10 Scary Christmas Horror Stories — Holiday Ghosts, Killer Santas & Winter Nightmares - Weekly Spooky: Scary Christmas Stories | Terrifying Tales to Creep Your Holiday

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, my spookies. I'm your host and narrator, Enrique Cuto,
and tonight we're starting a holiday horror binge, a long,
shivery marathon of terror tales you can lose yourself in
while the tree glows and the wind whispers at the windows.

(00:23):
This is the first of many every Saturday until New
Year's another overflowing bundle of bloody bootprints in the snow,
letters from Santa that ruin lives, and a blizzard that
hides something hunting between the drifts. So plug in the lights,

(00:47):
lock the door, and turn this up just enough to
drown out whatever is moving out there in the dark.
Make sure you're subscribed, because there's more holiday horror every
single Wednesday, and honestly far beyond on Weekly Spooky. But

(01:07):
now it's time to begin your holiday marathon of fear.
I'll be Home for Christmas by Shane Wiklovoka, a Weekly
Smunky original. It's never gonna stop, Kat Walker said to herself,

(01:29):
watching as never ending white fell outside. The dying embers
of the day cast a soft glow that lit the
snow covered landscape in a blood red hue. The wind howled,
making the old walls of the house creak and strain.
Cat was alone in the parlor, the gathering place for
most of the social activity at Black Oaks. A tall

(01:49):
Christmas tree sat in the room's center, its lights blinking
on and off. The smell of cinnamon delighted Cat's senses.
Cinnamon cookie ornaments hung from the tree branches, crafted in
various Christmas related forms, Santa frosty snowflakes, and Christmas trees,
all lovingly made by Black Oak's resident cook, Malory Horst.

(02:14):
A fire crackled in the fireplace, and the scent of
burning wood hung in the air. The sound of whiskey
flowing over ice pulled Cat from her thoughts. She watched
fellow student Georgina Harris enter reflected in the glass of
the window. Georgina returned her metal flask to the folds
of her expensive robe before crashing to the couch. The

(02:36):
chik brunette lounged on the couch, her sleek legs visible
at the robe's part. Taking a sip of whiskey. She
lit a cigarette. The weather outside is indeed frightful. Little
kitten Cat turned angry at the interruption. She spun around
so fast her long, raven black hair fell across her eyes,
stinging them. What are you doing, Cab blurted out, her

(03:00):
anger getting the better of her working towards a career
in alcoholism and nicotine addiction, Georgina smirked, raising her glass
in a toast. Just like dear old mom. You know
the rules, Kat said, if Miss Keene sees you, her
voice lowered, as if saying the woman's name would summon
the headmistress out of thin air. Don't worry about it.

(03:20):
Georgina took a puff off her cigarette. It's not your
ass on the line. If I'm caught kitten, fine, Kat
gave up. Why did she care if the bitch got
in trouble anyway? And my name is Kat. I hate
it when you call me kitten. Girls like Georgina were
the reason Cat was at Black Oaks. She'd gotten in

(03:41):
her fair share of fights with girls that thought they
were better than her. Thought they could tell Kat or place.
Expulsion for Cat soon followed nearly every time a slight
red haired girl with a fox like face stood framed
in the doorway, her freckled brow wrinkled in concern. She
was wearing a snug, if preposterous sweater. Robots danced around

(04:04):
a Christmas tree on its front and a pair of
pale blue jeans. There you guys are, Sue McCoy said,
sounding relieved. Miss Keene wanted to know if you guys
wanted to exchange Christmas presents now or in the morning.
Kat looked down at the presence neatly arranged under the tree.
She wondered how the tree looked at home. Her mom

(04:24):
would have it all decked out with all the usual ornaments.
This would be the first year Cat wouldn't be there
to help her decorate it. She was stuck here at
Black Oak's boarding school, mainly for the simple fact that
her parents couldn't afford to come and get her, even
if the weather did permit. Not that she was the
only one stuck here for Christmas break. Georgina's mom and

(04:45):
her new girlfriend were off to Barcelona for the holiday.
Sue was still here because she preferred it to her
home life. Why Cat really wasn't sure, nor did she
want a pry. The other two students still here, Lois
Kincaid and Alice and Gordy, were both stuck due to
the stubborn onslaught of the freak blizzard assaulting half of

(05:06):
the country. Besides the remaining five girls, there was miss
Keene and Mallory still at the school. Georgina kicked one
of the presents under the tree with an outstretched leg.
I say we get this shit over with, Sue turned
to Cat. Yeah, why not? Can answered. A half hour later,
wrapping paper littered the parlor's royal blue carpet. The girls

(05:28):
had done a secret Sanna, ensuring that each girl got
a gift and they didn't have to spend a lot
of money getting multiple presents. Kat sat with her knees
drawn up on the floor, clutching her gift in her arms,
a simple black T shirt with I'm against it written
on its front in a spray paint font. Whoever had
drawn Cat's name, they certainly knew her tastes. Sitting next

(05:52):
to her was Mallory, the cook, was only a few
years older than her and lived in town with her mother,
who had held the position previously until injuring her back.
Now her daughter supported her. Cat had bonded with her,
both feeling very much the outsider at black Oak's, Malory
had a crisp, no bullshit way of looking at things
and never sat around feeling sorry for herself or whining

(06:15):
about the shit life had handed her. It was something
Kat aspired to do herself. Mallory's secret. Sanna bought her
a simple pendant necklace. She wore it proudly around her neck,
turning to smile at Cat as they all laughed at
one of Miss Keene's stories. Cat drifted in and out
of the story the woman was telling. Her ears picked
up bits and pieces of the news playing on the

(06:37):
TV behind them. The Storm of the Century, flights canceled,
power outages, escaped, mental patients pile up on the throughway.
The girls all laughed again, and Kat joined in instinctively.
Her thoughts turned back towards home, were Mom and Dad
celebrating tonight? Was Mom making her annual Christmas lasagna tomorrow?

(06:58):
She hoped her parents were safe and happy. What's on
your mind? Kat turned to see Malorie looking at her. Nothing,
just Christmas at home, Kat answered, Miss your folks. Yeah,
we we don't always get along, but this time of year, though,

(07:18):
all the shit of the year disappears. Kat smiled, thinking
about the warm feelings she got sitting around the tree
on Christmas morning. How about you? Hope I can get
back into town tomorrow. Spend the day with Mom. Hold
hands you love birds, Georgina mocked. The heavy scent of
whiskey hung in the air as she spoke. Mallory made

(07:41):
a face. God, you're drunk, Georgina laughed, Fuck yeah, Towny.
Kat noticed a repeated thumping sound under the din of
the girl's laughter and the TV. It grew louder and
more ferocious as seconds ticked by, until finally, someone's here,
Kat said, springing up from the floor. All eyes turned

(08:03):
toward her. They stared as if she was in a
one woman play written by a psychotic. At the door,
Kat added. Already headed to the foyer, Kat fumbled with
the door lock as the knocking outside intensified. Miss Kean
and the girls gathered behind her. I told you there's
somebody at the door. Cat felt vindicated. As the knocking continued.
Maybe you shouldn't open that door, Sue spoke up. It

(08:27):
could be a you know, a crazy person. It might
be a rapist, Lois said, or a holy roller. Georgina added,
we'll be buried in watchtowers. From the other side of
the door, a man spoke, Please, I know you're in there.
I need help. Kat looked at Miss King for guidance.

(08:49):
The headmistress nodded her approval. Without hesitation, Kat unlocked the door.
Wind and snow assaulted her immediately. A man, looking half dead,
stood at the center of the mouse. His hair whipped
about as if alive, and his eyes were wide with panic.
The man stumbled into the house, helped along by Cat
and Miss Keene. Sue struggled to shut the door behind them,

(09:11):
the snow and wind fighting her. Mallory stepped in and
helped her close the door. Well, this is something, Georgina said,
observing the scene before her. They took the stranger into
the dining room. A large wood table sat at room center.
The room, much like the living room, had been decorated
for the holiday. Lights and Garland ran along the walls,

(09:33):
and the table was covered by a tablecloth and place
mats depicting Santa and his reindeer on Christmas night. Alison
pulled out one of the chairs for the disheveled man.
Get him a blanket and some coffee. Miss Keen instructed
Allison and Lois, sending the two girls racing off in
opposite directions. Ay I told them I'll be home for Christmas.
The man said, through chapped lips. He looked up into

(09:56):
cat's eyes. My wife and son, they're waiting for me.
Miss Kean took the blanket from a returning Allison and
draped it over the man's shoulders. Were you in an accident?
The man hugged the blanket to himself before nodding. Our
bus went off the road. The snow made it hard
to see. Lois came back with a steaming cup of coffee.

