As the nights grow longer and a chill permeates the air, people around the world gather to celebrate Christmas—a time of joy, generosity, and…ghosts? While the connection may seem odd to some, the tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas has a rich history that’s inextricably linked to the holiday itself. From Victorian classics to modern adaptations, Christmas ghost stories endure as a way to grapple with the deeper meanings of the season.
The Surprising Origins of a Haunting Tradition
The association between Christmas and ghost stories dates back centuries, with roots in ancient winter solstice celebrations. As the darkest point of the year, the solstice was seen as a liminal time when the veil between the living and the dead grew thin. Gathering around the fire to tell spooky tales became a way to confront the specter of death that loomed over the long, cold winter.
With the rise of Christianity, Christmas supplanted older solstice celebrations but maintained some of their ghostly trappings. In fact, many argue that ghost stories align perfectly with the deeper meaning of the holiday. As Kate Maltby writes in The Guardian:
When Christians celebrate Christmas, we celebrate the birth of a child born to die. Thus, as seasonal school assemblies will tell you, the inclusion of the embalming resin myrrh among the gifts of the Three Kings.
– Kate Maltby
This link between birth and death, light and darkness, recurs throughout Christmas lore—from ghostly encounters in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to the menacing Krampus figure who serves as a dark counterpart to St. Nicholas. Telling ghost stories becomes a way to grapple with the holiday’s memento mori: the reminder that death is ever-present.
Victorian Ghost Stories: Dickens, James, and Beyond
The Victorian era is often seen as the “golden age” of the Christmas ghost story. Perhaps the most famous example is Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by a series of spirits who help him regain his humanity. Other Victorian authors soon followed suit, with the likes of Elizabeth Gaskell and Algernon Blackwood penning their own festive tales of terror.
But the undisputed master of the Christmas ghost story was M.R. James, a medievalist scholar who began writing his chilling tales as an antidote to the sugarcoated sentimentality that was coming to define the holiday. James’ stories, like “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” and “A Warning to the Curious,” traded heartwarming morals for more unsettling reflections on guilt, grief, and the uncanny.
These Victorian classics established ghost stories as a fixture of the Christmas season and codified many of the genre’s most enduring tropes—haunted houses, vengeful spirits, cursed objects. They also paved the way for countless adaptations and imitations that extend to the present day.
Modern Takes on a Classic Tradition
In the 20th century, Christmas ghost stories found a new home in broadcasting. Beginning in the 1970s, the BBC aired a series called A Ghost Story for Christmas, which featured adaptations of classic tales by James and others. The series was revived in the 2000s and continues today, with adaptations by modern horror luminaries like Mark Gatiss (The Tractate Middoth) and Neil Cross (The Dead Room).
Other notable modern Christmas ghost stories include:
- The Woman in Black – Susan Hill’s 1983 novel follows a young solicitor who’s haunted by a vengeful spirit.
- Dark Christmas – A 1992 collection of holiday horror tales edited by David G. Hartwell.
- NOS4A2 – Joe Hill’s 2013 novel features a vampiric figure who abducts children to a twisted Christmas-themed realm.
These works prove that Christmas ghost stories aren’t just a relic of the past but a vital tradition that continues to resonate with modern audiences. At a time of year so focused on family, nostalgia, and looking to the future, ghost stories serve as a reminder that the past is always with us—for better or worse.
The Enduring Appeal of Christmas Ghosts
So why do Christmas ghost stories remain so popular, even in an age of Hallmark movies and glittering consumerism? Perhaps it’s because they tap into something primal—the fear of the dark, the unknown, the inescapable. They allow us to confront our deepest anxieties in the context of a comforting, communal tradition.
But more than that, Christmas ghost stories speak to the complex tangle of emotions that define the holiday season. Amid the pageantry and celebration, there’s a undercurrent of melancholy—another year gone, another reminder of those we’ve lost. Ghost stories give us a language to talk about grief, regret, and the sneaking suspicion that things may not be as merry and bright as they seem.
In the end, the tradition of Christmas ghost stories is a testament to the power of storytelling. It proves that even the oldest, darkest tales can find new resonance and help us make sense of an ever-changing world. So as the fire burns low and the wind rattles the windowpanes, let us gather round and embrace the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come.
