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Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays Paperback – November 2, 2017

by Sylvia Shults (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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SPIRITS OF CHRISTMAS
THE DARK SIDE OF THE HOLIDAYS
BY SYLVIA SHULTS

It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring... but are you sure about that? The dark winter nights can hold many secrets, along with tales of both horror and hauntings. In this chilling book, Sylvia Shults has gathered over 120 tales of Yuletide Spirits, Holiday Horrors, and Christmas Catastrophes that give a new meaning to the "dead of winter."

These pages include rollicking legends of holiday helpers with dark sides; gripping accounts of Christmas season fires, train wrecks, and disasters; winter tales of phantoms and haunted houses; and a collection of Christmas spirits that are sure to send a shiver down your spine! Hearkening back to the days of the paperback anthologies of the 1960s, you'll be delighted when you unwrap this package on Christmas morning and start turning page after page of eerie and frightening tales. It's the perfect collection for the spookiest time of the year!

Previous page
  1. Print length
    242 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Whitechapel Productions
  4. Publication date
    November 2, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.51 x 9.21 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0999604007
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0999604007
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Whitechapel Productions (November 2, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0999604007
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0999604007
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.51 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tiffani Stinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Christmas gift for the paranormal enthusiast in your life.
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
Another wonderful paranormal book about the dark origins of Christmas and other holidays! Loaded with stories and myths about the holidays and how different cultures celebrate the winter season.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
Sylvia does it again! A great read. I learned things I did not even know. Who would have thought Christmas could be filled with ghost stories. I look forward to everything she writes. BUY IT!!
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The Haunted Librarian
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect gift for any paranormal enthusiast or history buff who is fascinated by unsolved mysteries or horrific events.
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2017
The Best Christmas Gifts Evoke the Horror of Christmas’ Pasts
The Spirits of Christmas: The Dark Side of the Holidays, written by Sylvia Shults, debuted last month, appearing in independent bookstores across Illinois. It can now be purchased online directly from the publisher, American Hauntings Ink (https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink) for $16. The 240 page compendium is overly ambitious—bulging with tales. However, book lovers live by the adage: More is actually, well, more—and the more tales the better! This book is packed with domestic and international folktales and historical events occurring around the Christmas season. Each of the sections could stand as its own title. But for the 2017 Christmas Season, Ms. Shults’ book will warm the bodies circled around the hearth celebrating “the weirdness that has swirled around the Christmas season for many centuries.”
Ms. Shults rarely delves into any paranormal events circulating around these horrific stories. Instead, she leaves that to the reader. She does, however, include a lot of background information for most of the stories. The organization of the contents is as important as the stories themselves. Ms. Shults groups the stories into themes: traditions; creepy characters; things that bump in the night; natural disasters turned horrific because of the season; ghost sightings; and finally ghost stories inspired from Christmas. Some are true stories written to encourage readers to Google the events themselves. Others are folktales that were believed at the time by the people who experienced the phenomena. All are fascinating. The lengths vary as to the topic.
Sylvia Shults is a gifted storyteller. She probably honed her skill by working as a Library Assistant in her busy public library system. Library staff often “booktalk” titles, a practice of giving a brief overview of a book ending with a teaser to hook the reader to check it out. Booktalks are incredibly popular and very easy for a natural-born storyteller. Ms. Shults has a knack for telling stories. Unfortunately, I would have preferred hearing more stories in her voice instead of the original source material.
The book acts as a condensed encyclopedia of horror tales set in December. They cover centuries and continents. While reading, I was drawn to America’s worst hotel fire at the Winecoff Hotel, in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 7th, 1946. The fire paved the way for better fire safety measures; however, it took the death of 119 people—some high school students—for these changes to be enacted. I reside in Atlanta and know much about this tragedy and hotel. (It has since reopened and is a gorgeous boutique hotel.)
Equally interesting was the story on the Silver Bridge Collapse on December 15, 1967. This event is widely seen as the last credible sighting of the West Virginian legend Mothman (see my blogs regarding this geographically-contained phenomenon).
The book also contains quite a few unsolved mysteries and murders. These tales may be the ones to keep readers up at night.
Ms. Shults takes creative license by embellishing some stories; however, they are done to humanize the victims. Further, I wished the citations for sources corresponded with the tales instead of in a bulk listing at the end. That’s the academic in me!
This is the perfect gift for any paranormal enthusiast or history buff who is fascinated by unsolved mysteries or horrific events.

For more information on the author: https://sylviashults.wordpress.com/
To purchase the book online: https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink
Original review posted at https://thehauntedlibrarian.com/2017/12/19/the-best-christmas-gifts-evoke-the-horror-of-christmas-pasts/.
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