Telling ghost stories at Christmas was a popular tradition in Victorian Britain. Charles Dickens wrote a number of Christmas ghost stories of which A Christmas Carol is his most famous. When it's dark and cold out, listening to spooky stories, especially with the company of good friends or family, will  let you enjoy a shiver while basking in the comfort and warmth of home.

Here are some scary stories you might enjoy reading aloud, or to yourself at Christmas. The publisher Biblioasis has released several tiny books of individual Christmas ghost stories, illustrated by the cartoonist known as Seth, every year, since 2016, three of which are included below. Each book has one ghost story to read, or you can borrow one of the other collections of stories on this list, and read one every night.

Afterward: A Ghost Story for Christmas by Edith Wharton; designed and decorated by Seth

A newly rich American couple buy an ancient manor house in England, where they hope to live out their days in solitude. One day, when the couple are gazing out at their grounds, they spy a mysterious stranger. When her husband disappears shortly after this eerie encounter, the wife learns the truth about the legend that haunts the ancient estate.

 

 

 

The Crown Derby Plate: A Ghost Story for Christmas by Marjorie Bowen; designed and decorated by Seth

Antiques dealer Martha Pym comes to an old house in search of the missing plate in a china set, only to find that there is something strange about the woman who owns the house.

 

 

 

 

The Signalman: A Ghost Story for Christmas by Charles Dickens; designed and decorated by Seth

Halloween might seem like the spookiest time of year, but Charles Dickens felt otherwise. He was among the many authors who set their scariest stories during the dim and shivering days of—yes, Christmas. First published in 1866 for a special yuletide issue of All the Year Round, Dickens's The Signalman has since fallen into obscurity. An eerie story of isolation, dread, and supernatural visitation, this book is a small treasure, meant to be read aloud on a cold, dark winter night.

 

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books by Charles Dickens  edited by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

 A Christmas Carol  is now as much a part of the holiday season as is mistletoe or Santa's reindeer. Here is a wonderful collection of Dickens' Christmas stories, graced with many of the original drawings that appeared in the first edition. Pride of place goes to A Christmas Carol, of course, but the book also includes four other marvelous tales: The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man. All five stories show Dickens at his unpredictable best, jumbling together comedy and melodrama, genial romance and urgent social satire.

Or you could read this abridged edition of  A Christmas Carol ; illlustrated by Brett Helquist

The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack; illustrated by Brian Pinkney

A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty—the half hour before sunset—when ghosts seem all too believable.

 

 

 

 

Ghost: A Collection of Thirteen Haunting Tales to Tell a collection by illustrátus

Ghost: Thirteen Haunting Tales to Tell is a ghost story collection for middle schoolers.
Featuring the only true ghost stories in existence (as the book itself will tell you), readers discover 13 eerie encounters that are perfect for sharing, if they dare.

 

 

Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories edited and illustrated by Audrey Niffenegger

Edited by the beloved, bestselling author of The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, this anthology features works by some of the most revered ghost story writers of both past and present. From Edgar Allan Poe to Kelly Link, M.R. James to Neil Gaiman, it comprises a whole history of the ghost story in English, from Gothic horror to the modern era. With short original commentary and illustrations by a master of the craft and a beloved graphic novelist introducing each story, as well as one new tale by Niffeneger. Ghostly is a unique and haunting anthology of some of the best ghost stories of all time.

 

The Haunting Season: Eight Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights 

Eight bestselling, award-winning writers return to the time-honored tradition of the seasonal ghost story in this spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.
Long before Charles Dickens and Henry James popularized the tradition of supernatural horror, the shadowy nights of winter have been a time for people to gather together by the flicker of candlelight and experience the intoxicating thrill of a spooky tale.

 

 

 

Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories edited by Roald Dahl

Of the many permutations of the macabre or bizarre, Dahl was always especially fascinated by the classic ghost story. As he relates in the introduction to this volume, he read some 749 supernatural tales at the British Museum Library before selecting the 14 that comprise this anthology. "Spookiness is, after all, the real purpose of the ghost story," Dahl writes. "It should give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts." For this superbly disquieting collection, Dahl offers favorite tales by such masterful storytellers as E. F. Benson, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Rosemary Timperley, and Edith Wharton.

 

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: Three Books to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz; illustrated by Steven Gammell

Adapted tales from the oral traditions of American folklore, including ghost stories of weird happenings, witches, and graveyards with startling, funny, or surprising endings.

 

 

 

 

 

---

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.