Download or read book The Book of Christmas Folklore written by Tristram Potter Coffin and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insights into the culture of pre-Christian Europe are provided as the author seeks out the origins and meanings of songs, food, legends, and other items associated with yuletide.
Download or read book The Scary Book of Christmas Lore written by Tim Rayborn and published by Cider Mill Press. This book was released on 2024-08-27 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen…but do you recall the most petrifying Christmas figures of all? Not all children fear just a lump of coal in their stockings. Discover the terrifying Yuletide fables that have horrified kids for generations. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake. This lighthearted song is a bit more ominous in the context of other Christmas traditions. From beasts that threaten to cook children into stew to sinister crones who snatch little ones from their beds, you won’t find any dancing sugar plums here. Outside of the heartwarming Christmas tales we all know and love, there are an abundance of frightening stories to chill all who hear them to the bone. Discover folklore from all corners of the world, including: Krampus (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and northern Italy), a demonic half-goat monster who drags chains and whips bad children with birch sticks, or stuffs them in his sack to take away The Kallikantzari (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Turkey), goblins who come out during Advent to cause mischief Père Fouettard (France, Belgium, Switzerland), Saint Nicholas’ eternal cannibal manservant who deals with naughty children Hans Trapp (Alsace-Lorraine, France), who roams the countryside disguised as a scarecrow and goes door to door on Christmas looking for children to feast upon Gryla (Iceland), the giant ogre who emerges from her cave on Christmas to hunt children and cook them into stew Mari Lwyd (Wales), a creature with a horse’s skull and a long cloak that is followed by a group of chanting people Frau Perchta (Austria and Bavaria), who slits the bellies of bad children and stuffs them with straw These tales are sure to leave you wishing for the Grinch. Whether you are a fan of history and folklore, you love learning about different cultures, or you just want to give a holiday gift that will bring the joy of Christmas to that lucky someone (just kidding), The Scary Book of Christmas Lore is for you. ’Tis the season! Is it beginning look a lot like Christmas, yet?
Download or read book Ghosts of Christmas Past written by Neil Gaiman and published by John Murray. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A present contains a monstrous secret. An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party. A shadow slips across the floor by firelight. A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams. Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas.
Download or read book The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas written by Al Ridenour and published by Feral House. This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Krampus, a folkloric devil associated with St. Nicholas in Alpine Austria and Germany, has been embraced by the American counterculture and is lately skewing mainstream. The new Christmas he seems to embody is ironically closer to an ancient understanding of the holiday as a perilous, haunted season. In the Krampus' world, witches rule Christmas, and saints can sometimes kill.
Download or read book The Old Magic of Christmas written by Linda Raedisch and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2013 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Tis the Season for Witches, Elves, and a Legion of Ghosts Not so very long ago, Yuletide was as much a chilling season of ghosts and witches as it was a festival of goodwill. In The Old Magic of Christmas, you'll rub elbows with veiled spirits, learn the true perils of elves, and discover a bestiary of enchanted creatures. Rife with the more frightful characters from folklore and the season's most petulant ghosts, this book takes you on a spooky sleigh ride from the silvered firs of a winter forest to the mirrored halls of the Snow Queen. Along the way, you'll discover how to bring the festivities into your home with cookie recipes and craft instructions, as well as tips for delving more deeply into your relationship with the unseen. Praise: "Steeped in history and adorned with a bit of enchantment, The Old Magic of Christmas is the perfect book to read by a winter's fire with a mug of mulled cider in hand."--Deborah Blake, author of The Witch's Broom "...[A] fascinating journey into the stories behind the tinsel and bows."--Doreen Shababy, author of The Wild & Weedy Apothecary "...[A]n intriguing little tome that explores the darker side of the Yuletide holiday."--Ellen Dugan, author of The Enchanted Cat
Download or read book Krampus and Other Yuletide Tales written by Faina Lorah and published by . This book was released on 2020-11 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some traditions should never be lost, like scaring your children into behaving well and teaching them to trick demons during the cold winter. Introducing Krampus and Other Yuletide Tales, a collection of wonderful macabre folk tales that have been nearly lost forever...until now. Featuring thirteen wintery stories and over sixty hauntingly beautiful illustrations, this book contains the kind of thrilling tales that will bring the family together and keep them up at night. So snuggle up with Snegurochka, the snow maiden who melts away as soon as she finds real love. Cozy up around the fire and read the story of Frau Perchta, a witch who happily slices open the bodies of misbehaving children. Watch your kids' eyes light up as they hear about Father Frost, the original present-giving bearded man who would rather freeze them to death than wastefully put a lump of coal in their stockings for being rude. Krampus is coming to town and everybody is on his naughty list. This is not your grandmother's collection of stories. These belong to her grandmother, the babushka, who knew how to celebrate Yule right: a bountiful feast paired with a little tale of murder.
