When people think of Christmas, I suspect that ghost stories and paranormal literature are not the first thing that pop into their minds. Despite that, one of the most beloved works of paranormal literature is indelibly associated with Christmas and, in many ways, shaped the way we think about the holiday. I’m referring, of course, to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

You might not immediately think of A Christmas Carol as paranormal literature, but at its core, it’s a ghost story—and at times a rather frightening one. Portrayals of Marley’s ghost and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come were two of the most frightening ghosts I’d ever seen in film and they’re even more frightening when you read Charles Dickens’ original story.

What’s more, A Christmas Carol features one of the most honest and straightforward depictions of a man facing his own mortality and figuring out what his life will mean. That particular theme is one of the things that drove me to write paranormal fiction. Even when the novel isn’t frightening, its portrayal of bygone love and friendships is bittersweet and touching, as can happen in many of the best paranormal stories.

Just a week ago, I finished reading Stephen Graham Jones’ fine novel The Buffalo Hunter Hunter about an academic who is given a manuscript penned by her third great grandfather. In the manuscript, she reads about a Native American vampire who seeks out a Lutheran Minister to confess his sins to. Of course this story will come back to haunt the academic, Etsy Beaucarne, in the present.

Often when we think of horror, we think about the visceral elements or the scares. However, what really works in Jones’ novel is the sense of loss when someone dies. We get to know the characters as people and how they’re connected to families and community, so that when their lives are cut short we are not only shocked, but we feel that loss. What’s more, both Etsy and her third-great grandfather find themselves haunted by the past and their choices.

Around Thanksgiving, I read Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 about a young mother’s quest to rescue her son from the vampire-like specter Charlie Manx who has created a parallel dimension where it’s always Christmas. While Hill does show us a creepy vision of a land where no one ages and Christmas exists year-round, the book works because of its honest look at the protagonist Vic McQueen and her relationship with her parents and her son.

Garrett Dennis’s Thanksgiving poem inspired me to share a Christmas poem I wrote. Although it’s not a scary poem, it is a reflection on how the past sometimes haunts me this time of year as I both remember times gone by and look to the future. This poem first appeared in the online edition of Private: International Review of Photographs and Texts in 2008 but I have updated it slightly for this presentation.

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Ghosts of Christmas Past

As the year draws to its end, and
Darkness is reluctant to release the
World,  I find myself haunted by
Glowing specters of Christmases past.

I remember the tractor and train
I could climb aboard and ride.
I remember the tree glowing brightly
and the smells of Christmas dinner.

More than those, I remember Dad
Sharing his time with me, with
Those toys.  I remember the music
Love and laughter that filled the house.

All too soon, he would be gone.
His heart gave out and a few weeks later
Mom and I spent Christmas alone.
Years later, I married and became Dad.

Though my own father and the toys and
Time we shared have long departed,
The music, love and laughter are still there.
Only the voices have changed.

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Whichever holidays you celebrate as the year draws to a close, I hope the only spirits and specters that visit you are friendly ones and that they bring the best memories of the past and the best visions of the future. If they do scare you, I hope you’re able to turn it into a wonderfully wicked story to share in the new year!