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Scary Book of Christmas Lore
Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World | Tim Rayborn
11 posts | 4 read | 8 to read
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen...but do you recall the most petrifying Christmas figures of all? Not all children fear just a lump of coal in their stockings. Discover the terrifying Yuletide fables that have horrified kids for generations. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake. This lighthearted song is a bit more ominous in the context of other Christmas traditions. From beasts that threaten to cook children into stew to sinister crones who snatch little ones from their beds, you won't find any dancing sugar plums here. Outside of the heartwarming Christmas tales we all know and love, there are an abundance of frightening stories to chill all who hear them to the bone. Discover folklore from all corners of the world, including: Krampus (Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and northern Italy), a demonic half-goat monster who drags chains and whips bad children with birch sticks, or stuffs them in his sack to take away The Kallikantzari (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Turkey), goblins who come out during Advent to cause mischief Pre Fouettard (France, Belgium, Switzerland), Saint Nicholas' eternal cannibal manservant who deals with naughty children Hans Trapp (Alsace-Lorraine, France), who roams the countryside disguised as a scarecrow and goes door to door on Christmas looking for children to feast upon Gryla (Iceland), the giant ogre who emerges from her cave on Christmas to hunt children and cook them into stew Mari Lwyd (Wales), a creature with a horse's skull and a long cloak that is followed by a group of chanting people Frau Perchta (Austria and Bavaria), who slits the bellies of bad children and stuffs them with straw These tales are sure to leave you wishing for the Grinch. Whether you are a fan of history and folklore, you love learning about different cultures, or you just want to give a holiday gift that will bring the joy of Christmas to that lucky someone (just kidding), The Scary Book of Christmas Lore is for you. 'Tis the season! Is it beginning look a lot like Christmas, yet?
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review
bumpinthenight
Mehso-so

All in all I found this book a little misleading and was hoping for more of the “terror” in the “50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World” cover description. It was fairly repetitive, but if you think of it as an introduction to winter/yule lore it‘s not a bad book. There are 50 entries, many with an illustration but they‘re all a broad summary lacking many details.

review
Megara
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Mehso-so

Manage your expectations if you decide to pick up this book. You won't find enchanting storytelling of Yuletife folk horrors to share around the fire nor will you find a thorough encyclopedia. You'll have to look elsewhere, as there is not even a bibliography. Instead, you'll read brief explanations and histories of these traditions.

The rest of my review:

https://bibliolatry.blog/2024/12/09/book-review-scary-book-of-christmas-lore

bumpinthenight Agree - was disappointed and it took forever to get through because it just wasn‘t engaging. 1w
9 likes1 comment
quote
bumpinthenight
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“But what many people don't know is that the Christmas ghost story was a staple of late Victorian holiday tales, and people loved to read and listen to scary stories of ghosts and haunt-ings set during the chilliest days of the year. The cold weather, the gloomy fog, the bare trees, the snow-covered ground...all of these made for fertile imagery for tales of spooks and delight.” pg 56

16 likes2 stack adds
blurb
bumpinthenight
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I am a creepy but bright and shiny festive person around Christmas. I just started a Krampus/christmas/yule tattoo sleeve. Super pumped - but I also love the bright and shiny happy parts of Christmas too!

#naughtylistholidayswap #NLHS

WildAlaskaBibliophile Super cool! 😍 4w
11 likes1 comment
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BookwormAHN
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Okay I admit I like a creepier Christmas than most and personally I prefer to celebrate the Winter Solstice with lots of music. I think The Black Parade works as a Christmas album 🖤
#SeasonalSpiritShare #SSS @dabbe

dabbe I 🖤 it! Creepy is necessary from October-December! Thanks for sharing; you're on the #sss list! 🧡🍁🤎 1mo
KadaGul 🖤❤️Epic 🖤❤️🖤💙 1mo
Deblovestoread Fantastic music choice! 🖤 1mo
57 likes3 comments
blurb
bumpinthenight
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I should be taking my midterm but instead I‘m reading creepy Christmas and Yuletide stories gearing up for my Krampus/Christmas sleeve next weekend.

#folklore #christmas #yuletide #creepy #lore

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JessClark78
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PuddleJumper 🖤🖤 3mo
44 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
AmandaBlaze
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The villains of Christmas are showcased in this book of folklore from various countries.
#ReadAway2024 @Andrew65 @DieAReader
@GHABI4ROSES

DieAReader 🥳Awesome! 11mo
32 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
AmandaBlaze
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review
JessClark78
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Pickpick

‘Some children fear more than just a lump of coal in their stocking.‘

A look at the grimmer side of the Yuletide season. This was really interesting. Lots of great illustrations.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#RushAThon #WinterCosy #ScaryChristmas
#CandylandReadathon #WinterGames2023
Holiday/Wintery Read +25
#WordSearch (441) +4,410

+4,436 points #TeamReindeerGamers

Andrew65 Excellent 🎄🎄🎄 12mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 12mo
PuddleJumper 💙💙 12mo
Catsandbooks ❄️🍭❤️ 12mo
45 likes4 comments
blurb
JessClark78
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LeahBergen This sounds fun! 12mo
Andrew65 Looks tailor made, hope you enjoy it. 12mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 12mo
BookmarkTavern Love this cover! 12mo
Catsandbooks 🍭❄️❤️ 12mo
51 likes1 stack add5 comments