Christmas Ghost-Story Gatherings

Ghost-story telling became closely associated with Christmas gatherings in nineteenth-century Britain. Seasonal periodicals, family reading and authors including Charles Dickens helped sustain the practice, while M. R. James became associated with telling supernatural tales to an audience during the Christmas period.

This is a literary and social custom rather than evidence for a uniform ancient midwinter ritual. Its importance lies in the seasonal setting of oral and printed storytelling.

Source trail: British literary history of Dickens, Victorian periodicals and M. R. James.

Related Journal article: British Ghost Stories.