The Spirits by Campbell, Bonnie Jo

Bonnie Jo Campbell, a master of rural American fiction, brings us a hair-raising winter tale to warm us by the fireside. In this contemporary Christmas Carol, Campbell has created a gritty, spooky, and ultimately heartening holiday story that unfolds in an isolated farmhouse. It is the night before Christmas in a small town in Michigan, and a young woman is haunted by her father's death. She has been silently penitent for nine years, but her guilt and grief have estranged her from her community and her family. She has taken refuge in the natural world of the plants and trees she tends, but on this anniversary of the tragedy, the supernatural landscape is rattling its chains.

When a surprise guest appears at the (dreaded) Christmas Eve dinner, the family begins to open up and reveal dangerous secrets and crimes nobody is willing to face. Within this darkest chaos, a sliver of light appears, showing a way to reclaim communion and even a sense of humor. While redemption is never easy or wholesale, the story that a family creates together can heal wounds.

Author: Bonnie Jo Campbell
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 10/13/2026
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781324130901

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 09/01/2026 pg. 105
Publishers Weekly 08/31/2026
Foreword 08/27/2026
Booklist 09/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 09/15/2026