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There is something about Christmas Eve. I grew up going to a Lutheran church, and every Christmas Eve service ended with the song “Silent Night.” The church would lower the lights to near-darkness, and we’d walk out in reverent silence. There was something spooky about that in a way that delighted me, and it was no doubt foundational for my love of eerie atmospheres and stories growing up.
As it turns out, I later discovered that Christmas Eve has a history of the eerie and the creepy. The 2021 Book Riot article “Why We Used To Tell Ghost Stories On Christmas Eve (And Why We Should Restart The Tradition)” by K.W. Colyard explains the history of Christmas Eve and ghost stories:
When A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843, it was in line with two longstanding traditions — observance of the Christmas holiday itself, and the practice of staying up late to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve — both of which had begun to fall out of favor by the mid-19th century. A Christmas Carol revitalized both.
From “Why We Used To Tell Ghost Stories On Christmas Eve (And Why We Should Restart The Tradition)” by K.W. Colyard
Colyard’s article does a great job explaining how Christmas Eve (with the contributions of the Celtic pagan holiday Samhain and the Germanic pagan holiday Yule) became a holiday of traditional, oral storytelling, particularly with ghost stories. Colyard also made the case to bring the tradition back. Here is where I come in.
If Christmas Eve—whether you’re Christian or not–strikes you as eerie, especially when the nights are at their longest, then I’ve put together a list of ghost stories that you might read to yourself or aloud with company. For those who do not celebrate Christmas Eve but still find the winter season to be unsettling in its cold darkness, then these ghost stories should still track. Additionally, I am doing my best to avoid all the usual suspects. We know A Christmas Carol is the peak Christmas Eve ghost story. We know Elizabeth Gaskell, Algernon Blackwood, etc. are great classic storytellers of the eerie and fantastic, but let’s think about the writers who are creeping us out today. The ghost story is constantly being paid tribute to and reinvented, as my list will prove. Some of my recommendations are not straightforward ghost stories but an amalgamation of the supernatural, from entities in folklore to cosmically haunted condiments.
The Fright Stuff
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In any case, snuggle up by the fire with something warm to drink. Ignore the howling of the winter winds and the creeping frost on the windows.
For now.
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6 Ghost Stories to Read on Christmas Eve
“Butter” by Erin Brown, published in Nightmare Magazine
Holy shit, this story. I will never look at butter the same way again, let alone melted butter. Perhaps save this story for after the Christmas Eve feast, in case you might be put off from slathering butter on hot bread rolls. This story is about a substance that feels haunted, though the story verges on cosmic horror as well.
The story follows Kayla as she endures nine years’ worth of horror from a substance in a black butter box she finds at seemingly random moments in her life. The first time is after she burns a cake she was making for her husband for his birthday. Touching the ghee-like substance catapults her to another realm, one of torture, pus-like hues, pain, and terror. As Kayla endures these horrors, she also learns and adapts. The ending is a transformation that will stay with you long after you read the last word.
Christmas and Other Horrors edited by Ellen Datlow
Do you want more than just one horror story to read on Christmas Eve? Are you, like me, a Libra and have a terrible time making decisions? Fear not (or fear more, in this case) because rather than a single story, I give you an entire anthology that revolves around Christmas and winter horrors. Ellen Datlow, the incomparable queen of horror editing, puts together a compendium of holiday horrors from titans in the genre. You’ll be sure to find a story that fits whatever horror tropes and vibes you’re into.
“Brushdogs” by Stephen Graham Jones, published in Nightmare Magazine
I’m certain I’ve covered this story before, and there are parts of it that continue to haunt me. It’s also a story that fits the season, about a father and son winter hunting expedition gone horribly awry.
As the two hunt in a snowy wood, Junior watches his son Denny through his rifle scope as he makes his way up a hill. Earlier, Junior and Denny spotted bear tracks during a time they ought to be hibernating, and a pile of rocks—a cairn—in the woods. Denny was momentarily lost, but when he came back to his father, something was different. Something is wrong, and that sense of dread permeates throughout the rest of the story.
What Feasts at Night (Sworn Soldier #2) by T. Kingfisher
I’m including a novella that’s also a sequel, but hear me out, dear readers! You don’t necessarily have to read the first book in the series, though I highly recommend it. The second book literally gave me fever-dream nightmares with its angry entity, and for that, I simply must include it in this list.
While the first book in the series (What Moves the Dead) is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” What Feasts at Night is about a hungry, breath-stealing folk entity that haunts a village deep in the forest.
“Rapunzel House” by K.C. Mead-Brewer, published in The Rumpus
K.C. Mead-Brewer is a master in portraying unease and eeriness in her stories, and “Rapunzel House” is the quintessential moving-into-a-new house and “Why don’t you just leave?” ghost story.
“Rapunzel House” is both a fairy tale and modern ghost story about loss in our past and present, and the losses that continue to traumatize and haunt us. Mead-Brewer’s writing is as beautiful as it is creepy, with a story that is claustrophobic, melodic, and full of haunting memories and unsettling dialogue. Also. the artwork by Lisa Lee Herrick that pairs with the story is absolutely stunning.
“Douen” by Suzan Palumbo from Skin Thief and originally published in The Dark
While it is not set during Christmas, “Douen” is the perfect ghost story. Honestly, it’s one of the best ghost stories of the decade, and the accolades and awards this story has received back me up.
“Douen” is a Trinidadian folk story told entirely in Trinidadian dialect, about a child ghost who wreaks havoc in her desperation to be seen and heard. A ghost story of vast emotion, “Douen” will stay with you long into the winter nights.
Ghost Stories Aren’t Just for Christmas Eve
Let’s bring back the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve, and I hope the above list can help get you started as you settle by the fire. However, please keep in mind that ghost stories—and the horror genre in general—are for all seasons and not just for Halloween or long, winter nights. Fall and winter really nail the ghost story vibes, but as we know, ghosts linger everywhere and in all seasons. Even in the depths of summer, ghosts abound.
For those seeking to continue their ghost story journey, check out these recommendations: