After-Supper Ghost Stories

Jerome blends humor and horror in a delightfully strange collection of tales told on Christmas Eve. As a family and their guests gather around the fire after dinner, they begin sharing ghost stories—some eerie, some absurd, all increasingly bizarre. What begins as a lighthearted tradition soon spirals into surreal territory, as the line between storyteller and specter begins to blur.

With ghosts that seem to slip from fiction into reality, and a narrator whose credibility is as questionable as his sobriety, this comic twist on the ghost story genre pokes fun at Victorian conventions while embracing the eerie charm of Yuletide tales. Fact and fantasy intertwine, leaving characters—and readers—uncertain of what’s real and what’s merely imagination run wild.

First published in 1891, After-Supper Ghost Stories is a witty and satirical gem, perfect for fans of classic ghost stories with a playful edge. It reminds us why Christmas is the perfect time to gather around the hearth, swap strange stories, and wonder what shadows might be lurking just beyond the candlelight.