(4) 4-6 Maudlin Towers series. When the founder's School Spoon disappears from boarding school Maudlin Towers, the headmaster threatens to cancel Christmas break unless it's recovered. Friends Mildew and Sponge investigate, discovering a secret time machine, a rumored ghost, and a werewolf along the way. While the time-travel aspect becomes convoluted, the mock-Gothic elements and dry wit should attract fans of darkly comic tales. Pen-and-ink illustrations add Edward Gorey–esque visual humor.

Reviewer: Russell Perry

(3) YA After his mother's death, Michael becomes the ward of the wealthy but apparently unbalanced Sir Stephen and reluctantly spends Christmas at his estate on the Cambridgeshire fens, where all is not what it seems. Mysterious glimpsed figures, secret chambers, strange noises in the night, tragic accidents, surprising revelations, and more figure into this page-turner of a gothic novel.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Roberts. While their father seeks a doctor, sick siblings Ethan and Cathy find themselves alone at his inn. Mysterious sailor Jonah Thackeray begs shelter from a stormy night, and his tales of ghosts, horrors, and the legendary Black Ship thrill the children even as the enigma of his identity deepens. This atmospheric tale builds to a unexpected and chilling conclusion.

Reviewer: Beth L. Meister

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by David Roberts. Edgar visits his creepy Uncle Montague, who tells him scary stories. Despite a few run-on sentences and too-flowery descriptions, this collection contains some original and quite frightening tales. Some are absorbing and entertaining, others are weak, but they are appropriately gruesome in a polite Victorian way. Black-and-white line drawings enhance the mood by channeling Edward Gorey.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess