Christmas is Dead: A Zombie Anthology, a collection of 17 short stories was published this year (2009).  All of the stories in this anthology truly capture the feeling of Christmas, whether in a mall or at the North Pole this book delivered an excellent dead Christmas.  Several of these stories could and should be made into a kick ass anthology film.  I do hope someone is working on that. 

“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a …zombie?”

Here is a brief overview of what you will enjoy in this book.  The foreword of the book is a parody of Twas the Night Before Christmas written by author and editor, Anthony Giangregorio. 

1) Deck the Malls with Bowels of Holly by Scott M. Baker – A mall Santa tries to escape the chaos caused by infected reindeer in Santa’s Christmas town.

2) Randolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Rob Rosen – One of my personal favorites!  Both Prancer and Dancer have swine flu so Santa sends some elves to find other flying reindeer to help him make his deliveries this year.  The elves find Randolph, a flying reindeer whose nose does more than just light the way.

3) It’s a Wonderful Death by Rick Moore – Two words, turkey zombies.

4) The Worst Christmas Ever by Keith Adam Luethke -  Zombies everywhere on Christmas Eve, including a zombie Santa that goes door to door.

5) Yes, Virginia, There Really is a Zombie Santa Claus by Anthony Giangregorio – Santa has been infected, and kids taste much better than grown ups.

6) Downtown by Peter Naggi – An interesting group of survivors with a variety of weapons are on a search for food to trade for a possible cure.

7) Satan Claus by Tom Hamilton – Seymour the mall Santa is infected and makes a grand get away.  Really creepy ending to this one.

8) Made in China by Marc Wiggins – The most sought after Christmas toy from China is tainted with more than lead.

9) Christmas Harvest by Lance Looper – How can Death harvest the dead when they are zombies?  Great story!

10) Upon a Midnight Clear by Sean Grigsby – A zombie breakout during a Christmas talent show. “Who the hell is ruining my performance?”

11) The End of Christmas by Anthony Giangregorio – I thought this was the most original story in the anthology.  The zombie outbreak happened a year ago, and a man finds a Christmas surprise waiting for him while looting abandoned houses for food and supplies.

12) Red Christmas by Kevin Cockle – A divorcing couple get stuck hiding from zombies together during the holidays.

13) Peace on Earth by Kelly M. Hudson – The dead have been roaming around since Easter, and a small group of survivors want to have a little Christmas cheer.

14) A Zombie Christmas by Paul C. Snider – A father dresses up like Santa for his kids on Christmas Eve,  but instead of a holiday with the family he ends up shooting zombies with a 12 gauge instead.

15) Zombies of the Caribbean by Val Muller – Christmas in the Caribbean!  A  zombie Santa at  the mall  attacks the little girl sitting on his lap.  I love the line; “Mommy, is Daddy going to love me when I turn into a zombie?”

16) Fright of the Reindeer by Jack Burton – Infected reindeer spread some holiday cheer on Christmas Eve.

17) Zombie Santa is Coming to Town by David Bernstein – Santa and his elves are killed in a car accident on their way to a party, and then get up and feast on the paramedics.