What are some famous Victorian Christmas ghost stories?

There are quite a few. 'A Christmas Carol' is renowned worldwide. It shows Scrooge being visited by three ghosts. 'The Cold Embrace' by Mary Elizabeth Braddon is also a great one. It has a very haunting feel to it. 'The Phantom Coach' by Amelia B. Edwards is another story that captures the essence of Victorian Christmas ghost stories with its ghostly apparitions and spooky settings.

Well, 'A Christmas Carol' is extremely well - known. Scrooge's transformation from a cold - hearted miser to a kind and generous person is a classic Christmas tale. Then there's 'The Pickwick Papers' by Dickens which has some great Christmas scenes. These stories often had themes of family, kindness, and the spirit of giving, which were important during the Victorian era. The settings in these stories usually depicted the Victorian society with its class differences and yet the unifying power of Christmas.

One famous Victorian ghost story is 'The Woman in Black'. It is about a mysterious woman in black who haunts a small English town, bringing death and misfortune to those who see her. Another is 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James, which tells a disturbing tale of a governess who believes the children she is looking after are being haunted by the ghosts of their former servants.

There's 'The Haunted House' which was a collection of short stories by various authors. These stories were often shared during the Victorian Christmas period. They typically had an eerie feel, with ghosts haunting old houses or having some sort of unfinished business. The Victorians liked these stories during Christmas as they added a sense of mystery and a bit of a chill to the festive season.

They often had a moral undertone. For example, in 'A Christmas Carol', the ghosts are there to teach Scrooge a lesson about kindness and generosity. The settings were typically Victorian - era locations like old mansions or gloomy streets. The language used was elaborate and descriptive, creating a spooky atmosphere.

M. R. James is quite famous for his Victorian - era ghost stories. His works are known for their slow - building horror and the use of academic settings. Another well - known author is Sheridan Le Fanu. His stories often have a sense of mystery and the supernatural, like 'Carmilla' which features a female vampire - like figure that has elements of a ghost story as well.

One well - known Victorian Christmas Eve ghost story is 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. It features the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Another could be 'The Signal - Man' by Charles Dickens as well, which has an eerie and ghostly atmosphere. There were also many other stories that were popular during that era that often involved spirits and hauntings, usually with a moral lesson attached, as was common in Victorian literature.

Charles Dickens was a very famous one. His 'A Christmas Carol' is a well - known Christmas Eve ghost story. The ghosts in it, like the Ghost of Christmas Past, play important roles in Scrooge's transformation.

The stories in 'Valancourt Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories' are rich in atmosphere. They use vivid language to create a sense of dread and anticipation. The ghosts themselves can be quite diverse, from the traditional white - sheeted specters to more complex, almost human - like apparitions with their own motives and backstories. They also often play on Victorian superstitions, like the fear of being visited by the ghosts of the dead at Christmas time, which was considered a time when the veil between the living and the dead was thin.

The most prominent author of Victorian Christmas stories is undoubtedly Charles Dickens. His works like 'A Christmas Carol' and 'The Cricket on the Hearth' are beloved. Elizabeth Gaskell also contributed to Victorian Christmas literature. Her stories often captured the social nuances of the Victorian era along with the Christmas spirit. Additionally, Lewis Carroll, known for 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', wrote some pieces related to Christmas during the Victorian period.