by Donna Hatch
Ghost Stories at Christmas
An odd Christmas custom that dates back centuries is telling scary ghost stories. Have you noticed in the popular Christmas Song, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” the verse that says: “Tales of the glories and scary ghost stories of Christmases long, long ago” and wondered over it?
Telling ghost stories is an age-old tradition. Many claim the tradition cropped up in the Victorian Era, including Charles Dickens’ beloved Christmas story, A Christmas Carol. However, this eerie custom dates farther back than that.
Winter Tales of Terror
Washington Irving penned a novel in 1819 called The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. The hero in the story visits friends in an English country house during the Christmas season in a section entitled Old Christmas. While visiting Bracebridge Hall, our hero basks in the hospitality of the squire and a traditional English Christmas. This includes telling scary “winter tales.” Winter tales have long included tales of ghosts, witches, monsters, and other creatures of darkness.
In A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof the author, Roger Clarke, tells of a popular story claiming that shepherds saw ghostly soldiers battling in the skies just before Christmas 1642.
Scary Poems
Even earlier, William Shakespeare penned a collection of scary stories entitled “Winter Tales” which weaves a tale of tangled identities and apparent death and revival. This suggests that telling bizarre or paranormal stories while gathered around a winter’s evening fire was a widespread tradition long before The Bard’s time. He also wrote of ghosts and witches in other stories including Macbeth, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar.
A predecessor of Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe wrote a play entitled The Jew of Malta in 1589 in which a character Barnabus states:
Now I remember those old women’s words,
Who in my wealth would tell me winter’s tales,
And speak of spirits and ghosts that glide by night
Medieval Christmas Ghosts
Since traditions such as this have roots in pagan practices dating back to medieval times, I assume winter tales including ghost stories have been a Christmas tradition since the days of cloak and dagger. The very nature of long, dark, cold days and nights creates an atmosphere that stirs the imagination toward the frightening and supernatural. And our medieval ancestors were extremely supernatural-blaming anything not easily explained on some otherworldly cause.
Based on early writings, we know that the practice of telling ghost stories at Christmas has been in practice at least since the 1500s.
Stories Today
I’m happy that telling ghost stories is no longer a major part of American Christmas customs. Can you imagine getting a child to bed who is both excited about Santa and presents, and frightened of ghosts, witches, and monsters? Now that is scary!
Still, this practice of telling ghost stories is a plot point that works well for my Christmas novel, A Christmas Secret.
Holly has two Christmas wishes this year. First, she must finally earn her mother’s approval by gaining the notice of a handsome earl with an impeccable reputation. Secondly, but no less importantly, to learn the identity of the stranger who gave her a heart-shattering kiss…even if that stranger is the resident Christmas ghost.
Download Christmas Secrets to read instantly here on Kindle. Also available in paperback.
Sources:
http://www.hypnogoria.com/html/ghoststoriesforchristmas.html
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705363363/Telling-ghost-stories-is-a-lost-tradition-on-Christmas-Eve.html
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/23/ghost-stories-victorians-spookily-good
http://theconversation.com/why-ghosts-haunt-england-at-christmas-but-steer-clear-of-america-34629
Christmas Ghost Stories: The Ghost of Christmas Past Goes Further Back Than You Might Realize
Thank you so much for clearing this up! I have always wondered about the line from that song. Haha
You are so welcome. I am glad you found it interesting!