A Christmas Ghost Story

From the acclaimed author of Anno Dracula, the perfect gift for those who love the dark fantastic imaginations of Neil Gaiman and T. Kingfisher, this is a nightmarish tale of a haunted Christmas set deep in the British countryside not too long ago. Cosy traditions are made twisted and terrifying as a mother and son grapple with their painful past.

December 1st. Angie and her teenage son Rust prepare for Christmas, stringing
fairy lights around their isolated home on the Somerset levels and decorating a tree
with traditional ornaments. The first door of the advent calendar is opened, but the chocolate inside tastes off. Rust receives his first Christmas card; it's unsigned, and the message is 'pinch, punch... first of the month'. The robin chirruping on a bough in a snowy woodland picture looks like a nasty piece of work.

The cards keep coming, one each day and each more sinister than the last, and a
frightened Angie recalls 'The Cards' - a seasonal TV show from her childhood that featured similar happenings, and while she remembers it vividly, there is no evidence that it was ever broadcast...

Christmas cheer is gradually poisoned, with cruels instead of carols, the turkey rotting in the fridge, unwelcome visits from the Merciless Gentlemen and the Jingle Basterds, and Rust becoming increasingly unwell. Angie begins to wonder if her childhood Christmases were in fact as joy filled as she remembers...

A frightening tale of seasonal dread from the acclaimed author of Anno Dracula. Cosy traditions are made twisted and terrifying as a mother and son grapple with their painful past.

Author: Kim Newman
Publisher: Titan Books (UK)
Published: 10/08/2024
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9781835410691

About the Author
Kim Newman is a popular and respected author and movie critic, known for his acclaimed alternate-history series, Anno Dracula. He writes regularly for Empire magazine and contributes to The Guardian, The Times, Time Out and others. He makes frequent appearances on radio and TV, and is the chief writer of the BBC TV series Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema. He has won the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards and been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and James Herbert Awards. He lives in London.