‘Tis the Season to be Spooky
“You will be haunted,” resumed the Ghost, “by three spirits.”
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (1843)
If you know me, you know that Halloween and autumn are my favorite time of year. I love the eerie feel of the autumnal air, the horror movie marathons on AMC, and even carving jack-o-lanterns. However, Christmastime is a close second favorite of mine and what many people forget is that this time of year was also once dedicated to things that went bump in the night.
Before the time of Black Friday shopping and Coca-Cola’s Santa Claus, the Victorians took the Christmas season as a time to swap ghost stories and scare one another on the longest nights of the year. It’s no coincidence, if you really think about it, as Christmastime rolls around during the Yule and Winter Solstice celebrations. These were Pagan festivals that celebrated the seasons of the sun, the veil between the living and the dead being thin, natural elements, etc.
The Pagans who celebrated these festivals decorated with Yule logs and evergreens, gift giving, and even animal sacrifices. After the rise of Christianity in the West, Christians adopted many of these traditions as part of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ: Yule logs became symbols of Jesus as the light of the world, animal sacrifices became feasts at the dinner table, gift giving became symbolic of the gifts the Wise Men brought to baby Jesus, evergreens became representative of eternal life, and even red berries symbolized Jesus’ blood!
Despite the rise of Christianity in the West, why did the Victorians begin celebrating the old Pagan traditions, I hear you ask? Well, our Victorian friends had a flair for the supernatural. Spiritualism was on the rise during the Victorian period and authors like Charles Dickens fueled the flame with works like A Christmas Carol.
With all of that being said, I like to maintain some of those Victorian traditions. I love reading a good spooky story this time of year, or watching a good movie. Here are some of my favorites:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Nothing says “Christmas” quite like cutting off a giant’s head and agreeing to let him do the same to you the following year. Also, who doesn’t like weird kinky castle sex games? These medievalists were weird ones, I’ll tell ya!
A Nightmare Before Christmas
I love this movie! There are huge debates online about whether it’s a Halloween or Christmas movie and my answer is, why choose? It’s spooky, autumnal, and filled with Christmas cheer! (Or, at least Jack thinks it is…) Not to mention, who doesn’t love Danny Elfman?
An Unwanted Guest
Okay, I loved this book. It was one of those reads that I stayed up all night to finish. It was so suspenseful and I just had to finish the book immediately! It was originally published in 2018 so it’s a newer work.
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
Look, I love Agatha Christie. This is not only a classic but it’s super appropriate for the season. It’s also not too long. I know some people really like massive books, but for seasonal works I actually prefer shorter texts. (That is the one saving grace of A Court of Frost and Starlight.)
Christmas Presence
This is an English horror movie set in the countryside where a group of old friends get together for a Christmas celebration and, well… It’s a horror movie so you know what happens.
I have to warn everyone: this is a very strange movie, haha! It’s actually all about the Pagan traditions and I, personally, just found it so fun. I considered putting Terrifier 3 on this list, but I didn’t even watch it yet so I can’t make a true recommendation. However, I do love Art the Clown.
(Here is the IMDb link to the movie. I can’t find it anywhere else but on Shudder!)
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens’ novella is worth the read! Not only is it fantastic, but it’s spooky, heart warming at times, and it is a classic. Plus, there are some great film adaptations to check out!
