Let Nothing You Dismay: The Ghost of Christmas Storytelling

"All these things happen on Christmas Eve, they are all told of on Christmas Eve. For ghost stories to be told on any other evening than the evening of the twenty-fourth of December would be impossible in English society as at present regulated. Therefore, in introducing the sad but authentic ghost stories that follow hereafter, I feel that it is unnecessary to inform the student of Anglo-Saxon literature that the date on which they were told and on which the incidents took place was—Christmas Eve." - Jerome K. Jerome

 

In our Christmas episode of Risking Enchantment, Rachel and Phoebe discuss the history of Christmas ghost stories, their popularity in the Victorian era and the impact of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. We also look at the ghostly elements that can be drawn out of the nativity story and how spooky stories can actually help us enter into the spirit of the season.

 

We hope you enjoy the episode and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and blessings for the new year ahead.

 

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

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Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

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Works referenced:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The Lamp magazine - Christmas Ghost Story Competitions

After-Supper Ghost Stories by Jerome K. Jerome 

"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" Ghost Stories by M.R. James

The Mezzotint (TV Movie 2021)

"How Fear Departed the Long Gallery", Ghost Stories by E.F. Benson

The Goblin Who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens

For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio by W.H. Auden

"Into the Dark With God: A Christmas Meditation on the Incarnation, for a Troubled World" by Hans Urs Von Balthasar

The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton

"The History of Christmas Ghost Stories" by Francis Young

Winters in the World by Eleanor Parker

The Snowman (1982)

Shadows by George MacDonald

 

Things We're Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: The Story Story Podcast

Rachel: Little Women (1994) and Dickens Audiobooks