The Winter Spirits Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights
Reviews
Perfectly atmospheric! It was literally 17° and this still manage to transport me to snowy winter and Christmastime (from my childhood; this year we had 24° on Christmas day back home). Perhaps because of the focus on Christmas rather than winter, perhaps within newly gained confidence from the success of the first collection, the short stories in this one are much stronger. I think it could definitely made the perfect present for big readers who enjoy a cosy read.
Brief thoughts on each of the stories below; favourite ones marked with *.
"Host", Kiran Millwood Hargrave - While the story did not leave the strongest impression on me, I clearly remember starting it feeling a little discouraged and it slowly then getting me hooked. I was on the edge of my seat by the end.
"Inferno", Laura Shepherd-Robinson - A little heavy-handed at times but with a good strong concept regardless.
"The Old Play", Andrew Michael Hurley - Works off of quite a few cliches but I still found it deliciously scary and horrifying. Excellent build up of dread.
"A Double Thread", Imogen Hermes Gowar* - Straightfoward in premise and excellent in execution. It flowed so easily and kept my attention throughout, even though I knew what to expect.
"The Salt Miracles", Natasha Pulley* - I am always excited to read more from Pulley and she did not disappoint this time either. The story somehow reminded me of Ted Chiang's "Hell is the Absence of God" (which I loved), both sending chills down my spine. Something chilling about indiscriminate divine destruction.
"Banished", Elizabeth Macneal* - I cannot help but be bummed out by the fact that this based on a true story but I also enjoyed it immensely. A perfect balance of atmosphere and intrigue.
"The Gargoyle", Bridget Collins - This would be my perfect type of setting for cosy winter horror story, perhaps even my dream life (minus the horror). It certainly the one thing Collins always gets right and she manages to bring the narration to a satisfying conclusion, too.
"The Master of the House", Staurt Turton - Turton is excellent in building a mystery and making it seem like a game. I do not think this went quite in the direction I would have liked it to and it felt like its spark kind of fizzled out towards the end but it was still a perfectly serviceable story.
"Ada Lark", Jess Kidd - Perhaps the most straightforward entry. It was the one that felt the cosiest and most Christmassy to me and I would be happy to re-read it on a frosty night.
"Jenkin", Catriona Ward - This had an interesting premise but it felt too rushed; nearly would have benefitted from being a novella and swapped with something else by the same author, that fitted better within the word limit (which I assume was set to about 40 pages).
"Widow's Walk", Susan Stokes-Chapman* - Easily my favourite from the whole collection. Personally, I do not think Honoria did anything wrong but I liked the way Stokes-Chapman wove the narration, the gradual revelation and confirmation of the reader's suspicions. (I enjoyed "Pandora" quite a bit, she is an author to watch).
"Carol of the Bells and Chains", Laura Purcell - A really cool twist at the end and deliciously grisly by the end. It is always cool to see Krampus incorporated more into the Christmas lore, a legend basically made for collections like this one.
