Nothing puts the ho ho ho in horror like a Christmas Eve full of ghost stories. These holiday frights have been getting us through the long, dark nights since the days of the Pagan festival of Yule and have stayed with us in new and exciting variations throughout the centuries.
From A Christmas Carol to Krampus, there has been a long and loving tradition of injecting the paranormal into your pageantry, but there are some that have made an impression on us more than others, making them our go-to tales for everything terrifying.
Some may be printed, and others just whispered in front of the fireplace, but all of these stories have stayed spooky throughout the years and will likely continue to top the list of Yuletide ghost stories for many generations to come.
So, naughty or nice, be sure you’re checking this ghost story list twice, because nothing will warm you up this winter better than a stocking stuffed with the supernatural.
While Dickens may be the usual go-to for holiday hair-raisers from the Victorian age, Henry James’ is no slouch when it comes to turning out the kind of terrifying tale you can pair with hot cocoa and a tin of cookies.
In fact, The Turn of the Screw, first published in serial format in Collier’s Weekly between January and April of 1898, has been adapted dozens of times over the past century, appearing on stage, television, film, and even re-imagined on the printed page.
Opening on a familiar scene, this frame story tells of a group of friends gathered around a fireplace on Christmas Eve, ready to partake in one of their favorite holiday traditions—telling ghost stories.
What comes next is one of the most notorious tales in Gothic fiction, the story of an English governess hired to take care of two young children who, after the death of their parents, are sent to live on their uncle’s estate in Essex.
It seems a simple enough job, but it isn’t long before the governess starts to sense that something is off about the estate, including a pair of strangers, a man and a woman, who she’s seen skulking around in the shadows.
She goes to the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, for answers, only to discover that the couple she saw were actually former employees, long dead. What’s worse is that they seem to be very interested in the one thing she is there to protect—the children
Whether you’re already familiar with the spine-chilling ending, or maybe slept through that week of English 101, we recommend you knock the dust off of this touchstone classic and give it another read. Preferably on Christmas Eve and in front of a fireplace.
The story of the Mistletoe Bride hasn’t made it to the big screen yet, but this popular, true-life ghost story has been a staple in England for generations and a must-have on our list of Christmas ghost stories.
While the details have been known to change over the years, evolving to fit both the teller and the audience, it is believed that the original story spawned from the tragic, real-life death of Lord Lovell's bride at the Bramshill House in Hampshire, England.
The story goes that Lord Lovell and his bride-to-be were set to wed around Christmas, bringing parties from both families to Lovell’s estate in Hampshire. There, while hanging mistletoe throughout the house, the families came up with a wedding party game to help pass the time.
The rules were simple. Lord Lovell’s young bride was to hide somewhere in the enormous mansion while the groomsmen set out to try and find her. Whoever located her first would be crowned the winner and awarded with a playful kiss under the mistletoe.
What started off as all fun and games quickly turned sour, though, once the minutes slipped into hours and no sign of the bride could be found. Unbelievably, months went by, followed by years, without any answers.
Lovell, heartbroken, was eventually forced to move on.
It wasn’t until 50 years later, as Lovell’s grandchildren played a game of hide-and-seek themselves, that they stumbled upon a secret closet in an upstairs room. There they found an old, wooden chest, sealed shut, with the bride-to-be trapped inside—or, at least what was left of her.
Of course, the poor lost girl is still seen at Bramshill House around Christmas, moving through the halls at night and calling out for someone, anyone, to find her. But every year, as the holiday season slips away, so does any trace of the Mistletoe Bride.
This tale may not boast the happy ending many of us are accustomed to around the season of giving, but it will nonetheless keep your friends and family on the edge of their seats until Christmas morning.
Known for his work in horror and early young adult fiction, Alfred McLelland Burrage may not be a household name to most. Still, in the first half of the 20th century, he was both prolific and popular, especially after his timeless tale of holiday hijinks titled “Smee.”
Published in 1931 in the critically acclaimed short story collection Someone in the Room, this spooky tale of a Christmas Eve gone south has long been a classic for lovers of the holiday ghost story and is still very much read to this day.
The story, which also takes on the format of a frame story (a common occurrence in this genre), tells of a young boy on Christmas Eve who, not wanting to join his friends for an after-dinner game, shares a cautionary tale instead.
On a past Christmas Eve, the boy had been playing a game of “Smee,” or hide-and-seek, with eleven of his best friends, taking turns hiding within an enormous, old house known for its mysterious past and haunted reputation.
