Dec 23, 2025
Marjorie Bowen’s short story “The Crown Derby Plate” opens as “three elderly, cheerful women” sit around a fire for a cozy Christmas. They talk of a nearby estate that is rumored to be haunted when one of the women remembers that they had beautiful Crown Derby china that she wants for her antique shop. So,...
Dec 9, 2025
In E. Nesbit’s story “The Shadow,” a vibrant Christmas party has gone late into the night, and everyone stays over at the manor house, given the late hour. Three women are sitting up around the fire with cocoa in hand, gossiping about boys and telling spooky stories. One woman, though, has an especially...