The Christmas Carol

By David E. Gates

When Joe buys an ornate box from a car-boot sale, a set of mysterious and creepy occurrences with the box and its contents ensues.

An original, creepy, ghost story for Christmas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David E. Gates
• Release date: Dec 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370161560

David E. Gates

David E. Gates has published several books and short-stories. His first book, Access Denied, is a true story.  A deeply personal and heart-wrenching account of becoming a father and having to fight the mother and Family Courts to see his daughter and also battles against the incompetence and lies of the Child Support Agency who seem hell-bent on ruining him, emotionally and financially.. It has garnered 100% positive reviews. The Roots of Evil, his first horror novel, is a graphic, violent, intense and gore-laden horror story. His second fictional novel, The Wretched, is an original horror story set in and around Portsmouth. David has made a documentary film about the battlefield memorials in Ypres, Belgium called Ypres – The Battlefield Tours and previously wrote film reviews for Starburst and Samhain magazines and interviewed the likes of Clive Barker, Terry Pratchett, James Herbert and many others. He has also written many short stories and poems, a full-length motion picture screenplay, the screenplay to a short film and in his spare time hosts a rock radio show. Also by David E. Gates: Access Denied The Roots of Evil The Wretched Omonolidee First Words Unzipped: The Mind of a Madman The Projectionist A Planned Demise The Ghost of Clothes Fixing the Faker The Christmas Carol Omonolidee - Morgado, Portugal, 2018. Two Sides of Vegas

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The Christmas Carol

Copyright © 2016, David E. Gates

Cover Artwork Copyright: © David E. Gates

Published by Shelley Show Productions

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means - whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic - without written permission of both publisher and author.

Unauthorised reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 9781370161560

Also available from David E. Gates

Access Denied – A True Story

The Roots of Evil

The Ghost of Clothes

The Wretched

Omonolidee

First Words

Dedication

For Christmas

Table of Contents

About the Author

Other books by David E. Gates

Connect with David E. Gates

The Christmas Carol

The Christmas Carol

'Another day, another car boot sale to trudge around.' Joe thought, as he rolled over in the bed he shared with his wife to press 'Dismiss' on his mobile phone, sat on the bedside table, which was emitting a shrill sound for his alarm call.

He sat up and sighed as he saw it was still dark outside. He didn't like these early starts. Getting up in the dark seemed to play havoc with his biorhythms, he thought.

His wife stirred as he raised himself off the bed and shuffled towards the en-suite bathroom. He turned the light on and allowed the bright white glare from the bulb to flood the bedroom and highlight his wife's features. She closed her eyes tightly as the light fell upon her closed lids and moved herself under the covers to retain her shelter from the piercing rays.

Inside the en-suite, Joe smeared a generous amount of toothpaste onto a toothbrush and ran the head of it under the cold tap. As he started to brush, he pushed his pyjama trousers down and sat upon the toilet seat.

He brushed his teeth vigorously as he sat urinating into the bowl. Once finished, he stood, stretched as he leant backwards and flushed the toilet, then spat the bubbled toothpaste from his mouth into the sink before running the toothbrush under the water from the tap and rinsing his mouth with it repeatedly until the last vestige of froth was gone.

Kicking off the pyjama bottoms that were now ensconced around his ankles, as he re-entered the bedroom, he felt the goose bumps on the front of his thighs prickle with the relatively cold air which permeated the sleeping chamber.

He started to get dressed, grabbing underpants and socks from a drawer on the opposite side of the room to where the bed, his wife still in situ, was positioned.

Come on. It's you that wanted to get there early. He said to her. She grunted beneath the bed sheets but made no effort to move.

Carole! He voiced, louder.

Alright, She responded. I'm coming.

Joe finished getting dressed as his wife dragged herself out of the bed