Literally Dead: Tales of Holiday Hauntings

by Gaby Triana (Editor), John Palisano (Editor, Contributor), Ramsey Campbell (Contributor)

Ghosts of Victorian Christmases past. A mall Santa who sees dead children. A spirit trapped inside a club on New Years' Eve.

Edited by Gaby Triana and John Palisano, this 2nd-volume anthology of 19 short ghost stories by the most terrifying names in horror is the perfect collection for a dark and snowy December night. Featuring holiday tales to make you shiver Ramsey Campbell, V. Castro, Lisa Morton, Stephanie Wytovich, Jonathan Janz, Hailey Piper, Clay McLeod Chapman, Chet Wiliamson, John Palisano, & more.

RAMSEY CAMPBELL - "Last Year's Man"
LISA MORTON - "The Grey Road"
HAILEY PIPER - "Midnight Bang"
JOHN PALISANO - "Like A Million Points of Light"
JONATHAN JANZ - "Midwinter Tale"
V. CASTRO - "Broken Vows"
STEPHANIE M. WYTOVICH - "Ghosts in Glass Jars"
CHET WILLIAMSON - "Haunt Me Then"
CLAY McLEOD CHAPMAN - "psychic santa"
ADRIENNE CLARKE - "A Geisha's Christmas in Kyoto"
JOHN KISTE - "A Superfluity of Nuns"
DOUGLAS FORD - "The Coat Closet"
DARREN LIPMAN - "Mordecai Monster Hunter"
BROOKE MacKENZIE - "Reindeer Games"
KATHERINE TRAYLOR - "The Angel"
JAKE JEROME - "The Fewer the Better Fare"
ELEANOR SCIOLISTEIN - "The Frostling"
TIM McWHORTER - "The Lieutenant"
K.G. ANDERSON - "The Solstice Guest"

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

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2023

About the author

GABY TRIANA is the Cuban-American author of 25 books for adults and teens, including Moon Child, Island of Bones, River of Ghosts, City of Spells, Wake the Hollow, Cubanita, and Summer of Yesterday. Her short stories have appeared in Classic Monsters Unleashed, A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, A Conjuring for All Seasons, Novus Monstrum, and Weird Tales Magazine. She has co-authored ghosthunters Sam & Colby’s horror novel, Paradise Island, and edited the ghost anthology series, Literally Dead (Tales of Halloween Hauntings; Tales of Holiday Hauntings).
As a ghostwriter, Gaby has penned 50+ novels for bestselling authors in every genre. Her own books have won the IRA Teen Choice Award, ALA Best Paperback, and Hispanic Magazine's Good Reads Awards, and she writes under several pen names, including Gabrielle Keyes for her paranormal women’s fiction. She lives in Miami with her family and the four-legged creatures they serve.

FB: @GabyTriana.author
IG: @GabyTriana
YT: The Witch Haunt

Reviews

[Final✘Girl✘Magick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't "bad" but also wasn't my thing and what I was expecting. I DNF. I may come back at another time to read again.

[Catherine McCarthy]

N.B. I do not rate on Goodreads.

Before I comment on this particular anthology, I must give a shout-out to its sister anthology that came out last year called Literally Dead: Tales of Halloween Hauntings. Perfect for spooky season!

Now on to Holiday Hauntings...

What struck me first was the layout and formatting of the interior, which was so professionally done. It's important, right?
Secondly, the editor's introduction left me with a huge lump in my throat. So touching! I won't say more for fear of spoiling it.

And now on to the stories...

