Author S. E. Schlosser has been telling stories since she was a child, when games of "let's pretend" quickly built themselves into full-length stories. A graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and Rutgers University, she also created and maintains www.AmericanFolklore.net, where she shares a wealth of stories from all fifty states, some dating from the origins of America.

Artist Paul G. Hoffman trained in painting and printmaking. His first extensive illustration work on assignment was in Egypt, drawing ancient wall reliefs for the University of Chicago. His work graces books of many genres--including, children's titles, textbooks, short story collections, natural history volumes, and numerous cookbooks. For Spooky Christmas, he employed a scratchboard technique and an active imagination.