(10:16):
The man gladly took the mug, holding it in his
hands for the warmth that radiated. Whereabout did you crash?
Miss Keen asked how many people were on the bus
besides you. I don't know where. The storm made it
hard to see any landmarks. The man took a sip
of coffee. Ten. I think there was maybe ten on

(10:36):
the bus. He pondered this for a moment before continuing,
I went for help and I got lost, he laughed grimly.
I was in the army, some tracker I turned out
to be. I used to go through the jungle like nothing.
We should call the police, Lois said, and tell them

(10:56):
what Georgina pointed out. We don't know where this guy crashed.
Where are we going to send them. Mallory stepped forward.
She's right, we should get you to a hospital, miss
Keane said, turning towards the man. I'll call for an ambulance.
The headmistress left. There were only two working phones at
Black Oak's, one in miss Kean's office and the other

(11:17):
in the wreck room. The girls weren't allowed to have
cell phones, as they were felt to be too much
of a distraction from their studies. The same went for
the internet. The girls were allowed laptops for assignments, but
couldn't even get those online. After a few minutes, a
stone faced miss Keen returned. The phone is out, she
informed the girls, fighting to conceal any troubling emotion that

(11:38):
might slip out. It must be the blizzard. I'm so hungry,
the man groaned, his voice full of pain and regret.
I'm starving. Mallory went to the kitchen to get the
man some food, while Kat and the others stayed with
him in the dining room. Under the circumstances, miss Keen
addressed the group. I think it best I drove into

(11:59):
town with our guest. We can get him help and
get a search started for that bus. There was some
debate over the idea before the headmistress's authority went out.
Over the girl's doubts, miss Keen agreed to take Lois
and Alison with her and the man into town. The
stranger greedily devoured the tune of fish Sandwich Mallory brought him.
As Miss Keen and the two girls geared up for

(12:19):
their trip, Cat donated one of her trench coats for
the man to wear out into the bitter cold. The
remaining girls watched as the four headed towards the garage.
The four swallowed up by the blizzard. Cat took one
last look outside before closing and locking the door. Georgina

(12:41):
sauntered off back to the parlor. Back to our regularly
scheduled program, she quipped. Anxious. Cat glanced out the window.
It had been fifteen minutes. Shouldn't she have seen something
from the garage by now? A light from the car
through the billowing snow, just something to confirm they'd left.

(13:02):
I don't like this, she muttered, Where are they? It's
going to take time in this weather, Sue answered, Pulling
on her jacket and hat, she unlocked the door. I'm
gonna go check on them, just to make sure Sue
thought about it. Can't hurt. I'll go with. We'll hold
down the fort, Georgina said, lighting up a cigarette. As

(13:23):
soon as Sue was ready, the two girls headed outside.
Malory stood inside the doorframe. Hurry back, I'll have some
hot chocolate waiting. Don't leave me alone with that boozy
bitch for too long. Cat laughed. Don't worry, we won't.
I heard that, Georgina hollered from the parlor. Don't care,
Mallory shot back, slamming the door shut. The snow was

(13:45):
ankle deep as the girls made their way down the walk,
holding gloved hands as snow and bitter cold wind raged
around them. Cold snow slipped down into Cat's boots. She
felt her nose start to run as her cheeks reddened.
Halfway to the she was already regretting coming out here.
Why couldn't the fucking garage be connected to the damn house,

(14:07):
she moaned. Sue made a face. Kat had forgot the
girl's disdain for colorful language. With the garage in sight,
the pair were surprised to see the garage door still closed,
car headlights visible from within the slats. Entering, the girls
found Miss Keane's van sitting there, headlights on, doors closed,

(14:28):
melting snow. Footprints led to the van, but none led away.
There seemed to be something smeared on the interior windows,
making it hard to see inside. The faint sound of
music came from within the vehicle. Is that Buddy, Holly,
She asked? It was indeed, as Buddy sang about a

(14:51):
love that never fades away. Kat touched the handle of
the driver's side door. She glanced at Sue, who nodded
in approval, turned the handle, slowly, opening the door. Miss Keene,
is everything all right? In response, something fell from the
van with a moist thud, rolling to a stop next

(15:12):
to Sue's feet, causing her to scream. Before Kat could
turn to see what was wrong, her eyes were caught
by the van's interior, which was covered in splashes of
dripping crimson. Human limbs, chunks of flesh, and what appeared
to be intestines littered the front seats. The next thing,
Cat knew, what she'd had for dinner, now covered her

(15:33):
boots and part of the floor. Oh god, Cat groaned.
Sue had stopped screaming and was now doing an impromptu
impression of a monty Python routine. It's it's, it's Miss
Keane's head lay at Sue's feet. The dead head Mistress's
eyes were wide with terror. I'm starving. The stranger's voice

(15:58):
came from somewhere in the show shadows of the garage.
I couldn't help it. Kat took Sue's hand, ready to
drag the girl out of there if need be, Backing
towards the side door they entered by. They hadn't gotten
more than a few steps when something slithered out from
under the van. The thing grabbed Sue by the leg

(16:19):
and wrenched the startled girl off her feet, which caused
Kat to lose her footing as well. Desperately, Cat scrambled
to grab the screaming girl's outstretched hand. The thing that
had hold of Sue was faster, dragging the red haired
girl into the darkness under the van. Screaming once more
filled the air before being suddenly cut off. Gripped by terror,
Cat half crawled, half ran for the door. Stumbling out

(16:42):
into the snow, Cat gasped her breath as the wind hammered,
her heart pounding. She retraced her footprints in the snow drifts.
She tried to block what she saw in the van
from her head, tried not to think about what must
be happening to Sue back there in the garage. It
had happened so fast, could she have possibly saved her
Back At the main haise euse, Cat found the front
door locked. Pounding on it, she waited, prayed for someone

(17:04):
to open it. Suddenly overtaken with the feeling that someone
was behind her, Cat spun around in the distance through
the snow. She saw them standing there at the end
of the driveway, three figures. Then she saw two more
standing in adrift on the lawn, their features obscured by
snow and distance. She wanted to call out to them

(17:27):
for help, but something about them felt wrong. Filling her
head with dread, she returned to pounding the door frantically.
The door opened. Cat pushed past a slightly aggravated Georgina,
nearly falling to her knees. Panic stricken and out of breath,
tears and snot were frozen to her face. What the hell,

(17:48):
Georgina said, Who's that out there? She poked her head
out the door. Who are those people? Close the door?
Cat gasped warm air, burning her lungs lock it. Georgina
slammed the door shut, clicking the dead bolt in place.
As Stevie Nick's belt it out silent night from the
parlor's TV. Cat stood feeling her knees shake. Looking down
at her shirt, she noticed chunks of vomit. Pulling off

(18:11):
her coat and shirt, Cat walked into the parlor. Georgina
followed her. What the fuck is going on? Where's the sidekick?
Kat pulled on her I'm against it T shirt. She
took a deep breath, not wanting to say the words
She's dead. Georgina laughed, what are you shitting me? No,

(18:35):
Kat's eyes scammed the room. Where's Mallory in the kitchen
washing dishes or some shit? Sue's dead? What the fuck?
Kat took off for the kitchen. Georgina storming after her,
profanity flowing freely from her mouth. They found Mallorie in
the kitchen, standing uneasily next to the stranger seated at

(18:57):
the counter eating a sandwich. Your friend made me a
nice sandwich. He took a bite from it, blood running
down his chin as he chewed. Pieces of fleshy meat
stuck to the corners of his mouth. That's disgusting, Georgina gasped.
Mallory get away from him. Cat reached out towards the

(19:18):
young cook. A large kitchen knife gleamed near Mallory's side,
held in the stranger's free hand. I think she's fine
right here, the man smiled bloodily. Oh there's a hair
in my mouth. He pulled a red hair from between
his teeth. Who the fuck are you, Georgina asked, horrified

(19:43):
and angry. Just a man on his way home from
a pointless war in the jungle, sick of being called
baby killer. Just wanted to get home to my wife
and boy for Christmas. The man sighed, his eyes focusing
on something long gone. And then that goddamn blizzard hit.

(20:04):
The old drunk behind the wheel of the bus drove
us into a ditch on some backwoods road. I went
for help with one of the passengers, and we got
lost in the storm. A chill ran down Cat's spine
as the man spoke, I don't know how long we
were out there. I got so hungry, and the other

(20:25):
man was falling behind in the bush. You had to
do anything it took to survive. He was holding me back,
and I needed food, so the man licked his blood
caked lips and laughed. And then the next day I
found myself back at the fucking bus, those ungrateful shits

(20:46):
criticizing me for getting lost, accusing me after everything I did,
everything I went through, it was too much and a
man's gotta eat. Cat felt sick to her stomach. She
willed herself not to throw up for a second time.
That night, it came to me standing there at the

(21:07):
edge of the trees. It called to me, when to go,
demon spirit, my burden, my curse, the hunger inside me.
That's where it lives, keeping me alive to feed it.
Georgina scoffed, that's a pretty fucked up story, buddy. What

(21:31):
are you smoking? And can I get some? A loud
knock came from the door. They're here, the man said,
as he stood. I hate to eat and run, but
their company. I try not to keep Who are those
people out there? Georgina asked, I really must be going.
I fucked around here too long. The stranger held the

(21:53):
tip of the knife to Malory's throat. I was looking
forward to sampling all of this. Young flesh tastes so
much better than that old hag in the car. He
backed towards the rear door that connected the kitchen to
the courtyard behind the main house. Another knock came from
the front door. Shit, I don't think I have time
to even slaughter you bitches properly. I'll have to be quick.

