Christmas Short Stories Anthology

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.

It was Christmas Eve night just like all the other Christmas Eve's night before it, but this Christmas Eve night things were about to become ugly for Santa Claus. As Santa was climbing down the chimney he climbed down one he should have passed by. This chimney happened to be Castle Drac Von Stoller's and the Count was in no mood for any visitors, but Santa had no idea he was climbing down the chimney of a blood sucking vampire. Just as Santa was dusting off the ash from the chimney from his suit Count Drac Von Stoller's eyes were blazing red staring right at Santa. Santa said, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" Count Drac Von Stoller replied, "What are you doing in my castle uninvited?" Santa chuckled and said "It's Christmas Eve, and I brought gifts to place under the tree for you and your family to open on Christmas Day."

Paxton Peterson’s favorite day of the year is his annual Gay Boy Christmas dinner. He’s checked and double-checked his to-do list, because nothing stresses him out like the unexpected. Confident everything will run smoothly, Paxton embarks on his yearly snowshoed hike through the Rocky Mountains near his home. His perfectly planned evening is cut short by Logan Charles’s careless enjoyment of his brother’s snowmobile, and Paxton is stranded in the woods. It’s the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened to him - or maybe the best.

Steal a glimpse at the past lives and loves of your favourite villagers in this captivating Burracombe short story. Autumn 1918 has brought young Alice Whiddon to the Tozer's farm to work as a maid. Alice soon falls in love with the little village and with life on the farm. But that's not all she's falling for. Youngest son, Ted Tozer is half promised to young Ivy Prowse, daughter of a neighbouring farmer, yet Alice and Ted feel a powerful bond forming.

Ten-year-old Effie lives the life most children dream of - with every day filled with delicious treats and wonderful toys. One night she experiences a dream that will forever change the meaning of Christmas for her. In it, she meets a group of under privileged children and she is inspired to create a Christmas they will never forget.

While some are nestled cozy in their traditions, others are lost in darkness. An unkindness of ravens lurk like a warning above them while they try to escape their inner demons and fight the dragons they've been trying to avoid. There's no enjoying fatal amounts of pie because their minds are slipping, slipping into a twisted delusion. They are the murderers, the disturbed, the unfortunate, and the misunderstood. These outliers are imprisoned by their circumstances until they slowly fade into the icy landscape, smothered by the forged façade of a perfect Christmas.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year," the old song tells us. But that doesn't mean the people celebrating it are always so nice. Criminals get the Christmas spirit, too! In this collection of hilarious short stories, you'll see what the thieves, killers, psychos and scumbags are up to come the holidays...and it's not caroling door to door. Well, not unless they're casing the neighborhood for a break-in, as a rag-tag gang does in the title story.

Judging a chocolate-making competition for the women’s shelter’s annual fundraiser should be an easy, even pleasurable, assignment for Maise, new food critic for the Bloomingfield Daily Dispatch. Too bad just the smell of chocolate makes her stomach roil. By the time she reaches the last table, she hopes her face isn’t as green as her holiday sweater. But the tall, square-jawed man behind piles of fudge makes her want to linger, even savor the moment along with his chocolate-coffee-flavored confection.

This year, Ali and Stephen are both just trying to make it through the holidays. Stephen is fresh out of a relationship and dreading the prospect of Christmas alone. Ali, on the other hand, can't celebrate with friends or family. The most important man in her life is dying - decorating cookies and hanging tinsel aren't even on her radar. When the two meet during a chance encounter, Stephen's instant attraction to Ali spurs him into action.

Linda Grant, beset by medical bills and other pressing obligations, tells her children that they will not be celebrating Christmas this year. Older Keith takes the news in stride, while younger Teddy angrily insists he will have his Christmas turkey one way or another. When the neighborhood schoolteacher drops by to extend an invitation to Christmas dinner from Cornelia Millar, Linda's estranged cousin, it begins to look as if Christmas will happen after all.

In separate vignettes, we meet Katherine, who is taking care of her ailing husband; Julianna, juggling with construction paper, scissors, and rubber cement in a room full of high-spirited four-year-olds; Adrianna, struggling with the difficulties of marriage; Cassandra, tending her toddlers; Victoria, searching for a love to call her own; Alexandra, waiting for word from her doctor about an uncertain diagnosis; and Isabella, discovering the gift of motherhood.

At Christmas time department stores overflow with color and festivity, their halls bedecked with the trimmings of the season. In these 7 charming, memorable, and even magical Christmas tales retiree Tom Cavanaugh wanders the aisles of just such a store. Tom has made a tradition out of observing the marvels the Christmas spirit brings to each department and the people in them, from a jolly old maintenance man to testy last-minute shoppers to an exhausted salesclerk.

A delightful collection of Christmas tales that will get you in the Christmas spirit. So grab a cup of cocoa, curl up by the fire and enjoy a few moments alone before the Christmas rush!

A rather unattractive itinerant flute-player and music copyist is sent away on Christmas Eve - causing a family to feel uncomfortably guilty. Lagerlof was a Swedish novelist, who in 1909 became the first woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Her work is deeply rooted in Nordic legends and history.

The Sawyer family puts up an elaborate Christmas light display every year, and people from all over the area come to admire the lights. Humans, however, aren't the only ones who come to view the display.

Samantha wasn't expecting what she got for Christmas this year. Her doorbell rang and there sitting on her porch was a baby in a basket. This changes her life for the good. But then something happens. The baby's father comes for his child. How can Samantha convince him that she is the best thing for the child?

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.

Sylvia Moore returns to the small town of Dickens during the annual Christmas in July festival, hoping to land the New England location for a new Christmas romance movie. She knows the town will award only one filming permit a year but she's confident the deal’s in Santa’s bag.

"Новогодняя классика" — это, пожалуй, самые известные и самые любимые рассказы и повести, написанные зарубежными и русскими писателями в жанре святочного рассказа. "Щелкунчик и мышиный король" Э. Т. А. Гофмана и "Ночь перед Рождеством Н. Гоголя, "Девочка со спичками" Г. Х. Андерсена и "Жемчужное ожерелье" Н. Лескова, "Дары волхвов" О. Генри и "Чук и Гек" А. Гайдара... Сказки и были об ожидании чуда в самую волшебную ночь.

Attorney Desiree Contando can think of only one word to describe her very first home: disaster. The vintage Queen Anne is beautiful - or will be, in about 1,000 years. Certainly not in time to host the family Christmas gathering. “Disaster” also describes the bad breakup that left her picket-fence vision in tatters. Even the carpenter she’s hired is a reminder of lost dreams - the high school crush who never spared her a passing glance. But she’s a grown-up now, perfectly capable of keeping things professional.