The Ghosts of Christmas Past: A History of the Christmas Ghost Story - Couverture souple

White, Michael

Couverture souple

ISBN 13 : 9798237516234

Editeur : Angry Swan Press, 2026

Synopsis

Christmas was not always about cosy fires, cheerful songs and pretending to enjoy a family board game.

For generations, it was also a time for gathering after dark, lowering the lamps and telling stories about haunted houses, restless dead, mysterious strangers and scholars who ignored perfectly sensible warnings.

In The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Michael White traces the strange and enduring history of the Christmas ghost story, from old winter fireside tales and Victorian magazine annuals to Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, M. R. James and the BBC's celebrated A Ghost Story for Christmas.

Along the way, the book explores why ghost stories became such a natural part of the festive season, how publishers discovered that Christmas readers enjoyed being frightened, and why so many fictional antiquarians insist on opening sealed rooms, reading forbidden manuscripts and spending the night in houses that local people have already advised them to avoid.

Warm, witty and atmospheric, this is the story of how Christmas became haunted, how some of the greatest writers in the English language helped keep it that way, and why the darkest nights of the year still seem to demand a ghost beside the fire.

Perfect for readers of literary history, Victorian fiction, classic ghost stories and the darker side of Christmas, The Ghosts of Christmas Past makes an ideal festive gift for anyone who prefers their seasonal entertainment with cold footsteps in the corridor.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Ex-drummer, Ex-software author and Ex-flares wearer Michael White was born and lives in the northwest of England. In a previous life he was the author of many text adventure games that were popular in the early 1980's. Realising that the creation of these games was in itself a form of writing he has since made the move into self-publishing, resulting in many short stories and novellas. Covering an eclectic range of subjects, the stories fall increasingly into that "difficult to categorise" genre, causing on-going headaches for the marketing department of his one man publishing company, Eighth Day Publishing.

Having accidentally sacked his marketing director (himself) three times in the last two years, he has now retired to a nice comfortable room where, if he behaves himself, they leave him to write in peace.

In his spare time (!) Michael likes to listen to all kinds of music, and is a big fan of Steven Moffat, whether he likes it or not.

Michael is currently working on several new projects and can be contacted on my own website at http: //mikewhiteauthor.wordpress.com or via twitter on @mikewhiteauthor

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Angry Swan Press
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 13: 9798237516234
• Reliure: Paperback
• Nombre de pages: 132
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible