Christmas Ghosts and Occult detectives are a part of both the Horror and Mystery genres. The reason for this was in the early days of magazine literature the two genres were linked by their common cause of presenting an unearthly problem. How the author chose to solve that seemingly supernatural conundrum pushed the tale onto one side of the line or the other. Some writers, like William Hope Hodgson, tried to sit on the fence.
In another post I dealt with whether Occult Detective stories could be truly scary. (I, like M. R. James, feel ghost should always be scary.) If you don’t think it is possible, check out H. Russell Wakefield’s “Ghost Hunt”. He does a great job of presenting a very modern (for the times) scenario and a ghostbreaker, and still scares the pants off you.
Because of this duality, I have collected together some great Christmas ghost story listens but some are true Horror tales while others are more earthly Mystery stories. If you don’t already know the tale, you won’t know which type of tale you are in for until the end. (I envy you.)
C. Auguste Dupin by Edgar Allan Poe
“The Murders in the Rue Morgue”
Martin Hesselius by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Sherlock Holmes by A. Conan Doyle
Flaxman Low by E. and H. Heron (Kate and Heseth Prichard)
Dyson by Arthur Machen
John Silence by Algernon Blackwood
Carnacki by William Hope Hodgson
The Master of Mysteries by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
“The Mystery of the Circular Chamber”
The Ghosthunters by Allen Upward
“The Secret of Horner’s Court”
Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie
“The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb”
Dr. Gideon Fell by John Dickson Carr
“The Devil in the Summer House”
Mythos Busters by H. P. Lovecraft
Jules de Grandin by Seabury Quinn
Some Single Pulp Tales
“Alymer Vance and the Vampire” by Claude Askew
“The Passing of a God” by Henry S. Whitehead
“The Half-Haunted” by Manly Wade Wellman
Conclusion
If you enjoyed these classic ghostbreakers, you might like to try a more modern one. The Book Collector is a fellow who has the tough job of retrieving mystical tomes from renters who try to cheat his boss, Telford. Two of my tales were done for listening at Pseudopod. They were read in a Noir style by Ben Phillps. Here is “Goon Job” and “Merlin’s Bane”. Enjoy!
