A assembly of spooky winter tales, as the dark nights draw in prepare yourself to be taken along in a range of auld time horror each more thrilling than the last.

A brilliant selection of spooky stories. Special mention to Natasha Pulley, Stuart Turton and Laura Purcell who put a new spin on the traditional ghost story.

‘So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past . . .’ - teaser.

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K. Sphere for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Winter Spirits Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights’. The collection is comprised of twelve new stories, each penned by an established author of gothic and historical fiction.

It continues the tradition of telling haunted tales at Christmas, which has flourished across the centuries. Each story in ‘Winter Spirits’ is centred around Christmas or Advent.

What struck me immediately about ‘Winter Spirits’ was that I was familiar with the work of all twelve of its contributors and rate them all as ‘must read’ authors. Usually when I read short story collections I might recognise a few names but not all of them.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t either a general introduction or notes after each story to provide background. Oh well…

Overall, I was impressed by the quality of the storytelling in ‘Winter Spirits’ and enjoyed the collection from start to finish. Each story had a unique flavour. As I would expect from these writers, the attention to setting and period detail was outstanding.

I expect that this collection will prove popular with lovers of spooky tales and would also be a great gift for those with similar tastes.

Grab some mulled wine and a warm blanket, and get ready for a night in with some of your favourite modern gothic and horror authors. This collection of 12 Christmas stories all take place at Yuletide, or advent, but with such a uniquely dark flair that makes something absolutely captivating. It's both deliriously spooky and oddly cosy at the same time; with familiar themes but wrapped up totally differently as we explore remote highlands, dark rooms and seemingly stately homes.

Desperate parents turn to the occult longing to be reignited with their lost child, the ghost of a woman scorned is calling out the truth, a writer takes a break to focus on rewriting her novel but finds more than inspiration- each story has a dazzling voice but all share that same chilling, haunting feeling that makes you think of ghost stories in front of the fireplace. It’s spooky, but playful and witty with their reimaginings of classic festive tales - this is an absolute perfect read for any book lovers this Christmas.

The Winter Spirits by Bridget Collins; Imogen Hermes Gowar; Natasha Pulley; Jess Kidd; Andrew Michael Hurley; Elizabeth Macneal; Laura Purcell; Kiran Millwood Hargrave; Stuart Turton; Catriona Ward; Laura Shepherd-Robinson; Susan Stokes-Chapman. This is a collection of short stories by the above mentioned authors all with the theme of Advent and Christmas.
The stories all boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a more modern audience. This book is ideal for the forthcoming season, as the weather gets colder and nearer to Halloween and Christmas.
Recommended

There are some incredibly creepy original stories in this collection. There were a couple that perhaps were not up to the standard of the rest, but the others more than made up for it.

A really beautiful collection of tales perfect for Winter featuring some of the brightest authors around.

Perfect for a cosy night in over Autumn/Winter. Each tale well written and woven with spooky, atmospheric stories and characters.

Twelve short spooky tales, written by twelve different authors.
I really enjoyed reading the different chapters of each author’s stories, and they are all different, but interesting in their own scary, creepy way.

It is one of those books that you could read in one go, or savour the chapters.
This is a book that can be kept for years, bringing it back out to read in those cold autumn and winter months.
I found it a good opportunity to sample stories from some authors whose books I have yet to read, but now will make a point of doing so.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

A genuine treat of a short story collection, filled with spooky wintery tales, from some utterly brilliant writers.

Each story is set in the advent to new year period, which brings with it its own twisted sense of coziness, alongside the chill of the season. Every tale is incredibly well crafted, taking us through seances, well to-do homes, and remote Scottish islands, showing us murders and cover ups, and telling us tales of dead children, long lost partners, and even Krampus, each with it’s own unique twist of spine-tingling horror.

Sometimes short stories can leave me feeling a little flat, that they end before things truly take off, but I didn’t feel that way with any of the stories in this book, which is a feat. I became invested in each story, and felt satisfied with the endings of each. Even when the stories shared similar themes, there was enough difference between the author’s voices for each story to stand and shine on its own.

All of the short stories in this anthology are winners, in my eyes, but Host by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, The Salt Miracles by Natasha Pulley, The Master of the House by Stuart Taunton, and Widows Walk by Susan Stokes-Chapman all sent genuine shivers down my spine.

I’ve read, and enjoyed, the previous collection ‘The Haunting Season’, and ‘The Winter Spirits’ took everything great from it, and made it even better. This is the perfect book to pick up if you’re looking to be a bit spooked this festive season.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

Another anthology that has absolutely wowed me.

