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When we think about Christmas, we probably picture mangers, glowing fireplaces, carol singers and snow-covered hills. But behind all this, there’s something much darker lurking in the shadows.

In her new book, The Dead of Winter, Sarah Clegg peels back the wrapping paper of modern Christmas to reveal the creepy creatures and customs hiding underneath. Beyond the jollity and bright enchantment of the festive season, there lurks a darker mood - one that has found expression over the centuries in a host of strange and unsettling traditions.

Cambridge-trained historian Sarah delves deep into the folklore of the Christmas season in Europe, detailing the way its terrifying past continues to haunt and entertain us now in the 21st Century. She experiences many of these traditions first-hand joining wassailing celebrations in Wales and attempting a Swedish Year Walk. She also explores the tension between darkness and light that lies at the heart of winter celebrations and argues that we need both the comforting glow of the hearth and the thrilling chill of ghost stories.

Today we’re introduced to the Mari Lwyd, a ghostly, ghastly horse skull that goes door-to-door in Wales.

Reader: Fenella Woolgar
Producer: Pippa Vaughan
Abridger: Elizabeth Burke
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4