Download or read book Pagan Christmas written by Christian Rätsch and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-10-24 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.
Download or read book Scary Book of Christmas Lore written by Tim Rayborn and published by Cider Mill Press. This book was released on 2023-10-10 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen...but do you recall the most petrifying Christmas figures of all? Not all children fear just a lump of coal in their stockings. Discover the terrifying Yuletide fables that have horrified kids for generations. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake. This lighthearted song is a bit more ominous in the context of other Christmas traditions. From beasts that threaten to cook children into stew to sinister crones who snatch little ones from their beds, you won't find any dancing sugar plums here. Outside of the heartwarming Christmas tales we all know and love, there are an abundance of frightening stories to chill all who hear them to the bone. Discover folklore from all corners of the world, including: Krampus (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and northern Italy), a demonic half-goat monster who drags chains and whips bad children with birch sticks, or stuffs them in his sack to take away The Kallikantzari (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Turkey), goblins who come out during Advent to cause mischief Père Fouettard (France, Belgium, Switzerland), Saint Nicholas' eternal cannibal manservant who deals with naughty children Hans Trapp (Alsace-Lorraine, France), who roams the countryside disguised as a scarecrow and goes door to door on Christmas looking for children to feast upon Gryla (Iceland), the giant ogre who emerges from her cave on Christmas to hunt children and cook them into stew Mari Lwyd (Wales), a creature with a horse's skull and a long cloak that is followed by a group of chanting people Frau Perchta (Austria and Bavaria), who slits the bellies of bad children and stuffs them with straw These tales are sure to leave you wishing for the Grinch. Whether you are a fan of history and folklore, you love learning about different cultures, or you just want to give a holiday gift that will bring the joy of Christmas to that lucky someone (just kidding), The Scary Book of Christmas Lore is for you. 'Tis the season! Is it beginning look a lot like Christmas, yet?
Download or read book The Big Book of Paranormal written by Tim Rayborn and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepare to be baffled with The Big Book of Paranormal! Dive deep into urban legends, creepy hauntings, and tales of the unexplained with the Big Book of Paranormal. Featuring over 300 hair-raising, spine-chilling stories around Bigfoot, the Loch Ness, UFOs, aliens, curses, ghosts, and unsolved mysteries. Otherworldly illustrations and images bring these mystical and frightening tales to life and make the stories creep off the page. This is the perfect gift for the little ghost-hunter or paranormal enthusiast in your life!
Download or read book It s Christmas David written by David Shannon and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling star of No, David! turns Christmas traditions upside down with laugh-aloud humor. Readers of all ages will vividly remember trying to peek at hidden gift packages; writing scrolls of wish lists to Santa; and struggling to behave at formal Christmas dinner parties. Always in the background, we know Santa Claus is watching, soon to decide if David deserves a shiny new fire truck or a lump of coal under the tree. From playing with delicate ornaments to standing in an endlessly long line for Santa, here are common Christmas activities--but with David's naughty trimmings. A surefire hit that is destined to be an annual classic.
Download or read book Krampus written by Brom and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Terrific. A wild ride….I loved it. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down.” —Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy "Brom is that rare breed: a person who is skilled in more than one area of artistic expression. Here's hoping that he will continue to share his dark and often beautiful dreams with us for many years to come." --Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon Acclaimed author and artist Brom raised eyebrows and pulse rates with The Child Thief, his grim, brilliantly audacious, gorgeously illustrated reimagining of the Peter Pan legend. So what does this innovative fantasist do for an encore? He tinkers darkly with the beloved mythology of Santa Claus. Set in Appalachia, Krampus the Yule Lord is a twisted fairytale about a failed West Virginia songwriter who gets ensnared on Christmas Eve in an eternal war between a not-so-saintly Saint Nick and his dark enemy Krampus, aka Black Peter, an ancient trickster demon. Krampus the Yule Lord is Gregory Maguire (Wicked) meets Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) in the realm of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, as Clive Barker (Mr. B. Gone) works his dark sorcery from the shadows. Once again featuring Brom’s chillingly beautiful artwork throughout, Krampus the Yule Lord is a feast of wonder straight from the kitchen of Sweeney Todd.
