THE ROVING PECKER PRESENTS: Spooky Christmastime Tales From Raincoaster!

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Greetings, Manor Hors! Periodically, "The Roving Pecker" presents urgent missives from filthy esteemed guest writers. Today's chilling entry is from Raincoaster!

The snow. The pure, driven snow. The beautiful snow. The sparkling, seductive snow.

The deadly snow.

We in Canada know that the snow, the gorgeous and mystical messenger of Winter, can be as fatal as it is stunning. But Hugh Walpole, the largely-forgotten but once-popular writer, was born in New Zealand. Nonetheless, he was educated in England from early childhood, in a series of schools which terrorized the delicate lad, so much so that he expunged all but the most prestigious from his entry in Who's Who.



His style nods to Horace Walpole (no relation except in the Gothic and psychological nature of their writing), Nathaniel Hawthorne (particularly in this story), and to his dear (perhaps intimate) friend Henry James. Mannered, tense, subtly building to a climax that seems inexorable but may also be nothing but a fatal delusion, "The Snow" is a story of revenge, of guilt, of uniquely feminine hatred, of the fragility of the human heart, and the terrible cost to be paid if you cannot just get your relationships right.

This is not a religious story, though it is a supernatural one, and looks at the Victorian and Edwardian traditional Christmas ghost story with slitted, jaded, 20th Century eyes. This ghost, she's not about to jangle chains or give you a message from loved ones departed; she's here to…

Well, you'll see.


The full text of "The Snow" on Gutenberg is RIGHT HERE. The page also has his FULL book of Christmas ghost stories - and please don't read "Tarnhelm" in the dark. Trust.

If you prefer hearing "The Snow" as a podcast, I can recommend THIS ONE by EnCrypted Horror on YouTube, although there are many excellent versions kicking around. This one is narrated by Jasper L'Estrange.

And if you want to know the the deadly hows and whys of snow, bundle up and learn more RIGHT HERE. Brrr!

Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons

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