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Chillers for Christmas
"At Christmas time," said the stranger in the chimney corner, "folks seem to think themselves privileged to ask other folks to tell stories." Arm yourself with the seasonally gripping stories contained in Chillers for Christmas and you will never be at a loss when, gathered around the flickering hearth on a Christmas Eve, someone suggests the traditional Christmas tale.
Chillers for Christmas brings together twenty-seven deliciously spine-chilling tales set it locations as diverse as India, France and England and spanning over a century of story-telling, but also classic Christmas thrillers from such well-loved writers as Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle.
The traditional Victorian Christmas ghost story is well represented with seasonal offerings by Frank Cowper and George Manville Fenn, while modern chillers from the best of our contemporary writers of the genre are included in six stories written especially for this volume.
So close the curtains against the howling wind, pull up a chair to the fireplace, and settle down with this festive collection of hauntings and horrors. And don't forget to bolt the door, just in case...
Chillers for Christmas brings together twenty-seven deliciously spine-chilling tales set it locations as diverse as India, France and England and spanning over a century of story-telling, but also classic Christmas thrillers from such well-loved writers as Rudyard Kipling and Arthur Conan Doyle.
The traditional Victorian Christmas ghost story is well represented with seasonal offerings by Frank Cowper and George Manville Fenn, while modern chillers from the best of our contemporary writers of the genre are included in six stories written especially for this volume.
So close the curtains against the howling wind, pull up a chair to the fireplace, and settle down with this festive collection of hauntings and horrors. And don't forget to bolt the door, just in case...
311 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
3 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Richard Dalby
124 books22 followersRichard Dalby (1949-2017) was an editor and literary researcher.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 9, 2024
This is a solid collection of Christmas-themed stories, mostly ghost stories, that are meant to recall the time before radio and television when folks would be solicited for ghost stories at Christmas time. In fact the dust jacket suggests that you will never be at a loss if you have this book handy should this situation occur. Several pieces use the device of someone telling a story within the story. The stories range from the late 1800s (Kipling) to the 1980s (Salmonson) and are presented chronologically. I was pleased to see that even the more recent stories were written in a style that felt like they could have been done long ago, as I often find that in wide ranging anthologies like this contemporary stories are of a lesser quality. Not the case here. I enjoyed everything in it apart from one story that was written in heavy dialect that was annoying to decipher. A recommended seasonal read.
January 22, 2010
Richard Dalby offers up an anthology of Christmas-themed ghost stories which I’ve been devouring over the holiday season. The anthology begins with Victorian tales before finishing relatively up-to-date with stories written in the late 1980s.
On the whole I found the 19th century stories to be better than their modern counterparts. Victorian writers had a knack of churning out atmospheric, creepy yarns and there are many collected here. Rudyard Kipling starts us off with THE STRANGE RIDE OF MORROWBIE JUKES, a nightmarish anecdote set in India, which isn’t really typical of the more traditional stories found elsewhere.
The second story in the collection is my favourite – Frank Cowper’s CHRISTMAS EVE ON A HAUNTED HULK is eerie indeed, reminiscent of Lytton’s THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, and this feels authentic: a truly terrifying ghost outing that’s one of the best I’ve read.
Ernest R. Suffling’s THE PHANTOM RIDERS is more predictable, in which a terrible tragedy of the past is re-enacted in the future. But Amelia B. Edwards delivers with THE GUARD-SHIP AT THE AIRE, a non-supernatural outing set in France that had chills running down my spine.
The anonymous HORROR: A TRUE TALE is an example of overwritten Victorian melodrama, packed with purple prose, but it builds atmosphere nonetheless. G. A. Henty wrote boy’s own adventures and A PIPE OF MYSTERY has plenty of excitement and weirdness to recommend it as two British soldiers in India come into contact with a sinister fakir.
ON THE DOWN LINE, by George Manville Fenn, is written in dialect and diabolical to read – a real chore to sit through. Conan Doyle writes AN EXCITING CHRISTMAS EVE, a jokey and non-supernatural thriller about a secret society. Guy Boothby’s REMORSELESS VENGEANCE I found fairly unwieldy, despite diverse plot elements including kidnapping, ghosts and revenge.
