Best Horror Stories for Christmas

Christmas is associated with uplifting stories while Halloween is associated with terror. However, some traditions involve telling not necessarily Christmas related ghost stories on Christmas Eve. We're not talking about ghost stories like "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, though that is a great example of a story that could be family friendly while kicking up a cool tradition. We're talking about actually scary or adult scary tales that either relate to Christmas or were just made for Christmas.

"Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" by Montague Rhodes James

For some strange reason, I did not even know about this book until I downloaded Librivox on my iPhone so that I could listen to books while I fell asleep. Turns out, this isn't a great idea for drifting off to sleep, though I did get used to it. At any rate, as it happens, M.R. James wrote these stories for telling at school during Christmas time and they are actually quite chilling. "The Mezzotint" may be my favorite, but that could change by next Christmas.

"The Stupidest Angel" by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is one of my favorite satirists, particularly because of "Lamb," but "The Stupidest Angel" is pretty darn good itself. It is about an angel who manages to wreak havoc on Earth after a series of hilarious blunders. The result is a horrifying Christmas for those involved. While this story is not for kids, it manages to be funny, so I would not exactly classify it as horror. I think people who like either genre or both will all enjoy this strange novel.

"Santa Steps Out" by Robert Devereaux

This rarely occurs, but I'm actually suggesting this story without having read it. In my searches for great stories, this one has been mentioned by book loving acquaintances on many occasions. For that reason, I am saying perhaps you should give it a try. It involves an errant Santa and a number of other made up creatures getting up to nefarious deeds during the off-season on the North Pole. From what I surmise, you shouldn't read this book if you are very attached to the commercial version of Santa.

We horror lovers do not have to give over to stories of good will and peace. I mean, it is wonderful to have them in real life for the holidays and always, but if you want gore, fear and suspense in your fiction, you can have it all year long. This Christmas, fill up with zombies, stupid angels, naughty Santa and vengeful ghosts.

Happy Holidays,

Shelly Barclay

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