Preview
  • The Dead of Winter

  • Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures
  • By: Sarah Clegg
  • Narrated by: Hannah Curtis, Sarah Clegg
  • Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (10 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Dead of Winter

By: Sarah Clegg
Narrated by: Hannah Curtis, Sarah Clegg
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.81

Buy for $14.81

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Discover the monsters, witches, and other ghoulish creatures that make up lesser known Christmas folklore in this gleefully creepy guide–perfect for horror fans who love the wintry holidays.

When you think about Christmas, you likely picture mangers, glowing fireplaces, sweet carolers, and snow-blanketed hills. But behind all this bright magic, there’s something much darker lurking in the shadows. In The Dead of Winter, Cambridge-trained historian Sarah Clegg delves deep into the folklore of the Christmas season in Europe, detailing the way its terrifying and often debaucherous past continues to haunt and entertain us now in the twenty-first century.

Perfect for the growing mainstream audience obsessed with horror and monsters, this guide makes the perfect gift.

©2024 Sarah Clegg (P)2024 Algonquin Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Away from the turkey and tinsel, Sarah Clegg bravely escorts us to the dark side of the festive season, a wintry underworld of witches and demons, sinister customs, and strange ancient rites. A fascinating, menacing miscellany."—Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin of All Witches and Witchfinders

"Sarah Clegg's dark and delicious The Dead of Winter isn't just a frightful and sometimes funny account of Krampus, Mari Lwyd, Christmas ghosts, monster mummers, and a winter witch named St. Lucy, but is also a thoughtful examination of why these stories continue to capture our imagination. I plan on spending every Christmas now revisiting this wonderful book."—Lisa Morton, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween

"A lively, moving, thoughtful, and erudite survey of the more disturbing aspects of the modern world's most important festival. It is probably the best, and certainly the most accessible.”—Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch: A History of Fear from Ancient Times to the Present

What listeners say about The Dead of Winter

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A popular history of folklore

It's not boring, but it's also not kids' stories. If you're looking for fiction, this isn't it. It's a popular history of Christmas folklore, going back to pre-Christian practices. It uses plenty of examples of surviving practices, too. It's very good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Clegg has a far better reading voice, she should have read the whole thing.

Also, this as a travelogue was only surface level interesting, and weird to wrap it up with cries of misogyny and racism when that wasn’t even the thesis of the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!