Spirits Of Christmas: Twenty Other-Worldly Tales

by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell (Editor)

Ranging from the traditional to the modern, from the humorous to the supernatural, this collection of ghostly Christmas tales features works by Dickens, Hawthorne, Gregory Cox, Frank Stockton, Susan Palwick, Russell Kirk, and others

Genres: Short Stories, Christmas, Holiday

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Kathryn Cramer lives in Westport, NY. She is an editor of the Hieroglyph project sponsored by the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. Her story, "Am I Free to Go?" was published by Tor.com in December 2012.

She co-edited the Year's Best Fantasy and Year's Best SF series with David G. Hartwell. Her most recent historical anthologies include The Space Opera Renaissance and The Hard SF Renaissance, both co-edited with Hartwell. Their previous hard SF anthology was The Ascent of Wonder (1994).

She is working on a film adaptation of her story "You, in Emulation" with director Edward Cornell.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in a desperate attempt to get in the spirit of the season. This is the third Christmas in a row that I have been dealing with sick family members (as an aside never call someone the rock of a family, offer to help instead). And it is also the year that is lost.

I use to read this every Christmas up until 2000. It is nice to see that it has stood the test. My favorite is "Old Applejoy's Ghost" by Frank R. Stockton (I walk by his grave most days). That tale is about a ghost making sure people have a merry Christmas. I also really love "A Midwinter's Tale" by Michael Swanwick. Of all the tales in this collection, this one has stuck with me the longest. It is a strange tale but the imagery stays with you. The Majorie Bowen tales, if a bit predictable, are lovely. There is even a hint of Jasper Fforde before Jasper Fforde with the "But Do You recall?" by Grey Cox. Perhaps the most powerful one is "O Come Little Children" which more politicians in the US should read. (I'm actually thinking of Republican members of Congress).

[Kasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an anthology, so I liked some a lot more than others. Probably 3.5 Definitely fun for the season thoguh!

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

All in all, I was disappointed in this collection. I enjoyed the final story, "Icicle Music", although it wasn't exactly full of good cheer (well, come on, these are Christmas GHOST stories, so who really was expecting good cheer?), and a few of the others were pleasant, such as "Old Applejoy's Ghost". Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the Dickens piece, "The Haunted Man" (Let's face it, not every story can be A CHRISTMAS CAROL), which is why I selected this collection in the first place. Ah, well. "The Peculiar Demesne" had me counting after every page to see how many more pages I had to get through before the next tale. Many of these stories were written in an old style (to be expected of Charles Dickens, but not necessarily of authors writing in the 1980s, when many were copyrighted) and I found some a bit too wordy, tedious. The sci-fi "A Midwinter's Tale" was different. (I don't know how much I enjoyed it, but it was not your usual fare.) On the whole, a little more zest, and a little more spookiness would have suited me just fine.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of stories which fit everything from classic ghost tales to aliens dealing with ghosts. A couple really enjoyable tales, mixed up with a few that were just okay.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those 'keeper books' to have on a shelf.