The Best Christmas Ghost Stories to Read by Candlelight
A chilling holiday book-list wrapped in ghosts, shadows, and long December nights.
A chilling holiday booklist wrapped in ghosts, shadows, and long December nights. These Christmas ghost stories prove that not every winter tale is meant to warm your heart. Sometimes it’s for creaking floorboards, spectral visitors, and the kind of cold that settles straight into your bones.
These winter hauntings blend holiday cheer with just enough dread to make your lights flicker, the perfect mix for dark December reading.
If you’ve ever wanted Christmas with a side of ghosts, murder, or creeping terror, this holiday ghost book list is your new tradition.
Ghost Stories by Candlelight: Hauntings for Christmas Eve
Mistletoe – Alison Littlewood
“A grieving woman, an isolated farmhouse, and a chilling holiday season.”
The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories
“Classic yuletide terrors by candlelight.”
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
“The most famous ghost story of Christmas.”
Dark Matter – Michelle Paver
“Arctic isolation, endless night, and a malevolent presence.”
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – Agatha Christie
“Murder, family feuds, and secrets on Christmas Eve.”
May your December nights be filled with flickering candles, unsettling footsteps, and ghosts who show up uninvited — but on theme.
If you like your holiday season spiked with a little dread, these stories will keep your spine tingling all the way to Christmas.
See you next week in the shadows.
Want more stories to haunt your shelves? Visit Books & Bookish for curated reads worth a candlelit night. Or visit the Library for more books I’ve read.
If you’d like to bring any of these stories home, you can find them (and many of our other dark delights) at Books-A-Million –Here