A Vampire Christmas Carol: Ebenezer Scrooge, Vampire Slayer

There are scant surprises and fewer delights in Gray’s vampiric take on Dickens’s classic Christmas tale. Ebenezer Scrooge, oblivious to the horrors of Victorian poverty, is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Marley, who reveals that all of the hardship in Scrooge’s life has been caused by vampires, determined to thwart Scrooge from fulfilling a prophecy. The expected three spirits appear in their appointed rounds, illustrating in detail what the future will hold if Scrooge does not break free of their control. Former love Belle, nephew Fred, and loyal employee Bob Cratchit are all now engaged in a war against the vampires. Can Scrooge be persuaded to join them in time? Gray deftly captures Dickens’s bleakness, particularly in the chapters detailing Scrooge’s horrible childhood, but delivers little of the warmth and joy that made the original a beloved classic. (Oct.)