Christmas Short Stories Anthology

Seth Hardin is devoted to his career as a Navy SEAL, but his ex couldn't handle the pressures of being a military wife. Now he's resigned to spending the holidays alone, until he gets snowed in with Maria Hoskins and finds there are far greater gifts than just the material kind.

It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it? Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows, and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened. 'Tis the season to be screaming along with our 13 tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more! This Christmas, be careful what you wish for....

In a small town in the American South, it is night in the middle of the 20th century. Carter, a high-school teacher and football coach in the newly desegregated schools, is awaiting news of two of his students who have been in a serious altercation. Outside the building where Carter has kept his vigil, a crowd of townspeople have also gathered to keep watch. Carter must choose how much he wants to participate in the spectacle and how much he can afford to keep his distance.

Here is the preface to 12 magnificent stories, originally part of The John Cheever Audio Collection, in which John Cheever celebrates - with unequaled grace and tenderness - the deepest feelings we have.

It all started ten months ago. I had just gotten to Fallen Peak and met my new boss. Ledger Miles. He’d be the man of her dreams if he wasn’t such a jerk. When the accident happens and I’m called to the hospital, I’m shocked to learn that Ledger doesn’t remember his life. In fact, the only thing he is sure of, is that we’re married.

Tantor Media presents a collection of some of the most popular Christmas stories read by award-winning narrators Renee Raudman and Alan Sklar. This special anthology will transport listeners back to the Christmases of their youth, when they first heard these holiday tales.

Christmas is coming to Salem, but so is an evil force that threatens all mankind. In this memorable collection led by New York Times best-selling author Heather Graham, four powerful Keepers must save their community as a strange, eternal night creeps over the town. Forced to choose between their time-honored responsibilities or the lovers their hearts desire, these four extraordinary women must risk their own happiness to save the holiday.

A delicious Christmas feast of short stories from the Sunday Times number one best-selling author of A French Affair and The Perfect Match. Add some extra sparkle to your Christmas by joining Katie Fforde for a perfect, romantic Christmas feast of short stories. Collected together for the first time and including one brand-new story. Make your Christmas wishes come true....

Twenty-five more timeless Christmas stories from Enid Blyton. The excitement of singing carols, exchanging gifts and a bit of her trademark mischief can all be found in this festive collection. Stories include 'The Pantomime Wolf', 'Christmas in the Toyshop' and 'The Extraordinary Christmas Tree'.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life Sophia Peabody. Finally, in 1850 came spectacular literary and commercial success with ‘The Scarlet Letter.’

It's Christmas in the windy city of Chicago with two award-winning stories to warm your heart for the holiday season, "Dante’s Gift" and "Merry Christmas, Henry"....

This is an omnibus that features all three volumes of Twelve Days of Christmas Horror in one box set. Including such stories as "'Twas the Night Before Murder", "The Nativity of the Living Dead", "Secret Santa for the Sadistic", "Elf on a Shelf", and "A Christmas Carol: The Aftermath". It's time for your festivities to get frightening.

Alice McKinney was supposed to be home for the holidays. Instead, she’s trapped in a blizzard, held up in a small cabin somewhere on the coast of Oregon. If that wasn’t bad enough, her brother had sent his best friend, Eric, to drive her home instead. The man of her childhood dreams. It was supposed to be a simple road trip for him, too: Go down to Cali, grab Alice, and bring her home to Portland. But spending 15 hours in a car with the girl he’d always wanted - but couldn’t have - was punishment.

A Chicago journalist finds himself in a small Texas town on Christmas Eve. Lonely and alone, he encounters old faces and new facts: a hand carved manger, a father's guilt, a young girl's faith. The trip into the past holds his key to the future, and a scarlet cross shows him the way home.

A Baker’s Dozen - A collection of 13 classic Christmas stories.

Lady Elizabeth craved excitement and adventure. Unwilling to endure further boring Seasons, she convinces her uncle, who has lived a more adventurous life than anyone else she knew, to let her work for him. A few years later, Elizabeth was established in Tuileries Castle, a servant in Napoleon's court known as Lisette Renard. John Phillip Trent has been working in the stables of Tuileries as Jean Pierre Bouvier for the past two years.

Four dark tales of the holiday spirit. In "Christmas Eve Gift", Old Bill sets out on her annual Christmas Eve journey to her niece's house and encounters an unexpected darkness along the way. In "A Dark Christmas", Alice, a dark daughter of the vampire, Elizabet, turns the table on a family of hunters. In "On the 7th Day of Christmas", Sunny finally gets to throw a party, only a monster shows up and twists a small kink into her New Year's Eve festivities. In "Twelfth Night", A 13-year-old encounters the Woman with No Face for the first time.

Steal a glimpse at the past lives and loves of your favourite villagers in this captivating Burracombe short story. Autumn 1918 has brought young Alice Whiddon to the Tozer's farm to work as a maid. Alice soon falls in love with the little village and with life on the farm. But that's not all she's falling for. Youngest son, Ted Tozer is half promised to young Ivy Prowse, daughter of a neighbouring farmer, yet Alice and Ted feel a powerful bond forming.

In spite of a brief experimentation early in their relationship, Doc and Carrie Baumgartner have since maintained a monogamous marriage without too much difficulty or even temptation - until now. A move far from home, coupled with new friends and long hours away from each other, have left the young Baumgartner couple on shaky ground. Doc believes bringing in someone "new" like they did early in their relationship might add just the spice their marriage needs, but Carrie isn't so sure about that plan.

After the death of his brother, Robert not only becomes Viscount Landers but also gives up his army career and agrees to marry his brother's beautiful fiancé to ensure the succession. When he's snowed in for Christmas with his shrewish betrothed and her attractive but practical cousin, Eleanor Carlisle, Robert realizes he's engaged to the wrong woman. As the temperature plunges, the heat is on Viscount Landers to untangle the ties of duty and the wishes of the heart.