Christmas is a time of magic and wonder but for the Northern Hemisphere it darkness, cold and the thinness of the veil between the living and the dead. It is a time of great power when the unquiet spirits of the world take to the night before the Winter Solstice. It is Yuletide - a time stretching from December and the pre-Christian Christmas and into New Year.
This chapbook contains AI illustrated images to accompany each tale with legends, myths and folklore from Austria, Germany, Iceland, Canada, Poland, Australia and England. It include the anxiety rivalry between the Oak and Holly kings; the goblin-like Kallikantzaroi who dwell beneath the World Tree becoming enraged if disturbed; The Yuletide sister witches of opposing appearance and offering blessings or a cure; or the Krampus who steals and beats misbehaving children; the sorceress Lussi who rides a white stag with a horde of sprites alongside her with the Wild Hunt; or perhaps, The Yule Lads from Iceland who kidnap lost and badly behaved children for the their witch mother Gryla to eat.
These are are darkest of tales few of us hear at Christmas. Explore if you dare!