'Twas the Fifth of December
By BP Christy
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Pristine, white snow shrouds evil things that revel in the longest, darkest night of the year. A fresh waft of peppermint brightens a monster’s foul breath. World weary ghosts have only until dawn to seek their retribution. The wind howls through the trees, or is that a choir of unearthly voices? “O Horrid Night” revives the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve, when it is said that the barrier between the living and the dead is thinnest, and spirits may walk the earth. Such tales were in vogue in Victorian England (remember good old Jacob Marley), but the origins of the tradition stretch back in time, in celebrations of the Winter Solstice, Yule, and Sol Invictus. Gather your friends and loved ones together, get cozy with warm drinks or a roaring fire, and give them the gift of a spine-chilling ancient holiday tradition.