The time of cheer and goodwill to all… Or is it? For many, Christmas falls in the bleak midwinter, in the long dark hours where cold icy fingers ever encroach upon the fire valiantly struggling in the hearth. Time-honoured literary tradition leaves us with bountiful stories of gothic chills and festive fear, tales of the dark, moody, ghastly and ghostly. This collection gathers together classics such as Dickens' A Christmas Carol, alongside stories from writers working today, exploring many ways in which this holiday can become dark and horrifying, from ancient Yuletide demons and vengeful Christmas trees to haunted baubles and a different side to Santa...New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Colleen Anderson and Tom Johnstone, Christina Bergling, A.G. Bestwick, Rocky Boudreaux, Ramsey Campbell, Catherine Cavendish, Donna Cuttress, Deborah L. Davitt, Marina Favila, Daniel Foley, Marianne Halbert, Mari Harrison, Tim Jeffreys, Christine Lajewski, Damien Mckeating, Gregory Meece, Claudia Romann, Richard M. Sanders, Zach Shephard, N.M. Sirett, Em Starr, DJ Tyrer, and Melissa Ulven. These appear alongside classic work by Mary E. Braddon, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hugh Walpole, Edith Wharton and many others.The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.