I picked up this Folio Society book earlier this year at a used book shop and have been saving it for the Christmas Season.

Last night I read The Kit Bag by Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) right before I went to bed, giving me extra points in the Stupid Things to Do category. This short but undeniably creepy story brought to my mind the scarier X-Files and Dr. Who episodes I've seen. It relied on what you don't see, or only see out of the corner of your eye, to scare the bejeezus out the reader and for this sissified reader, it worked perfectly.

2021:
I re-read three stories for this Christmas season:

Afterward by Edith Wharton: I’m not actually sure why this story is included; it must take place during Christmas, but the holiday is not even a bit player in drama. But it is a great ghost story; the subtle kind that creeps up on both the characters and the reader, so that it isn’t until Afterward that you know you’ve been haunted at all.

When Satan Goes Home for Christmas by Robertson Davies: Not quite a ghost story but come on, it’s Satan. And it’s a funny and oddly touching story in the most unexpected ways.

The Shop of Ghosts by G.K. Chesterton: This is a short one that starts off rather heartbreakingly, but ends not only with hope, but left me chuckling as well. A masterful reminder that there truly is nothing new under the sun.

There are so many others I’d like to re-read this season, and I might, but with my to-do list being as long as anyone else’s this time of year, I’m calling it read and again recommend this for anyone who would enjoy an excellent collection of ghostly holiday cheer. ( )

Short stories from a variety of authors, some more famous than others; entertaining, not very scary, the overall flavour being of Victorian spiritualism. ( )