Hugo Award winning editor, and horror legend, Ellen Datlow presents a terrifying and chilling horror anthology of original short stories exploring the endless terrors of winter solstice traditions across the globe, featuring chillers by Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu and many more.

I love Christmas themed horror and this anthology was great.

This book is an anthology about Christmas horror. I won’t say much about each story since they’re short and I don’t want to ruin anything. However, these stories were fun to read and it was a good Christmas horror collection. I don’t feel like Christmas horror is explored much so this one was fun.

I did enjoy some stories more than other stories. That is why this was a 4 star instead of 5. I did have fun with it but some stories were not for me. I would recommend for people looking for Christmas horror!

Thanks so much to netgalley and titan books for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I’ve been so lucky with my horror reads lately but when I saw that Titan was releasing a Christmas horror anthology, I knew that I had to be all over that. I was like a kid in the candy shop. I wanted to inhale them all – but I knew I had to patient, I would have the opportunity to have a taste of them all, and taste I did. I gobbled each story up like a starving woman. I needed my horror fix, and this release from Titan did just that.

What do you think about when the word horror and Christmas materialise? If you’re normal, then candy canes and tiny elves are the first thing you want to say then you’d be wrong! Christmas was made for horror. Bear with me. A strange man coming down your chimney to deliver gifts? Come on – that is just asking for home invasion type horror. Or imagine an advent calendar of death? Okay, okay, maybe now I’m getting a little carried away, but you get the gist!

So, onto this anthology. When I saw the list of contributing authors, to say I squealed a little would be an understatement. Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu and Tananarive Due, those are some big shoes to fill. Their stories did not disappoint, and they were most definitely the best stories in the collection. Just their magnificent prose, how they carried their stories and the way they injected cultural significance into their stories left me enthralled and excited for Christmas horror movie season!

Are you looking for stories about who actually makes the toys at Santa’s workshop? Or do you prefer a story about strange beings turning up every winter solstice? Or maybe you fancy a trip to Wales and the Mari Lwyd?

I loved how the authors of this collection were able to have a basic and rather harmless concept in Christmas and/or the winter solstice and transform it into something wholly frightening. If I’m completely honest there wasn’t a bad story in this collection but the one’s that really stood out were the ones I mentioned above. They just brought something stronger – they didn’t over explain, their characterisations were exemplary and most importantly – I just felt like I was there.

After all – there are some very acceptable reasons to be scared of the dark.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Christmas and Other Horrors.

I'm generally wary of anthologies and short story compilations since I usually only like one or two stories (if I'm lucky) but I couldn't pass a horror anthology.

Horror is my jam!

I'm pleased to say most of the stories in Christmas and Other Horrors was creepy and unsettling.

Was I scared? No. But it takes a lot to scare me.

But did I enjoy most of the stories? YES!

There are some winners in this anthology, stories that made me wish they were longer because I wanted to know more and see what happens to the characters. Always a good sign of a great short story.

I appreciated how the authors used medieval and ancient folklore, myths, and legends as the backbone of their stories and made it their own.

I hope this horror anthology comes every year, like the Krampus or Santa.

I LOVE ANTHOLOGIES SO MUCH. AND ESPECIALLY THE HORROR VARIETY.

I'm not a huge fan of capitalized/commercialized Christmas traditions, but if anyone were to bring up yuletide folklore and pagan rituals, I'm in the front row waiting to have my life transformed. I remember in my not-so-distant Austrian/Hungarian heritage, my family members sharing folk tales that were told in hushed tones to keep from the little ears. Christmas and Other Horrors replenished those family tales for me and have me eager for the winter solstice season to come.

In true Anthological form, some of my favorite authors contributed their writing to this collection, including: Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, Cassandra Khaw, Christopher Golden, Alma Katsu, Richard Kadrey, Tananarive Due, and so many more.

I am so thankful to Titan Books for sending me this gorgeous finished copy before this behemoth comes out on October 24, 2023!

When I saw some of the names included in this anthology I was excited. There are a number of them I've read previously and many I haven't but this turned out to be a simply fantastic, creepy, horrifying look at the Winter Solstice.

I absolutely loved how these stories took us to different cultures, legends, and folk lore. From creatures who will slaughter you if you're home isn't tidy enough to a child who thinks he's a king although he's dead. We have stories here of the slow building chills to the ones that get right in your face and will leave you breathing heavy!

Doing a Christmas themed horror anthology could have had the predictable stories of Santa going rouge or elves going on a murderous rampage. But this one blew me away because it takes us to so many different places and is anything but predictable.

Who actually makes the toys at Santa's workshop? Why would someone board their windows and doors every Christmas eve? Why does a man start witnessing bizarre, shocking things every winter solstice? All these and much more are included in this book.

I highly recommend this anthology and I think you'll want to read it every year as part of the ho-ho-horrifying holidays.