Bernard Capes was an obscure early 20th century writer of ghost tales but THE VANISHING HOUSE is another dialect-fuelled story and a bore to boot. Dick Donovan’s THE WHITE RAVEN is better, despite a predictable ‘haunted room’ storyline. More familiar chills are on offer in F. Frankfort Moore’s THE STRANGE STORY OF NORTHAVON PRIORY, which isn’t bad. THE BLACK CAT by W. J. Wintle is a fun effort about mental breakdown and an evil cat, and John Collier’s BACK FOR CHRISTMAS is a blackly comic outing with more than a touch of Robert Bloch about it.
Sarban’s A CHRISTMAS STORY is rather obscure, about a couple of monster hunters in Siberia, and doesn’t really fit with the collection. But L. P. Hartley’s THE WAITS is a lot of fun in which ghostly carol singers wreck a family’s Christmas meal. It’s topped by Shamus Frazer’s FLORINDA, a frankly disturbing tale about a ghostly little girl that chilled me to the bone.
THE HANGING TREE by R. Chetwynd-Hayes is a convoluted and rather uninspiring traditional ghost story, not one of his best. But Alexander Welch’s THE GROTTO, about the experiences of a department store Santa Claus, is good, spooky stuff. Eugune Johnson’s JUST BEFORE DAWN is short and predictable, but Peter Tremayne’s BUGGANE is a typically excellent ghost outing, set on the Isle of Man, from one of my favourite authors.
John Glasby contributes two effective stories to the collection: THE UNINVITED, a ghoulish story of zombies, and A PRESENT FOR CHRISTMAS, one of the most quietly sinister yarns in the collection and one of the best, too. THE DELIVERER by Simon MacCulloch is overlong and overwritten and THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Roger Johnson is a complex and psychological ghost story that pulls no punches. ON THE WINGS OF SONG, by David G. Rowlands (who edited the mammoth anthology THE DARK DESCENT) is a story of childhood terror with a grotesque climax, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson’s THE SANTA ends things on a quirky, mischievous twist and has a great final line.
A strong collection perfect for reading throughout December.
On the whole I found the 19th century stories to be better than their modern counterparts. Victorian writers had a knack of churning out atmospheric, creepy yarns and there are many collected here. Rudyard Kipling starts us off with THE STRANGE RIDE OF MORROWBIE JUKES, a nightmarish anecdote set in India, which isn’t really typical of the more traditional stories found elsewhere.
The second story in the collection is my favourite – Frank Cowper’s CHRISTMAS EVE ON A HAUNTED HULK is eerie indeed, reminiscent of Lytton’s THE HAUNTED AND THE HAUNTERS, and this feels authentic: a truly terrifying ghost outing that’s one of the best I’ve read.
Ernest R. Suffling’s THE PHANTOM RIDERS is more predictable, in which a terrible tragedy of the past is re-enacted in the future. But Amelia B. Edwards delivers with THE GUARD-SHIP AT THE AIRE, a non-supernatural outing set in France that had chills running down my spine.
The anonymous HORROR: A TRUE TALE is an example of overwritten Victorian melodrama, packed with purple prose, but it builds atmosphere nonetheless. G. A. Henty wrote boy’s own adventures and A PIPE OF MYSTERY has plenty of excitement and weirdness to recommend it as two British soldiers in India come into contact with a sinister fakir.
ON THE DOWN LINE, by George Manville Fenn, is written in dialect and diabolical to read – a real chore to sit through. Conan Doyle writes AN EXCITING CHRISTMAS EVE, a jokey and non-supernatural thriller about a secret society. Guy Boothby’s REMORSELESS VENGEANCE I found fairly unwieldy, despite diverse plot elements including kidnapping, ghosts and revenge.
Bernard Capes was an obscure early 20th century writer of ghost tales but THE VANISHING HOUSE is another dialect-fuelled story and a bore to boot. Dick Donovan’s THE WHITE RAVEN is better, despite a predictable ‘haunted room’ storyline. More familiar chills are on offer in F. Frankfort Moore’s THE STRANGE STORY OF NORTHAVON PRIORY, which isn’t bad. THE BLACK CAT by W. J. Wintle is a fun effort about mental breakdown and an evil cat, and John Collier’s BACK FOR CHRISTMAS is a blackly comic outing with more than a touch of Robert Bloch about it.
Sarban’s A CHRISTMAS STORY is rather obscure, about a couple of monster hunters in Siberia, and doesn’t really fit with the collection. But L. P. Hartley’s THE WAITS is a lot of fun in which ghostly carol singers wreck a family’s Christmas meal. It’s topped by Shamus Frazer’s FLORINDA, a frankly disturbing tale about a ghostly little girl that chilled me to the bone.
THE HANGING TREE by R. Chetwynd-Hayes is a convoluted and rather uninspiring traditional ghost story, not one of his best. But Alexander Welch’s THE GROTTO, about the experiences of a department store Santa Claus, is good, spooky stuff. Eugune Johnson’s JUST BEFORE DAWN is short and predictable, but Peter Tremayne’s BUGGANE is a typically excellent ghost outing, set on the Isle of Man, from one of my favourite authors.
John Glasby contributes two effective stories to the collection: THE UNINVITED, a ghoulish story of zombies, and A PRESENT FOR CHRISTMAS, one of the most quietly sinister yarns in the collection and one of the best, too. THE DELIVERER by Simon MacCulloch is overlong and overwritten and THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Roger Johnson is a complex and psychological ghost story that pulls no punches. ON THE WINGS OF SONG, by David G. Rowlands (who edited the mammoth anthology THE DARK DESCENT) is a story of childhood terror with a grotesque climax, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson’s THE SANTA ends things on a quirky, mischievous twist and has a great final line.
A strong collection perfect for reading throughout December.
December 28, 2014
This was a great concept! It gets 4 stars more for the concept of an anthology of Christmas horror than for the actual writing. The writing is about 3 stars. Before this book, it hadn't dawned on me that in pre-TV and shopping marathon times, people used to tell ghost stories for Christmas. There are apparently several competitions for these stories in small literary publications.
Most of the older stories in this anthology are a little over written, from the 1800s and a little kitschy. These were great reads for this time of year, but none of them were all that original/scary. Buggane was probably my favorite, it featured great writing and takes place on the Isle of Mann. There are several more modern stories from the late 1980s in this work too.
Instead of Christmas Story re-runs, I'd definitely recommend a reading of a story or two from this book, gathered around the tree. Beats the hell out of holiday shopping or listening to old relatives talk about their medical adventures.
Most of the older stories in this anthology are a little over written, from the 1800s and a little kitschy. These were great reads for this time of year, but none of them were all that original/scary. Buggane was probably my favorite, it featured great writing and takes place on the Isle of Mann. There are several more modern stories from the late 1980s in this work too.
Instead of Christmas Story re-runs, I'd definitely recommend a reading of a story or two from this book, gathered around the tree. Beats the hell out of holiday shopping or listening to old relatives talk about their medical adventures.
December 24, 2013
A range of scary stories for Christmas, although some were better than others, on the whole I enjoyed this book.
February 11, 2017
That it took me five years to finish this book doesn't reflect on its quality, but rather my hectic life. A bit uneven for me, but there were some delightfully nasty little numbers in here.
December 26, 2021
A nice collection of 27 spooky Christmas themed stories. Some were much better than others, but that is to be expected in most short story collections. The majority of the stories are from British authors, and the first half of the book is largely dedicated to 19th century tales, some of which did not stand the test of time for me. However, it was overall a quality read for the holiday season.
