--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The story had held us, round the fire…" description: "\"“The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old hou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg" --- # The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently… ![“The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only case he had met in which…” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg) > ““The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child.”” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator describes a chilling Christmas Eve story that is unusually gruesome, noting its rarity. **In simple terms:** A scary Christmas story is told, considered unique. Key Takeaway Be aware of how setting influences narrative tone. Themes gothic Christmas storytelling Mood eerie thoughtful Type literary gothic When to use this quote - holiday gatherings - reading horror - writing fiction Key Concepts fear rarity atmosphere Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story feel more terrifying? - How does setting affect fear? A Different Perspective The quote assumes the listener knows the story’s context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-eve/) [Gruesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gruesome-746242/) [Gruesome Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gruesome-christmas-1749441/) [Old house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-house/) [Remark Gruesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remark-gruesome-1749443/) [Story Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-held-1749442/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Strange Tale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-tale-1749444/) ## Related quotes > [The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-sufficiently-breathless-but-2/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“The full details of the strange tale are recorded in what is perhaps the weirdest case name in American legal history: United States of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wainwright/the-full-details-of-the-strange-tale-are-recorded-in-what-is-perhaps/) [Tom Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wainwright/) > [I had this story from one who had no business to tell it to me, or to any other. I may credit the seductive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-had-this-story-from-one-who-had-no-business-to-tell-it-to-me-or-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“She had been looking all round her again—at the lawn, the great trees, the reedy, silvery Thames, the beautiful old house; and while engaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-been-looking-all-round-her-again-at-the-lawn-the-great-trees/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Gruesome� isn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daffy-duck/gruesome-isn-t-it/) [Daffy Duck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daffy-duck/) > [So I was asked to do horror film after horror film, a series of about five, after that, and some of those were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-wray/so-i-was-asked-to-do-horror-film-after-horror-film-a-series-of-about/) [Fay Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-wray/) > [I'm not a fan of mysteries, so to prepare for this experience of writing a mystery I started reading the most successful ones in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-not-a-fan-of-mysteries-so-to-prepare-for-this-experience-of/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [You must show how gruesome that death is because if you don't, then you turn into some kind of comic book and pain, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-eszterhas/you-must-show-how-gruesome-that-death-is-because-if-you-don-t-then/) [Joe Eszterhas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-eszterhas/) > [Thursday? Oh no, it can't be! It's too gruesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/thursday-oh-no-it-can-t-be-it-s-too-gruesome/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [It can be kind of gruesome at times, making things alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-holzer/it-can-be-kind-of-gruesome-at-times-making-things-alone/) [Jenny Holzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-holzer/) > [“-"Death walks, and talks, and occasionally whisks you in a gruesome waltz." -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-rourke/death-walks-and-talks-and-occasionally-whisks-you-in-a-gruesome-waltz/) [Stacey Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-rourke/) > [Forget trying to be sexy. That's just gruesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/forget-trying-to-be-sexy-that-s-just-gruesome/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Struggle is gruesome only for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/struggle-is-gruesome-only-for-the-weak/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“Humans time and again demonstrated they were capable of perpetrating crimes as vile and gruesome as any vampire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebeka-harrington/humans-time-and-again-demonstrated-they-were-capable-of-perpetrating/) [Rebeka Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebeka-harrington/) > [You bat your baby blues at tall, dark, and gruesome, and next thing you know, he's trailing you like a lost puppy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/you-bat-your-baby-blues-at-tall-dark-and-gruesome-and-next-thing-you/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“...It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself, you could have made her blush any day of the year, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-often-seemed-to-her-that-she-thought-too-much-about-herself-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I reflected acutely that the sense of such differences, such superiorities of quality, always, on the part of the majority—which could include even stupid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-reflected-acutely-that-the-sense-of-such-differences-such/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had had a real fright but had fallen back to earth. The odd thing was that in her fall her fear too had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-had-a-real-fright-but-had-fallen-back-to-earth-the-odd-thing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had never met a woman who had less of that fault which is the principal obstacle to friendship - the air of reproducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-never-met-a-woman-who-had-less-of-that-fault-which-is-the/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [London is on the whole the