Top 5 Scary Christmas Episodes {HorrOrigins List}

A haunted, happy holiday from us at HorrOrigins. Another crazy year is coming to a close, and the season of giving is upon us. Last year, I ranked a list of the Top 10 Christmas Horror Films; this year, we’ll take a look at something just as common. There’s almost always a Christmas episode with every popular show, and you can probably imagine that one episode of a family sitcom, where everything comes together in the end. Yeah, that’s not always the case when it comes to horror stories. Just ask Dickens; the most famous Christmas tale is a scary story down to its core. Sometimes, it’s important to learn the lessons of the season the hard way. From anthologies old and new, it’s the most wonderful time for fear. If you’re looking for something new before you re-watch the “Christmas Party” episode of The Office, consider these entries.

Honorable Mention

Squidbillies
​"Rebel with a Clause"

In the season 2 finale of the long-running [Adult Swim] cartoon, it’s Christmas Eve and a grouchy, out of shape Santa is ready for his one night of hard work to be over. Stopping for milk & cookies, Santa falls into a trap laid out by Early Cuyler, the psychotic patriarch of the titular family of “mud squids.” From there, Santa is tied, beaten, and has his beard shaved off with a fish scaler (all while the reindeer are fed through a jerky smoker). Why? Because Early has only ever wanted one thing from Santa...“the still beating heart of Dale Earnhardt Jr." Obviously unable to reason with his impractical request, Santa’s situation becomes grimmer by the minute, leading the elves to take drastic measures to free their leader. The episode delivers more depravity than usual for the show and is a perfect time capsule for the mean spirits of the time. Just when you think a Christmas miracle will save the day, a bloodbath has other plans.

5​

Love, Death, & Robots
"All Through the House"

In Netflix’s mature animated anthology, this quick serving tells the tale of a brother and sister on Christmas Eve who hear a creature stirring in the middle of the night. Believing it to be the jolly fat man, they sneak down and discover Santa is a grotesque, drooling monster. Cornered, the Santa creature smells the quivering children. Deeming they’ve been “Nice” this year, it regurgitates the presents they wanted. Upon leaving, the children return to bed, unable to stomach the thought of what would have happened if they had been naughty. Despite its Eldridge horror twist, "All Through the House" is a surprisingly innocent parable compared to other Heavy Metal-esque offerings (and one of the shortest at 7 minutes). Probably the only episode you can show your kids if they’re misbehaving.

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4

Tales from the Darkside
​"Seasons of Belief"

The late George A. Romero’s often overlooked and underrated anthology horror series that reset the blueprint for the horror anthology format. From season 3 comes "Seasons of Belief", the only direct holiday episode of Tales from the Dark Side. It’s Christmas Eve and bratty siblings Stefa and Jimbo are going through that age where they question their belief in Santa Clause. Getting an idea, their parents decide to read them a bedtime story about the "Grither," a bloodthirsty monster that lives at the North Pole that is summoned by saying its name (growing bigger the more the name is uttered). Definitely tame, compared to the others on the list, the episode finds its strength in capturing the fear that comes with childhood, where your imagination runs wild with any vague superstition. Interestingly it was the only directorial project of the late Michael McDowell, a writer throughout the show’s four seasons who went on to co-write Beetlejuice and more fittingly, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

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3

Guillermo Del Toro’s
Cabinet of Curiosities
​"The Outside"

The most recent entry on this list comes courtesy of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’s Ana Lily Amirpour, as one of eight directors handpicked by Guillermo Del Toro. Stacey (Kate Micucci), an introverted bank teller struggling with image issues compared to her catty co-workers, is gifted a high-end lotion at a Secret Santa party. Despondent, she tries the lotion and immediately breaks out into a rash. Ignoring the concern of her husband and falling under the hypnosis of an infomercial, she buys a whole case of the lotion and the rash persists. A Christmas body horror tale where the holiday element is downplayed. Micucci hones her trademark quirkiness in this allegory for insecurities and metamorphosis. Tying this early present together is some impressively unnerving camerawork, making "The Outside" a highlight of a promising new series.

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2

Tales from the Crypt
"And All Through the House"

Not to be confused with a previous entry, arguably one of the best episodes from Tales from the Crypt, and it's only episode 2. It’s Christmas Eve and Elizabeth (Mary Ellen Trainor) is being prowled on by an escaped maniac dressed as Santa (Larry Drake). She could call the cops; however, she only just killed her husband for his money and his body is lying outside in the snow. The first of three episodes directed by Robert Zemeckis, making this his horror debut. Zemeckis injects energy through his impressive long takes and blocking expected from his early films, and combined with Alan Silvestri’s playful score, adds a dark dose of fun to this sinister situation. The late Larry Drake shines as the Santa, bug eyes with rotten teeth making him feel like a demented cartoon (makes you wish Dr. Giggles was in a Silent Night, Deadly Night sequel). Definitely not the first killer Santa, but definitely a benchmark for this type of episode. We may not have Ian McShane’s character in American Horror Story: Asylum without this.

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1

Black Mirror
"White Christmas"

There’s a few BBC shows that like to end their runs officially with a Christmas episode, and prior to Netflix picking up the series, this seemed like the case for Charlie Booker’s Twilight Zone for the internet age. Condensing basically a season into a feature length episode, "White Christmas" follows three interconnected stories shared by Jon Hamm and Rafe Spall, while stuck in a cabin seemingly stuck in an endless winter. Sticking with the themes of our relationships with new technologies, we’re shown POV dating coaches, consciences trapped as Alexa-like personal assistants, and the ability to block people IRL. Each story peels back a layer that reveals more about our unreliable leads, until you’re left wondering which one of them is worse. The Christmas setting downplays itself through, until it blindsides you with a gut punch at the end that’ll leave you staring at your reflection as the credits roll. A truly bittersweet ending that’ll make you look in the mirror and be thankful to not take the relationships you have for granted.

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Author

Alex Ayres is filmmaker and writer based in Atlanta, GA. An avid genre fan overall, he started his love of horror at age 13, with a double feature of Children of the Corn and Halloween diving head first down the rabbit hole and has not looked back since. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BA in film and creative writing, Alex has a steady background in screenwriting, having written multiple short and feature screenplays. His screenplays, Archfiend and 6/09 have been accepted into various film festivals and writing competitions around the country, the latter winning best comedy at the Austin After Dark Film Fest in 2019. His recent short screenplay Gallows Meg is currently making rounds in the festival circuit.
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​When not hunched over at his laptop on his third cup of coffee, Alex works as a non-union set worker on various productions in Atlanta, primarily as a Set PA and Health & Safety monitor. In time, Alex will pursue his Master’s in screenwriting. Making film and teaching film is a life-long goal that he’s going the distance with. Alex has been a member of the HorrOrigins family since its inaugural film festival, curating a gruesome and fun time for Fright-Knights and Ghouls.