Favourites:
* The Hanging Tree - R. Chetwynd-Hayes
* Back For Christmas - Joe Collier
* Christmas Eve on A Haunted Hulk - Frank Cowper
* Horror: A True Tale - Anonymous
* The Waits - L.P. Hartley
* The Deliverer – Simon MacCulloch
Favourites:
* The Hanging Tree - R. Chetwynd-Hayes
* Back For Christmas - Joe Collier
* Christmas Eve on A Haunted Hulk - Frank Cowper
* Horror: A True Tale - Anonymous
* The Waits - L.P. Hartley
* The Deliverer – Simon MacCulloch
January 5, 2023
I hate to only give this 4 stars, because this was such an entertaining book. I LOVED IT…until it switched to more recently-written short stories like 3/4 of the way through. After having read so many from the 19th-early 20th century (which I adore), the contrast was really striking. I had to skim a few of the modern ones.
March 10, 2023
Excellent, you can't beat a ghost story for entertainment. I can never get enough but I have downsized my collection and only have two bookshelves now rather than a whole bookcase. Christmas is the best time for spooky goings on.
March 31, 2025
Interesting stories but not scary enough for me.
January 1, 2016
Als ich mir das Buch kaufte, habe ich mir leider nicht den Klappentext durchgelesen. Ich ging wegen des Untertitels “Kleine Morde zum Fest der Liebe” davon aus, dass es sich hierbei um Krimikurzgeschichten handeln würde. Wer lesen kann, ist klar im Vorteil!, sag ich da nur. :(
Jedenfalls musste ich feststellen, dass diese Anthologie leider nicht so ganz mein Fall war. Das hat auch schon meine Mutter gesagt, die das Buch bereits vor mir gelesen hatte.
Was ich an dieser Sammlung jedoch ganz gut fand, war, dass die Geschichten nach Jahren sortiert waren. Demnach kommen zunächst die älteren Geschichten und zum Schluss dann neuere. Da das Buch erstmals 1989 erschien (auf Englisch), sind diese natürlich auch nicht mehr auf dem aktuellen Stand der Dinge. Ich habe jedoch gemerkt, dass mir die “neueren” dennoch besser geflielen als die ganz alten, weil ich einfach mit dem Schreibstil besser zurechtkam. Bei den anderen musste man doch oftmals stark überlegen, was der Autor einem mit einem Satz (der oftmals ins Unermessliche langgezogen wurde) sagen wollte.
Ich denke, das Buch ist für all diejenigen, die gruselige Kurzgeschichten aus vergangenen Jahrhunderten mögen und mit dem altertümlicheren Schreibstil nicht solche Probleme haben wie ich, sicherlich etwas.
Jedenfalls musste ich feststellen, dass diese Anthologie leider nicht so ganz mein Fall war. Das hat auch schon meine Mutter gesagt, die das Buch bereits vor mir gelesen hatte.
Was ich an dieser Sammlung jedoch ganz gut fand, war, dass die Geschichten nach Jahren sortiert waren. Demnach kommen zunächst die älteren Geschichten und zum Schluss dann neuere. Da das Buch erstmals 1989 erschien (auf Englisch), sind diese natürlich auch nicht mehr auf dem aktuellen Stand der Dinge. Ich habe jedoch gemerkt, dass mir die “neueren” dennoch besser geflielen als die ganz alten, weil ich einfach mit dem Schreibstil besser zurechtkam. Bei den anderen musste man doch oftmals stark überlegen, was der Autor einem mit einem Satz (der oftmals ins Unermessliche langgezogen wurde) sagen wollte.
Ich denke, das Buch ist für all diejenigen, die gruselige Kurzgeschichten aus vergangenen Jahrhunderten mögen und mit dem altertümlicheren Schreibstil nicht solche Probleme haben wie ich, sicherlich etwas.
November 19, 2023
I love getting this collection down from the shelf every few years as the festive season approaches. There's nothing like a yuletide ghost story to help put you in the mood and this book contains numerous short supernatural mysteries and horror tales set during the Christmas period from the Victorian to the recent past. So, turn the lights down low, snuggle up in a comfy chair in front of a flickering fireplace and chill your imagination with a Christmas Chiller.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews