Dark X-Mas: 100 Word Holiday Horror Stories

by Eleanor Merry, Cassandra Angler, Scott Deegan

I'm dreaming of a Dark Christmas

With every little tale that I read

When the knife blades glisten

And scared children listen

To hear slayers in the night

Where sugarplums can be gory

In the frightening elf story

And trees eat favorite household pets

There are gifts on all the pages

Of terror through the ages

Told of gift giving regrets

I'm dreaming of a Dark Christmas

With every little tale I read

While the bright lights shine

And the family dines In the soft fireplace glow

So hold loved ones tight

It's not Santa visiting tonight

Death lies buried in the snow.

The holiday season isn’t all fun and games.100 word holiday horror stories from dozens of authors. From dark and disturbing, morbid humor or guts and gore, these stories have it all.

How will you celebrate the holidays?

With drabbles from: Eleanor Merry, Cassandra Angler, Scott Deegan, Josh A. Murphy, Stephen Cords, David Bowmore, Tina Merry, J.B. Wocoski, James Lipson, Shawn M Klimek, Morgan Adams, Steven Bruce, RJ Roles, Belinda Brady, James Pyles, Sea Caummisar, Trisha McKee, Nerisha Kemraj, Benjamin Langley, Mike Ennenbach, Dawn DeBraal, Aaron Bader, David Simms, R.E. Sargent, Angela Glover, Chris Miller, David M Donachie, Kerri Jesmer, Wendy Cheairs David M. Donachie, Terry Miller, Jacek Wilkos, Stuart Conover, P.J Blakey-Novis, Kevin J. Kennedy, N.M. Brown, Sharon Frame Gay, Gabriella Balcom, Jay Bower, Thomas Sturgeon Jr, Gabor Eichammer, D.J Elton, Alanna Webb, Marie Chambers and Drew Starling!

Genres: Horror, Christmas

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2019

About the author

Eleanor Merry was born and raised in beautiful Vancouver, BC and still lives there with her tiny human and her fiance. The offspring of a fairy queen and an undead warlord, she was brought up with an appetite for terror and beauty.

When she isn’t writing, she is a voracious reader with eclectic tastes which tends to lean towards horror and the twisted, however is known to indulge in dirty romances on the side. In all genres, nothing is off limits and she looks forward to sharing more of her own twisted and strange thoughts with the world.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark X-Mas is a compilation of horror-themed Christmas stories edited by Eleanor Merry and written by various authors of Flash Fiction. I have occasionally read flash fiction drabbles – exceedingly short stories of one hundred words or less – and find them to be a mixed bag. Some authors can get to the heart of a story rather quickly, gut punch you, and leave you reeling with limited words. I find that most authors cannot. Consequently, the stories found in this collection riff on specific aspects, lore, or characters common to the Christmas holidays. Due to the rapid punch of these stories, some of them required repeated readings in order to understand the ironic twists. Overall, the stories were enjoyable, but reading them back-to-back dimmed the experience. I will therefore split this right down the middle for Goodreads but will add a half a Grey Geek for my rating for the Mustache and the Beard blog on WordPress.

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 4 out of 5]

FULL DISCLAIMER: I AM AN AUTHOR WITH WORK IN THIS BOOK BUT TRIED MY BEST TO REVIEW IT HONESTLY
100 word drabbles are fairly new to me. I think this is third book of drabbles I had read. At first I thought the idea was silly, and that you can't tell a story in 100 words. But I was wrong. I love that this one is Horror Christmas themed. There are so many drabbles, all different types. Some creeped me out, some made me laugh, some made me cringe. If I were to review the drabbles individually, there were some 3, 4 and 5 stars. So I'm averaging this out with 4 stars. It's pretty cool. And the best part is that if you don't like one, go to the next. I mean, they're only 100 words. I didn't dislike any of them, I just liked some more than others.Even though I didn't want to be in the Christmas mood yet, this book made it feel like the holidays for me.

[Travis Poole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love drabbles and these are some really good ones. Christmas horror short stories. I wanted to read this because Sea Caummisar has a very twisted mind and she (!) is in good company with these authors. Funny sick super short stories. There are a lot of stories and they are all worth reading. Lots of sick stories. If you don't laugh at least once then you are way to normal to be reading these stories. I hope these will become a series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Leah Burnside · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have never experienced drabbles, I highly recommend starting with this book. I love horror, I love Christmas, and this book combined them perfectly in a fun and frighteningly festive style. This is now on my Holiday Favourites book list and I can't wait to cuddle next to my Christmas tree and read it again. Merry Dark X-Mas one and all!!

[Jerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK

There were a few good drabbles but most were just ok. Some seriously needed better editing. Enjoyable but not necessarily memorable.

[Naomi Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only recently found out about Dribbles, it has to be very challenging to write a story in only 100 words...but these authors do it amazingly.

I love Christmas horror, as a horror fan it's good to have something to read during the Christmas season.

I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. For short stories these really pack a punch. These quick and bloody bites are perfect for anyone who wants to add some darkness to the happy holiday season.

[Jim Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!

What’s a Drabble you might ask. Well it’s a 100 word story. No more no less. I have read three other Drabble collections and loved them, so when I saw a Christmas themed collection,I had to jump on it! Needless to say I was not disappointed at all. The stories delve into every horror you ca n think of. And the writers of theses Drabble are phenomenal. If you have never read a collection of Drabble, do it you will not be disappointed. And the Christmas theme makes this one that much more fun to read.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: I am a contributor to this book but basing my review on the other stories. I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday collection Eleanor has compiled! Considering they’re stories of only a 100 words the fun just keeps coming with each drabble. This collection covers it all with twists and turns for every horror reader.

[Joe Wocoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Holiday Horrors

Sweet cuddly Christmas stories these murderous tales are not. Looking for some relief from holiday cheers and searching for X-mass jeers. Murder, mayhem, monsters running amuck to spoil bad little boys and girls and even Santa's Christmas and more horrors.

[Melissa Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are some awesome holiday drabbles! From killer reindeer to creepy santas and spoiled children, these drabbles have everything for your Christmas spooks and laughs.

There are too many great authors here to get everyone, but Stephen Cords "The Giving Season" series throughout the book is fantastic. And Cassandra Angler, Scott Deegan, RJ Roles, Trisha McKee, Chris Miller, James Pyles, Gabor Eichammee and of course Eleanor Merry (plus so many more) have some very awesome drabbles in here. Don't miss out on this one!

[jody scheppmann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a good book

These were a little too short...many of these stories made no sense...I love short horror stories but these were ridiculous

[Jesse Bollinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good collection of bite sized tails. I’ve always loved Christmas horror.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a selector stories which are only 100 words each. Each will take you on a short journey through each one. Be prepared to be scared

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm dreaming of a Dark Christmas
With every little tale that I read
When the knife blades glisten
And scared children listen
To hear slayers in the night
Where sugarplums can be gory
In the frightening elf story
And trees eat favorite household pets
There are gifts on all the pages
Of terror through the ages
Told of gift giving regrets
I'm dreaming of a Dark Christmas
With every little tale I read
While the bright lights shine
And the family dines In the soft fireplace glow
So hold loved ones tight
It's not Santa visiting tonight
Death lies buried in the snow.
The holiday season isn’t all fun and games.100 word holiday horror stories from dozens of authors. From dark and disturbing, morbid humor or guts and gore, these stories have it all.
How will you celebrate the holidays?

I loved reading these quick stories from the different authors.
Full of suspense and twists and the odd quirky bit of humor rolled in.
Wonderful quick reads that has something included for everyone and at it's core of course is HORROR!!
Loved each and every one with different levels of gore and monsters to grab you and keep you and you won't let it go til it's done.
Recommend reading highly!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Janice E. Ryberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark X-Mas Holiday Drabbles ... Fun collection!

These were short and some were fun, but don't count on it!
Have to admit I read it to end reading Christmas stories since it is the new year. Definitely will cure you!

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing and darkly amusing selection of holiday horror. I loved them. I hope there is more to come.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pat Eroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore short stories, drabble, flash, or any story that is a quick read and written wonderfully - such as this book. So many different kinds of stories but all are horrific, and all are Christmas themed. This is one of my favorites!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Renee Hawkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible

I do not recommend this book. I read the Kindle edition and I wanted to DNF it but I hung on because I have begun to like short story complications. This edition has some terrible editing and layout. Some of the stories are ok, but most of them are mediocre at best. Skip this one.

[Joan Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed bag and by the end it's gotten repetitious. It's very difficult to be original with a known theme and only a maximum of 100 words to work with. They are, of course, quick little suckers.

[Deb O rah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short tales with my favorites being from Cassandra Angler, Jpsh Murphy, RJ Roles, David Simms, Stephen Cords, Gabor Eichammer, and Eleanor Merry

[Bg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark

These short stories were just too dark and short for me. Some read as starters or drafts for fuller stories. That said, some were funny.

[Ozsaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

Very quick read with a wide variety of drabbles. A few themes were done a bit too much, but overall a lot of fun.