Ghost stories around a flickering fire while the rest of the house is in total darkness sounds like a very cosy Yule tradition. And if you're staying up till first light, as was the practice in days of yore, it gets people so on-edge that there's no WAY anybody's going to leave the comfort of the group round the fire to seek their own bed... all alone... in the dark!
I think a 21st century version of this could include turning on the TV and playing the episode from 1967 where Barnabas tells Vicki and Carolyn the story of Josette's death on Widow's Hill. If you absolutely had to, you could put garland and lights around the set.
G.
"Are there no WORKHOUSES?"