Haunted Christmas Ghost Stories

Debbie Fyfe is the reference/Internet resources librarian in the
Information Services Division of the Edmonton Public Library.

Edmonton author and prolific storyteller Jo-Anne Christensen delivers
yet another page- turning collection of spectral tales in this, her
second offering of Christmas ghost stories. A bit less spook and a touch
more spirit (Christmas spirit, that is), it conveys the true meaning of
the Christmas season. In the introduction, the author raises a good
point: if there is ever a time to believe in the unbelievable, the
Christmas season is that time. It is a time of hopes and dreams, a time
when we are more willing to let our senses take a holiday and our
imaginations wander. With that in mind, Christensen brings us this
collection of 14 stories, divided into three parts.

In “Friends,” an artist paints a portrait of a young girl for her
mother’s Christmas present before learning that the girl died years
before in an accident. A workaholic who’d rather spend Christmas Eve
working alone at his desk is visited by office partygoers of the past
and decides it’s time to loosen up and start enjoying life. In
“Family,” a dead woman’s sorely missed butter tart recipe finally
shows up at the annual bake sale and the spirit of an old woman’s dog
keeps her safe in a dangerous neighborhood. In “Spirits of the
Season,” a man whose marriage is on the brink of ruin visits a country
witch for a special Christmas present for his wife, while a traveling
salesman selling Christmas crafts makes a call at a beautiful Victorian
house, only to discover that all is not as it seems.

This collection is recommended for readers who are looking for a light
seasonal read with a fair dose of spine-tingling thrown in for good
measure.