As expected, each story is set around Christmas or New Year, with plenty of ghosts to haunt the reader. I'd like to add a note here: Many anthologizes that are 'themed' can end up feeling a bit 'samey,' and that's sometimes intentional on the editor's part. I've read rejections for stories that state the story submitted to an anthology was 'not a good fit' as it didn't blend with other chosen stories. That sameness? Not the case here, I'm pleased to say, because although several had a Gothic or nostalgic feel (and rightly so in my opinion) there was diversity throughout, so good on you, editor Gaby Triana, for appealing to a wide range of tastes!
For example, A Geisha's Christmas in Kyoto by Adrienne Clarke made for a refreshing cultural shift, as did Mordecai Weiss: Monster Hunter, by Darren Lipman, which centered around a monster hunter during Hanukkah.
Several conjured to mind stories by the classics: M.R. James, Dickens, Poe etc., and one (The Frosting, by Eleanor Sciolistein) reminded me of one of my favorite tales ever - The Snow Child. A win as far as I'm concerned.
And then there were the less traditional, some of which I enjoyed enormously, such as Midnight Bang by Hailey Piper which centred round the club scene and had a 'unique' feel.

Several stuck with me after reading because of the atmosphere they created, such as The Lieutenant by Tim Mcwhorter and Ghosts in Glass Jars by Stephanie M. Wytovich.

There are too many stories to mention each one individually, but I read and enjoyed them all.

To sum up, if you enjoy 'cozy' horror, without too much gore or violence, and appreciate a little dark humour thrown in to the mix (e.g Psychic Santa by Clay Mcleod and Last Year's Man by Ramsey Campbell), then this is the perfect read for you.

My thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC to read and review.

[Sara Tantlinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfully festive and macabre anthology! These tales of holiday hauntings are packed with an assortment of ghosts, ghouls, and dread. With takes on classic ideas interspersed with more contemporary ones, there is a lot to offer within these stories. There were a few that maybe moved a little slower than I'd like, but that's just my personal taste. Overall, I enjoyed the anthology and was eager to see what each story presented.

There are so many great tales within. A few that I particularly enjoyed are Hailey Piper's "Midnight Bang" (which easily shot into my top 3 all time favorite Hailey Piper stories) -- the play with color, spaces, liminality, and everything else surrounding this peculiar kind of New Years haunting was so enthralling. I loved, loved, loved this story and it was my favorite in the anthology.

Clay McLeod Chapman's "Psychic Santa" presents such a unique and sad take on going to see Santa at the mall. I love Clay's writing and how it mixes this dark humor into a really heartbreaking situation. The imagery (and sounds!) really stand out in this piece.

Stephanie Wytovich's "Ghosts in Glass Jars" is a lot of fun -- I love seeing this character of a ruthless old woman mailing out hauntings. This story would make a great novella or longer piece, too -- I want to know all about Edith's life and her dismal deeds!

Happy holiday hauntings!

[Mya ☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid anthology of Holiday spooky stories. Although I didn't love this one as much as I loved the Halloween one, I still did enjoy it a lot and if there was another collection by the same editor I would buy it in a heartbeat. My favorites of the collection were:

"Haunt Me Then" by Chet Williamson - A super unique and interesting story about Wuthering Heights and Ireland famine.
"A Geisha's Christmas In Kyoto" by Adrienne Clarke - My favorite of the collection about a Geisha and her Christmas traditions
"Mordecai Weiss: Monster Hunter" by Darren Lipman - Fun monster story based around the 8 nights of Channukah. I loved it!
"The Fewer the Better Fare" by Jake Jerome - Loved this one!
"The Angel" by Katherine Traylor - Cute story about being haunted by your Christian Grandma.
"A Superfluity of Nuns" by John Kiste - Ghost Nuns scaring a man strait? Loved it!
"Reindeer Games" by Brooke MacKenzie - Another one of my top favorites of the collection. Don't ever fuck with the natives.
"Broken Vows" by V. Castro - Fun story about one of the wives of Henry VIII getting her revenge.

