Publisher’s Synopsis:

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASON COMES A DAZZLING COLLECTION OF NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GHOSTLY TALES.

The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories — authored by some of today’s most loved and lauded writers of historical and gothic fiction — are all centered around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience.

Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights. So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past…

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Publication Date: October 19, 2023
Source: Purchased eBook (Nook)
Rating: 3.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

This collection is the follow up to 2021’s THE HAUNTING SEASON, with more spooky Gothic tales for the holidays. Again, the stories were good overall, with some I enjoyed more than others:

• Host by Kiran Millwood Hargrave: 4 Stars (séance gone wrong — or right?)
• Inferno by Laura Shepherd-Robinson: 4 Stars (Dante-inspired tale)
• The Old Play by Andrew Michael Hurley: 2 Stars (son visits his father performing in an annual play)

• A Double Thread by Imogen Hermes Gowar: 3 Stars (mean girl needs a new gown for a Christmas ball)
• The Salt Miracles by Natasha Pulley: 4.5 Stars (missing pilgrims on an eerie remote island)
• Banished by Elizabeth Macneal: 4 Stars (woman called to banish a vengeful spirit)

• The Gargoyle by Bridget Collins: 3 Stars (writer’s block in a creepy town)
• The Master of the House by Stuart Turton: 4.25 Stars (father searches for his missing son)
• Ada Lark by Jess Kidd: 2 Stars (child forced to work for a phony medium)

• Jenkin by Catriona Ward: 4.25 Stars (mysterious lie-detecting cat)
• Widow’s Walk by Susan Stokes-Chapman: 4 Stars (widow makes sought-after fans for a Christmas ball)
• Carol of the Bells and Chains by Laura Purcell: 4 Stars (Krampus legend)

Twelve spooky stories for 12 nights of Christmas — averaged out to 3.58 stars, rounded up on Goodreads! Are you a fan of short story collections? I don’t usually gravitate towards them, but ghost stories are just too tempting.