Victorian Ghosts & Bone Chilling Tales: A Winter Horror Reading List
‘Tis the season for warm drinks, cozy blankets and getting comfy with a good book. From Christmas traditions, to ghostly classics and horrific tales, something on this list is bound to make your winter season more terrifyingly wonderful. Please enjoy several books suggested by the writers at What Sleeps Beneath to add to your winter (horror) reading list.
The Valancourt Book of Christmas Ghost Stories
Though you'll find The Valancourt Book of Christmas Ghost Stories (now a series of five anthologies) on many similar reading lists, the place is well earned. As a publisher, Valancourt Books both saves several supernatural stories from being lost to time through acquiring reprinting rights, and helps resurrect one of the coolest Christmas traditions. The first anthology in the series is also a great one, featuring such spine-chilling classics as Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Old Nurse's Story," while also bringing old standouts back into the light, like "Bring Me a Light!" by Anonymous. If you've ever wanted to read Christmas ghost stories, or see what Victorian-era horror writers have to offer, these anthologies are a great place to start.
Classic Ghost Stories
Something about the holiday season just begs for ghost stories. Perhaps it's the ambiance of sitting by a fire or snuggling under a blanket while you gaze at all the pretty lights and snowflakes flying about outdoors.
Whatever action evokes this feeling of otherworldly or supernatural, it opens the gates for ghosts, spirits, and specters. Complete with short stories from great writers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Classic Ghost Stories is the perfect collection of influential ghostly tales, craftily placed together via an ebook on Kindle.
Inside, readers will find classics like Charles Dickens’ “The Signalman” and others from renowned authors H.G. Wells and J.S. Le Fanu.
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
For those looking for something with a bit of a stronger throughline to chill their eggnog on Christmas night, Ghost Story, the breakout novel by horror legend Peter Straub, might do the trick.
In this 1979 novel, a group of aging friends going by the name “the Chowder Society”—which, by the way, is the most “we were kids in the 1930s” club name I’ve ever heard—have spent the better part of their lives gathering together to tell each other ghost stories. When the stories begin hitting a little too close to home, the crew decide to enlist the help of the nephew of a deceased Chowder Society member in the hope of uncovering some much needed answers.
Considered one of the finest horror novels of the 20th century by Stephen King, Ghost Story is a staple for any horror collection. And just for good measure, I recommend catching the 1981 film of the same name, as well.
Article written by What Sleeps Beneath
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