(22:16):
Cat scanned the kitchen quickly. The stranger could kill Mallory
before she got to a knife. There had to be
something else. A third knock came from the front door.
With his free hand, the stranger yanked Mallory's head back
by her long blonde hair, exposing her neck. Quick and easy, babe.
The stranger grinned. The whine of a kettle sliced through
the tension of the kitchen, causing the man to look
up from his prey just in time to see Cat

(22:38):
snatch it from the stove. Have a little hot chocolate.
Cat screamed as the scolding water hit the man dead
center in the face. He let go of Mallory and
the knife as he held his face, screaming in pain.
Mallory screamed herself as some of the water had hit
her as well. Cat hurled the now empty kettle at
the wounded stranger. Georgina, for her part, pulled the startled
Mallory to her feet. Let's get the fuck out of here,

(23:01):
Georgina shouted. The girls started towards the door, but the
man blocked their escape route, holding his ragged face with
one hand and a knife in the other. You cunts
aren't going anywhere. The truea of girls turned and ran
out the kitchen, down the hallway towards the front door.
Out there, Georgina stopped them. What choice do we have,

(23:21):
kat said, out one of the windows. Mallory answered. The
stranger stood in the hallway, having replaced the knife with
a meat cleaver. You ain't going anywhere. I could have ran,
but you three really pissed me off. The knocking on
the door turned into a loud banging. The man charged
them with the cleaver, forcing the girls to run into
the parlor, slicing at them as they went. Georgina lunged

(23:44):
towards the fireplace, grabbing a poker. Spinning around, she confronted
the stranger, swinging the poker at him. It collided with
the stranger's head with a sickening thud. Never messed with
a chick from the upper east Side, asshole. Georgina followed
up with a couple of hard swings, but her cockiness
was her downfall. As the stranger caught the poker, yanking
it from her grip, he kicked her in the gut,
doubling Georgina over in pain. Throwing the poker aside, the

(24:07):
stranger hoisted the cleaver, ready to strike down on the
stunned girl. Cat ran towards the man, howling like a banshee,
attempting to tackle him. She grabbed the man's hand holding
the cleaver. The two struggled, but the man was stronger
and a trained fighter. Using Kat's weight and momentum against her,
he sent her sailing into the Christmas tree with a
loud crash. Both the girls and the tree went down

(24:28):
in an explosion of tinsel and ornaments. From the foyer
came a sound of straining wood as the pounding assault
continued on the front door. Cat, now caught up in
the tinsel and lights of the tree, struggled to free yourself.
The man stalked towards her, a desperate evil smile on
his burned lips. She watched helpless, unable to defend herself.
A strand of lights dropped over his head, wrapping around

(24:51):
his neck. Standing behind him, Mallory pulled it tight, choking him.
Holding tight the young cook pulled him away from Cat.
The pair stumbled towards the fire the the man clumsily
taking wild swings with the cleaver, trying to hit Mallory
behind him. Taking a handful of the man's unkempt hair
with one hand and holding the strand tight with the other,
Malory rammed the man's head into the mantle repeatedly until

(25:12):
the bloodied and battered man pushed away from her. Yanking
the strand from his neck, he hurled it to the ground.
Finally free of the Christmas tree, Cat was on her feet.
Picking up the discarded fire poker. She attacked the stranger,
screaming as she beat him. Georgina picked up a second
poker and swung primily as well, forcing the man to
fall to his knees. The girl stopped when the front

(25:32):
door shattered. The three girls turned as something shambled into
the house. Standing framed in the parlor door stood a
decayed corpse dressed in a tattered, age ravaged bus driver's uniform.
Standing behind it were similarly decayed corpses. The three girls

(25:56):
stood tall and readied themselves for a new fight. To
their surprise, the dead ignored the three. The walking corpses
surrounded the man, who now knelt laughing hysterically behind him.
The discarded strand had partially fallen into the fireplace, Burning

(26:17):
like a fuse, it had lit the carpet up. The
fire was quickly spreading. Come and get it, you bastards,
the man laughed as the dead descended on him, ripping
at his flesh. Let's get the fuck out of here,
Cat said, as she watched the man being ripped apart.

(26:38):
The three girls hurried out of the house as the
fire and the dead claimed it. They stood on the
lawn for several minutes, watching the house burn, holding their
jackets tight in the bitter cold. So now what, Georgina asked,
Walk to town, Cat said. Mallory shook her head. We

(26:58):
should wait out the fire and storm in one of
the staff buildings. They're far enough away not to catch fire.
We should be warm. There sounds like a plan, Georgina said.
Kat looked at her two friends. Merry Christmas, guys, ba umbug,
Georgina laughed. The three girls trudged through the snow. Kat

(27:22):
turned to take a last look at the burning Building
before continuing on Christmas Rage by Rob Fields. December twenty

(27:43):
third evening, Strickfield Town Center Mall only seemed to be
a hopping place around the holidays. The vacancies left during
the usual ten months out of the year were mostly
filled by seasonal stores. There was even a Santa Claus
house in the mall's center. Families would line up with
their children, many of whom had Christmas lists to give

(28:05):
to Santa. But on this day things were about to
take macabre turn. Santa Claus had just taken his seat
on his throne. Templeton, Mirrn, the owner of the mall,
and his family were right there in front of him.
Santa just sat there and looked right at them. Templeton
appeared to be patient. When Santa's silence got to be

(28:29):
too much, Templeton leaned in and whispered loudly, if you
don't get your act together, Stanley, you'll be enjoying this
Christmas on your fucking welfare check. Stanley Monroe was always
tapped to play Santa Claus from Black Friday until Christmas
Eve at the Strickfield Town Center Mall. But as Santa
slowly stood up and glared at Templeton Miran and his family.

(28:52):
He seemed to have a foreboding presence. Then Santa opened
the door to his house and received several screams. When
the slain, bloody body of Stanley Monroe just fell out
onto the porch. The family scattered in different directions. Santa
took his time as he reached inside the house and

(29:12):
pulled out the same bloody axe that he had used
on Stanley earlier. Then he marched toward Templeton Mirran, raising
his lethal weapon. Templeton Mirron turned and yanked a nearby
father right in front of the Santa. The father never
uttered a peep as Santa buried the blade right in
his head. The other bystanders were too frightened to see

(29:32):
what Templeton Mirron had done. They never saw him or
his wicked wife grab their children and leave from there.
Santa pulled the axe out of the father's head and
buried it into another bystander. As it came upon a
midnight clear slowly began to play over the mall speakers.

(29:55):
Christmas Eve morning, I awaken in a different room, and
remember that I'm here at Franklin Sloan's house. Franklin invited
me to come home with him for Christmas. Franklin and
I have been seeing each other since late August. In fact,
he's been my only companion this semester. After I take
a shower and get dressed, I hear arguing downstairs. I

(30:18):
make my way down and stop short when I hear
that I'm the topic of discussion. Actually, it's more like
Franklin's parents are giving him a hard time about me.
The more I listen, the more I hear his father,
Joseph and his stepmother Delphine just discouraging him. His dad
tells him there's no way that a big titted putana

(30:42):
like me would ever care for him. They tell him
that I'm just using him for my own selfish ends.
Franklin argues back and tells them that I'm nothing like that.
He tells them we've been seeing each other since the
beginning of the fall semester. He asks them what I
could possibly be using him for. Here's the irony. I

(31:03):
am using Franklin, but not for the reasons his parents
are implying. They think I'm with him for money, or
that I'm waiting to humiliate him. I'm fully aware that
people look at Franklin and decide that he's the biggest
nerd there is. Do you have any idea how many
times I've heard people whisper that to each other when
they think I'm not listening. I even hear those same

(31:26):
people wondering how someone like me would even be with Franklin.
Delphine tells Franklin that I'm way too beautiful for him.
She even tells Franklin that I would never have sex
with him, that people like me belong with fraternity boys. Yes,
I certainly could have had my pick of a fraternity
boy or even a jock. The problem with those types

(31:48):
of guys is that they would only want to have
sex with me just for a short time. They would
not want to commit to me. No, I need much
more than their willing to give. For those of you
who haven't been following me since the beginning, from the
time I came into the world, I have never felt

(32:09):
so much as a single emotion. Perhaps my being emotionless
is why I'm a serial killer. Your society has labeled
me the angel of death because I destroy those who
prey on innocent people. I suppose the closest thing to
emotion that I feel is my ever insistent bloodlust, which
pushes me onward to claim my victims. In fact, I'm

(32:32):
feeling the urgent need to kill right now. I make
my way to the dining room. The family doesn't hear
me come in until I'm right there, right when Franklin
yells at Delphine, that's your problem. You always think everybody's
out to get me. Well, rage isn't like that at all.
Franklin becomes quiet when he realizes I'm here. The family

(32:54):
is just looking at me. Now. Perhaps I should just go.
I say clearly, I'm not wanted or welcome here. I'll
just get my things and go back to my dorm.
Delphine looks sternly at me. You heard everything I nod
once I did, and you're wrong about me. I fold

(33:14):
my arms in front of me. Please enlighten me. What
do I hope to gain by using Franklin? Delphine takes
a deep breath. Do you see yourself, Reagan? Do you
see Franklin? Do you see how completely mismatched the two
of you are? You can have any man you want.

(33:35):
Why would you settle for Franklin? While I myself don't
have emotions? I have come to understand a great deal
about how emotions can move people, both positively and negatively.
Watching enough television and being around Mama long enough will
do that for someone like me. So let me get
this straight. Just because I'm a beautiful girl and Franklin's

(33:57):
a nerd, I would not want to be with some
one like him. Then why would I date Franklin? Why
would I agree to come home with him for Christmas?
Delphine glares at me. Now, well, I don't know. Why
don't you tell us I agreed to come here with
Franklin because he asked me to. I reply, I wasn't

(34:20):
going home for Christmas, and Franklin didn't want me to
be alone. I'm thinking he invited me out of the
kindness of his heart. That's why I choose to be
with Franklin. He's kind to me. He's never once tried
to take advantage of me. I enjoy his company. I
unfold and lower my arms. I can't believe that you
and your husband would cut Franklin down like this, especially

(34:42):
you a church minister. Delphine took over being the minister
of Strickfield Community Church after the scandal with Minister Darren
Harlowe years ago. Yes, it's the usual type of scandal
you read about with children. After Harlowe was removed, Delphine
became the new minister. She had to work very hard
to keep the church going, but she managed to do it.

(35:04):
I was a freshman in high school when this happened.
By the way, Delphine's been quite strict on Franklin ever since,
according to what he's told me about her and from
what I've just witnessed. I put a comforting hand on
Franklin's shoulder. Are you all right? Franklin shakes his head.
Can we just leave rage? Yes, yes we can. I reply,

(35:26):
go pack a few things and we can have Christmas
at my dorm. Franklin leaves the dining room. His parents
only glare at me before I turn and head back
up to the guest room to pack my things. You're
thinking that I want to kill them both, right, Nope,
they're both innocent, so I can't kill them. Ah. Yes,

(35:47):
now we're getting to what I want to tell you.
I currently have an even greater need to satisfy, even
more than I need to kill. Now, while I don't
feel anything emotional, I do feel things that are physical
I know when I need to eat, drink, sleep, clean
my body, seek comfort. I did say that I'm looking

(36:10):
to use Franklin. As of late, I'm feeling the need
to have sex. I was able to get by for
many years without having to fulfill this basic need. Now
my sex drive is becoming as insistent as my bloodlust.
It's because of this that I've come to realize that
I need a mate, a constant companion. I need someone

(36:31):
who can be good company for me and satisfy my
sexual desires when the need arises. In turn, I would
be just as responsive to my mate. Would you call
me a primal girl in spite of my highly developed brain,
Perhaps you would be right. Franklin Sloane is one of
the few young men at Strickfield University who's taken an
interest in me. Over time, he's shown me that he

(36:53):
is both a suitable companion and an intellectual peer. I
really don't care that Franklin is a skinny nerd who
talks about chess or contemporary movies. I don't even care
that the rest of you in the female population are
repulsed by him. Unlike you, I don't have it in
me to be repulsed by him. On the other hand,
I don't even have it in me to be able
to love him. Regardless, Franklin has proven himself to be

(37:16):
a suitable companion for me and my desires for him
to be my mate. Franklin comes and gets me You ready, Rage, Yes,
we can go. We head downstairs to the front door.
Before we leave, Franklin turns to his parents. I really
thought we were going to have a normal family Christmas
this time, even with my bringing Rage. But I can

(37:38):
see now that's never going to happen. Come on, Rage,
let's go once more. Franklin's parents exchange looks. Then I
turn and leave with Franklin. Franklin is settled in my
dorm room. I didn't have a room mate during the
fall semester. The only reason I'm allowed to stay over
the holiday break is because I'm attending classes here at
Strickfield University next semester. Franklin looks pretty down. I'm sorry

(38:03):
you had to see that back home, Rage, We're both
sitting on our beds. I reach across and take his hands.
May I say something? He raises his eyes to mine. Sure,
I know you're probably having your doubts about me. Please don't.
I really do want to be with you. But why

(38:23):
rage Why are you still with me? Delphine's right, you
can have any man you want. I could ramble to
Franklin about why I want him, but I've learned that
actions can speak a lot for a person. Still holding
his hands, I move across to Franklin's bed, then we kiss.
The more we get into our kiss, the more I'm

(38:45):
feeling that I can't hold back any more. I need
him so desperately I let go of his hands. Franklin
is surprised when he sees me stand up and take
off my clothes. Once I'm naked, I pull back the
covers on my bed and lay down to face him.
It's just you and me, Franklin. The dorm is all ours.

(39:06):
I want to take this next step with you. If
you do too, then come be with me. I only
want and desire you, Franklin. Franklin trusts me enough to
where he knows I'm sincere. He removes his clothes and
climbs into bed with me. Christmas Eve, late afternoon. The

(39:32):
Strickfield Community Center was always a place where parents could
bring their children on Christmas Eve for things such as
Christmas stories, Christmas cakes and cookies, hot chocolate, and visiting
with Santa. It had been just as much of a
tradition as the fact that each in every household in
Strickfield would be decorated to make the village look like
a winter wonderland, with the exception of the Waldoff property

(39:55):
that belonged to the Mirons. In fact, Delphine Brewster Sloane
helped run the establishment along with a few other mothers.
Delphine was making more mugs of hot chocolate when Missus
Patterson walked into the kitchen. She gave Delphine a look
of desperation. Mary, what's wrong. Hasn't our Santa arrived yet?
Delphine asked. Mary Patterson reached out, stopped motionless for a moment,

(40:20):
then fell flat on her face to reveal the axe
that was sticking out of her back. Delphine screamed, Then
she looked up and screamed even louder as the bloodstains.
Santa Claus stormed in and retrieved the axe from Mary
Patterson's back. Santa looked right at Delphine and watched her
scream when he drew back the axe. Somehow, she forced
herself to duck. When the axe blade became embedded in

(40:42):
a cupboard, Delphine shoved Santa down and ran out. Delphine
tried to yell for everyone to leave quickly. The shrilling
scream of the Santa Claus from Hell overshadowed the soft
Christmas music. Then more screams overshadowed Santa's as he chased
after people while swinging the axe, sinking it into a
few more parents. Delphine grabbed a folding chair and moved
at Santa to try and keep him from killing any

(41:03):
more parents or even children. Santa howled with rage and
disarmed Delphine with a few hard swings of the axe.
Santa shoved her down and raised the axe for the kill.
Delphine held her hands up and screamed as her life
flashed right before her eyes. Christmas Eve evening, I awaken

(41:26):
and know that Franklin and I are spooned up together.
We spent much of the afternoon having sex. Franklin has
definitely proven to be my chosen mate. As he satisfied
my every desire, I in turn focused to satisfy his.
Then we fell asleep together. My need for sex is satisfied.
For the time being. However, my need to kill is

(41:50):
as urgent as ever. I managed to slip out of bed.
Franklin is still fast asleep. I need to go out
and prowl for a kill. Since it's Christmas Eve, I
don't really think I'm going to find anyone. I may
end up having to wait until the day after Christmas
to look for somebody. My bloodlust is demanding satisfaction, but

(42:12):
I'm not going to take an innocent to do it.
I get dressed and grab my smartphone. I leave the
dorm and begin my walk around Strickfield. If Franklin texts me,
I'll just tell him that I'm picking up food for
us from either Andy's China Garden or Denoyer's grill down town,
which are always open. If I had emotions, I'm sure

(42:33):
it would simply amaze me at how this village goes
all out for many of the holidays, including Christmas. Every
house is decorated and lit brightly. Some of the yards
even have animatronics. In spite of all this, I still
continue to feel my constant numbness. It isn't long before
I hear the sounds of police cars in the distance.

(42:55):
I decide to go and see what's going on. I
know I'm only a police intern, which is why I'm
not being called. Strickfield PD only calls me when it
comes to detective work. If there are that many police cars,
it's probably something more dire that doesn't require detective work.
Just the same, I'm going to go and see for myself.

