Merry Bloody Christmas: take 2

[dem bones]

First tried this way back in December 2005 on Vault MK I - talk about "living too late" - but as a concession to the season, here's a Robinson-style revised and updated version of an ideal nasty Christmas anthology.

Merry Bloody Christmas: take 2

John Whitbourn - Peace On Earth, Goodwill To Most Men
Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Christmas Banquet
Jack Oleck - And All Around The House
L. P. Hartley - Someone In The Lift
John Glasby - The Uninvited
Sir Andrew Caldecott - Christmas Reunion
Charles Birkin - King Of The Castle
Roger Johnson - The Night Before Christmas
Shamus Frazer - Florinda
Ramsey Campbell - The Chimney
P. S. - An Actor Of Parts
Mary Danby - Nursery Tea
Robert Bloch - The Night Before Christmas
Elizabeth Walter - Christmas Night
Simon Strantzas - The Uninvited Guest
Gaston Leroux - The Crime On Christmas Night
A, N. L. Munby - A Christmas Game
A. J. Merak - A Present For Christmas
Dennis Piper - The Snowman
John Llewellyn Probert - Last Christmas
David S. Garnett - Red Christmas

"Mass murdering carol-singers, lunatic Santa's, morbid family reunions, ghastly gifts, appalling relatives, and a whole new meaning to 'your sweetheart's decorating the tree' - what more could you ask for?" Hopefully, lots as i know i've missed out on some crackers. So ... now it's your turn. What would you add/ kick out? And what would be in your DIY Xmas horror selection?

[ripper]

That's a nicely nasty selection of festive frights, Dem. One addition I would make is one of my favourite ghost stories, Smee by A.M. Burrage. It always sends a shiver down my spine whenever I read it. I will also put forward One Over by Steve Duffy, though only the framing story of that one is actually set at Christmas time, but it is a really good story IMHO.

[dem bones]

Can't say i've read Forward Over One, rip. where do i find it? i can recommend Mr. Duffy's The Clay Party in Mark Valentine's The Werewolf Pack (Wordsworth, 2008). Yeah, Smee is maybe my second favourite of Burrage's after One Who Saw. Happy Christmas to you - it's brilliant to have you back!

[ripper]

Dem, the Steve Duffy story One Over is in his collection The Night Comes On, published by Ash-Tree. Like most of the stories in the collection it is very Jamesian.

[paulfinch]

Can anyone tell me more about Jack Oleck's contribution to this 'would be ace' collection?

I'm guessing that ALL AROUND THE HOUSE was the tale in which the scheming wife murders her husband on Christmas Eve, only to then be menaced by a serial killer who's escaped from the nuthatch and now turns up outside dressed as Santa?

If so, I know it started life in the EC Comics stable, but was it originally a comic or a short story? (Or did it become a short story later on).

[dem bones]

Yes, Paul, it's And All Around The House. Long after the EC comic, Jack Oleck wrote a novelisation of Tales From The Crypt to tie in with the Amicus movie. we've a thread for it HERE

[paulfinch]

Dec 14, 2010 9:51:55 GMT dem bones said:

Yes, Paul, it's And All Around The House. Long after the EC comic, Jack Oleck wrote a novelisation of Tales From The Crypt to tie in with the Amicus movie. we've a thread for it HERE

That's terrific that, D, thanks very much.

Now ... don't suppose anyone's got a spare copy of that paperback, which they wouldn't mind parting with (LOL)?

[noose]

Paul, they're quite easy to come by - go on ABE books - not that expensive - I picked one up a while back for a couple of quid.

Jx

[dem bones]

... you may also wish to hunt down some of the beauties on this thread;

Amicus Horror Novelisations & Tie-ins

[paulfinch]

Thanks fellas. Will go in search.