LOCAL AUTHOR PRESERVES A HAUNTING HOLIDAY TRADITION WITH VICTORIAN GHOST STORIES

STAMFORD — The winter holidays evoke warm memories of family feasts, joyful carols, and childhood wonder. But horror hides beneath the holly, and not all Christmas visitors are jolly…or alive. 

Victorians delighted in dread at Christmas, sharing chilling stories with friends and family beside the fireside. Join critically acclaimed author and anthologist William P. Simmons at the Stamford Library Friday, December 19, 2025 from 3:30-5:30 pm, as he resurrects this ancient tradition with a reading/signing of his bestselling anthologies YULETIDE FRIGHTS: VICTORIAN GHOST STORIES FOR CHRISTMAS, Vol. 1 & 2, and shares the history of Solstice supernatural fiction. 

Featuring classic and rare ghost stories from the 19th and early 20th centuries, some unprinted for a century, YULETIDE FRIGHTS features both literary masters and underrepresented authors. 

The evening’s highlight will be a reading of a rediscovered story by marginalized authoress B.M. Croker followed by an audience Q&A. Afterwards, Simmons will be available to sign his books, which will be available for purchase.  Author of fifteen books, including eleven #1 Amazon bestsellers, Simmons appears in Publisher’s Weekly, Rue Morgue, Mystery Scene, and several other noted publications. Given eight Honorable Mentions in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, he is also a poet, anthologist, and critic. As a journalist, he is best known for his interviews with screenwriters of the original Twilight Zone television series. An authority on folklore and fiction, Simmons has spoken about Christmas ghost stories on podcasts, radio, and in print. 

This holiday, celebrate like a Victorian! Visit the Stamford Library to experience ‘the other’ spirits of Christmas.