--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the late 19th to the early 20th…" description: "\"From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg" --- # From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December… ![“From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg) > “From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holiday editions often included spooky stories to entertain readers during festive seasons. **In simple terms:** Magazines mixed holidays with horror. Key Takeaway Expect a chill alongside cheer. Themes culture seasonal entertainment Mood nostalgic curious Type historical cultural When to use this quote - reading during holidays - family gatherings - literary research - teaching media history Key Concepts historical publishing genre blending Questions to Reflect On - How did horror stories affect holiday moods? - Why blend fear with celebration? A Different Perspective Modern readers may find such content dated or less shocking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) [December](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/december/) [Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiday/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) ## Related quotes > [“Colored lights blink on and off, racing across the green boughs. Their reflections dance across exquisite glass globes and splinter into shards against tinsel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/colored-lights-blink-on-and-off-racing-across-the-green-boughs-their/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The goal is to hit your stride, stay in the hunt and be playing your best football in December.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cowher/the-goal-is-to-hit-your-stride-stay-in-the-hunt-and-be-playing-your/) [Bill Cowher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cowher/) > [I was nine or 10 years old and my father was sacked on Christmas Day. He was a manager, the results had not been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/i-was-nine-or-10-years-old-and-my-father-was-sacked-on-christmas-day/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [The Mayans have predicted the world is supposed to end on December 21. If the world doesn't end on December 21, you can bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-mayans-have-predicted-the-world-is-supposed-to-end-on-december-21/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [It's been said that Bill Gates has come up with something that'll be released in December that's gonna put a lid on counterfeiting. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/it-s-been-said-that-bill-gates-has-come-up-with-something-that-ll-be/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens - the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sergeant-angell-white/from-december-to-march-there-are-for-many-of-us-three-gardens-the/) [Katharine Sergeant Angell White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-sergeant-angell-white/) > [I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-d-go-back-to-december-turn-around-and-change-my-own-mind/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [My parents subscribed to both Time and Newsweek and in 1978, I remember the covers of both that December were of the bodies in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-scheeres/my-parents-subscribed-to-both-time-and-newsweek-and-in-1978-i/) [Julia Scheeres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-scheeres/) > [It's 25th December! May God bless you and your loved ones the whole year round! Have a Joyous Christmas!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-25th-december-may-god-bless-you-and-your-loved-ones-the-whole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-o-sweet-lord-jesus-thou-art-the-present-portion-of-thy-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've come to believe that whoever I am didn't start on December 14, 1946, and isn't going to end on whatever that mysterious date…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-whoever-i-am-didn-t-start-on-december-14/) [Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [“Congregating power to leave u… To control this love But I always go back to December!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moaz-zulfiqar/congregating-power-to-leave-u-to-control-this-love-but-i-always-go/) Moaz Zulfiqar > [November, I'll give thanks that you belong to me. December, you're the present beneath my Christmas tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sedaka/november-i-ll-give-thanks-that-you-belong-to-me-december-you-re-the/) [Neil Sedaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sedaka/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [In 1911, Edgar Rice Burroughs, having failed at everything else, decided to write a novel. He was then in his mid-thirties, married with two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/in-1911-edgar-rice-burroughs-having-failed-at-everything-else-decided/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Christmas quotes > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-manning/i-once-bought-my-kids-a-set-of-batteries-for-christmas-with-a-note-on/) [Bernard Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-manning/) > [May you have the spirit of Christmas which is Peace, the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, and the Heart of Christmas which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-you-have-the-spirit-of-christmas-which-is-peace-the-gladness-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To my future children; you will know the true meaning of Christmas just not you get gifts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-my-future-children-you-will-know-the-true-meaning-of-christmas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No sane local official who has hung up an empty stocking over the municipal fireplace is going to shoot Santa Claus just before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-smith/no-sane-local-official-who-has-hung-up-an-empty-stocking-over-the/) [Al Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-smith/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Santa Claus has nothing to do with it," the latke said. "Christmas and Hanukah are completely different things." "But different things can often blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/santa-claus-has-nothing-to-do-with-it-the-latke-said-christmas-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For Christmas one year I bought my son a BB gun. He bought me a t-shirt with a bulls eye on the back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/for-christmas-one-year-i-bought-my-son-a-bb-gun-he-bought-me-a-t/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“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/) > [On Hanukkah, the first dark night, Light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite To dance within that gentle light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-gordon/on-hanukkah-the-first-dark-night-light-yourself-a-candle-bright-i-ll/) [Nick Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-gordon/) [Browse all 5,100 Christmas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Dirda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christmas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a5/michael-dirda-3414_christmas_from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-cen_352180.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine…” — Michael Dirda", "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": "Michael Dirda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "From the late 19th to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/#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 } } ] } ```