Eighteen stories of Christmas horror from bestselling, acclaimed authors including Scott Smith, Seanan McGuire, Josh Malerman, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, and many more.That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The … jaws together. The hideous children–Want and Ignorance–beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts.
Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.
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Short stories that are easily read and are enjoyable. I love horror and while these didn’t scare me to death they gave me a good tingle!
Definitely different Christmas stories
3.5
Book source ~ NetGalley
I have to admit I like the combination of Christmas and Horror. What? I’m not weird, you are. Anyway, this 18 story anthology is as tightly wrapped as an unwilling kidnap victim. While I occasionally enjoy a good holiday horror, I’ve found that the genre as a whole is hit or miss with me. The same goes with this collection. Nearly all of the authors are new-to-me, so if I go by my reaction to several of these stories then I probably won’t be checking out the rest of their work. But I may change my mind. Miracles can happen. I’ve put an * next to the titles I really like.
Absinthe & Angels ~ Kelley Armstrong ~ Trippy
Christmas in Barcelona* ~ Scott Smith ~ Unexpected
Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow ~ Seanan McGuire ~ Meh
Love Me ~ Thomas E. Sniegoski ~ Creepy as fuck.
Not Just for Christmas ~ Sarah Lotz ~ Wtf did I just read?
Tenets ~ Josh Malerman ~ Blah
Good Deeds ~ Jeff Strand ~ Meh
It’s a Wonderful Knife* ~ Christopher Golden ~ Oooohhh!
Mistletoe and Holly ~ James A. Moore ~ Whoa. Harsh
Snake’s Tail ~ Sarah Langan ~ I don’t get it.
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel* ~ Joe Lansdale ~ Like!
Farrow Street ~ Elizabeth Hand ~ Boring and confusing
Doctor Velocity ~ Jonathan Maberry ~ Very meh
Yankee Swap* ~ John M. McIlveen ~ Sorta Saw-like?
Honor Thy Mother* ~ Angela Slatter ~ Nice!
Home* ~ Tim Lebbon ~ Whoa
Hiking Through ~ Michael Koryta ~ Meh
The Hangman’s Bride* ~ Sarah Pinborough ~ This might be my favorite.
4.5
Since this is probably my last review before then, ”Merry Christmas, Ya filthy animals!!” (Home Alone)
THIS is what I’m talking about! I love Christopher Golden’s work on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s graphic novel omnibuses! He did a FANFRIGGINTASTIC job putting this together!
There were a couple funny (I would say one comedy, the rest dark comedy) and bittersweet ones, but for the most part, these were some horror-filled good times! Out of the 18 stories, there were only two that fell flat for me (Tenents and Doctor Velocity).
Top 3: Absinthe and Angels, Honor Thy Mother, and Yankee Swap
Best Ending: Christmas in Barcelona
Buy this for yourself or someone who is not the traditionslist when it comes to Christmas. Or, if you’re twisted, get it for someone who won’t stop Fah-la-lah’ing.
Some of the stories were more engaging than other in this collection. I found two or three of the stories particularly difficult to slough through. The majority we’re very imaginative and entertaining.
Christmas! I really can’t stand it, but this anthology appealed to me for the following reasons. 1. The killer cover! (For which I got to host the exclusive cover reveal on my blog, Char’s Horror Corner, and it was very exciting!) 2. It was edited by Christopher Golden and I’ve had good luck with anthologies he’s edited in the past. I’m happy to report this one was no exception!
This book was chock full of stories, nearly 400 pages worth, so I can’t get into all of them here, but I will briefly talk about the tales that stood out for me:
YANKEE SWAP by John McIlveen. Wow! We go from a woman trying to avoid her sexually aggressive boss at a Christmas party, to her getting knocked over the head and waking up tied to a chair. This tale had it all-violence, surprises and plot twists along with a satisfying conclusion. Bravo! 5*
CHRISTMAS IN BARCELONA by Scott Smith. I love Scott’s A SIMPLE PLAN, but this tale was completely different from his usual stuff. I was able to guess the end just before the story got there, but that didn’t spoil the fun at all. 4.5*
THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE CHRISTMAS HOTEL by Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe Lansdale. This was a perfect “ghost gets revenge” type story and I loved it, as I do most anything he writes. 4.5*
LOVE ME by Thomas Sniegoski. This twisted little tale reminded me of the Tribble episode from Star Trek. What fun! 4*
GOOD DEEDS by Jeff Strand. I don’t even know what to say about this one, but it’s Jeff Strand. What else do I have to say, really? 4*
IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE BY Christopher Golden. I figured out the conclusion early on, but that didn’t spoil the fun getting there. 3.5*
HOME by Tim Lebbon. This was a twisted little tale of the end of the world and Santa, albeit a Santa you would never recognize in a million years. 3.5*
Lastly, THE HANGMAN’S BRIDE by Sarah Pinborough. Sarah’s books have quickly become some of my favorites in recent history, (and I’m glad I have a good-sized backlog to catch up with), but this tale really took the cake. My second favorite in this anthology, with a distinct Dickensian feel, young William and his soot-filled lungs stole my heart. 5*
Most anthologies are hit and miss with me-very rarely do all the stories hit their mark. In this case, though, it was pretty close to doing so, therefore I gave it a four star rating.
Even if you hate Christmas, and you “Bah Humbug” with the best of them, this anthology has something for everyone-the variety is outstanding. So as the title suggests HARK people! Come and hear the angels scream!
Highly recommended!
*Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for the e-ARC of this anthology in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
This was a very mixed bag of stories. Some were great and some missed the mark. Very hit and miss…
Received this in my December Nightworms package
A sweet collection of Christmas horror that has quite the bite. There were quite a few authors I had not heard of before so it was nice to be introduced to some new to me authors. I highly recommend this collection of stories.
The following stories are stories that still haunt me.
Not Just For Christmas by Sarah Lotz
Fresh As The New-Fallen Snow by Seanan McGuire
Good Deeds by Jeff Strand
Yankee Swap by John McIlveen