(43:15):
When I get to the scene the Strickfield Community Center,
Mayor Patrick Gunter recognizes me and waves for me to
come over. I know you've been helping the police, but
this doesn't require you tonight. Can you at least tell
me what's going on? I ask? Mayor Gunter tells me
that there's an escaped lunatic from glen View Asylum inside
the building, wearing a Santa Claus suit and killing people

(43:37):
left and right. He mentions how this Santa left bodies
all over center Court at Strickfield Town Center Mall last night.
As Mayor Gunter keeps talking, my bloodlust is going crazy,
commanding me to claim this Santa. Just what Mayor Gunter
tells me alone is enough to wear. I don't have
to do my usual research. But the question now is

(43:58):
how do I get inside the com Comunity Center without
the police seeing me. Then I immediately have a plan
and proceed with its execution. I say goodbye to Mayor
Gunter and wish him a good holiday. I know the
village of Strickfield very well, thanks to all the maps
on hand at the police station, including the one for

(44:21):
the sewer system. Because of my highly photographic memory, I
immediately remembered the way into the community center through the
sewer tunnels. I open a manhole covered down in the
crawl space where the shower pipes are located and come
out that way. After putting the cover back on, I
begin my hunt for this Santa. My bloodlust is nagging

(44:41):
at me now. It doesn't take me long to locate Santa.
He's got a few women trapped in the kitchen, and
then I immediately recognize Franklin's stepmother as one of them.
When we started seeing each other, Franklin told me that
Delphine volunteers her time here when she's not being the
minister for Strickfield Community Church. It looks as though Delphine

(45:02):
got beat up, but she's still alive. I know that
Franklin would be devastated if anything were to happen to
his parents. The two of them put Franklin down, and
yet he still thinks the world of them. I literally
don't understand it. Just the same, I know I've got
to do something to save these people. Santa never says

(45:22):
a word. He just glares at the eight women he's
holding hostage. He even raises his axe and brings it
down in front of them, making them shriek or scream.
Even I understand how cowardly it is for an empowered
male to attack a helpless female. I tighten my fists
as my bloodlust now screams for me to take his
fucking life. I must use my head. I can't just

(45:45):
go in there and fight him. It would be different
if Santa wasn't toying with those women. Then I move
stealthily into the kitchen. He doesn't see me as I
carefully slide open a drawer and pull out a kitchen knife.
All I have to do is just draw it back.
Then I'll fling it right into his back. As I
raise the knife for the kill, I get a text

(46:08):
chime on my smartphone, and no, it's from Franklin. That
throws off my plan. As Santa turns and sees me
with my knife raised, he screams and rushes right at me.
Delphine is surprised to see me now, Reagan, no, she
cries out. When Santa reaches me, he swings the axe wildly.
I quickly hit the floor and feel the rush of
the blade go right over the back of my head.

(46:29):
As I quickly turn onto my back, Santa raises his
axe and brings it down. I turn over again and
hear it hit the floor. I get to my feet
and kick Santa in the back of the knee to
take his leg out from underneath him. Santa growls and
falls to the floor. I still have the knife in
my hand. Before I can raise it to stab him,
Delphine surprises both of us by crying out and ripping
the axe away from Santa. Reagan, get out of here now,

(46:52):
Delphine cries. Santa quickly gets back to his feet, then
he reaches out and grabs the axe. Having a struggle
with Delphine. I don't see the other women that were
with Delphine and determine that she must have gotten them
out while I was distracting Santa. I'm definitely ready to
stab Santa now, but I know that I can't let
Delphine wait a minute. She won't know that I'm a

(47:13):
serial killer. Killing Santa would just be a matter of
helping Delphine of self defense. Neither Delphine nor Santa can
see what must be the evil glow in my eyes
that all of my past victims have seen. All I
have to do is move up behind Santa. Delphine will
be splattered with his blood once I slice his throat.

(47:34):
But common sense gets the better of me. I can't
let Delphine see just how violent I can truly become.
She might tell Franklin, and I would possibly lose my mate.
I have another idea. I quickly make my way around
to where Santa can easily see me. Hey, Santa's eyes
are on me as I pull my Christmas sweater up

(47:54):
and show him my large breasts pika boobies. His eyes
are locked right on my breast, which gives Delphine the advantage.
She yanks the axe out of Santa's hands and swings
it to catch him right in the gut. He groans
and stands for a long moment. I pull my sweater
down as Delphine removes the axe and nails him one
more time before he finally goes down. I quickly pull

(48:18):
out my smartphone and call the police. I get Mayor
Gunter and tell him that everything's all right and that
Santa is slaid. My bloodlust is screaming at me for
a fresh victim, but I had to give my kill
de Delphine to keep my secret. Delphine and I are
alone now. After I finished talking to Mayor Gunter, she

(48:38):
turns to me and gives me a stern look. Really, Reagan,
showing him your dirty pillows. I look sternly at her
in return. You are still alive because of my dirty pillows.
Never forget that. Delphine and I keep glaring at one another. Finally,
Delphine softens her expression and sighs. She looks around and

(49:02):
moves to make sure that we're truly alone. I can't
imagine why she would need to do that. She returns
to me, Yes, you did save many lives today, Reagan.
Then she leans in and says quietly, I know who
and what you are. Don't try to hide it from me.

(49:23):
You are the angel of death. Then she backs away
to get my reaction. I just look at Delphine. I
think you're mistaken. Delphine shakes her head slowly. I'm not
You don't know, Reagan, but many years ago, you've saved

(49:44):
many lives that night, including mine. Just then, Mayor Gunter
comes in with some police officers. He points right at me.
Reagan Devereaux over here. Now, Delphine mouths to me, we'll
talk later. I to her and address Mayor Gunter, who
gives me hell for not keeping my distance on account

(50:04):
of my being a college intern. At the same time,
he congratulates me on being the hero. Of course, I
make sure that Delphine has given her fair share of
the credit, since I didn't stop that Santa from Hell alone.
Christmas afternoon, I look into the eyes of Templeton Mirran.

(50:27):
After I remove his blindfold, then I remove his wife's.
I have both of them secured to tables in their basement.
Then I remove their gags. What the fuck is this, destiny,
Mirn demands. I move to the front where they can
see me. I have a remote control in my hand,
and I turn on their television. I have a little

(50:48):
video here that I'd very much like the two of
you to see. I tell them I play what is
the security camera footage that was taken from the Strickfield
Town Center mall. Could I have gotten any more lucky?
He Chief Kashmak was a little strapped at the station,
so he asked me if i'd stick around and go
through the security footage from the mall. After texting Franklin

(51:09):
and letting him know where I was, I went to
the station and looked over the footage. Then I saw
the angle to where Templeton Miron had grabbed an innocent
man and pulled him right into the path of the
killer Santa, just so he could preserve his own life.
His wife had seen what her husband had done and
wasn't concerned in the least. She only moved to get

(51:30):
Templeton and the kids out of the mall quickly. Neither
Destiny nor Templeton looked back. After finishing the footage, I
stopped the video and look at them, and he questions,
so what, Destiny groans, looking as annoyed as she sounded,
all this over an insignificant man, Templeton adds, it looks
to me as if your family could have easily gotten away,

(51:52):
But you grabbed that man and pulled him right in
front of the killer, guaranteeing his death. In effect, you
killed him in cold blood your wife saw you and
didn't care, in effect condoning what you did. So now
I'm going to claim the both of you. Your children
are with their grandparents. I've even disabled your cameras in

(52:13):
your security system. It's just the three of us here.
I even have pictures to display of shady bank records
and illegal money laundering. I even found some darknet stuff
that they were involved in. Too much to list here,
but seeing the security video from his own mall was
more than a red flag for me. Normally, I'd have

(52:35):
killed them just based on that, but I wanted more
to give to the police. After all, these two are
from the infamous Miran family. The two of them are
quite emotionless. The only difference between these mirrors and myself
is that I was naturally born without emotions. These two
are of great money and privilege, so much that they

(52:57):
just stopped caring. I'm wearing a plastic poncho and have
an axe cradled in my hands. Oh wait, it looks
as if they do know fear. They see my evil
glare and beg for their lives. Oh but it's far
too late for that. Templeton and Destiny Miron let the

(53:19):
punishment fit the crime. Destiny screams as I bring the
axe right down on her face, and I feel so
much better now that my bloodlust is finally being satiated.
Christmas evening, Delphine called Franklin and made things right with him.

(53:41):
She even told him to bring me back to the
house for Christmas dinner. I agreed when he asked me,
and all was well. Franklin's dad still gave me some
distrustful looks, but that was it. Delphine asked me to
help her in the kitchen so we could have our
little talk. As it turned out, Delphi had indeed discovered
my secret. When she said that I had saved the

(54:03):
lives of her and many children that night, it was
because she had discovered Minister Harlowe's terrible secret. She had
tried to stop him on her own, using the legal system,
but his influence was too strong. She decided that she
would bring him down alone, even if it meant breaking
the commandment regarding killing. As it turned out, I had
read the story about Harlow in our newspaper in North Ridgeway.

(54:27):
I came to Strickfield to claim him. After I did
my research, I broke into Harlow's house, not knowing that
Delphine was already there ahead of me, I ended up
finding five children that Harlow had locked up in his basement.
I freed them and told them to keep quiet. Harlow
wasn't expecting a high school freshman girl to come for him.

