Christmas Gothic

We’re back and we’re festive. Today we’re embracing all things Christmas with two tales taken from our Christmas Gothic collection. 

Featuring 

’And a Piece of Coal Where Her Heart Once Beat’ by Suzanne J. Willis (05.27), a melting pot of folklore, gothic tropes and backwards Christmas symbolism. This one is read by Amanda Benzecry. 

‘Where the Christmas-Tree Grew’ by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (19.08), is more of a traditional Christmas story, in the sense that it explores themes of charity, community and Christmas spirit. This one is read by Bea.

Biographies

Suzanne J. Willis is a Melbourne, Australia-based writer, a graduate of Clarion South and an Aurealis Awards finalist. Her stories have appeared in anthologies by PS Publishing and Prime Books, and in Mythic Delirium, Lackington’s, and The Dark, among others. Her debut short story collection, Of Starfish Tides and Other Tales, is due for release by Trepidatio Publishing in 2022. Suzanne’s tales are inspired by fairytales, ghost stories and all things strange, and she can be found online at suzannejwillis.webs.com.

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930) was an American author, born in Randolph, Massachusetts. Following the unexpected deaths of her parents, Freeman began writing full-time as her singular source of income. In 1881 her story ‘The Ghost Family’ won first place in a writing contest, marking the start of her career as a short story author. Much of her work pairs the supernatural with domestic realism. She also wrote poems and children’s stories. In 1926, Freeman received the William Dean Howells Medal for her writing from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

‘And a Piece of Coal Where Her Heart Once Beat’ is ©2021 Suzanne J. Willis and was first published in The Dark but more recently appeared in Christmas Gothic (Flame Tree Publishing, 2022).

‘Where the Christmas-Tree Grew’ by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman was first published in Young Lucretia and Other Stories (1893), but more recently appeared in Christmas Gothic (Flame Tree Publishing, 2022).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer).

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here: flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing, Independent Publisher of the Year 2024, British Fantasy Society. Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.