Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Have a Bloody Christmas
    Have a Bloody Christmas
    Have a Bloody Christmas
    Ebook94 pages1 hour

    Have a Bloody Christmas

    By Dairenna VonRavenstone

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The Taylors love Christmas and everything that goes with the holiday. But this year a series of unexpected Christmas cards from a complete stranger make Christmas a holiday they will never forget.

    "Have a Bloody Christmas" is not your typical Christmas tale as it combines the festivities of Christmas with the horror that comes on Halloween.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDairenna VonRavenstone
    Release dateDec 22, 2011
    ISBN9781466009189
    Have a Bloody Christmas
    Author

    Dairenna VonRavenstone

    Dairenna VonRavenstone hails from the snowy North (Canada) where it's not all that snowy for six months out of the year. She enjoys reading a good story and boasts a personal library of over 1,000 books. Writing came as a hobby to her when she was 10 and she spent the better part of a decade honing the craft, writing an estimated 1 million words and 40 stories (novel-length and short) in various stages of completion. She is assured that most of those words will never see the light of day and be burned in a ritualistic fashion eventually. Dairenna (Renna to her friends) writes to bring joy, happiness and love into the hearts of her fans...or something like that.

    Read more from Dairenna Von Ravenstone

    Related to Have a Bloody Christmas

    Related ebooks

    Horror Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      BITS & PIECES

      Oct 5, 2021

      Each December, the paper mill in Tomahawk, Wis., gave their employees a Christmas bonus check. World War II was raging and our family, like many, was feeling a financial pinch. Today was bonus day, and as Mom drove to the mill to pick up Daddy, her t

      3 min read

    • Article

      ROLLING Back The YEARS...

      Nov 11, 2019

      Author Debbie Johnson’s children are all grown up now – but that doesn’t mean she’s changing a single thing about Christmas... “When he was little – perhaps four – my son was so convinced of the existence of Santa, in all his magical glory, that he

      4 min read

    • Article

      Tis The Season

      Nov 2, 2022

      Tis The Season
      2 min read

    • Article

      Yuletide Reading

      Sep 24, 2020

      Many classic novels and short stories contains Christmas scenes-merry or otherwise. Can you indentify the works from which these holiday passages are excerpted? 1 “Merry Christmas, little daughters! I’m glad you began at once, and hope you will keep

      3 min read

    • Article

      Merry Christmas: A Reading Of Holiday Classics By Monitor Staff (audio)

      Dec 17, 2019

      A dive into venerable old writings can add to the warmth of the holiday hearth. Even more so when they’re read aloud.

      12 min read

    • Article

      A Move And A Miracle

      Oct 5, 2021

      It was December 1957. We had been in Florida for six months. We had moved from New York state because my father and mother had lost their business. My dad thought that moving to Florida would improve our situation, but it had not. Jobs were scarce, a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Competing FOR LOVE

      Feb 5, 2020

      Competing FOR LOVE
      6 min read

    • Article

      'Tis The Season

      Nov 2, 2022

      'Tis The Season
      2 min read

    • Article

      Believing Is Seeing

      Dec 1, 2022

      Believing Is Seeing
      4 min read

    • Article

      Worst. Christmas. Ever.

      Nov 11, 2019

      As a family, we always managed to avoid festive disasters. When our dog was seen running down the street with a Christmas turkey in his teeth, our turkey was still in the fridge. But a few years ago, in my thirties and newly married, I realised it wa

      3 min read

    • Article

      My Glitterbug

      Dec 31, 2023

      My Glitterbug
      3 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Spirit

      Nov 2, 2022

      Christmas Spirit
      2 min read

    • Article

      Homemade, with Love

      Oct 25, 2018

      Homemade, with Love
      5 min read

    • Article

      Walk With Me Today

      Dec 7, 2023

      Walk With Me Today
      5 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Standby

