Charles Dickens wasn’t the only one who wrote Christmas ghost stories. Where did they come from? Why Christmas ghost stories and not Halloween?
Show Notes
Join us as we give you a solid history lesson on the origin stories of Victorian Christmas ghost stories, how they evolved, and why we still feel the urge for horror when days grow short and nights become long. We hope we don’t spoil too much Christmas joy, as there truly is a balance of fear and horror among the jolly celebration of the winter season.
Join our Ghoulish Tendencies Podcast Patreon for an extended episode and reading of an authentic Victorian Christmas ghost story.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GhoulishTendencies
References
Eschner, Kat (Dec. 23, 2016), “Why Do People Tell Ghost Stories on Christmas?,” Smart News, Smithsonian Magazine, retrieved from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-do-ghost-stories-go-christmas-180961547/
Martin, Laura (Dec. 22, 2019), “A Christmas Carol, Dracula, Martin’s Close: why do we love dark stories on TV at Christmas?,” iNews, retrieved from: https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/a-christmas-carol-dracula-martins-close-why-do-we-love-dark-stories-on-tv-at-christmas-378198
NancyO (Dec. 27, 2016), “The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories, ed. Tara Moore,” Oddly Weird Fiction, retrieved from: http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2016/12/the-valancourt-book-of-victorian.html
Earl, Brian (Dec. 3, 2019), “Backstory – Christmas Ghost Stories,” Christmas Past Podcast
Kringle, Craig (Dec. 4, 2018), “WC #12 Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories and Algernon Blackwood’s ‘The Kit Bag,” Weird Christmas Podcast, Season 1, Episode 14
Moore, Tara ed. (Nov. 22, 2016), “The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories,” Valancourt Books
Riddell, J.H. (1868), “A Strange Christmas Game,” retrieved from: https://archive.org/stream/1868thestrangechristmasgamethebroadwayannual/1868%20The%20Strange%20Christmas%20Game%20The_Broadway_Annual_djvu.txt
Gaskell, Elizabeth (1852, published online July 26, 2018), “The Old Nurse’s Story,” Caitlin Duffy personal blog, retrieved from: https://caitlinduffy.hcommons.org/2018/07/26/the-old-nurses-story-1852/
Hanson, Molly (Dec. 20, 2019), “Ghost Stories of Christmas: A chilling Victorian tradition,” Big Think, retrieved from: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/christmas-stories
Stockwell, Shannon (Dec. 16, 2015), “Christmas Spirits: Ghosts in the Time of Dickens,” American Conservatory Theater – San Francisco, retrieved from: http://blog.act-sf.org/2015/12/christmas-spirits-ghosts-in-time-of.html
IG: @ghoulishtendenciespodcast
FB: @ghoulishtendenciespodcast
Twitter: @ghoulishpodcast
Researched, Written, Edited & Produced by Gabi Fiore
Music by Dan Moretti