As the dark winter months settle upon us and the end of another year approaches – it’s natural to reflect on all that has transpired in the year soon past and even to think of those who have passed recently or over the years. For some of us, we are preparing to celebrate Christmas, and while this can hold many meanings for many people, there are traditions that we no longer associate with this time of year, and one that was common in Victorian times was the telling of ghost stories.
In this episode we’ll learn about this long-ago tradition of telling a haunting Christmas tale, and while we’ll share some history about the seasonal classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, we’ll be reading you another spooky tale he wrote as part of the Pickwick Papers.
Special Thanks to Michelle and her family for their dramatic voice acting in the reading of The Story of the Goblin Who Stole a Sexton
READINGS: Ghostly Christmas Tales
Our Reading in this Episode: The Story of the Goblin Who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens (Family Christmas Online)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Ghost of Dr. Harris by Nathanial Hawthorne
Old Christmas by Nathaniel Hawthorne (It’s a Charming Life Blog)
Alternative: Old Christmas by Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Project Gutenberg eBook)
The Jolly Corner by Henry James – introduced by Henry Fonda (Video: YouTube; 42:10)
RESOURCES
How Ghost Stories Became a Christmas Tradition in Victorian England (History.com)
The Christmas season, not Hallowe’en, was once considered the spookiest time of year (CBC News)
A Victorian Obsession With Death (Berkeley.edu)
Ten Things To Know About Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (arts.gov)
The Silent Reception of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol in America, 1844 (The Victorian Web)
The Pickwick Papers (Charles Dickens Info)
The Christmas Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens (DarkWorlds Quarterly)