      Nov 14, 2023

      I’m playing “Jingle Bells” on the piano and the bauble-laden tree is sparkling over my shoulder. The smell of roasting turkey fills the house and I can see filled Christmas stockings waiting to be plundered. Ah, cue Noddy Holder: “It’s Christmaaaaa…”

      3 min read

    • Article

      Present Tense

      Dec 21, 2020

      The last episode of The Crown was set at Christmastime, with the royals as buttoned-up as ever, tragic Princess Diana in a far-too-ritzy gown, and Prince Charles hissing at her hatefully. Oh dear. How like so many families, I thought, title and castl

      2 min read

    • Article

      Last Christmas

      Oct 6, 2022

      Last Christmas
      6 min read

    • Article

      Winning Letter

      Dec 23, 2022

      AS I look back at the year that was, I’m astounded by just how tough it’s been. We were all trying to adjust to a world after pandemic restrictions and masks, battling to find a new normal in a world that was anything but. And it’s not as if we start

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Southern Christmas

      Nov 1, 2023

      A Southern Christmas
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dawn Neesom Mind Of My Own

      Nov 28, 2023

      We should all take a moment to remember good – and bad – times Marley was dead: to begin with.’ Possibly one of the most famous opening lines from one of the most famous Christmas stories ever- Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It doesn’t matter

      4 min read

    • Article

      Dawn Neesom Mind Of My Own

      Nov 1, 2022

      Emotions always run higher than usual at this time of year, which means for the lonely, lost and bereaved it’s also incredibly hard. My feisty and fearless friend Patsy is facing her first Christmas without her beloved husband Nobby. They got toget

      3 min read

    • Article

      Chris Erskine: A White Christmas And A Blizzard Of Bitcoin

      Dec 18, 2017

      This Christmas I'm giving bitcoin to everyone on my list. I'm making the currency myself, at my desk, with Sharpies and dried-out Elmer's glue. It's the artisanal bitcoin the kids really prefer. Small batch. Splendidly rendered. I mean, who even know

      3 min read

    • Article

      Handmade From The Heart

      Sep 21, 2021

      When I was young, we lived in a wonderful, rambling Victorian. I loved my bedroom at the top of the stairs, with its hardwood floors, gabled ceiling, and tiny Juliet balcony. My mother sewed beautifully, but arthritis made it too difficult for her to

      6 min read

    • Article

      Dear Reader

      Jul 30, 2021

      It’s agloomy Monday morning and we’re attending a funeral in a freezing cold church in Bellville. The rain is coming down in torrents outside. It is a Cape winter like those of my childhood. We’re in the throes of the third Covid wave, so we’re all d

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Have a Bloody Christmas

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Have a Bloody Christmas - Dairenna VonRavenstone

      Have a Bloody Christmas

      By Dairenna VonRavenstone

      Copyright 2011 Dairenna VonRavenstone

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Dedication

      This Christmas Horror novella is dedicated to all those who participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2011. Without your words of encouragement and the forums, I wouldn’t have written this novella. A big thank you to Darin and Vicky who critiqued and helped to edit this. Thank you to all my friends, my segregate family and to anyone who listens to my random ramblings.

      Author Note

      I will be re-working this and other titles in the New Year (2015) so expect some changes in the coming months.

      Inspiration:

      As I was writing my NaNo novel this year, I thought of a new story idea. The idea was to paint the town red on Christmas or Have a Bloody Christmas. For another week I couldn’t think of a story to go along with the title or idea. I actually used the same concept for Book 10 of my crime fiction series. Finally, I read a few more NaNo forum posts: advice, other people’s problems, prompts and it slammed into me. I had a plot, I had characters and I realized just how morbid I am. This is NOT your typical Christmas story. You have been warned.

      Part 1: December 20th

      Snow fluttered through the air in a whirlwind of icy flakes and each was a series of individual patterns. It coated the sidewalks, lawns, roofs, buildings, tree tops and vehicles alike in a non-discriminate cloud of fluffy whiteness. Lights glowed in a multitude of bright colors through covered trees. Porches were wound with ribbons that hailed a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. Snowmen lined the streets like cheerful guards.

