It is always one of the highlights of the Crowvus year when we can share our Christmas ghost story book with you all. This year, we are offering you a treasure trove of ghost stories: ones which will terrify you, others which will make you smile and cry at the same time. This has been a very tricky year for everyone. For some people, it has been a more than tricky year: it has been a painful or horrible year. Most people will be pleased to put it behind them. But it is a year when we have needed creativity and imagination more than we ever have done before. This year, we had more entries than ever, with an outstandingly high standard overall. Thankfully, we had already enlisted another judge, so we had an extra pair of eyes to help us make the difficult decisions of who to longlist, shortlist and place. But really, the competition is only one tiny part of the book. The main part is you, the readers. Each and every one of these writers has created a doorway for you to open, walk through, and explore what's on the other side while you get a reprieve from the stresses of 2020. Enjoy!