Ghosts for Christmas

by Richard Dalby

Celebrate the season with spirits of a creepier kind...

Stoke the fire, fill your glass and prepare yourself for an evening of stories from the impressive collection of authors who have turned their hand to the supernatural.

A touch of wit from Charles Dickens as Mr Wardle recounts the mysterious disappearance of Gabriel Grub; a pistol-wielding ghoul from the pen of J.M. Barrie; the shadowy figure of a tall gentleman in a lift from the vivid imagination of L.P. Hartley. These are just a few of the spine-tingling classics, from the historical to the present day, with which to while away the winter hours.

Ghost for Christmas - the perfect present for those who yearn for a little extra seasonal shiver.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Ghost Stories, Christmas

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Richard Dalby (1949-2017) was an editor and literary researcher.

Reviews

[Luh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A melhor parte foi quando fechei o livro e o guardei!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.82⭐

Foreword by Richard Dalby ✔️
Our Ghost Party • (1891) by Jerome K. Jerome 3.25⭐
The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton • (1836) by Charles Dickens 3.25⭐
The Ghost Detective • (1865) by Mark Lemon 3⭐
The Dead Sexton • (1871) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 3.25⭐
Markheim • (1885) by Robert Louis Stevenson 3.25⭐
The Ghost of Christmas Eve • (1890) by J. M. Barrie 3.5⭐
The Real and the Counterfeit by Louisa Baldwin 4.25⭐
"Number Ninety" • (1895) by B. M. Croker 5⭐
Thurlow's Christmas Story • (1894) by John Kendrick Bangs 5⭐
Their Dear Little Ghost • (1898) by Elia W. Peattie 4.25⭐
Wolverden Tower • (1896) by Grant Allen 4⭐
A Ghost-Child • (1906) by Bernard Capes 3⭐
The Kit-Bag • (1908) by Algernon Blackwood 5⭐
The Shadow • (1910) by E. Nesbit (variant of The Portent of the Shadow 1905) 4.5⭐
The Irtonwood Ghost • (1911) by Elinor Glyn 4.25⭐
Bone to His Bone • (1912) by E. G. Swain 3.25⭐
Transition • (1913) by Algernon Blackwood 3.25⭐
The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance • (1913) by M. R. James 3⭐
The Sculptor's Angel • (1913) by Marie Corelli 3.25⭐
The Snow • (1929) by Hugh Walpole 5⭐
Smee • (1929) by A. M. Burrage [as by Ex-Private X] 3.5⭐
The Prescription • (1929) by Marjorie Bowen 4.5⭐
The Demon King • (1931) by J. B. Priestley 3.25⭐
Lucky's Grove • (1940) by H. Russell Wakefield 3.5⭐
'I Shall Take Proper Precautions' • (1945) by George H. Bushnell 4.25⭐
Christmas Meeting • (1952) by Rosemary Timperley 4.25⭐
Someone in the Lift • (1955) by L. P. Hartley 4.5⭐
The Christmas Present • (1975) by Ramsey Campbell 4⭐
Christmas Entertainment • (1979) by Daphne Froome 3.25⭐
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek • [Father O'Connor] by David G. Rowlands 3⭐

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection surprised and amazed me. Each story provides information about the author of the story and a time period in which it was written. I had chills for several of the stories and I also read several aloud during the Christmas season around the Christmas tree in the dark! Try it!

[Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the British tradition of ghost stories at Christmas, and if you do too you’ll probably already have read most of these stories. It is nice to have them in one collection, though.

Some of the selections here left me scratching my head. Perhaps some of these writers are forgotten for good reason? A number of these stories I would actually categorize as romance, not weird fiction or horror, at all; straight up romances with just a tinge of the supernatural. Not my cup of tea and not really what it says on the tin now, is it?

The quality suffers for this and for every fantastic tale (The Kit-Bag by Algernon Blackwood) there is one or two dreadful wastes of space (The Sculptor’s Angel by Marie Corelli.) And I guess credit is due for including so many women writers, but I’d rather have multiple stories by the likes of Mrs B. M. Croker (Number Ninety) and E. Nesbit (The Shadow) if a total sword party was to be avoided instead of some of the clunkers by the other women.

I’ll definitely be revisiting this collection for many Christmas seasons to come.

(I was a little surprised and irked at the amount of typos for such a professional book—Carroll and Graf, 1st ed., 1989.)

[Shawn]

PLACEHOLDER REVIEW

In "The Demon King" by J.B. Priestley, a pantomime actor, notable for playing Mephistopheles, has one weakness - he indulges in drink a bit too much. And in this instance, that calls for the appearance of an "understudy" no one expected... and who seems to be REALLY enjoying himself. A delightful little piece of low-key comedic dark fantasy.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Our ghost party / Jerome K. Jerome -- (see Told after Supper)
The story of the goblins who stole a sexton / Charles Dickens --2
The ghost detective / Mark Lemon --
The dead sexton / J. Sheridan Le Fanu --2
Markheim / Robert Louis Stevenson --1
The ghost of Christmas Eve / J.M. Barrie --
The real and the counterfeit / Mrs. Alfred Baldwin --3
'Number Ninety' / Mrs. B.M. Croker --2
Thurlow's Christmas story / J.K. Bangs --3
Their dear little ghost / Elia W. Peattie --3
Wolverden Tower / Grant Allen --1
A ghost-child / Bernard Capes --1
The kit-bag / Algernon Blackwood --3
*The shadow / E. Nesbit --
The Irtonwood ghost / Elinor Glyn --
Bone to his bone / E.G. Swain --2
*Transition / Algernon Blackwood --
*The story of a disappearance and an appearance / M.R. James--
The sculptor's angel / Marie Corelli--
The snow / Hugh Walpole --3
Smee / A.M. Burrage --4
The prescription / Marjorie Bowen --2
*The demon king / J.B. Priestley --
*Lucky's grove / H. Russell Wakefield--
'I shall take proper precautions' / George H. Bushnell --
Christmas meeting / Rosemary Timperley --
*Someone in the lift / L.P. Hartley --
The Christmas present / Ramsey Campbell --
Christmas entertainment / Daphne Froome --
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek / David G. Rowlands--

[Katie Marek · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the US we don't associate ghost stories with Christmas too much, but in the British Islands the tradition goes back way before Dickens took it up with "A Christmas Carol".
This excellent anthology includes short stories from some great but forgotten English writers. The story "The Lift" was particularly eerie and "The Demon King" was wonderfully entertaining. I liked them all!

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit, I got bored,, I just did not enjoy the book, some of the stories were very silly,while others were not creepy enough/

[Lynn Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of very old short stories about ghosts. Good to read in front of the fire in winter with a hot cup of cocoa.