(54:47):
After going up to the second floor and beating the
living shit out of Harlow, I tied him up to
his bed and castrated him. Even then, I remembered Mamma's
words about making the punishment fit the crime. Delphine had
been hiding in a closet, possibly waiting for the right
moment to strike Harlowe herself, and discovered that I was

(55:09):
the angel of death. After cleaning myself up, I gave
one of my burner phones to the kids and told
them to call the police. Delphine told me that after
I had left, she had explained everything to the police,
leaving me out of it. Delphine gave me a big
hug and thanked me for what I had done today

(55:29):
and back then. She promised me that she would keep
my secret. The only thing she asked was for me
not to hurt Franklin. I in turn promised her that
I wouldn't. Delphine never so much as gave me or
Franklin a hard time ever again. That night, Franklin and
I go back to my dorm. After we have sex,

(55:52):
Franklin and I talk. He tells me that he only
wants to make me happy. I tell him that I
am well in my own way. I'm more than content
on having Franklin Sloane as my mate, and I tell
him that I'm not leaving him. Franklin has a realization
I have something for you rage. He gets out of

(56:14):
bed and brings me a small gift wrapped box. I
unwrap and open it to reveal his high school class ring.
It's not much, Franklin tells me, but I know how
I feel about you. Maybe Dad and Delphine are right
about you being too good for me, But I need
to know. Reagan Devereux, will you marry me? I will,

(56:39):
I say, without hesitation. Franklin is speechless in his emotions,
but he finally finds himself and puts his ring on
my finger. I return the favor by giving him my
high school ring on a necklace. I only wish that
I could feel the love that Franklin feels for me. Regardless,
I will be a good wife to him, he will

(57:00):
be a good husband to me. So this turned out
to be a very good Christmas for me. After all.
Merry Christmas, everyone, don't be naughty. Welcome to Tiny Christmas

(57:33):
Iowa by Michelle Adler. I let out a sigh as
my Uber passed the now entering Tiny Christmas Iowa sign.
According to the sign, it's the tiniest, most Christmasiest place
in all of Iowa. My uber driver, a Jeep, chuckled,
sensing my displeasure. I'm sure it's just as Christmasy as

(57:56):
all fuck, I say, trying to come off as cheery
and almosting until that curse word at the end. I
lied on my interview. I hate Christmas. I hate the Midwest.
The only thing I know about Iowa is that it's
a Slipknot album and I've never designed a window display
in my life. I am just an unemployable, grumpy freelance

(58:17):
graphic designer from New York City trying to find any
work that isn't stocking shelves at a grocery store. To
be honest, I didn't realize the position was out of
state until after I'd applied. I had initially intended to
turn the job down, as I'd never had any desire
to live anywhere other than the city that Never sleeps.
The high rise condos, rats, street vendors, homeless people on

(58:42):
every street, corner, bodega's also on every corner, and constant
bustle are things I've lived for. But at this point,
maybe it's time to stop pretending I could make it
in NYC anymore. It wasn't like I had a support
system either, no family left and no friends to speak of.
I hadn't even been on a date, and the last

(59:03):
two years my social life revolved mostly around my interactions
with my landlord, none of which were pleasant. I heard
that she was so happy I was leaving. Apparently she
even threw me a goodbye party after I left. I
lived for my work, but things have been so hard lately.
Maybe it was time for me to give up. Maybe

(59:24):
it was time for me to start over. Ma'am. That's
all good and fine, but we're here, Ajit said, while
simultaneously unlocking the doors. I hadn't realized we'd even stopped,
or that I was talking out loud. I guess it
had been a while since I'd been around other people.
I started to open the door before even looking at
where I was. When I did, I pulled it back shut.

(59:48):
This can't be right, I mumbled, fumbling for my phone
to pull up the address I'd been given. I was
sure I was supposed to be in front of a house,
my new house, or I don't know anything, But instead
we sat in a desolate parking lot on the outskirts
of what was hopefully the correct town at least, though
it looked anything but christmasy. In front of me bloomed

(01:00:09):
an industrial complex with a small collection of seemingly long
abandoned warehouses and factories. I felt a jolt of fear
pin through my body. It was quiet here, too quiet,
quiet enough for me to be raped and murdered without
anyone noticing. This is as far as I can take you,

(01:00:29):
I jumped as I realized a jeep was already grabbing
my luggage from the trunk. What why so no murder?
Then it's a small town and a beautiful day. Why
not take a nice stroll through town on your way.
I think the farmer's market goes till three, he dodged. No,
I don't want to walk in it's thirty degrees, I said,

(01:00:50):
while repositioning the luggage he'd removed back into the uber.
I just want you to finish driving me. What's the
big deal, it's your job, for Christ's sake, a jeep ponse. Listen,
I don't go in there. Tiny Christmas is not a
town for people like me, he pointed to his turban.
They're racist. I don't know what you want to call it,

(01:01:13):
but I just don't want to spend the afternoon stuck
in there while they try to convert me again. Last time,
I didn't even get to take a lunch break, and
I'm really hungry today. So you're on your own, he
said as he finished re removing my luggage. Like I said,
small town, very friendly. I'm sure you'll have no problem
finding the place. Well, I personally respect the Islamic religion,

(01:01:36):
I chased him as he walked back around to the
driver's side door and pulled it open. I'll even buy
you lunch. How's that? Nope, therapists said. I need to
start defining my boundaries or people are going to walk
all over me for the rest of my life. He
slammed the door and pressed the lock down. Enjoy your
stay in tiny Christmas. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful
time with that. He and his niece on Altima pulled

(01:01:57):
out of the lot. Wait can't be serious, and I'm
a Sikh, you asshole, he called back as he sped away.
I stood there, shivering in the cold, confused and becoming
increasingly angry at my predicament. No, you're the asshole, I
grumbled as I grabbed my luggage and resigned myself to
walking into town. As I'd mentioned before, I was basically

(01:02:21):
left to fend for myself in an abandoned wasteland. A
beautiful young woman such as myself should not have to
subject herself to such a dangerous situation. I pushed through
the dystopian scenery with a confident stride, preparing myself for
whatever unsavory situation lay ahead of me. However, when I
finally rounded the last warehouse, I was not prepared for

(01:02:42):
what I saw ahead of me. Across a set of
train tracks lay the most adorable little downtown I'd ever
laid my eyes on. As I walked onward, the air
became filled with the scent of pine cinnamon and roasted chestnuts.
The streets were packed with happy looking townsfolk, each one
going out of their way to say hello as I passed,

(01:03:04):
and a jeet was right there was a farmer's market.
As nice as this all was, I have to admit
I was a little uncomfortable with the level of friendliness
and Christmas I was experiencing. I felt a bit of
guilt well up inside me for not immediately being drawn
into the merriness. I managed to brush it off quickly,
though I wasn't wrong. They were the ones that were wrong.

(01:03:27):
As I slowly became increasingly annoyed at the pleasantries, I
happened to bunt a coffee shop. Welcome to Christmas Coffee.
An overweight, elderly woman hollered in an alarmingly cheery tone
as the door jingled closed behind me. Would you be
able to point me in the direction of six one
six Pine Street. I am an unemployed graphic designer with

(01:03:47):
no chit chat skills. Oh I know who you are.
You're the new window display coordinator from the big city. Well, yes,
and I'm running late. Oh sweetie, you just about chill
to the bone. Did some ethnic cab driver refuse to
take you the whole way? She asked? I wondered how
common of a thing that was. Here you go, She

(01:04:11):
poured a cup of coffee and slid it to me.
Free coffee on the house. I'm Amanda, by the way,
I took the coffee, avoiding her outstretched arm. That's really
nice of you. I'll be sure to stop back when
i'm settled, but I'm running late right now, so yeah,
I was never coming back. Oh right, six one six pine?

(01:04:32):
Was it? Make it left? Then? It's two blocks down.
You couldn't even miss it if you wanted to. I
thanked her and sped out the door before she could
continue to waste my time. I took a sip of
the coffee as I walked out into the holiday pandemonium
and stopped dead as the warmth hit my tongue. This
was the best cup of coffee I'd ever had in

(01:04:54):
my entire life. It was rich and full bodied, with
notes of cinnamon, all spice, and honey. It brought back
a flood of childhood memories, drinking hot chocolate after school
as my mother brushed the snow out of my hair,
watching movies, huddled by the fire, my mother's warmth as
she rocked me to sleep. God, I missed her. If

(01:05:17):
only I thought I could have something like that again
in a real, non coffee based sense. Wait, what was
I thinking? I am a powerful, competent, unemployed graphic designer.
I'd never wish for a family, I convinced myself. Brushing
the tears from my eyes, I went to take another
sip of coffee, but I was beginning to feel nauseous,

(01:05:40):
so instead I dropped it in the next available garbage can.
Amanda was right. This place was hard to miss. Two
blocks down was almost a full mile away and basically
in the woods. The quaint tutor with six one six
scrolled across the door was the only building on the
entire street. As I walked up the driveway, I realized

(01:06:00):
how eerily quiet it had become. I hadn't seen a
single car pass me in the last half a mile.
I shivered as the wind whipped up. This was the
perfect place for an unsuspecting young woman to be raped
and murdered. I was all alone. No, wait, I was
being watched. Well, hello there, Rachel. I jumped as the

(01:06:21):
door of the house popped open to reveal a smiling
middle aged man in a suit. Oh oh hi. I
tried to collect myself. You must be correct. I'm Jake
from the agency, so glad you were able to find
your way here. I was getting a little worried that
you hadn't been able to find a ride into town.
Funny you should say that anyway, This is the place,

(01:06:42):
he cut me off, holding the door open, beckoning me inside.
The interior, despite having a certain charm, was covered in
a layer of dust and white sheets. The air had
a musty quality that signaled that this place had been
long forgotten. I sighed, I did not like cleaning, as
mentioned earlier. He continued, it's two hundred and fifty dollars

(01:07:03):
a month, and you're responsible for paying all utilities, as
well as any yardwork or snow removal that needs to
be done. Also, I think there are Christmas lights in
the basement, so you won't even need to buy a
need to decorate. I won't be needing them, but thank you.
I just want to settle in. Oh, he seemed crushed. Well,
they're in there in case you change your mind, it

(01:07:25):
would probably go a long way to making this place
feel like home. Thanks. How long has it been vacant?
I slid my fingers through the dust on the fireplace
mantle and almost gagged at the many years of dead
skin cells. About five years. I think that's why so

(01:07:46):
long I couldn't really tell you. I'm just a real
estate agent. I don't own it or anything. He shrugged.
Oh well, I mean, if I had to guess, maybe
it was the murders. I parroted. See, I knew I
was going to be raped and killed. Sorry I misspoke.

