There is a contingent of readers and writers trying to bring back the Christmas tradition of telling ghost stories around the fireplace. After all, A Christmas Carol is really a ghost story, and Christmas does fall during the darkest time of the year. And with the Icelandic tradition jolabokaflod taking hold here too, a good stack of ghastly reads is just the thing for the season.
Veteran author Charles Finch presents the first in a trilogy of prequels featuring his thoughtful gentleman detective.
“November comes / And November goes, / With the last red berries / And the first white snows. / With night coming early, / And dawn coming late, / And ice in the bucket / And frost by the gate.” ~Elizabeth Coatsworth
Filmmaker Val Lewton was hired by RKO to make movies to rival the Universal monster movies that had made that studio tons of money. Lewton took a different approach to the scary movie. With a smaller budget than Universal, Lewton managed to create a slate of psychological, atmospheric films that hold up today.
Sometimes a long book to get lost in is exactly what is needed. And sometimes a short story or a hair-raising poem is all you need to get in to the Halloween mood.