in the genre. Horror seems to suit the short story format better than any other.

Unfortunately, this anthology was such a missed opportunity to not feature more diversity, especially within such a large collection. There isn’t any excuse not to ensure a diverse selection (with LGBTQIAP+, marginalized voices, POC, gender diversity) that reflects the world today.

There are solid writers in this collection, including the elusive Scott Smith! I was already a big fan of Lansdale, McGuire and Armstrong so it was no surprise that their stories ended up being some of my favorites! However, the two standouts for me are from Angela Slatter and John McIlveen. Slatter’s writing reminded me of the glorious Margaret Atwood, which is a massive compliment. Her introduction in the Suspended in Dusk II anthology first drew me to her style and this only cements the fact that I need some more of her writing in my life! McIlveen’s story was along the same vein as a hostage slasher like Saw and Hostel. I dug the hell out of it!

My favorites were:

Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow – Seanan McGuire
It’s a Wonderful Knife – Christopher Golden
Mistletoe and Holly – James A. Moore
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel – Joe R. Lansdale
Yankee Swap – John McIlveen
Honor Thy Mother – Angela Slatter

Ultimately, this was a mixed bag of good, bad and filler.

(Thanks to Anchor Books for sending me a copy before the release date in exchange for an honest review!)