      People were everywhere, some in clusters and others darting through the streets as a single unit. With the most joyful time of the year only days away last minute shopping became the norm. People flocked to shopping centers to buy gifts for people they only remembered at the last minute. Children were prancing around on their holidays, lobbing snowballs at one another or sliding down steep hills.

      One man in particular had just left his job for the holidays. He was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic as he inched his way to his undecorated home. That would be remedied soon, tomorrow in fact. They would find the perfect tree to cut down first and decorate it before decorating the house and building snowmen on the lawn.

      Meetings and last minute projects had kept him at the office and working for five days later than he had originally planned but he was not too concerned. There was plenty of time to catch up and he knew between him and his multi-tasking wife, they would make this holiday special.

      The car in front of him moved and he pushed forward humming along with the Christmas carol on the radio. Christmas had always been a special time for him ever since he was young. His sister was born in December and having a new addition to the family had been an exciting curiosity for his five year old self.

      He received his first bicycle on Christmas and that created a life-long love of cycling. He had his first kiss on Christmas, got his first real pay check around the holiday season and received his first pet. A mutt of a dog named Spike. He had met his wife on December 23rd at a friend’s Christmas party. She told him she was pregnant as one of her Christmas presents to him a year after they had a winter wedding.

      For him the holiday season was filled with wonderful memories that could be passed down and cherished. Like his mother’s should-be-famous apple pie or his father’s stuffing. Thinking of his father’s stuffing reminded him about the Christmas dinner he and his wife would be hosting. The whole family would be coming to their home to celebrate and he could not wait for them to be sharing a table together with laughter and joy.

      He made a right turn and was soon pulling away from the city proper and coasting into the suburban sprawl. The traffic seemed to evaporate as he pressed deeper into cozy homes with brightly colored lights and various snowmen. Snow lined the streets and the effect was calming on his frazzled nerves. He waved to a neighbour shoveling his snow and cruised into his own undecorated driveway.

      You’re not being a Scrooge this year are you Tom? the neighbour asked with a chuckle.

      No, no, I’m going to be decorating tomorrow. Work has just been so busy and we haven’t had a free breath to even pull the boxes up from the basement, Tom responded with a smile as he hefted his laptop bag onto one shoulder and closed his car door.

      I was going to say, your house is usually the first on the block to be decked to the halls, the neighbour joked.

      Tell me about it, I hate that we haven’t been able to decorate yet. Heck, we haven’t even started Christmas shopping, Tom admitted with a laugh.

      Oh I pity you going into the malls only a few days from the big day, the neighbour whistled with a shake of his head.

      Don’t I know it. Well, see you later Jon, it’s freezing out and I know Grace has some hot chocolate ready for me, Tom told him with a wave as he began to ascend his front steps.

      Lucky guy, my Maggie doesn’t greet me at the door with hot chocolate until I’ve shoveled the drive, Jon tittered and went back to shovelling the thick white snow.

      Tom snorted at that and grabbed the handful of mail before opening the door. A blast of heat hit him and he sighed happily as he entered his home and began stomping his shoes to release the extra snow. He smelled hot chocolate wafting through the air and allowed himself a small sigh of relief as he toed off his shoes. He dropped his laptop bag and coat into the closet.

      Honey, I’m home, he shouted out as he began rifling through the mail.

      A bill was first and he rolled his eyes at that before dumping it onto the table with another bill that had to be paid. Junk mail advertising a free credit check for the holiday season was next and that went into the waste basket under the table. More junk mail followed the first bit and another bill went on the table.

      He paused slightly when he came to a bright red envelope with no return address. His own address was not even on the envelope. All the envelop read was: To my Family in a large almost illegible scrawl that angled off to one side. He made a humming sound in his throat and tucked the red envelop under one arm before throwing out the last two pieces of junk mail.

      He shuffled into the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1