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Christmas Horror Volume 3
Christmas Horror Volume 3 is here! The third installment of our popular Christmas Horror anthology line features stories by authors Richard Chizmar, Norman Partridge, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Jeff Strand, James Chambers, Lisa Morton, Richard Thomas, William Meikle, Jason V Brock, John Palisano and Simon Strantzas!
- GenresHorrorAnthologies
170 pages, Paperback
Published December 14, 2020
45 people want to read
About the author
Richard Chizmar
252 books3,450 followersRichard Chizmar is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author.
He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.
Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.
Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.
His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.
Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
He is the co-author (with Stephen King) of the bestselling novella, Gwendy’s Button Box and the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than 35 anthologies and his short fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including multiple editions of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.
Chizmar (in collaboration with Johnathon Schaech) has also written screenplays and teleplays for United Artists, Sony Screen Gems, Lions Gate, Showtime, NBC, and many other companies. He has adapted the works of many bestselling authors including Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Bentley Little.
Chizmar is also the creator/writer of the online website, Stephen King Revisited. His fourth short story collection, The Long Way Home, was published in 2019. With Brian Freeman, Chizmar is co-editor of the acclaimed Dark Screams horror anthology series published by Random House imprint, Hydra.
His latest book, The Girl on the Porch, was released in hardcover by Subterranean Press, and Widow’s Point, a chilling novella about a haunted lighthouse written with his son, Billy Chizmar, was recently adapted into a feature film.
Chizmar’s work has been translated into more than fifteen languages throughout the world, and he has appeared at numerous conferences as a writing instructor, guest speaker, panelist, and guest of honor.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 2, 2021
What do you get when you have the likes of Jeff Strand, John Palisano, James Chambers, Lisa Morton, and a collaboration between Richard Chizmar and Norman Partridge (plus many others) write horror stories revolving around Christmas? You get a kickass anthology, that’s what you get!
Dark Regions Press has struck gold again with CHRISTMAS HORROR, Volume 3. My only “complaint” is that I would have rather 5 more new stories, than including 5 stories from Volume 2.
My review:
1) Making Merry by Simon Strantzas - Santa gets more than he bargained for. B+
2) All I Want For Christmas is Your Two Front Teeth by Jeff Strand - Talk about your dark comedy - and done beautifully. Kyle is taught a lesson from Santa about misinterpreting Christmas Carol lyrics. A+
3) Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice by Stephanie M. Wytovich - Sugar Plum Fairies aren’t exactly what you think; and they’re hungry. A
4) Christmas in July by John Palisano - This story was just bizarre, but in a good way. Weird stuff goes down while Chuck is taking advantage of a Christmas in July sale. A
5) The Ever Green by James Chambers - I don’t know what to say about this one without giving it away. It was a beautifully written story. A
6) Welcome to the Party, Pal by William Meikle - Proof that DIE HARD is a Christmas movie. :-) A
7) Christmassacre: The Last Christmas by Jason V. Brock - The elves are pissed and have finally had it with Santa. A
8) Chrysalis by Ricard Thomas - John finds some foreboding news in The Farmer’s Almanac, and does everything he can to save his family from a catastrophic weather event; even if it means cancelling Christmas. A
9) The Best Cookie Dough Ever by Lisa Morton - OK, yes, I’m in the “Don’t eat raw cookie dough” camp. Never understood the appeal - even if it’s made to be consumed (as in ice cream); which is wired since I’ll eat sashimi, and steak tar tar - both of which are raw (duh), but not cookie dough. Now, after reading Lisa’s story, I have more reason to avoid it! A
10 The Season of Giving by Richard Chizmar and Norman Partridge - A heart wrenching story about a department store Santa who tries to atone for his actions with his family, by helping a little girl with her situation. A great way to end the anthology A+
There you have it. And the only reason for the B+ for Making Merry is that it was only 2 pages long, and had so much potential. I hope there’s a volume 4 in the future.
Dark Regions Press has struck gold again with CHRISTMAS HORROR, Volume 3. My only “complaint” is that I would have rather 5 more new stories, than including 5 stories from Volume 2.
My review:
1) Making Merry by Simon Strantzas - Santa gets more than he bargained for. B+
2) All I Want For Christmas is Your Two Front Teeth by Jeff Strand - Talk about your dark comedy - and done beautifully. Kyle is taught a lesson from Santa about misinterpreting Christmas Carol lyrics. A+
3) Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice by Stephanie M. Wytovich - Sugar Plum Fairies aren’t exactly what you think; and they’re hungry. A
4) Christmas in July by John Palisano - This story was just bizarre, but in a good way. Weird stuff goes down while Chuck is taking advantage of a Christmas in July sale. A
5) The Ever Green by James Chambers - I don’t know what to say about this one without giving it away. It was a beautifully written story. A
6) Welcome to the Party, Pal by William Meikle - Proof that DIE HARD is a Christmas movie. :-) A
7) Christmassacre: The Last Christmas by Jason V. Brock - The elves are pissed and have finally had it with Santa. A
8) Chrysalis by Ricard Thomas - John finds some foreboding news in The Farmer’s Almanac, and does everything he can to save his family from a catastrophic weather event; even if it means cancelling Christmas. A
9) The Best Cookie Dough Ever by Lisa Morton - OK, yes, I’m in the “Don’t eat raw cookie dough” camp. Never understood the appeal - even if it’s made to be consumed (as in ice cream); which is wired since I’ll eat sashimi, and steak tar tar - both of which are raw (duh), but not cookie dough. Now, after reading Lisa’s story, I have more reason to avoid it! A
10 The Season of Giving by Richard Chizmar and Norman Partridge - A heart wrenching story about a department store Santa who tries to atone for his actions with his family, by helping a little girl with her situation. A great way to end the anthology A+
There you have it. And the only reason for the B+ for Making Merry is that it was only 2 pages long, and had so much potential. I hope there’s a volume 4 in the future.
February 4, 2021
I really enjoyed this collection of "Christmas" stories. There were some really well written stories in here like Chrysalis by Richard Thomas, The Season of Giving by Richard Chizmar & Norman Partridge and Silent Night by Chizmar that were deep explorations into the human psyche. Then you had a mix of comedy, horror, and gore wrapped up in fun, well told stories like Sugar Spice And Everything Nice by Stephanie M. Wytovich, , The Best Cookie Dough by Lisa Morton, and December Birthday by Jeff Strand (which I can totally relate to having a birthday right after Christmas). Overall, this is my favorite volume of Christmas Horror by Dark Regions Press. I can say I enjoyed every story in the collection and that's hard to come by with short story collections! Thanks for a fun ride!
February 22, 2021
Very good collection of holiday-related horror stories. My favorites were "Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice" (those sugar plum fairies and mean and HUNGRY), "Christmassacre: The Last Christmas" (Santa's elves are angry and not going to take his crap anymore!); "Silent Night" and "December Birthday" (always make sure to give separate birthday and Christmas presents!)
December 22, 2023
Oof this was not great. Two good stories though, "All I Want For Christmas is Your Two Front Teeth" by Jeff Strand - excellent comedic horror. Then "The Season of Giving" by Norman Partridge & Richard Chizmar was excellent. This also contained a handful of stories from Volume 2 which I did not factor into this rating/review
December 29, 2020
Outstanding anthology! All five star stories but two; considering the wide variety of authors, that's really exceptional.
I buy this every year. Can't wait until next year.
I buy this every year. Can't wait until next year.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews