Seth’s Christmas Stories (2025)
Biblioasis (November 2025)
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
How do I know it’s the holiday season? Is it when the stockings are hung by the chimney with care? Is it when Mariah Carey appears, like magic, on my radio?
Maybe, but the first sign is usually the arrival of a small package from Biblioasis, containing their annual set of Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories.
The series was conceived to help preserve the age-old tradition of reading ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Each year, renowned cartoonist Seth chooses three classic stories and illustrates and designs a book for each. Printed in a stocking-ready size and featuring striking covers and Seth’s distinct illustrations, these are beautiful and uniquely collectible.
But of course, none of this matters if the stories don’t equal the packaging. This year, Seth has chosen three moody, atmospheric pieces to fill your season with holiday fear…
“The Mistress in Black” by Rosemary Timperley
From the moment Miss Anderson steps foot in the school for her new teaching job, things just don’t feel right. There are whispers of tragedy, there are glimpses of figures who aren’t really there, and there’s a lingering smell of smoke. Is it an overactive imagination? New job jitters? Or is it the supernatural imprint left behind by an unimaginable act?
Timperley utilizes a host of familiar tropes to tell the secrets of Miss Anderson’s new workplace, making for a pleasant if unsurprising read. Seasoned ghost story readers will see clearly — and early — where this one is going, but should find plenty of enjoyment in the atmosphere conjured by the author. This one features my favorite cover and a couple of my favorite illustrations in this year’s set.
“Lady Ferry” by Sarah Orne Jewett
The longest story of the three, and my overall favorite of the 2025 set. A young girl, sent to live with relatives while her parents travel abroad, befriends a mysterious old woman who lives on the relatives’ sprawling estate. Rumors swirl around the old woman, who drops mysterious hints about living an impossibly long life.
As their relationship deepens, the young girl grows more curious about her elderly friend, who often mistakens people in the present for people from her past, and who constantly insists that her funeral is to follow the very next day. But before she can discover any solid truths, the summer ends and she is reunited with her parents.
Many years later, the girl returns to find her friend has passed into legend. While relieved to find that her wild imaginings about immortality were not found to be true, she’s still left with questions about why death comes to some so much later than it comes to others.
“Lucky’s Grove” by H. Russell Wakefield
This one boils down to a classic storyline: a careless party disrespects sacred boundaries, and chaos ensues. In this case, a wealthy family chooses a special tree from a sacred grove to cut down and use in their Christmas celebration, only to have a cascading series of disastrous events bring about their ruin.
While leaning heavily into atmosphere as is typical for stories in these sets, this one features a little more action toward the end. The final illustration in this volume is a gut punch of a picture that really brings the story home.
Overall, this is another fine set of Christmas ghost stories, perfect for the gray, dreary days that lead us into the magic of the holidays. As always, they are highly recommended.
