Mary Rickert

"What happens when the Krampus come?" "Chaos."

After her family are murdered and the family house burns to the ground, Ro finds herself at a diner during the holiday season. There she meets 4 other people, all strangers, all alone. She invites them to an impromptu Christmas dinner where they share holiday ghost stories…

What Ro doesn’t know, all the years later when they all meet up again at the home of Grayson, that sometimes stories are more true that the imagination can comprehend. And that the monsters are real.

This novella is a nestling tale with a perfect atmosphere. And the ending of this story is indeed shocking. But this is less a creature holiday feature with Krampus at the center and more of a psychological horror tale of suspense that examines the cruelty of human nature. This is a tightly packed and elegantly told novella and yet it left me wanting more. And I'm not gonna lie, it isn't really a Krampus story per se. We don't see the horned beast terrorizing the characters and whipping them like we do in the movies. Here Krampus serves as a metaphor for Ro's chaotic life.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this novella. But it is certainly well-written and atmospheric and a bit shocking. Well worth an hour or two of your time on a cold winter afternoon.
… (meer)

DNF @ about 35%

The story dangles a carrot the whole time about two big secrets. "Something bad happened in the past" and "someone needs to be told something soon, before it's too late." At 35% I still don't know what either of those are. The description says as much but I didn't think we'd not progress by 35%. That is not enjoyable. I don't enjoy mysteries and in this book, the in-between, the parts not related to the "mystery", aren't enough to keep me around.

There are some really wordy reviews on & off GR but there aren't any spoilers which is infuriating. I guess it's one of them "it's about the journey books" bleh.… (meer)

I received a copy of this novella from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Roanoke Syger is an aspiring horror writer with a troubling past. One Christmas she and four strangers gather to memorialize their favorite diner. They exchange cheap gifts and tell ghost stories. One that captivates them all is the story of the Krampus. Then they drift apart as “friends” forced by circumstance are want to do. Decades later, they once again meet to celebrate Christmas, but now a mystery looms over the party. Is everything as creepy as Ro feels it is, or is she just a paranoid horror novelist? In addition, exactly what or who is Krampus?

When I received this novella from the publisher, I was ecstatic. I am a huge Krampus fan. I have been to Krampusnachts around the country and I even have a mask to hang on the wall. There is just something about the monster that is appealing to me. Maybe because during a time of year of magic and jocularity, Krampus reminds us that the night is longer than the day and that there are consequences to our actions. Krampus is the antidote to too much Hallmark Holiday Cheer ™.

Yet, this is not the kind of Krampus story I was expecting. Not even, close. Instead of a long-tongued holiday demon, this is a look at the monsters around us. The demons we walk past every day and ignore. The monsters waiting for the chance to strike, but we are too naïve to see them.

Despite the initial slight disappointment, I found myself really enjoying this novella. M. Rickert has a good voice in their prose. There was this sense of dread that was pervasive throughout. Even in the most mundane scenes, there was a feeling that something was just off. As if we were reading seconds before a corpse was discovered. It made for a gripping page-turner.

I definitely recommend it. If this winter you are overdosed on holiday cheer, then give it a read. It will put thoughts of jingle bells out of your mind and make you appreciate the Christmas lights that hold back the winter night.… (meer)