(01:08:07):
Disappearances is what I mean. It's not really murder without
a body, Jake said, matter of factly. But anyway, that
was a long time ago, and I heard that Tenant
was like really into meth, so it was likely drug related.
Wait didn't you say? Anyway? Here are the keys. He
handed them to me while also turning the doorknob. You

(01:08:28):
should be good to go. Have a wonderful life in
tiny Christmas, And with that he was already halfway down
the walk murders. I had an unremarkable first night. Despite
wondering just how many disappearances Jake had accidentally inferred, I
tried not to concentrate on it too much. I was
starting my new job the next morning after all holidays

(01:08:53):
and more. Occupied the largest building in town. It was
two floors of highly polished marble and glass. The first
floor held the perfect area for a window display, but
was currently empty. This will be my canvas, I thought.
I put my hand up to the glass wistfully, only
to have it slapped from the other side of the

(01:09:14):
glass by a burly man with a beard. I jumped back,
and he let out a chuckle and motioned me to
come inside. I'm mister Santon, the general manager, the burly
man explained, giving me a firm handshake. Great to meet
you in person. Thanks so much for the job. We're
just so pleased you accepted it. The entire board was
unanimous in the decision to hire you. Your plan for

(01:09:36):
a Christmas display that gets us back to our roots
is genius. Thank Before I could finish, he pulled me
in for a hug. Say no more, miss Adler. We're
just so happy we can add you another true believer
of the magic of Christmas to our wonderful family, he said,
while patting me on the back. I recoiled slightly, and
he seemed to catch my discomfort and let me go. Sorry.

(01:10:00):
I just love Christmas so much I get carried away
sometimes that's I just I should probably get to work, right,
I deflected, Oh, of course, there's only two weeks till
the big reveal, after all, I'm sure every second counts.
Mister Santon led me over to my workspace and introduced
me to my assistant, Tom Thompson, a tall and slightly

(01:10:23):
too handsome man in a red vest. I felt uncomfortable
for looking at him for too long, like I might
I don't know blush if I did? You know Tom,
you could take notes from miss Adler here, mister Santon
said before leaving. Up your holiday game a little and
maybe you'll be the next one promoted. Tom looked towards

(01:10:43):
me and let out a little sigh. Yes, sir. On
that first day, we spent most of our time going
through boxes, taking inventory of what supplies the store already had,
so I'd know what we would need to buy. So
I broke the silence. Mister Santan wants you to up

(01:11:05):
your holiday game. Eh. Yeah, I guess he's noticed I
haven't been my normal, cheery self for the last couple
of years. He seemed as surprised by that timeline as
I did. That's a long time to not be happy,
Like I'd know what happy was. I was a weirdly
employed graphic designer caught in what was increasingly feeling like

(01:11:25):
a low budget Christmas movie. I guess so, I just
haven't been myself since my wife died. Oh he was single,
and not even the divorced kind widowed, the good kind
of single. I stopped going through the box of Christmas lights.
My hands were shaking. Yeah, it was really tragic. She

(01:11:48):
hit a deer. He was going on about his dead wife.
But all I could concentrate on was my own heartbeat
as it began to speed up. Why did I care
if this guy was single? What was happening to me?
I concentrated on regaining my composure. I just needed to
take it easy. This had been a big move, a
huge change, and I'd lost my bearings. It was perfectly

(01:12:11):
reasonable that I would feel confused and even want to
fit in. Things would get less weird once I was
used to my surroundings. And then when we took her
off life support. Oh god, he was still going I
just don't think I'll ever really love anyone again. You know,
I get it. But you're young. You'll meet someone again

(01:12:33):
when you're ready. I tried to console He blushed slightly,
you're a really good listener. You know, Hey, would you
like to come over for dinner on Sunday? We make
a big meal after church, so it's always nice to
have some extra company. Oh no, no, I don't want
to impose. We don't really know each other, and please,

(01:12:55):
I think of it as me repaying you for your
kindness for letting me dump all my problems on you this,
he begged, Well, when you put it that way, sure.
After a relatively uneventful week, I awoke from a particularly

(01:13:16):
weird nightmare at three am Saturday morning to the sound
of talking. Frustrated and groggy, I did what any good
New Yorker would. I pushed the window open with a
level of violence that this house had probably never seen,
and leaned out into the dark. Shut the fuck up,
or I'll fucking come down there and murder you, I yelled,

(01:13:37):
then slammed the window shut and lay back down. It
was quiet for a minute, but then was that chanting.
By that point, my complete consciousness had returned, and I
realized that I was no longer in an apartment. I
was in a house. I was in a completely isolated house.

(01:13:57):
No one should be outside. I lay there in silence,
trying to get a grasp on what I was hearing, chanting, crying.
Maybe it was a wild animal. I thought I'd heard
foxes kind of sound like people. Honestly, I didn't want
it to be people or animals. Both seemed like they

(01:14:18):
could be dangerous, and for the first time since the
day I'd moved in, I considered what the word disappearances
could possibly mean. After what may have been hours, the
strange noises dissipated, but I did not sleep for the
rest of the night. In the morning, I decided maybe
I would put up those Christmas lights. The house had
no exterior lighting at all, and seeing as it had

(01:14:40):
sat unoccupied, there was a chance someone could still think
it was vacant and try to break in if the
noises I'd heard were people. Anyway, if it was foxes
or wolves or something, the light should deter them too.
Despite being opposed to my core beliefs, I'd do it
for my safety. I found a box with one whole
strand of lights in it in the basement, just enough

(01:15:02):
to do the awning out front. I figured it was
better than nothing, and it also meant I didn't have
to spend all day putting them up so when there was, however,
another box in the basement, I'd thought it was more
Christmas decorations, originally since there was a piece of garland
at the top, But when I brought it upstairs, I
realized that what I'd really found was a gun, a

(01:15:25):
shotgun of some sort to be more specific. Along with
it was a little box with just a few bullets
in it. Seven I counted. I'd never really handled a
gun before, and felt conflicted about realizing that it had
been in the house with me for the last week.
Whose was it and why would they leave it anyway? Shit?
For all I knew all houses in Iowa came with guns.

(01:15:48):
After some careful contemplation and YouTube videos, I decided to
keep it by the door, loaded in case I did
end up running into whatever I had heard the night prior.
When I heard the noises again that night, I at
least managed to convince myself I could protect myself and
got the smallest bit of sleep. By the time Tom
came to pick me up on Sunday, I was already

(01:16:09):
exhausted and a little jumpy. You look tired, Are you okay?
He asked as I fastened my seat belt. His genuine
concern made my heart feel all warm for some reason. Yeah,
just insomnia. I used to have that real bad when
Joanne first died. It's hard being in that house all alone. Huh,

(01:16:31):
not really, Why would it be hard? I just guess
I find being alone really difficult. Everyone needs someone to
hold at night, he informed me. Was he suggesting he
wanted to hold me at night? We arrived at his
parents lovely little colonial only a few minutes later. I
may have neglected to say this, but he'd been living

(01:16:53):
with his family since his wife died. I thought it
was a little weird, but I also knew grief could
really mess up a person, so it was better I
didn't judge anyway. The house was all decked out in
a literal ton of blinking Christmas lights outside and in.
It was really too distracting and tacky for my taste.
His mom and dad hugged me immediately as we entered

(01:17:15):
and thanked me for taking such good care of their son.
Did they think we were a couple? Did I want
us to be a couple? What? No? We had a
nice dinner and his family told me stories about what
Tom was like growing up. After dinner, they wanted to
sing Christmas carols, so his mom gathered us around the
piano as his father played. I don't know any full carols,

(01:17:39):
but I managed to stumble through all right. We laughed
a lot. It was It was really nice to feel
like I was a part of something again. It made
me miss my parents terribly. I wanted so much to
feel safe and loved like that again. Maybe I thought,
just maybe the Thompsons could be my new family. Maybe

(01:18:02):
this place could be my new something to be a
part of. We kissed in my driveway before I got
out of the car. He told me he was falling
for me. Maybe I was falling for him too. I
woke up in a pure panic at three am. I

(01:18:22):
wasn't even aware of why I was so scared for
a minute until the events of the evening came back
to me. Something was terribly wrong with me, and the
noises were back. The next week was crunch time. We
had to make this display the most wonderful the town
had ever seen. We could do it. I knew we could.
Tom and I spent most of our waking hours together

(01:18:44):
making sure everything was perfect for the big reveal on
Friday night. Well, he spent most of his waking hours.
I mean, he was probably sleeping. I was still hearing
those weird noises. However, I was beginning to think that
living in the country just meant hearing unexplained sounds at night.
It was nothing to worry about, and I had that
gun just in case, which I decided to leave by

(01:19:07):
my front door indefinitely. Plus Tom and I were considering
moving in together so he would be able to protect me.
Everything was okay, Everything was better than expected. Friday went wonderfully.
Mister Santon praised us both and offered me a permanent position,
which I gladly accepted. I invited Tom over that evening

(01:19:28):
to celebrate. So are you going back to New York
City for Christmas? He asked me as we cuddled on
the couch. Christmas was just five days away, wasn't it. Nah,
I'm just gonna get some Chinese food and watch movies.
That sounds really sad. Rachel, you should come over to
my house. We always decorate our tree on Christmas Eve,

(01:19:49):
then we do presents in the morning. You can sleep over.
It'll be fun, he suggested. My family loves you, so
I'm sure they'd be happy to have you. That sounds
really nice, but I think I just want to take
it easy. Oh. His expression fell. No, it's not like that,
but I've I needed to be honest with the man

(01:20:10):
I loved. I've been lying to you. I'm not There
was that chanting again, lying, he asked, but then saw
the fear on his face. What's wrong? Do you hear that?
What is that? I said in a whisper, my voice shaking.
Tom listened for a second. The singing that's carollers, isn't it.

