There's never a good time to die violently, but Christmas tragedies are especially heinous.

Christmas is a time for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men. Holiday bloodshed feels like a sacrilege, but it does happen. Whether by accident or deliberate malice, scores of people have been killed on December 25 or the days surrounding it.

This volume contains seven accounts of unnatural deaths that occurred on or around Christmas Day:

• The Ashland Tragedy: On December 24, 1881, three burned corpses were pulled from a house in Ashland,...