Christmas Horror Shorts

Hugo Award-winning editor, and horror legend Ellen Datlow presents a terrifying and chilling horror anthology of original short stories exploring the endless terrors of winter solstice traditions across the globe, featuring chillers by Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, and many more. This anthology of all-new stories invites you to huddle around the fire and revel in the unholy, the dangerous, the horrific aspects of a time when families and friends come together—for better and for worse.

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. The hideous children - Want and Ignorance - beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts. Best-selling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

13 tales that will have you reaching for the nightlight before you go to bed tonight. Do you dare sleep without one? Do you dare enter the darkness without a little bit of light? A Zombie Christmas 3 Men. One solid plan to bring joy to children during a Zombie Apocalypse. A risky plan that could end their lives, but they are willing to sacrifice them in order to save Christmas for the children. Need to Feed Another year. Another massacre looming. When the sun rises on the old west town of Saltwater Junction its residents will come face to face with two savage and lethal predators. Vampires ...

13 scary short stories. Stories filled with things that go bump in the night. Do you dare read this collection without a nightlight by your bedside? The Lot on Route 6 Kill for me. A terrifying request, but Gavin will take this request and do his best to complete it. He will suffer. He will reach the edge of his sanity. He will live in pain. But he will do all he can do to protect the people and the town he loves. Fear of the Scarecrow A desperate man is hungry for revenge. Sometimes revenge comes with a price. It Sleeps at Dawn A Vampire stalks the Appalachian Mountains. A traditional ...

Silent Night. Not Calm. Not Bright. Reggie was alone for Christmas. He liked it that way. But when he goes to a secluded cabin in the woods, he encounters something sinister among the trees. A strange red velvet sack waits for him along his hiking path. Inside is the gift of terror. Soon, Reggie finds himself thrust into a bizarre and horrifying world where the trappings of Christmas are deadly perversions of what he's always known. The only question is: will he escape with his life, or will he become fuel for a dark entity's fire and sustenance for its meal? Walking in a Winter Terrorland ...

Set after the events of Dead Rising: Tis The Season, Diego finds himself in the midst of a tense and dangerous situation. Diego's wife, a former employee at Doselmax, fell ill and died under mysterious circumstances. Wracked with grief and suspicion, Diego is determined to uncover the truth behind her death. But he discovers a shocking family secret that turns his world upside down. Diego has a choice to make, what will he do? This story is a standalone but is uniquely intertwined with the world of Bio-Snatched, also by Elani Roman. For a deeper understanding of the author's interconnected ...

From the author of Tiny Terrors and Flashes of Fear comes a new collection of flash fiction horror stories. And all are Christmas themed! Some are just 100 words. Some are a little over 2,000 words. All are full of wintery, holiday creepiness! This is the first book of a three-book series, but they can be read in any order. This volume contains: Christmas Snacks Black Friday Trimming the Tree And 9 other flash fiction stories!

From horror master Rick Wood, author of The Sensitives and This Book Is Full of Bodies, comes 12 horrifying stories to spook up your Christmas season! From a sadistic secret Santa gift, to a murderous telekinetic fairy, to a nativity full of the undead, you’ll find a horror treat for all 12 days of Christmas.

This is an omnibus that features all three volumes of Twelve Days of Christmas Horror in one box set. Including such stories as "'Twas the Night Before Murder", "The Nativity of the Living Dead", "Secret Santa for the Sadistic", "Elf on a Shelf", and "A Christmas Carol: The Aftermath". It's time for your festivities to get frightening.

What If Santa Claus Granted You Three Wishes? For Edmund Schofield III, life has been one failure after another. Despite his elite education at Cambridge and expensive upbringing, he’s a disaster in business, relationships, and everything in between. On Christmas Eve, a chance encounter with Santa Claus himself offers Edmund something extraordinary: three wishes. But there’s a catch— Santa’s magic isn’t all jolly cheer and holiday sparkle. What Edmund thinks he wants may not be what he needs. And on the naughty list year after year, he’s about to discover the chilling truth ...

Ghosts, monsters, and the horrors of the human mind are just some of the scary things awaiting you in this collection of Christmas-themed flash fiction stories. Some stories are right at 300 words. Some are over 1,000. All are ready to give you the creeps. Christmas Creeps! This is the third book in the series, but they can be read in any order. This final volume contains: Cookies for Santa The Last Holiday Karen and the Christmas Monster and nine more creepy little stories to keep you scared and reading during the holidays.

Akira's plans are simple: write wedding invitations, bake Christmas cookies, and eat red meat. (The last surprises her, too.) But when Rose, the ghost who haunts her house, asks for a favor, Akira can't say no. Although she's faced danger before, even death, a toddler who doesn't like peanut-butter-and-jelly might be her worst nightmare.

It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it? Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows, and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened. 'Tis the season to be screaming along with our 13 tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more! This Christmas, be careful what you wish for....

This is a short story set in the Narcoscape of the Book of Dreams series. It is named "Dreaming of a White Christmas" and was originally printed in the collection A Cozy Christmas. In this brief installment, Nicodemus Smith has her hands full tracking down a lost philanthropist who fancies himself to be Santa Claus. Enjoy the yuletide oddness with Nic and the gang no matter what the season. I'll see you on the dreamside, ---Melanie

Nine ghost stories that capture the spirit of Christmas. The Christmas tree lights, the carol singers, and the shadows that wait out in the snow. Traditional ghost stories written in the true spirit of Christmas. Chilling tales with a twist that will kindle the true spirit of Christmas in your hearts. Ghosts that emerge from the snow, doors that eat you, spirits that beg you to do them a service. Perfect to listen to on a dark winter's night. This book will convince you that the dead do return, and they do so on Christmas Eve!

Beyond the Sands of Chaos! The darkness they thought they'd buried is rising again... When a vampiric bat interrupts an ambassador's Christmas celebration, sibling archaeologists Lillian and Jack Stiller know their nightmare is far from over. The creature's origins lead them back to the tomb of Dina, the ancient Egyptian goddess they thought they'd defeated. As they brave the unforgiving desert and unravel the tomb's secrets, they're met with a sinister new threat: the Germans, driven by an insatiable hunger for dark magic. The Stillers, joined by Roy Sawyer, must save themselves before the...

A hot holiday toy that brings terror to a department store. A man caught in a blizzard as he searches for help for a dying friend. A girl who wakes up to surprise visitors on Día de los Muertos. A man who recounts a sick and twisted Thanksgiving. A boy who becomes intrigued by a mysterious house and the girl who resides there during fall break. A family man who struggles with a dilemma that may cost him his soul.

Christmas, the happiest time of year. Plum puddings, candy canes, carols by the fireside. But outside, the mist lies deep and still. Frost gnaws at your fingertips. Shadowy forms lurk in the evergreens. It’s the season for ghost stories.

Christmas may come but once a year but human emotions, the driving force of our characters, are with us every day. Yet, somehow these same emotions when they happen at Christmas seem amplified; we seem more tender to their touch, their words. Whether it’s a long-lost returning soldier wondering how best to return to the arms of his family without too great a risk of shock... Or a prodigal son whose taken path has driven pain into his own and others hearts… These stories reveal much about the human condition.

It's Christmas Eve - a time of wonder, magic, anticipation....And terror. A father who will go to any lengths to feed his hungry children. An unsuspecting woman who inherits a house with a deadly secret. A murderous widow who shares a train carriage with Jack the Ripper. Two burglars who bite off more than they can chew, during a late-night raid. These, and many more bedtime stories, come hideously to life, in Mark L'Estrange's 19 tales of terror - each set on the most festive night of the year.