Spooky Christmas Stories: Otherworldly Winter Tales

In this one-time class, we will explore the old tradition of telling chilling stories during the long dark nights of winter, especially surrounding Christmas and the Winter Solstice. The stories we will focus on come mainly from the Victorian era, when there was a particular fascination with ghosts and all things otherworldly, but we will see that spooky wintry tales extend further back into the past as well. As part of the class, I will share excerpts from these tales and invite discussion surrounding the customs, themes and lore that these stories invoke. Students should walk away with a better understanding of well-known stories, and should also have fun learning new ones along the way. 

Topics Covered:
- Storytelling traditions associated with Christmas (and other winter related holidays)
- Historic ghosts and other entities associated with Christmas or the winter season
- The fascination with the supernatural in Victorian literature and society
-  Related themes in Victorian literature, including issues related to class, age, gender and societal roles, which are reflected in these spooky stories
- Comparisons with 20th Century and later Christmas stories

These topics will be presented with accompanying downloadable PowerPoint slides and invitations for discussion. The bulk of the class, however, will consist of reading excerpts from the selected stories. While the focus will be on the source material, my teaching style allows for open exploration and interpretation from students, and I invite all forms of respectful discussion and/or questions that may arise. 

Stories Referenced or Told:
- A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens, 1843)
- The Old Nurse's Story (Elizabeth Gaskill, 1852)
- The Kit Bag (Algernon Blackwood, 1908)
- Between the Lights (E.F. Benson, 1912)
- Smee (A.M. Burrage, 1931)

No background knowledge of these stories (or any specific knowledge of English literature) is required.