Name: The Winter Spirits
ISBN: 9781408727577

Laura Purcell

Andrew Michael Hurley

Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Stuart Turton

Imogen Hermes Gowar

Bridget Collins

Natasha Pulley

Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Jess Kidd

Elizabeth Macneal

Catriona Ward

Susan Stokes-Chapman

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASON COMES A DAZZLING COLLECTION OF NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GHOSTLY TALES. Featuring new and original stories from: Bridget Collins Imogen Hermes Gowar Kiran Millwood Hargrave Andrew Michael Hurley Jess Kidd Natasha Pulley Elizabeth Macneal Laura Purcell Susan Stokes Chapman Laura Shepherd-Robinson Stuart Turton Catriona Ward The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories - authored by some of today's most loved and lauded authors of historical and gothic fiction - are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience. Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret, and drawing inspiration from festive traditions from all around the globe, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights. So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of Christmases past . . .

Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights

The Winter Spirits

3.5 stars. Another collection of seasonal short stories, The Winter Spirits wasn't as great as its predecessor, The Haunting Season, in my opinion.

This time around, there are more stories, and I really wasn't impressed with most of them. They were all entertaining but many were forgettable. I also noticed more glaring editing issues than in the first volume.

A couple issues I had are that it's unclear when exactly some take place. I don't really like not knowing the time exact year or period, but I fully acknowledge this is bothersome to me and probably not anyone else. It's just vague when it comes to many of the stories' settings, and I like to feel fully oriented in time and place, even for just a short story.

I've also noticed there seems to be an alarming amount of violence against dogs in these books; The Haunting Season is guilty of this, too. That takes away from my enjoyment, especially as these are marketed as Christmas ghost stories.

Yet, Christmas just seems to be a convenient time to set these stories. For the majority, the holiday has little or nothing to do with the actual plot. It just seems like some authors hurriedly worked in a few festive descriptions in order to make it into this collection. That takes some enjoyment away from me as well.

The biggest (and perhaps only) standout for me was "The Salt Miracles." Some others I can hardly remember and I just finished the book! Yet, I'm still thinking about a couple stories from The Haunting Season. Maybe adding more authors/stories in this follow-up companion wasn't the best idea.

Overall, some really missed the mark while others were able to conjure true Christmas ghost stories. "Jenkin" for example started with a strong, unique premise but quickly let me down and took a weird turn. "The Master of the House," while thought provoking was also just ultimately weird and a little out of place.

"Widow's Walk" and "Banished" and the other female-centric stories were, as I've said, enjoyable enough but not groundbreaking and I don't see them sticking with me.

It's still a good seasonal read. I do enjoy short stories, so I may reread some of the selections here in holiday seasons to come.

Amanda

3.5 stars. Another collection of seasonal short stories, The Winter Spirits wasn't as great as its predecessor, The Haunting Season, in my opinion.

This time around, there are more stories, and I really wasn't impressed with most of them. They were all entertaining but many were forgettable. I also noticed more glaring editing issues than in the first volume.

A couple issues I had are that it's unclear when exactly some take place. I don't really like not knowing the time exact year or period, but I fully acknowledge this is bothersome to me and probably not anyone else. It's just vague when it comes to many of the stories' settings, and I like to feel fully oriented in time and place, even for just a short story.

I've also noticed there seems to be an alarming amount of violence against dogs in these books; The Haunting Season is guilty of this, too. That takes away from my enjoyment, especially as these are marketed as Christmas ghost stories.

Yet, Christmas just seems to be a convenient time to set these stories. For the majority, the holiday has little or nothing to do with the actual plot. It just seems like some authors hurriedly worked in a few festive descriptions in order to make it into this collection. That takes some enjoyment away from me as well.

The biggest (and perhaps only) standout for me was "The Salt Miracles." Some others I can hardly remember and I just finished the book! Yet, I'm still thinking about a couple stories from The Haunting Season. Maybe adding more authors/stories in this follow-up companion wasn't the best idea.

Overall, some really missed the mark while others were able to conjure true Christmas ghost stories. "Jenkin" for example started with a strong, unique premise but quickly let me down and took a weird turn. "The Master of the House," while thought provoking was also just ultimately weird and a little out of place.


"Widow's Walk" and "Banished" and the other female-centric stories were, as I've said, enjoyable enough but not groundbreaking and I don't see them sticking with me.

It's still a good seasonal read. I do enjoy short stories, so I may reread some of the selections here in holiday seasons to come.

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.

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.

The Winter Spirits Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights