The Dead of Winter
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was initially challenging for me to get into. After several attempts, I decided to push through, and I’m glad I did—it has taught me a great deal. As both a historian and librarian, I can see how older readers, especially those with an interest in history, might appreciate the insights it offers about the origins of Christmas and other holidays. However, given that we live in the Bible Belt, where many patrons may be resistant to the idea of pagan influences, I suspect this book could be a hard sell to certain audiences.
While I originally hoped for a deeper focus on Christmas, the book instead explores a variety of holidays and their traditions. It’s an enlightening read for anyone curious about the historical roots of different celebrations, which was certainly my interest. Although I’m glad I read it, I don’t feel inclined to revisit it in the future.

Ok, so imagine you’re all curled up with a cozy blanket, the lights are twinkling, and you’re about to dive into the perfect Christmas read. But—plot twist—this book isn’t about chestnuts roasting or sleigh bells ringing. Nope. It’s about the spooky, downright creepy side of Christmas that no one really talks about! I'm talking dark magic, mythical creatures, and traditions that’ll make you wonder how anyone decided these would fit in with merry cheer and mistletoe. I was seriously glued to every page. Five stars, without a doubt! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The coolest thing about this read is that it dives deep into all these super old European Christmas traditions, and let me tell you, they are wild. Like, who knew there was a literal horse skull in a hooded cape prancing around Wales, or that Krampus, a half-goat demon with his own fan base, would run wild in Austria? Every chapter just reveals another one of these offbeat holiday icons, and each one is honestly more fascinating than the last. It’s like this twisted advent calendar, but instead of candy, you’re getting introduced to a lineup of the most unexpected winter guests.

And, the way the author describes these experiences? Ugh, it's giving total wanderlust with a side of spine-tingling vibes. I mean, she actually goes to these festivals to watch and participate in these creepy celebrations herself. I was like, "Girl, you are so brave." Her storytelling here makes you feel like you’re right there in the chaos, bells jangling and all. Her style is kind of academic but in a totally digestible way, so it feels like you're learning something without the school vibes, if you know what I mean.

Honestly, one of my favorite parts is how she breaks down why all these dark traditions even exist in the first place. It’s not just about the monsters or the creepy masks—she dives into why these customs have stayed around for so long. And the way she explains it? Just makes you want to look at your holiday season with fresh, spooky eyes.

Now, you’d think all these eerie traditions would be super grim, but the author manages to keep it fun. Like, there are some laugh-out-loud moments, and she has this quirky humor, especially in the footnotes! (Who knew footnotes could be funny, but here we are.) If you’re a holiday enthusiast who also has a thing for haunted houses or ghost stories, this is totally for you. It’s such a good mix of festive vibes and folklore that honestly make you question if you even know the real Christmas spirit at all. It’s the perfect book for those long winter nights when you want something a little... darker.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion—this was honestly such a blast! 🎄👻

This book is absolutely fascinating. Tracing so many modern practices during the winter season to their origins, this is history at its wildest and most interesting. The darkness of the season clearly mirrors the potential darkness in humanity, and Clegg does an amazing job diving into this.

A lovely/perfect read for Christmas time!

A must for history readers.

The cover!!!! Just beautiful!

This book is catnip for fans of A Nightmare Before Christmas, because it shows the dark side of the most wonderful time of the year. A combination of travelogue and folk history, the author goes back in time to discover the origins of the sometimes gruesome traditions behind yuletide celebrations. The author herself reads the introduction and the afterword, with the main content narrated by Hannah Curtis in a beautiful cadence. She makes the real-life adventures of Clegg attending the events feel real and colorful. Speaking of the travelogue part, the places the author visits sound fantastic and I’m amazed that I’d never heard about them. My favorite was Stonehenge, and how vividly she describes the celebrations that she witnessed. Since I can’t travel to Salzburg this Christmas, this short book will be the next best thing.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Hachette Audio | Algonquin Books.

I listened to this audiobook during Halloween week, which was the perfect time to learn about the dark side of winter traditions over the years. The narrator's voice was perfect and perfectly enhanced the mood. The story was told as the author traveled around Europe to experience the modern-day celebrations of the traditions.

I received a digital ARC of the audiobook thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

I'm in complete agreement with another reviewer - if you're going to read a Christmas book in Hallowe'en week, make it this one. Highly entertaining, informative and spooky.

I'm not a fan of winter, but I do like spooky stuff and this book delivers. We're getting into the cold weather here and I am now burning to mull some wine and open my doors to mummers with an animal head on a stick! There is so much information here about all the various Christmas traditions and where they might have come from. Lots of angry letters from religious leaders, plus some really nice nature scenes.

Thanks to netgalley and publisher for this arc. It does give some insight into history and international celebrations which was interesting. I was expecting more straight forward historical facts mixed with mythology but also got a first hand account traveling around world for the different celebrations such as carnival in Venice.

The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg is a journey through the historical characters and monsters that have shown up in Christmas law throughout the ages. Presented in the form of a travelogue, as author, Sarah Clegg travels throughout Europe and experiences the festivals and monsters for herself.

The intro and epilogue are narrated by Hannah Curtis, who has a very complementary voice for the primary narrator and author, Sarah Clegg. I’m not quite sure why we needed a separate narrator for these parts of the story but she does a good job setting the stage and wrapping up this book.

The narration by Sarah Clegg ads a personalized feel to her storytelling. Her history and experiences are told firsthand and the narration from herself ads credence to her storytelling. I didn’t realize when I started listening to this book that the author was the narrator, but I did think well, listening that the narrations voice and accent fit the vibe of the story and was nice to listen to. Sarah Clegg has one of those voices that you can just listen to and get lost in.

Look, if you're going to read a Christmas book during Halloween week, make it one about Christmas monsters. I love learning about the darker side of Christianity traditions that stem from European cultures. This book is a fascinating look at everything from the Mari Lwyd horse headed monster of Wales and other horse-headed Christmas beasts to Krampus of central Europe to scare away the evil spirits and frighten children into better behavior to the upending of social order of Carnival and Saturnalia.

The Dead of Winter is travelogue and historical research, and the author cites research as experiences across Britain, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Some of her research is tied to the popular thesis of modern Christmas season traditions, even those of monsters, relates to pagan mythologies, but she also indicates that a lot of that is folk speculation without scholastic sources. This doesn't diminish the frightening yet joyous celebrations, however, and this is a fun (and a little terrifying) trek through tradition.

I really appreciated that the author reads the introduction and epilogue: this is a nice touch to make a nonfiction book more personal while still having a professional read the majority of the book.