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's one thing I am going to do when it comes to reading (and reading horror!) then it is look for the seasonally themed anthologies! LITERALLY DEAD: TALES OF HOLIDAY HAUNTINGS has some great stories with a variety of topics and themes from authors you have definitely heard of plus some new (to me, anyway!) writers. I love when an anthology has me looking up the works of authors who I have maybe not heard of or read before, as I am always happy to grow my reading choices and library like that. My favorite thing about this anthology, however, is definitely that range of styles and stories. Sometimes all the stories are so similar that you can only read a handful at a time as they blend together. But not here! Each story is so different and stands on its own in the best ways. I could read a new one of these every year!

AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE AMAZING COVER FOREVER PLEASE?!

[Jeff McIntosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unmerry Christmas...and no New Year.....

A collection of 19 ghost stories to celebrate Christmas......

Among my favorites....a psychic Santa who sees the ghosts of dead children...a witch who casts a spell to bring back her lost lover from the dead with unforeseen consequences, a ghost who likes small spaces, a witch who "gifts" people with ghosts trapped within glass jars, and a story of a Santa haunted by a predecessor...

My favorite story, however, was janz' "Midwinter Tales" - ghostly revenger from beyond the grave. A real chiller....

Recommended.....


Jeff Mc

[Mariette T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved Halloween more than Christmas. However, this year, I remembered that these cold winter months often inspired spooky tales to be told around the fire. I'm looking at you, Ebeneezer Scrooge. I was happy to fund this collection of "holiday hauntings". There is definitely something here for everyone. The following are some of my favorites:

Psychic Santa: An average mall Santa suddenly starts seeing dead children waiting in his line. Even the dead should be granted a Christmas wish.

The Frostling: A cautionary tale of wanting your cake and eating it, too. The ending was rather sad -- and shocking.

Midwinter Tales: A very interesting take on transmigration of the soul.

I highly recommend reading these by the fire -- or candle (no lights allowed) -- on those dark winter nights.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining horror listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novel is from my Kindle account book one of two

There are eighteen short horror stories by various authors. Each story is different with interesting characters lots of horror 😤

I would recommend this series and various authors to readers looking for fantasy world 🌐 horror adventure novels 👍🔰 2025 🌇😕

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed almost every story in this anthology!

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy collection of Christmas holiday horror. Each story different from the other but still keeping a nice rhythm. I enjoyed all up to the very end and plan on rereading next holiday season.

[MelissaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review copy from publisher for review consideration

This volume — the second iteration of the ‘Literally Dead’ haunting anthologies from editor Gaby Triana, takes a more poignant and personal meaning as she lost her mother during the process of finalizing publication.

The stories here focus on bringing that vibe of sitting around the fireplace for the holidays, maybe sipping a favourite warm (or cold) drink, food to share like cookies, and of that mystery that’s in their with the winter — going back to that notion of telling ghost stories in the Victorian Era especially in England. Which doesn’t mean the pieces are British or all set in that era of the past. Not at all. I’m just trying to establish that the vivid elements did come through of the energy Gaby was trying to capture for this project.

Readers get treated to stories of unique books given as gifts that come with interesting consequences, of ghosts that linger, of a unique story with “A Geisha’s Christmas in Kyoto” by Adrienne Clarke that introduces different cultural aspects from the heterornormative (white) experiences that this genre of story tends to focus on. There are even monster hunters in the volume, of myths about how knocking on oak trees can release good spirits, and of course of Santa Claus or Jolly Old Saint Nick albeit from a very twisted perspective (as one would expect for this anthology). Fans who prefer humour horror stories or the kind of things that Jeff Strand writes will enjoy most of the stories here. And there are plenty of frights throughout. Some stories connected with me more strongly than others while others weren’t my cup of tea, which is true of any anthology. ‘The Frostling’ was more creepy and intense.

