Fright Before Christmas: 13 Tales of Holiday Horrors Paperback – December 11, 2015

Fright Before Christmas: 13 Tales of Holiday Horrors has 13 great horror stories with a Christmas theme. While I was reading these stories, I couldn't help but think that many of them represented a child's worst nightmares. My favorites were Medeia Sharif's story, about a video game that evokes a very evil Santa, Ally Matthews' story about two brothers who venture into the cold forest to test out a legend, and Patrick Hueller's story about a little boy who gets coal in his stocking...and learns he's lucky--really bad boys don't get to see Christmas morning. Every one of these stories was a true page turner. I found that I couldn't wait to read the next story.

A collection of tiny and twisted tales...filled with terror!They are short and pack a punch!Stories include the following: a "fleshy" debt; vindictive snowmen on a murderous mission; an eerie clockwork man; an antique book and evil Christmas carol; a sinister scarf that takes on a life of its own; hundreds of evil crows; a machete-wielding Santa; a demon-possessed nutcracker, and many more, that will push your imagination into overdrive and have you quaking in your boots! *shudders*Great entertainment!But I'm not sure if this is for tweens or adults?

Okay, so if you're looking for something to stir up some warm fuzzy Christmas feelings, you'd better go watch one of those old schmaltzy movies we all know and love, because you sure aren't gonna find them in any of these stories. Not unless the idea of a machete-wielding Santa or an ultra-creepy nutcracker with homicidal tendencies gives you a warm holiday glow, that is. Nope, the warmest thing in these stories is the blood oozing out of bodies. But what can I say? Each of these stories is entertaining, and imaginatively creepy. And short. The whole book makes for very fast, and very entertaining, reading. Looking for a little something out of the ordinary to read this holiday season? This is it!

Did you think Christmas was the most wonderful time of the year? Think again. Fright Before Christmas is a collection of stories from thirteen authors that show that Christmas may be the scariest time of the year. Evil Santas, menacing nutcrackers, and sinister snowmen will have readers hiding under their blankets.This is not a book for young readers. There are no cute ghost stories here. It's all about blood, gore, and horror. If you're looking for an edgy holiday read, this is it. Recommended for young adult/adult readers.

A fresh take on holiday horror. Original ideas and entertaining stories. Great for quick reads.

Great group of stories!“The Stench of Christmas” by Lea Story – An ancestor leaves a gruesome Christmas Eve legacy. Loved the Nova Scotia setting, and I liked how much of the creepiness was off-screen, allowing the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. Some things are scarier in your mind than on the page.“Clockwork Christmas” by Richard Ankers – A clockwork Santa delivers a girl's gifts, and she finally gets what she's always wanted. I don't read a lot of steampunk, so I can't compare to other stories, but I found the premise pretty neat!“Night of the Snowmen” by Laura Pauling – When these snowmen come to life, they're the antithesis of the sweet, playful Frosty. The imagery in Pauling's tale reminds me of the eerie feeling of being out in the snow at night—cold and creepy.“North Pole Coal” by Patrick Hueller – Gross! This story made my stomach turn. A naughty boy gets coal in his stocking. He's pretty lucky. Jimmy got worse.“Bigfoot Busters” by Jackie Horsfall – A tension-filled search for the elusive Bigfoot. This story was super fast-paced with a fun MG voice and great writing.“Finders Keepers” by Boyd Reynolds – A greedy boy gets a Christmas Eve visit from Krampus. I'm a big fan of the Krampus myth, and the doll in this story gave me the creeps. *shivers*“Frosted” by Ally Matthews – Two brothers go out into the woods to find Father Frost. I loved the set-up for this story—a Russian folk tale told by the brothers' Babushka. Matthews really made me care about the characters, which made the older brother's callousness especially chilling. This was one of my favorites in the collection.“The Carol” by Jessica Bayliss – Fun story about a music teacher who accidentally summons a trickster spirit! It was nice to get a slightly light-hearted horror story in the mix (can a horror story be light-hearted? lol). Great middle-grade voice, with a very sweet ending.“The Tell-Tale Scarf” by Judith Graves – Interesting spin on the Poe classic! A boy with a secret, and a haunted house that wants to see him punished. It was hard to tell how much of this creep-fest was in the narrator's head and how much was real—and I think that was the point.“The Tradition” by Andrea Stanet – I had no idea what to expect with this story, and I really enjoyed it! A girl convinces her family to continue their annual tradition of Christmas in a Catskills cabin. I don't want to say anything else because I don't want to give anything away! Clever premise and great execution! Another one of my favorites.“Die, Nutcracker, Die!” by Dax Varely – I really LOVED this story! High tension all the way through—very quick read. Varely sets up the conflict right away and delivers a fantastically creepy tale of an antique Nutcracker out for blood. One of my favorites!“Machete Santa” by Medeia Sharif – This one was a fun read! It is exactly what you would hope for from a story named “Machete Santa,” lol. Had the feel of a slasher B-movie—kind of cheesy but in a really enjoyable way.“Saturn Rising” by Ty Drago – Exciting, well-paced story to cap off the collection. This one explores what can happen when new traditions overtake the old—spoiler: scary, scary stuff!**I was a part of the release blitz for this book and received a free ARC.