Sharing ghost stories adds a spooky twist to Christmas, showing that cold, dark nights are the perfect backdrop for tales of the unseen, writes RACHAEL ELIZABETH
Ghost stories tend to be held for that particular time of year, the spookiest month of the year, October; everyone knows October is the time of year for all things that go bump in the night, but October isn’t the only time of year for spooky goings-on…
As the year draws to a close, we begin to crave hot chocolates, woollen hats and crackling fires to help ward off the cold weather; we decorate our homes with glistening lights and candles to inject light into the dark evenings, making it the perfect atmosphere to tell a few ghost stories!
Ghost stories may seem like an odd activity to indulge in, especially in December, but ghost stories at Christmas was once a popular Christmas staple, particularly in Victorian England. The precise origin of spooky story telling during this time of year is difficult to pinpoint exactly, due to the tradition being specifically oral. It is a natural assumption that ghost stories would have gained traction beyond October and into the winter months due to the winter solstice.
A Bit of Spooky History
Our fascination with spooky stories goes back, far beyond the Victorian era, by thousands of years with its roots deeply planted in the celebration of the Winter Solstice and it’s connections to Halloween with the eventual ‘thinning of the veil’ on October 31st. Ghosts have been intertwined with the winter months since ancient times, according to Art Historian Susan Owens, citing The Ode of Beowulf to be one of the oldest surviving ghost stories which was written around the 8th century.
The cold, dark nights would have made people unable to work outside for as long, so they would turn to entertainment to fill the void and roaring fires to keep the cold at bay – according to Sara Cleto, a folklore expert, ghost stories in the Victorian era around winter would have provided the perfect atmosphere for a scary story to pass the time. There was also a belief that spirits had license for mischief on Christmas eve, before they would ‘restrain’ themselves for the following Holy day.
The tradition of telling ghost stories was transformed in Victorian England from a spoken pastime into the printed word with thanks to the invention of the steam powered printing press.
The invention of this machine allowed writers and publishers to distribute ghost stories out from small villages to large cities, and even other countries; Victorian authors such as Elizabeth Gaskell, Margaret Oliphant and Arthur Conan Doyle would have written their spooky stories ready for print for the Christmas season.
The Charles Dickens Effect
One of the most popular and well-known Christmas ghost stories, as we all know, comes from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. The popular 1843 novel, contrary to what people believe, didn’t start the tradition of ghost stories at Christmas, but it certainly helped concrete the link between British paranormal writers and the Christmas season. A Christmas Carol, as well-known as is, isn’t Dickens’s only ghost-filled tale…
Charles Dickens wrote many Christmas stories that included ghosts such as his 1866 story, The Single Man, and his 1848 tale, The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain. It just seems as though a Christmas Carol is believed to have started the tradition to its popularity, but also its direct connection with Christmas.
Although Charles Dickens didn’t invent the idea of ghost stories at Christmas, according to Cleto, he played a huge part in igniting the ghost-stories-at-Christmas-tradition. He would request and edit stories from other ghost story writers to feature in his magazines, which became immensely popular during the Christmas season.
Spinning ghostly yarns over the Christmas period continued to be a popular choice of entertainment even when they were read, as opposed to vocalised, and became a family affair, with art work and illustrations depicting families sat together reading and listening to ghostly tales.
The tradition of telling ghost stories isn’t only limited to the written tale, it is also mentioned in the popular 1963 song, It’s the Most Wonderful time of The Year, giving us a gentle reminder of the beloved and spooky past-time:
“There’ll be parties for hosting, Marshmallows for toasting, And carolling out in the snow There’ll be scary ghost stories, And tales of the glories of, Christmases long, long ago…” – Lyric from Andy Williams 1963 hit song, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of The Year
Have Yourself a Spooky Little Christmas
Ghost stories around Christmas may have lost some momentum over the years, making way for magical Christmas traditions such as cosy films and grand light displays, but let us not forget how the gloomy, cold winter night provide the perfect backdrop for us to indulge ourselves in a few ghostly tales.
So, light a few candles, put a few logs on the fire and get ready to share your favourite ghost stories this Christmas…
What is your favourite ghost story to read at Christmas? Tell us in the comments section below!
