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The Dead of Winter
- Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis, Sarah Clegg
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
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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.
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
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