Christmas and Other Horrors - A winter solstice anthology

Written By Brian Spears

Authors include

  • Terry Dowling

  • Tananarive Due

  • Jeffery Ford

  • Christopher Golden

  • Stephen Graham Jones

  • Glen Hirshberg

  • Richard Kadrey

  • Alma Katsu

  • John Langan

  • Cassandra Khaw

  • Josh Malerman

  • Nick Mamatas

  • Garth Nix 

  • Nadia Bulkin

Edited by

  • Ellen Datlow

Published - Oct 22, 2024 by Titan Books

As a whole, this collection was a mixed bag,

This is an enjoyable anthology featuring various holiday creatures, traditions, and locales. From Christian Christmas and Jewish Chanukah to folkloric creatures and the winter solstice, this collection showcases the season’s rich traditions.

The best part of each story is that each ends with a brief author's note describing how they came up with the idea.

But with many of these significant anthologies, I have to wonder whether creating them to reserve a substantial portion for invited authors is the best move. Especially when many of these were just okay. My wonder is if the authors are writing just to be included in the invite, rather than a desire to write the story…which I could be entirely wrong, and enjoyment is subjective. That’s also not to say I disliked any of them outright, and I appreciated how well-rounded it was, with its diverse traditions. Still, maybe I was looking for more of a Christmas-centric horror collection, which would be on me! 

I really enjoyed how this collection touches on SO MANY holidays that occur around the end of the year, or focuses on some of the Pagan origins and folklore behind modern traditions. Still, some stories felt like they had greater themes in mind and just tacked on the Solstice and holiday aspects in ways that didn’t quite fit.

Brian Spears
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