V Castro’s story “Broken Vows” goes to Hampton Court Palace, which becomes magical during Christmas with apple cider, hot chocolate, poinsettias, wreeaths, and the whole works. Everything on the banks of the Thames, cold at times, and with the dark history of Henry the Eighth and his wives, with the legend that two of his six wives haunt these grounds. The protagonist works as a security guard while also finishing her dissertation on Henry the Eighth and the time of the Reformation. This was a neat story in the sense that while it’s a departure from Castro’s more recent work, it also has many of the familiar elements that make her stories so unique and so purely V. There’s a *very* interesting twist that gets in to similar territory of the history of the major vampire character who fans of Tanya Huff will know who I’m talking about, and while it’s not him who has the interesting twist, it’s someone related and it’s a great twist followed by another great twist, and overall, a good story.

“Midnight Bang” by Hailey Piper is one of those wonderful double-entendre story titles. Here, things go into a more interesting kind of ghost story on New Year’s. I found it to be among the more entertaining of the bunch and great for fans of Hailey’s short stories.

Overall, for horror readers looking for some holiday-themed horror to curl up with as we enter the holiday season, "Literally Dead: Tales of Holiday Hauntings" will keep them good company.

[Kat Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something For Everyone

This book has been just what I needed this spooky season. With many genres and storylines, there is something available for everyone and every taste. The stories vary in length and style, which makes it an excellent choice as we head to the busiest part of the year. No matter how much time you have available, you can have the satisfaction of completing a story even if you only have a short moment in which to get some reading done.

For those of you, like me, who really enjoy the feeling of being truly creeped out, there is much in this book that will get you there, while other stories have just enough spookiness to keep the reader on edge, but not enough for a sleepless night.

I could recommend this book for all readers varying from the age of ten and upward, who enjoy a bit of thrill in their books.

Thank you, Alienhead Press for the Advanced Reader Copy of Literally Dead: Tales of Halloween Hauntings – It was just what I needed at this time of year! 

[Robert Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology of holiday themed ghost stories treats us to some great Christmas chills. I’d read the previous book in this series dealing with Halloween stories and quite liked that one so I was excited to get my hands on this new one, and I’m similarly impressed. That’s not to say I loved every single story in it—that’s never the case with any anthology—but the good far outweighs the bad and there are a few real stand-out winners. Though all the stories are new, it offers a good mix of the more classical and the more modern, and I have to say I generally prefer the classical ones, but they’re all worth a read.

We may be past the holiday season now, but I’d recommend grabbing a copy for your reading next winter.

[Micki]

A collection of short stories set around the winter holidays. What is it about winter holidays and hauntings? Is it because the nights are long and we are trapped indoors, or is it because winter in the northern hemisphere is a time when plants and animals tend to go into a slumber?

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a strange collection - many of the stories would be considered "Gothic horror," but then suddenly you're thrust into a totally different genre. It's also a bit bizarre in that every story was written by a different person, and yet the entire collection reads as if there were only 2-3 authors involved.

That being said, there were a couple stories that I enjoyed, but mostly I thought the collection was pretty uninspired and/or boring. 

[Armand Rosamilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is a great collection of horrific holiday stories. Some authors I love to read along with a couple I've never read before, but will definitely pay attention to in the future. Not a bad story in the bunch, either, which is very rare for an anthology. Recommended!

[James Roller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for the Holiday season. There is something in here to appeal to everyone, and it is awesome getting to discover new writers.

[Norman Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well-done horror collection wtih holiday themes. Why does Christmas lend itself so perfectly for ghost stories? Several standout stories and none that I would consider weak.

[Syd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were very good. Some were quite confusing and strange.

[Rachael T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of amazing stories mixed with many that left me unimpressed, so it's definitely a solid 3 star overall. Great cozy spooky book to curl up with during the Christmas season.

[Amber Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, it was okay.

[Dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully chilling: just what's needed to make a rainy Florida day feel more like Christmas!

[Rayne Badger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me entertained the whole way. Loved it

[Anita Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the collection of stories in this book so much I've read them several times and will keep reading them.
Cautionary tales, heartwarming stories, and a few "I'm sleeping with the lights on after reading these tonight" horror stories blended together in this book.