Ghosts for Christmas?

(Los Angeles) It may seem strange, but during the Victorian Era, Christmas Eve was the time for ghost stories with families gathering around the fireplace to hear a terrifying tale. That’s why Charles Dickens, who helped popularize ghost stories by publishing them in the magazines he edited, wrote A Christmas Carol. It appeared in print just before Christmas in 1843, the year that saw the birth of the commercial Christmas card.

The practice was continued in the early 20th Century by ghost story writer and scholar M.R. James, the Provost of Kings College, Cambridge. Every Christmas Eve he would invite a select group of students to his room to hear him read one of his spooky tales.

In that vein, you might say the new novel Stop it. You’re Scaring Me arrives just in time.

Author Jonathan Mumm spent 28 years at Sacramento’s KXTV television where he earned five Emmy Awards for his California Postcard travel feature series visiting and showcasing places to go and things to do throughout the state. One of his favorite spots was Vikingsholm Castle on the shore of Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay.

Vikingsholm was built in the late 1920’s by Lora Knight in the manner of old Viking Castles dating back to the 11th Century. She purchased some 240 acres of land in the area for $250,000, including little Fannette Island that sits in the middle of the bay. Guests were invited to spend the summer, often taken by motorboat to the island to have late afternoon tea in a little tea house their hostess had constructed there.

“The beauty of the Emerald Bay area makes it one of the most photographed spots on Earth,” Mumm said. “But Vikingsholm itself is very isolated and somewhat difficult to get to. I could just imagine how it might feel to be out there by yourself with a storm rolling in and the waters of the lake crashing along the beach.”

Always a fan of ghost stories, Mumm thought the site the perfect setting for a current day paranormal thriller.

Vikingsholm is a State Park today, but in Mumm’s novel, it is still a private residence where a young woman is sent to transition after recovering from a psychiatric breakdown.

“But the things she sees and hears make her wonder if the place is haunted or if she has really recovered after all,” Mumm said.

Mumm’s first Southern California book signing is set for Saturday, November 26 from 1 to 3 pm at the Book Rack book store, 204 1st Street in Arcadia.

And as for ghost stories at Christmas time?

“Any night is right for a ghost story,” Mumm said.