"Everyone knows the Christmas season has truly arrived when 'A Christmas Carol' takes center stage in both amateur and professional productions, and the classic films and animated versions are shown over and over on television. Now, Mike Resnick and Martin H. Greenberg have challenged some of the most creative minds in fantasy and science fiction to tell readers exactly what those Christmas ghosts are up to when they're not scaring a stingy old man into self-reformation. The result is a wondrous seasonal mix, a perfect present for those ready to snuggle up with a good book on a cold winter's night. From a Christmas encounter with a beggar that may haunt a wealthy traveler for the rest of his life... to a far different journey into Scrooge's Christmases past, a visit that may expose some unsuspected truths about Ebenezer's former friends and acquaintances... to a script writer hired to give the story of Christmas a real 'nineties twist,' here are tales to savor over a holiday punch, imaginatively wrapped up for you by such generous gift givers as Mercedes Lackey, Frank M. Robinson, Judith Torr, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch."--Pg. [4] of cover.