Though the game starts with 12, the children soon find that at some point during their time among the winding corridors and endless rooms, a third player has joined them. This young girl, tall and dark, is eager to take part in the fun, but no one seems to know from where she came.
We have no interest in spoiling the fun for you, but needless to say, the game continues on, with more of the girl’s past being slowly revealed until the story reaches the likely, and gripping conclusion that is sure to please.
As far as ghost stories go, you might not find this hundred-year-old premise to be all that fresh, but it was very much a new and terrifying concept for its time and only now seems cliche because of its lasting influence on the genre—most notably in the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.
If you are looking for a short read to help get you into the Christmas spirit, you won’t do much better than “Smee.” And if it hits the spot, we recommend reading the rest of the collection while you’re at it.
You may be wondering how one of the many wives of King Henry VIII made her way onto a list of ghost stories or how her subsequent, and unfortunate, death at the hands of the mad king relates back to our festive holiday theme. Well, we’ll tell you.
Long before her marriage, Anne grew up in Hever Castle, the longtime home of the Boleyn family nestled deep within the Kent countryside. It was an idyllic childhood, full of love and happy memories, especially around the holidays, which was Anne’s favorite time of the year.
All of that would change, though, the day she married King Henry VIII.
It should have been a sign, in retrospect, that becoming the second wife of the king who basically invented second wives was maybe a bad idea, especially considering that his Royal Heinous’ mental health was, by then, declining as quickly as his cruelty was growing.
But Anne was in love, and who didn't want to be a queen? So, Anne married Henry, and they enjoyed a few short years of royal bliss until that demon living in Henry started to rear its ugly head once again.
It started with rumors around court, people whispering about witchcraft and treason, adultery and incest, and everything in between. To Anne’s surprise, most of the accusations stuck, leading King Henry VIII to formally charge her in 1536 and, as we well know, cut off her head.
A tragic end within a dark part of history, but for Anne Boleyn, the story isn’t quite over. It seems that Anne’s spirit didn’t stick around to watch King Henry VIII abuse and berate the next four wives, one of whom also lost her head, and instead returned to her ancestral home in the countryside.
Today, people all over England know about that castle in Kent, now home to Anne’s ghost. In fact, she is still seen on the grounds to this day, reliving the happier moments of her life as she slips through the halls or across the bridge that spans the River Eden, her favorite spot.
What really stuffs our stocking when it comes to this ghost story, though, is that Anne Boleyn is only ever seen on one day of the year. Her favorite day—Christmas Eve.
So next time you are sitting around the Christmas tree, looking for a ghost story to put your peeps in the holiday spirit, remember Anne’s story and how she made history the day she lost her head.
The list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning one of the most famous stories from England’s most prolific ghost story writer, Algernon Blackwood. While it is only a drop in the bucket of fantastic tales that Blackwood put out in the early 20th century, it is by far the most festive.
Published in the December 1908 issue of Pall Mall Magazine, ”The Kit-Bag” is the story of a young man named Johnson, who works for a prominent London lawyer who has spent the early winter defending a despicable man by the name of John Turk, accused of murdering a dismembering a young woman.
Johnson has been forced to spend a great deal of time in court with Turk, who he despises, and is relieved when the trial comes to an end and he gets to leave everything behind for a Christmas vacation in the Alps.
Finding himself short of a bag, Johnson asks if he can borrow one from his boss, who agrees to send it along later that night. When it arrives, though, things start to take a dark turn, leaving Johnson to believe that there is more to his new luggage than meets the eye.
It begins with ghostly footsteps on the stairs outside his door and quickly escalates to faces appearing on the bag, whispered voices demanding, “It’s my bag. And I want it,” and the bag itself moving across the room when no one looks.
What really turns the tide, though, is when Johnson opens it up, discovering a bloodstain within and an answer to all of his suspicions. He manages to flee his room, leaving the kit-bag behind, but the horror is just beginning for Johnson.
A truly terrifying tale, ”The Kit-Bag” is a classic in its own right, even if it didn’t happen to take place during Christmas. But with ghosts and goodwill abound in this seasonal story, it is a perfect fit for our list of ghost story greats.
So, when Christmas rolls around this year, do as the Pagans and Victorians did before us and pull up a chair, light a fire, and delight your loved ones with a story that will truly fill them with the Christmas spirit—and maybe more.