most possible form of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/london-is-on-the-whole-the-most-possible-form-of-life/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [If you have work to do, don't wait to feel like it; set to work and you will feel like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-you-have-work-to-do-don-t-wait-to-feel-like-it-set-to-work-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [It is no wonder he wins every game. He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It was the air she wanted and the world she would now exclusively choose; the quiet chambers, nobly overwhelming, rich but slightly veiled, opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-was-the-air-she-wanted-and-the-world-she-would-now-exclusively/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-time-honored-bread-sauce-of-the-happy-ending/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Explore all 571 Henry James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More Christmas eve quotes > [“I took ten days off and by 11 o’clock on the first morning I had drunk fourteen cups of coffee, read all the newspapers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/i-took-ten-days-off-and-by-11-o-clock-on-the-first-morning-i-had/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [“I stopped keeping an eye out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve because, when I was five, my mother told me that Santa was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-stopped-keeping-an-eye-out-for-santa-claus-on-christmas-eve-because/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Out here, without the clouds of cigar smoke, there was nothing to compete with the scent of the rich wood panelling, the preparation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anouska-knight/out-here-without-the-clouds-of-cigar-smoke-there-was-nothing-to/) [Anouska Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anouska-knight/) > [“‎He decided quite suddenly, having kept fairly good record on the calendar, that tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and zombies be damned. The Christmas lights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/he-decided-quite-suddenly-having-kept-fairly-good-record-on-the/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [“Returning to his Manhattan town house on Christmas Eve, Grant, sixty-one, pivoted to hand the driver a holiday tip when he slipped on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/returning-to-his-manhattan-town-house-on-christmas-eve-grant-sixty/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [Christmas, shouldn't be just about gifts, it should be about love, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, to give and be someone's angel when they need it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-j-cowell/christmas-shouldn-t-be-just-about-gifts-it-should-be-about-love/) [Larry J Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-j-cowell/) > [My worst Christmas ever was in 1987 when Santa brought me and my sister a dose of chicken-pox. And my worst present ever was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-di-martino/my-worst-christmas-ever-was-in-1987-when-santa-brought-me-and-my/) [Sophia Di Martino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-di-martino/) > [“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hangin' curveball, high fiber, good scotch, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-shelton/well-i-believe-in-the-soul-the-cock-the-pussy-the-small-of-a-woman-s/) [Ron Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-shelton/) > [“Ramirez and I wanted to spend our first Christmas Eve together with just a nice, romantic, quiet evening at home.” “I never promised to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gemma-halliday/ramirez-and-i-wanted-to-spend-our-first-christmas-eve-together-with/) [Gemma Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gemma-halliday/) > [Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-thomas-ellis/blessed-is-the-season-which-engages-the-whole-world-in-a-conspiracy/) [William Thomas Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-thomas-ellis/) > [The Swedish Christmas is definitely unique, even throughout Scandinavia. Like Christmas everywhere, it's a very family-centered holiday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/the-swedish-christmas-is-definitely-unique-even-throughout/) [Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/) > [It's quite a famous story that takes place on Christmas Eve, and the Germans, French, and Scottish are trying to make peace one night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-kruger/it-s-quite-a-famous-story-that-takes-place-on-christmas-eve-and-the/) [Diane Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-kruger/) > [“My grandfather was a duck trapper He could do it with just dragnets and ropes My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/my-grandfather-was-a-duck-trapper-he-could-do-it-with-just-dragnets/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Opening presents at midnight on Christmas Eve - midnight! As soon as it turns to Christmas Day, we're opening those gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-grande/opening-presents-at-midnight-on-christmas-eve-midnight-as-soon-as-it/) [Frankie Grande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-grande/) > [Christ was born in the first century, yet he belongs to all centuries. He was born a Jew, yet He belongs to all races.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-truett/christ-was-born-in-the-first-century-yet-he-belongs-to-all-centuries/) [George W Truett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-truett/) [Browse all 244 Christmas eve quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-eve/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember no comment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only case he had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-sufficiently-breathless-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christmas eve" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-sufficiently-breathless-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/henry-james-417_christmas-eve_the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-suf_957597.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was…” — Henry James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Henry James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The story had held us, round...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-sufficiently-breathless-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-story-had-held-us-round-the-fire-sufficiently-breathless-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```