My recommendation for today is CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES – FESTIVE SKIN CRAWLERS WITH A TWIST by Stewart King

Ghosts and Christmas seem to go hand in hand. Yesterday we had benign ghosts with a touch of the rock star about them, helping a fallen hero to find his way in life. Today, the featured ghosts are somewhat less benign. If, like me, you enjoy a good spine tingling tale, a creepy paranormal occurrence, a sinister spooky spectre, then you will love Stewart King’s collection of festive ghost stories. As the title suggests, each story has its own surprise, none of which I managed to predict. Here’s the blurb, and an excerpt Stewart is happy for me to share.

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Blurb

A remote Cornish village on Christmas Day battered by the howling seas.

An old house that needs emptying on a Boxing Day.

A woman who spends Christmas by herself every year.

Prepare to be scared out of your wits with this collection of Christmas Ghost stories from the macabre pen of Stewart King.

While Christmas is a time of crackling fires and roasting turkeys, it can also be a time of dark nights, howling winds, creaks on the stairs, and strange noises from the cellar.

And while it a time for re-unions and parties, for some people it is also a time of loneliness and memories.

And it is not necessarily just the living members of the family that come back for the festive season.

Written in the style of the traditional masters of the genre such as Charles Dickens and MR James, each story in this collection captures the essence of Christmas – except with a deadly sting in its tail.

So if it cold outside and you’re safe and cosy indoors watching the snow fall outside, throw a log on the fire, pour yourself a glass of something warming and snatch a few shiveringly good moments with these festive spine-tinglers.

But don’t forget to leave the light on.

Stewart King is the best-selling horror author of books such as ‘BLOODBATH ON THE TITIANIC’ and ‘THE ARCONA COVENANT’.

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Excerpt

Even though it was only momentary something cracked when Mr Jacobson saw their faces.  It sounded like walnut shells being broken deep inside both ears.  He was held in the chair by what felt like a slab of wet stone across his bony lap and even though his eyes had rolled upwards, as if scuttling there from their reflection, his brain still held the impression of the expressions that populated the area behind him.  

A bunting of dead people faces with eyes open, the bulk of their bodies that he imagined were as emaciated as their jaundiced features, hidden in the gloom.  He couldn’t turn; his spine felt as if it had been screwed into the seat of the chair.  His nose filled with an overpowering smell of paraffin.

He felt their weak and dank breathing grazing his neck before a palm was slapped heavily against his chest.  He couldn’t open his eyes.  Even if he wanted to see them it felt like they’d been stitched shut.  The hand slid sideways so it covered his heart, overwrought muscle pounding rapidly under cupped fingers.

The odour saturated him and he felt nausea fizzing cold in his throat.  The hand slid up to his shoulder and to the frayed edge of his cardigan collar.  Would it touch his exposed flesh, his face?

Mr Jacobson briefly tore his eyelids open and through burning, watery vision saw in the mirror’s reflection the blurred faces behind him.  Fingers scrabbled at the back of his head.  He closed them again and heard himself wretch against the stench.

A bony palm scraped harshly across his scalp and the sound of its coarse abrasion rasped around the interior of his skull.

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If you would like to take some time out from the festivities over the next couple of weeks and curl up with a good old-fashioned collection of ghost stories, CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES – FESTIVE SKIN CRAWLERS WITH A TWIST is a must. Here are the purchase links:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m delighted to say Stewart has another book of Christmassy ghost stories available, THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT, which definitely on my Kindle wish list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alternatively, THE FRIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS offers both books in one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy them, if you dare…

To find out more about Stewart and his work you can follow him on Twitter

***Today’s advent calendar picture – An angel