For anthologies, by their nature they are a collection of stories with different subjects (albeit in this one similar themes) and with a lot of different authors some of the stories and voices will reach you more than others

There was not a story in this I didn't enjoy. All festive themed, most just set in the time around Christmas, and all creepy, and spooky, and definitely sinister vibes. Much darker than I was expecting, but in a good way

As I said, there was no bad story in this but Standouts for me were Inferno, The Master of the House (my favourite maybe) and Widows Walk

Highly recommend this, especially for this time of year and thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the chance to read and review this. I am so glad now I had preordered the Waterstones edition to keep on my shelf!

Cold dark evenings are finally appearing after a late Indian summer so it was just the right book to settle down with for some spookily linked stories.
Some great authors have contributed to this anthology and collectively have added some historical and mood defining tales.
From haunted houses, to spiritual visitors amongst Victorian attics and wild Scottish islands these are clever short stories that have a good spread of characters and atmosphere.
Twelve tales (as in the twelve days of Christmas?) were chilling for the season of fogs, snow and darkness often with gothic influences of spectres and folklore mystery.
Grab yourself a class of something warming close the curtains and curl up with this wonderful collection.

The tradition of reading ghost stories at Christmas really needs to be mainstream. I always have read Charles Dickens at this festive time, but this year I'm trying something more modern. This collection of twelve new stories is from some of my favourite authors such as Andrew Michael Hurley, Catriona Ward and Jess Kidd. I was so looking forward to reading this that I couldn't wait until Christmas.

The stories share a common theme of the supernatural and mainly set in the Victorian (or style of) era, and also mostly British. They all have an element of creepiness and the gothic about them too. With a mix of winter and seasonal traditions, the stories are definitely dark and cover the conventional Victorian ideas about madness and superstition. There are orphans aplenty and some Dickensian morality and a pinch of horror.

Difficult to choose favourites in such an excellent collection, but Host, a tale about a Victorian medium; The Salt Miracles, a chilling story set on an isolated island; and The Old Play, a story that appeals to the psyches, are the most memorable for me. Catriona Ward's story Jenkin, set in the United States, is a very unusual tale, but also typical of her work. This one I think is the most unlike the others and probably my least favourite, but there are elements I like.

All are original, stylish and very well written by successful and established authors. The anthology makes a great addition to these dark nights. Best read under candlelight to fully enjoy. Love the cover, by the way.

What a fabulous collection of creepy gotic stories by some of my favourite authors. Perfect for the winter months coming up!

Normally with short story collections there’s usually a couple that I don’t enjoy but I really liked every story in this one! Some are a little gruesome, others are creepy but they are all great fun to read!

Following on from the great success of The Haunting Season last year, The Winter Spirits is another collection of chilling short stories by some of my favourite authors.

Most are spooky, gothic tales, all told brilliantly and many of them left me wanting to read a full length ghost story! The finished book looks stunning as well - the perfect short read for Halloween or Christmas

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for the arc of The winter spirits.

Perfect for an autumn and winter read. Spooky short stories that will make you jumpy. Not every story grabbed me, but nether less I loved them.

Enjoyable and atmospheric new selection of winter chillers, predominantly ghost stories, the majority of which have a classic feel (some are modern, but many are explicitly in the history of ghost stories). Koran Millwood Hargrave, Andrew Michael Hurley and Bridget Collins stand out for me.

There’s a slightly disappointing double towards the end of the book - whether that was my mood or not, it’s not unreasonable for a couple of misses in a selection of mainly hits.

Hoping this will continue as an annual anthology following last years The Haunting Season.

A really excellent short story collection for lovers of gothic fiction. As is to be expected with a short story collection I preferred some stories to others but I can truthfully say that not a single story disappointed. My only problem is that I do a lot of late-night reading and some of these stories seriously disturbed my sleep!

What could be nicer than a collection of slightly spooky stories about winter, written by a collection of amazing authors? Answer: very little! I won't discuss each story individually but they all add up to a perfect Christmas read and ideal gift for a story lover. Some of the stories are more spooky than others, but none are too scary! This is the perfect fireside companion for a winter evening, especially as one can dip in and out with each tale being a separate story.

This is a wonderful book of eerie and ghostly tales from some very well known and well respected authors. There is only one author that I have never read before. Perfect reading for cooler, dark evening, especially around Halloween time. You'll need a cosy blanket and a hot drink to chase away the chills.