On a bustling Christmas Eve, John Mudbury, an ordinary man with an ordinary family, has been Christmas shopping. Under his arms, he carries presents for his wife and three children.

As he starts his journey home, the familiar streets of London give way to increasingly strange encounters. Mudbury navigates an increasingly bewildering series of events, where the line between the familiar and the uncanny blurs.

With each step, the veil between worlds grows thinner until he arrives home with presents in hand and finds things very strange indeed.

 Algernon Blackwood's "Transition: A Christmas Ghost Story With A Twist" masterfully blends the mundane with the supernatural.

A very sweet ghost story for Christmas

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A Humorous Victorian Ghost Story for Christmas

Set against the charming backdrop of Cornwall's picturesque villages and folklore-filled hedges, "The Vicar's Ghost" by Lucy Farmer weaves a tale of intrigue and whimsy. During a Christmas visit, Lucy, her son Charley, and Aunt Martha become embroiled in a series of mysterious events at the vicarage. Charley's sighting of an enigmatic clergyman leads to Aunt Martha revealing a local legend of a vicar who died many years ago and whose ghost is said to return each year, accompanied by eerie disturbances. As a winter storm brews, the story transforms into a light-hearted romp, reminiscent of a Victorian-era adventure, with the community rallying to solve the mystery.

Unraveling the tale, Lucy and her companions discover that apparitions might not be as supernatural as they seem, hinting at Victorian times being unexpectedly "progressive." The story unfolds with a blend of humor and suspense, reminiscent of a playful detective story. As secrets hidden as a silver sixpence in a Christmas pudding come to light, it becomes clear that truth is sometimes stranger—and more delightful—than fiction. The captivating conclusion leaves both the characters and readers pondering the charming complexities of reality and folklore.

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On a stormy Christmas night in Ireland in 1843, a warm peat fire blazes inside Andy Sweeny's simple home while a fiddler plays jigs and reels for those gathered.

Suddenly, a piercing cry is heard from the darkness outside—a cry of anguish, a cry for help!

Against his wife's advice, Andy Sweeny opens the door. A stranger, breathless and pursued by shadows, stumbles across the threshold.

He falls to the floor, and as the party-goers help him up, he asks one haunting question: "Do you believe in ghosts?"

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What lurks in forgotten rooms?

In an ancient Tudor mansion in the remotest English countryside, a young heiress's pride becomes her downfall.

Rosa enters a room that servants shun. As she tries to sleep, strange noises keep her awake until she finally realizes the true horror of her situation.

Through a seemingly endless night, Rosa is pushed to the very limit of her sanity, and when dawn comes, she sees with terror that she is still not safe.

Perhaps some rooms should remain locked and wise girls should run away...

Published by John Berwick Harwood anonymously in 1861

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An innocent autumn walk turns into a nightmare of supernatural terror.

A lone traveler seeks solace in the misty hills of Surrey, expecting nothing more than a peaceful day of landscape exploration. Instead, he encounters three children who are far from ordinary—two exotic Indian girls and a golden-haired boy with an unsettling presence.

What begins as a curious meeting spirals into a bone-chilling encounter that defies explanation. Strange music echoes through ancient woods. A snake moves with impossible precision. And suddenly, the traveler finds himself trapped, facing a ritual of unimaginable menace, where children hold powers beyond human comprehension.

As darkness falls and reality blurs, one question remains: Who are these children, and what do they want?

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And so it begins... my run up to Christmas. This isn't a massively Christmassy story though it takes place at Christmas.

Who's really in the lift? 

In L.P. Hartley's "Someone in the Lift," a young boy's festive hotel stay turns into a chilling encounter with the unknown. As he repeatedly glimpses a shadowy figure in the elevator, his parents' dismissals only deepen the mystery. The line between childhood imagination and genuine supernatural presence blurs, leading to a haunting climax that defies easy explanation. Hartley's masterful storytelling weaves innocence, fear, and the uncanny into a tapestry of unease that clings to the mind like frost on a winter window.

Listen to this classic ghost story and decide for yourself: is there truly someone in the lift? Ha ha ha ha! (etc)

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Go here for a library of ad-free stories, a monthly members only story and early access to the regular stories I put out. 

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Many hundreds of hours of stories. Who needs Audible?

Or, if you'd just like to make a one-off gesture of thanks for my work

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Do The Dead Appear At Noon?

In the leafy paths of Kensington Gardens, where Victorian ladies take their morning walks, one woman feels an impossible touch. Not in darkness, but in searching daylight. Not with terror, but with recognition that defies reason.

Someone watches her from behind curtained windows, measuring time with a doctor's patience. Family ties can bind or strangle, and some kinds of protection leave no visible trace.

Wilkie Collins crafts a story where morning sunshine holds more mysteries than midnight, where what cannot be seen might prove more solid than shadow, and where the line between protection and possession blurs in the space between heartbeats.

Take a while out of your busy day and listen to "Mrs. Zant and the Ghost," where daylight offers no refuge from what waits beyond the veil

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In Charlotte Riddell's "The Old House in Vauxhall Walk," a young man's desperate search for shelter leads him into a world where past and present collide. As Graham Coulton unravels the mysteries of a haunted Victorian mansion, he confronts the spectral remnants of greed, regret, and unfinished business. This ghostly tale weaves together themes of redemption, social responsibility, and the enduring consequences of our choices. Riddell's nuanced approach to the supernatural offers more than mere scares; it presents a poignant reflection on morality and human nature in Victorian society. If you're intrigued by stories that blend historical insight with otherworldly encounters, consider giving this classic ghost story a listen.

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In the shadowy corners of Arkham, where ancient gables loom and whispers of eldritch horrors echo through time-worn streets, lies the infamous Witch House.

Within its warped walls, young Walter Gilman finds himself ensnared in a web of mathematical arcana and otherworldly terror. As he delves deeper into non-Euclidean geometries and the forbidden lore of long-dead sorceress Keziah Mason,

Gilman's fevered dreams begin to blur the boundaries between reality and nightmare. H.P. Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witch House" weaves a tale of cosmic dread and insidious witchcraft, where the very fabric of space and time unravels before the protagonist's—and the reader's—horrified gaze.

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In *The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar*, Edgar Allan Poe presents a gripping tale where the boundaries of life and death are pushed in ways both fascinating and unnerving. The story unfolds with clinical precision, yet reveals a deeper, more disturbing reality that lingers long after the last word. If you’re drawn to stories that provoke thought and unsettle in equal measure, this is one you won’t want to miss. Listen now for an experience that quietly questions the limits of science and the mysteries that lie beyond.

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Go here for a library of ad-free stories, a monthly members only story and early access to the regular stories I put out. 

You can choose to have ghost stories only, or detective stories or classic literature, or all of them for either $5 or $10 a month. 

Many hundreds of hours of stories. Who needs Audible?

Or, if you'd just like to make a one-off gesture of thanks for my work

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In the shadowy tunnels of the London Underground, Laura Munro encounters a ghostly figure from the past that will unravel the very fabric of her family history.

R. Chetwynd-Hayes' "The Underground" weaves a haunting tale of wartime secrets, generational trauma, and the spectral echoes that linger long after the bombs have fallen silent.

As Laura navigates the claustrophobic world beneath the city streets, she finds herself drawn into a mystery that blurs the lines between the living and the dead, challenging her understanding of both her family and herself. This chilling story explores the depths of human guilt and the power of unresolved grief, all set against the backdrop of post-war Britain's changing social landscape.

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