There’ll be scary ghost stories / And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago…It’s a line in “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” that has created pause since its release in the early ’60s. Why are we telling ghost stories–which is more commonly related to Halloween–at Christmas? Well, as it turns out it, it comes from a Victorian tradition that has since fallen out of use–save this perplexing reference. Learn more about this haunting Yuletide history, below.
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Why Are We Telling “Scary Ghost Stories” in The Christmas Classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you, “Be of good cheer!”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
One of the most famous Christmas stories of all time is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It’s through this story of woe and heeding advice from ghostly figures that we see this Victorian tradition come to life.
Despite modern Christmas being a time of love and cheer, many in Victorian era England found it far more morose. The long, dark nights of winter provided the perfect backdrop to a spooky tale. Eventually, through the generations, telling ghost stories became a facet of everyone’s holiday celebrations.
“For a very, very, very long time, [the season] has provoked oral stories about spooky things in many different countries and cultures all over the world,” folklorist Sara Cleto once said.
As time went on, the tradition was commodified, leading professional authors to write lasting ghostly tales that would be picked up every year at Christmas. Dickens is perhaps the most famous example of this. Despite an increase in publications furthering this tradition in England, it failed to catch on in America.
The American Christmas was all about joy, laughter, and togetherness. Those attributes left little room for telling ghost stories around a fire. A Christmas Carol was the exception. Dickens’ fame made the work a hit overseas, holding on to the last semblances of this withering tradition.
Because telling ghost stories at Christmastime failed to find its way into American life in the Victorian era–and certainly wasn’t a thing in the early ’60s–it’s a wonder why the songwriters chose to include this nod in “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” We can at least give them points for trying to keep a bit of history alive.
Revisit this holiday staple, below.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
There’ll be much mistletoeing
And hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
There’ll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There’ll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago
(Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
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