Read Online Christmas Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley - Free Book Online

train on the prairies of America, surrounded by Sioux Indians.
    As the boys broke off before launching once again into yet another rendition of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, Simon stared in horror as the ghastly figures in front of him moved a step nearer.
    They were now only inches away. Looking from face to grim face, Simon saw a thin man with a broken nose, an old woman with her grey hair in plaits, a boy with large ears sticking out from a mop of black hair. Behind them stood a dozen others. Behind those, who knew how many more? All of them looked like they would tear the boys apart every time the singing faltered.
    But though seeing this horror was sending the boys to the brink of madness, it was nothing compared to the fear they experienced when the oil in the lamp finally burned dry and the whole scene descended into pitch-darkness.
    This caused all the boys to stop singing at once, until the touch of the dead against their faces as they crowded in made them sing out again in a last-ditch bid to fend them off.
    ‘Close your eyes!’ shouted Simon. ‘And sing!’
    ‘ In the bleak midwinter . . .’ they sang, their voices now cracked and feeble.
    Having their eyes closed did help a little. It made the darkness feel as though it was their choice. They did not, in any case, wish to see the crowd now squashing them inside a tight circle and whose faces now pressed against their own, muffling their singing and making it difficult even to breathe.
    The boys sang all night, until their voices were barely audible. Simon was just thinking to himself that without the others beside him he might well have fallen to the ground his legs were so weak, when he suddenly realised that the pressure he’d felt against the front of his body was no longer there.
    Gingerly opening his eyes, while singing in a hoarse and gasping whisper, he saw that the sky was glowing with the first light of dawn and the boys now stood alone on Belldew Common.
     
    Richard had attempted to tell his parents what had occurred that night and had been threatened with a private asylum if he did not immediately say he was joking. Simon and the others decided they would not make the same mistake. They swore never to mention the matter again – even among themselves.
    And it was Simon’s idea to give all of their proceeds to the church roof fund and keep none of it for themselves. The money seemed tainted now. He had vowed to himself on Belldew Common that he would sacrifice the money if he could just escape from that terrible horde. In any case, after what he had been through, a beating from Martin Curtis held no great dread.
    The vicar was delighted with the money for the roof and called the boys his ‘angels’, but was then astonished to hear that each and every one of them was leaving the choir. When he asked why, Simon explained that they had all lost their taste for singing – overnight.
    Simon Littleton could never abide to hear carols sung for the rest of his life, and it only took a few notes of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ to send him into a gibbering fit.

6
    Soot
     
    Elizabeth Farmer wished they were back at home. She simply could not understand why they had to spend Christmas here at all. Just because her aunt and uncle had bought this stupid house, she didn’t see why they were supposed to get excited about it.
    For months now, she had suffered letter after letter being read out by her mother, telling her every unwanted detail about the purchase and the rebuilding work.
    Farthing Lodge had been deserted and dilapidated, and though it had been very cheap because of the state it was in, her aunt and uncle had been forced to spend a fortune on the renovation. The work had gone on and on, but they had absolutely insisted that it be completed in time for Christmas. They had only moved in a few days before and, to celebrate, they had invited Elizabeth and her parents to stay with them for the festivities.
    It was true, the house was very grand –