When it comes to horror fiction, there is always more room for some yuletide scares.
This anthology, while not solely focused on the most wonderful time of year, also encapsulates the whole of the winter solstice with a variety of stories that range from the scary; the strange to the downright erotic.
Editor by Ellen Datlow, there are familiar faces such as Christopher Golden, Alma Katsu, Stephen Graham Jones, Tananarive Due and Cassandra Khaw who feature stories.
Because of the vast amount of stories in Christmas Horrors…., we get plenty of variety from all over the world, and not just English and American stories.
Golden’s story features a folklore monster from Austria, which after being dismissed as fabrication becomes very real and very violent.
Benjamin Percy’s The Ones He Takes crafts a sinister tone, as parents receive their missing child back around Christmas but everything is not what it seems. Percy’s story certainly puts another spin on the folklore attached to jolly ol’ Saint Nick…
Glen Hirshberg ensures Hannukah is represented in Dry and Ready, while John Langan’s After Words is a winter solstice tale with an erotic edge.
Return to the Bear Creek Lodge from Tananarive Due feels like the mid-chapter of a wider winter monster story, which the other attests could become its own book, and it certainly has the potential to be a page-turner.
Richard Kadrey heard the tale of Krampus and wanted to go to a new level in his contribution, showing that getting the family together for Christmas can have deadly repercussions.
The Nordic mythology is also weaved into this anthology with Gemma Files’ No Light, No Light, focusing on the God of mischief Loki, and no, this isn’t the Marvel version.
Overall, Christmas Horrors and Other Stories is a perfect read for those frosty winter nights with a wide selection of stories that will show you the true horrors of this time of year.
Christmas Horrors and Other Stories is now available from Titan Books.
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