In "Ghost Stories For The Festive Season," writer Glenn Riley has has masterfully written and curated a collection of ghost stories that evoke the spirit of the festive season in the most spine-tingling way. This compendium isn't your ordinary gathe...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Pass me another log for the fire, would you Andy?" James asked, holding out his hand expectantly. Andy leaned over and grabbed a thick piece of oak from the pile next to the hearth, the embers glowing warmly as he added it to the flames.
"Much better," James said, rubbing his hands together. "It's absolutely frigid out there tonight."
The group of five friends were gathered in James' living room on Christmas Eve, enjoying an evening of festivities before the big day tomorrow. There was Andy and Rachel, James' childhood best friends, Sophie, Rachel's roommate from college, and Chris, Andy's coworker from the office.
They were bundled up in woolen sweaters and thick socks, the room aglow from the sparkling lights on the Christmas tree and the crackling fire. On the coffee table sat five mugs of hot apple cider, a plate of sugar cookies, and the fixings for making s'mores. It was their little tradition every year - to get together on Christmas Eve and spend the night telling scary stories. Sure, it wasn't as thrilling as when they were kids, but they still enjoyed trying to spook each other.
"It really is perfect ghost story weather out there," said Sophie, peeking out the frost covered window. Fat snowflakes fell softly from the dark sky. "Eerie and cold. Makes you think something sinister might be lurking out in the night."
"Well hopefully nothing sinister tries to lurk in here," Rachel said with a laugh. "I'm ready to be scared out of my wits, but maybe not that scared."
James chuckled, picking up a poker to stoke the flames. "Then let's see who has the best scary story tonight. I think it's my turn to go first..."
The friends all settled into their seats, sipping cider and nibbling cookies as James began his tale, weaving a story of a man who moved into a rickety Victorian mansion only to discover it was haunted by the ghost of a young girl. As he described the clanking of chains and strange noises in the night, Chris and Sophie pulled their feet up onto the sofa, eyes wide. Andy laughed at a particularly chilling part, the fire casting haunting shadows across their faces.
Outside the wind began to pick up, whistling through the eaves and rattling the shutters. The friends were too engrossed to notice as the snow began falling faster, the winter storm ramping up in intensity.
"And when he pulled back the curtain, there scratched into the glass in front of him were the words 'YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE'...the end!" James declared loudly. Rachel and Sophie screamed while Chris snorted into his cider.
"Not bad, man, not bad," Andy said, chuckling as he got up to grab the bag of marshmallows.
"I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight," Sophie said. "I swear I thought I saw a face in the window behind you."
"Oh stop," Rachel chided. "You're just letting James' story get to you."
Andy plopped back down on the sofa and stabbed a marshmallow with a skewer. "Why don't you go next then Rachel? Try and top that creepy tale."
