Christmas Eve in the UK

One tradition here in Britain is to tell ghost stories on Christmas eve. Tales are told late in the evening. When the midnight bell chimes you open your front door to let out the ghosts and welcome in the spirit of Christmas. This may have been part of the inspiration for Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Looks like a zombie but is really a ghost

Since most everyone but me will be in bed late Christmas eve, I'm planning on either reading some stories from M. R. James or, if there's time, watching The Devil's Backbone, a movie directed by Guillermo del Toro about a haunted boys' school during the Spanish Civil War. It's not his best work but is a worthy companion piece to Pan's Labyrinth. I'll write a review if the spirit moves me (pun intended). I probably won't open the front door, though.

If you'd like to hear a good ghost story, I'd recommend Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad by M. R. James from the Classic Tales podcast or Two Christmas Ghost Stories by Robertson Davies from Forgotten Classics. Forgotten Classics also has a new Christmas story this year by Louis L'Amour but I haven't listened yet so I don't know if it's a ghost story or not.