Download or read book The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories Volume Three written by Ellen Wood and published by Valancourt Books. This book was released on 2018-11-20 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new anthology of twenty ghostly tales of Yuletide terror, collected from rare Victorian periodicals Seeking to capitalize on the success of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843), Victorian newspapers and magazines frequently featured ghost stories at Christmas time, and reading them by candlelight or the fireside became an annual tradition, a tradition Valancourt Books is pleased to continue with our series of Victorian Christmas ghost stories. This third volume contains twenty tales, most of them never before reprinted. They represent a mix of the diverse styles and themes common to Victorian ghost fiction and include works by once-popular authors like Ellen Wood and Charlotte Riddell as well as contributions from anonymous or wholly forgotten writers. This volume also features a new introduction by Prof. Simon Stern. "Before me, with the sickly light from the lantern shining right down upon it, was--a cloven hoof! Then the awfulness of the compact I had made came to my mind with terrible force ..." - Frederick Manley, "The Ghost of the Cross-Roads" "By the fireplace there was a large hideous pool of blood soaking into the carpet, and leaving ghastly stains around. I am not ashamed to confess that my brain reeled; the mysterious horror overcame me ..." - Lillie Harris, "19, Great Hanover Street" "A fearful white face comes to me; a horrible mask, with features drawn as in agony--ghastly, pale, hideous! Death or approaching death, violent death, written in every line. Every feature distorted. Eyes starting from the head. Thin lips moving and working--lips that are cursing, although I hear no sound." - Hugh Conway, "A Dead Man's Face"
Download or read book Krampus written by Brian Joines and published by Image Comics. This book was released on 2014-12-17 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet the Krampus, yuletide terror and punisher of wicked children. Long imprisoned for his outdated methods, the holiday horror suddenly finds himself freed and tasked with a mission: recover the stolen power of the Secret Society of Santa Clauses! With his flying wolf Stutgaard, the Krampus crosses the globe, encountering various figures of winter lore and uncovering a sinister scheme to topple the Santas and change Christmas as we know it forever. Collects KRAMPUS! #1-5 and extras, including all-new material.
Download or read book The Legend of the Christmas Witch written by Aubrey Plaza and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza and creative partner Dan Murphy comes the long lost tale of the Christmas Witch, Santa Claus's much misunderstood twin sister. The perfect gift for the holiday season and beyond! Gather ‘round the fire to hear a Christmas legend that has never been told before...until now. Each year a mysterious figure sweeps into town, leaving behind strange gifts in the night. No, not Santa Claus, but his sister… The Christmas Witch. Her story begins many, many years ago when her brother was torn away from her as a child. Raised alone by a witch of the woods, Kristtörn's powers of magic grew, as did her temper. Determined to find her long lost twin, she set out on a perilous journey across oceans to find him. But what she found instead was a deep-seated fear of her powers and a confrontation that would leave the fate of Christmas hanging in the balance. From award-winning producer and actress Aubrey Plaza and her creative partner Dan Murphy comes a holiday story unlike any told before. With all the richness of classic folklore, they’ve woven a tale of bravery, love and magic. Whatever you thought you knew about Christmas…think again.
Download or read book The Graveyard Book written by Neil Gaiman and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It takes a graveyard to raise a child. Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family.
Download or read book Thin Air written by Kellie M. Parker and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2024-10-08 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eight hours. Twelve contestants. A flight none of them might survive. A flight to Paris full of teenagers seeking opportunity turns deadly in this suspenseful, locked-door YA thriller. Perfect for fans of Diana Urban, Karen McManus, and Jessica Goodman. Seventeen-year-old boarding school student Emily Walters is selected for an opportunity of a lifetime—she’ll compete abroad for a cash prize that will cover not only tuition to the college of her choice, but will lift her mother and her out of poverty. But almost from the moment she and 11 other contestants board a private jet to Europe, Emily realizes somebody is willing to do anything to win. Between keeping an eye on her best friend’s flirty boyfriend and hiding her own dark secrets, she’s not sure how she’ll survive the contest, much less the flight. Especially when people start dying… As loyalties shift and secrets are revealed, Emily must figure out who to trust, and who’s trying to kill them all, before she becomes the next victim.
Download or read book Fireside Ghost Stories for Christmas Eve written by Charles Dickens and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-09-27 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ghost stories at Christmas can be traced back to pagan times - Yule and Saturnalia - when the Winter Solstice (like Hallowe'en and Wulpurgis Night) was viewed as a moment in space and time where the thinness of the boundaries between the supernatural and human worlds became remarkably plastic, and all manner of strange things were said to be seen and heard in the winter air. while we no longer have the old stories spoken in the old homes around the old fires by the old myth-keepers, let us sit around and enjoy some of the stories that would have sent shivers up the great-great-grandchildren of those little ones sitting around the Yule fire - the supernatural literature of the Victorians and Edwardians. Enclosed in this volume are tales of dark winter nights and harrowing encounters between the worlds of Man and the Hereafter. There are tales of cursed antiquities, otherworldly toy stores, possessed dolls, deals with the devil, and murderous cabin fever. I hope your Christmas is - as M. R. James put it "may be the cheerfuller for a story-book" which takes you back to a different world - one not mapped out, trending, or tweeted about, one dark, forbidding, and evocative. Perhaps I may be a luddite for saying it, but I find something strangely comforting in that. Something consoling and hushing and chilling. Perhaps you will, too.
