Reviews

Collected Christmas Horror Shorts III by Lex H. Jones

ericarobyn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Collected Christmas Horror Shorts III presented by KJK Publishing is another collection of killer holiday tales that horror fans need to read around the holiday season! From fed-up elves and a drugged-out Santa to horrific cosmic creatures and ghosts, this collection covers a great variety!

I’M OBSESSED WITH THIS COLLECTION! I loved every single story so much! Five out of five stars for all of them!

If I had to pick out a top three (in no specific order), they would be as follows –

• The Legend of Ho Ho Howard by RJ Roles
• Lords of the Sleigh by Gage Greenwood
• Three Sizes Too Small by John Durgin

Per usual, here are my notes on each story!

The Fourth Emergency Service by Lex H Jones – 

While working at an emergency service center, the staff of gifted individuals have one main rule; end the call properly. When this woman gets an angry caller, she doesn’t get the chance to follow that one rule… 

What a sad but neat premise this one has! The thought of work following them home was so unsettling! 

The Legend of Ho Ho Howard by RJ Roles – 

Sneaking around to stay up late and try to spot Santa, this young boy witnesses something else… something terrible. 

Oh my gosh, the scene where everyone but the boy was asleep was chilling! This poor kid… this story takes the theme of staying in bed or else on Christmas Eve to the extreme! 

Tis The Season by Daemon Manx – 

Having a rotten day, this man is dreading the upcoming holiday season as it brings up trauma from childhood. But he has no idea how bad his day is about to become…

What a spooky premise! You just never know what a mall Santa could whisper to a kid… Yikes!

We Want To Sing You A Song by P.J. Blakey-Novis – 

Trying to do better, this man thinks he’s finally broken the cycle but instead finds himself in a new cycle that he can’t control. Haunted by an event from his past, he’s forced to face a group of kids every night until he remembers. 

Such an eerie tale with darkness hidden within the forgotten memory! 

A Wanted Man by Shaun Hutson – 

Sent on a mission to kill a man, these two get it done the same night. Only after the job is completed do they get to learn why their boss wanted the man dead. 

Phew! What brutal body horror. I loved not knowing who the target was until the very end! 

The C-Word by Matthew Cash – 

Determined to purge his life from anything that reminds him of Christmas, this man spirals before deciding it’s just in his blood. But can he turn things around or is he really done with the big day? 

I loved how unsettling this was as we watched this man make the most wild connections tonight Christmas, but it also makes you see how much joy there is if you want there to be! 

Mari Lwyd by David Watkins – 

Told not to open his door to any knocking on Christmas Eve, this man gets drunk and forgets the warning. But opening the door was only one of his bad decisions… 

Ugh, the hints that all was not well here were dropped in perfectly, slowly hinting to readers what had happened before the big reveal. Such great gut-punch horror! 

The Last Christmas by Veronica Smith – 

Fed up with Santa and the life he has been providing the elves, the elves decide to drug his eggnog to make this Christmas one to remember. But they couldn’t have guessed how a Santa would react…

This tale was brutal and it only got worse and worse! Phew! What an unhinged slasher! 

Lords of the Sleigh by Gage Greenwood – 

Determined to make things in their lives better, these three boys make a plan to force Santa to help, or else. Of course, this tale goes down the “or else” path…

I absolutely LOVED this tale! Heartbreaking considering the circumstances of these poor boys and the wishes they make. But what a wild plan that’s such a blast to read! I loved all of the magical holiday elements here! And that ending… 

Three Sizes Too Small by John Durgin – 

Cursed to stay in a town where a green monster comes out of its lair once a year on Christmas Eve to hunt, the townspeople prepare. They know there isn’t much they can do to stay safe, but they try anyway. But when one man spots a child running after the curfew, he knows he needs to act.

What a fun and super violent twist on the Grinch story! The body horror is brutal and it pairs so nicely with the love this family has for one another. 

My Favorite Passages from Collected Christmas Horror Shorts III –

“Amazing what a little experience can do to cast away ignorance.”
– The Fourth Emergency Service by Lex H Jones

Then, the figure parted his lips, allowing his smile to spread impossibly wide. He opened his mouth to reveal at least three rows of jagged pointed teeth, all stained a dingy shade of scarlet as if he had recently eaten something raw.
– Tis The Season by Daemon Manx

In a fit of rage he ran outside to shout and scream and attack every tree he could find with his axe but the axe head simply flew away like it was migrating for the coming season, and try as he did he couldn’t find it amongst the autumnal leaves.
– The C-Word by Matthew Cash

Wasn’t the fact the boys sat around the chimney waiting all Santa needed to skip the place? He knows when you are sleeping and all that jazz? And if he knows when you’re sleeping, he surely knows when you have a gun tucked into your pants, ready to rob him.
Right?
– Lords of the Sleigh by Gage Greenwood

Everyone believed in magic. They drove on unsafe highways and went to work expecting the paycheck to show up in their bank accounts. They trusted their house to stand, the electricity to function, and the wires to not spark. They went to sleep believing they’d wake up. All of it required magic, trust, faith, hope.
– Lords of the Sleigh by Gage Greenwood

They exited the house to an eerie silence. Light snow had begun to fall, blowing sideways in the sharp wind, as if they needed something else to slow them down.
– Three Sizes Too Small by John Durgin

My Final Thoughts on Collected Christmas Horror Shorts III –

Holiday horror fans, you need this book ASAP! I love how these tales are sure to give you a chill and haunt your holidays!