This grisly collection of historic, horrid happenings from across the country demonstrates that Christmas is not necessarily a time of peace, joy and goodwill to all men. The holiday season has witnessed a plethora of almost unbelievable accidents, such as the amateur mechanic who died with his head stuck in a car engine, the footballer who leaped into a quarry to retrieve a lost ball, and the Christmas party guest who fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck. There are fatal rail crashes in Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Cumbria and Scotland; freak weather conditions and devastating fires, such as the Christmas Eve fire in Glasgow that cost the lives of four firemen in 1927. Among the chilling crimes featured here is that of Nottinghamshire man Edward Kesteven, who killed his wife on Christmas Day 1894, and the murder of Thirza Kelly in Norfolk by a local teenager on Christmas Eve 1900. Full of merry madness and hearty heartache, A Horrid History of Christmas will make you want to bypass the festivities altogether!

Filled with all the festive facts every HORRIBLE HISTORIES reader wants to know! The complete horrible history of Christmas tells tales from the dark days when the Puritans tried to abolish Christmas, to Christmas in the trenches whenthe British and Germans traded bullets for footballs. Plus dreadful jokes, rotten recipes and a Christmas quiz!

This year, Horrid Henry has a brilliant idea for his family's Christmas presents in this hilarious story. First appearing in Horrid Henry's Christmas Cracker, here the story is fully illustrated in colour in its own volume, perfect for Early Readers. Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. In this festive story, Horrid Henry has a brilliant idea for his family's Christmas presents. Who says he has to BUY them at all? It's the thought that counts! Early Readers - your child's stepping stone from picture books to reading books. This one is a perfect stocking filler, even for reluctant younger readers!

An illustrated, humorous introduction to world history with a emphasis on violence and villains.

Readers can discover all the foul facts about the MEASLY MIDDLE AGES, including why chickens had their bottoms shaved, a genuine jester's joke and what ten-year-old treacle was used for. With a bold, accessible new look, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans.

A present contains a monstrous secret. An uninvited guest haunts a Christmas party. A shadow slips across the floor by firelight. A festive entertainment ends in darkness and screams. Who knows what haunts the night at the dark point of the year? This collection of seasonal chillers looks beneath Christmas cheer to a world of ghosts and horrors, mixing terrifying modern fiction with classic stories by masters of the macabre. From Neil Gaiman and M. R. James to Muriel Spark and E. Nesbit, there are stories here to make the hardiest soul quail - so find a comfy chair, lock the door, ignore the cold breath on your neck and get ready to welcome in the real spirits of Christmas.

Terry Deary presents the foul but fascinating story of humans, from brain-nibbling Neanderthals to the terrified teenage soldiers in the twentieth century - all in glorious and goriest colour and now in flexi-bound paperback format. The truth about foul fighting is revealed in the Horrible Histories Rules of War, and readers can meet fifty of the most vicious villains of all time in the frightful fold-out feature. History has never been so horrible.

They may have looked all prim and proper, but the Victorians were a jolly naughty bunch who could be vicious and violent and villainous. Readers can discover the murderers who wouldn't hang, when the first public loo was flushed and all about stag hunting in Paddington Station. With a bold, accessible new look, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans. Revised by the author and illustrated throughout to make Horrible Histories more accessible to young readers.

Sail back to a vicious time with fearsome seafaring Viking warriors with big boats, big shields and enormous ginger beards. Readers can discover all the foul facts about the Vicious Vikings, including Viking gods in wedding dresses, corpses on trial and Death by booby-trapped statues. With a bold, accessible new look, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans. Revised by the author and illustrated throughout to make Horrible Histories more accessible to young readers.

Readers can discover all the foul facts about the Stormin' Normans, including why Norman knights slept with a dolly and which pirate hung up his eye-patch. With a bold, accessible new look and revised by the author, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans.