The Christmas Troll and Other Yuletide Stories

Book excerpt: Varla Ventura, fan favorite on Huffington Post’s Weird News, frequent guest on Coast to Coast, and bestselling author of The Book of the Bizarre and Beyond Bizarre, introduces a new Weiser Books Collection of forgotten crypto-classics. Magical Creatures is a hair-raising herd of affordable digital editions, curated with Varla’s affectionate and unerring eye for the fantastic. Beware the Scandinavian Christmas Troll! They love to dance and drink through the night on Christmas Eve. If you are in Bavaria, take heed of the Berchte--a wretched bogey who cuts the stomachs open of naughty children. In this wonderful collection of folkloric traditions from early 20th century author Clement A. Miles you will find werewolves, devils, goblins, curses, hexes, and rituals of the dead, all as they relate to Yuletide celebrations around the world.