(01:20:34):
I held my breath to try to ascertain what I
was hearing. It was getting closer this time. Tom was right.
It was people singing carolers. I breathed. Yep, the weekend
before Christmas they go out and sing at people's houses.
Didn't you have that in New York? I shook my head.
Had this been what I was hearing the whole time?

(01:20:56):
Carollers practicing somewhere? I was like there right outside. I
jumped as the doorbell rang, but convinced myself it was
okay to answer it. Outside were seven of the townsfolk
decked out in Christmasy attire. As soon as they saw me,
they began to sing. I wasn't familiar with the song,
but it was just so beautiful that tears started coming

(01:21:18):
to my eyes. Here I'd been all worked up about
people singing Christmas songs. This wasn't New York City. Nothing
was going to try to hurt me here. No one
had been anything other than kind to me. I stood
in the doorway listening for a long time, just taking
in the joy. I let the New Yorker part of
me fade. It was okay now, I was okay. Maybe

(01:21:42):
I should go get some money for them or something.
I thought that was the least I could do for
this kind of spiritual awakening, right. I was about to
turn around to find my purse when something stopped me.
I stopped me. What the fuck was I doing? I
was a savvy, fucking New York I didn't need this
dumb shit. This wasn't even what I wanted at all.

(01:22:04):
What was I even doing with this boring, sad guy.
I didn't even like men, and I hated Christmas carols.
Hey can you guys, that's enough? Can you stop now?
I pleaded, really, please stop. No one seemed to hear me.
I felt a deep, primal fear rise up in my stomach.
I needed to lie down or something. I needed them
to stop singing already, Tom, can you? I turned around

(01:22:28):
just in time to see Tom lunge at me with
a weird looking knife. Instinctively, I dodged and pushed him
to the ground. I am a New Yorker who knows
how to defend myself. I grabbed the shotgun. Aw The
carrollers grumbled in unison. What the fuck is going on here?
I spat, clenching my weapon tightly. You ruined everything, That's
what one of them moaned. I pointed my gun at

(01:22:50):
the small crowd. Are you trying to disappear me? Is
that what this is? You know? Tom? If you hadn't
waited so long, one of them began. Tom was now
sold on the ground behind me. I was waving the
gun wildly between him and the carollers. Now, I just
wanted it to be perfect. I'm sorry, guys, Tom shrugged.
She's gonna taste like shit now. Adrenaline fucks everything up.

(01:23:13):
Another said, will someone please tell me what's going on?
I shouted, tell me, or I kill every one of you.
Tom sighed, we were just trying to teach you the
true meaning of Christmas. By killing me, of course, not
think of all the love we showed you these past
couple of weeks. That's the true meaning of Christmas. I

(01:23:35):
recognize this one. It was the woman from the cafe.
We know you felt it, We could tell felt it.
This this isn't me. What did you do? Have you
been putting something in my food? Oh sweetie, don't be
so paranoid. Everything we gave you was simply made with love,
something you've been sorely lacking. Amanda explained, well that in

(01:23:59):
just a teensy tiny bit of LSD. The others nodded
in agreement. You fucking dosed me with LSD. What we did, Rachel,
was give you the best two weeks of your life.
We even got you back in touch with your religion,
said mister santin my what now you can die happily?
Tom chimed in, now standing over me with that knife,

(01:24:21):
smiling manically. I'm Jewish, you assholes, I screamed and shot
a bullet into Tom's confused looking face. His body thudded
to the floor. Oh man, how are we gonna explain
this to everyone? They whined as I turned my gun
back to them. Can we even sacrifice a Jew. You're
not sacrificing anyone. If you try, I'll blow all your

(01:24:44):
goddamn brains out, I threatened, holding the shotgun mere inches
from them, but they ignored my warning and continued discussing
my murder like I wasn't even there. Fucking rude townies.
It's not ideal, But where are we gonna find a
Christian this close to the ceremony? Santon explained, a Jew
is probably better than nothing, even if she is all

(01:25:04):
upset and will probably taste like sadness. Hey, I bet
I taste just fine. What was I saying? I did
probably taste like sadness, But that wasn't the point. They
were trying to kill me. I knew if I wanted
to survive the night and ever see my actual home again,
I was going to have to stand my ground and
take those fuckers out then and there. I broke their
disagreement with a single shot fired directly into the chest

(01:25:26):
of the weirdo closest to me. He fell to the
ground in a motionless heap. That was finally the motivation
the rest needed to actually come at me. But I
was the one with the gun. What you're not even
gonna try to rape me first, I shouted, as I
fired mercilessly into them. Turns out it isn't actually that
hard to shoot people when they're that close to you.
I don't know if I killed them all, but I

(01:25:47):
certainly shot them enough to make it so they'd have
a hard time chasing me if they survive. I ran
as far away as I could before calling you. I
don't know if others are coming for me, but I'll
be ready if they do. I would have called the police,
but sure they're in on it. You were right, that
town is crazy. A jeet let out a sigh. How

(01:26:07):
many times he wondered was he going to help people
flee from a crime scene. This couldn't be worth the money.
He'd be better off working for one of those takeout services. Yeah,
he was going to sign up once he got home.
No more transporting crazy people, just transporting food to crazy people. Wait,
weren't there eight of them total? He asked, hoping this

(01:26:28):
didn't set her off. Didn't you see that gun only
had seven bullets. Doesn't that mean you missed one? Rachel
thought for a second. Nope, she'd definitely shot eight coultists.
She'd counted. I guess you could call it a Hanikah miracle.
She giggled a jeet, let out a fake laugh, not

(01:26:50):
sure what she meant. Huh so uh airport then yeah please?
Santa Letters by Morgan Moore. Every year, millions of children

(01:27:17):
send letters to Santa Claus, expressing their wishes of what
they hope will be under their tree come Christmas Day.
But what if somebody use those letters for a not
so joyful purpose. It has happened, and the following is
purported to be the true account of those events. This

(01:27:37):
is the case of the Circleville Santa Letter murders. In
nineteen seventy eight, the citizens of the small Ohio town
of Circleville were beginning their Christmas season like any other,

(01:27:59):
planning the descent member holiday while eating Thanksgiving dinner, making
travel arrangements, and all the other hullabaloo that comes with
the impending season. While the adults were occupied, the children
of Circleville were planning as well, once more taking up
the job of writing letters to inform old Saint Nicholas
of their Yule Tide desires. Even the local schools were

(01:28:20):
caught up in the fund, setting up small deposit mailboxes
for the kids to place their letters in. All was
well in Circleville as December came and Christmas magic filled
the air even more than it already had throughout November.
Everything was peace and joy. Unfortunately, that was all about
to change. In the early morning of December seventh, ten

(01:28:43):
year old Dylan Jones was delivering papers for the Circleville
Herald like he always did. When he reached the house
of Joe and April Robinson, he was about to be
greeted with a horrendous sight. Jones went around back to
deliver the paper as he always did, when he discovered
the mutile body of five year old Mary Kate Robinson,
a letter to Santa Claus nailed to her forehead. The

(01:29:07):
boy screamed so loud that almost the entire neighborhood was
jarred awake and came rushing to the scene. Police questioned
the family, friends, teachers, everybody within the small community to
try to figure out any clues and leads as to
who may have committed this horrible crime, but no answers emerged.
Unfortunately for the town. It was not the end of

(01:29:30):
this tragedy. On December twelfth, around twelve o'clock in the afternoon,
eight year old Michael Stolings was on his way to
the park to meet up with a group of friends.
At two o'clock, his friends called Michael's house and informed
his parents that he had never showed up. Immediately, the
Stallings phoned the police, worried about their son, the fate

(01:29:50):
of the Robinson girl foremost in their minds. It wasn't
long before police found Michael, much like Mary Kate Robinson, dead,
with his body mute and a letter to Santa Claus
nailed to his forehead. The next day, Sheriff Patrick o'Kyle
held a press conference in which he vowed to put

(01:30:12):
a stop to this chaos. Curfews were put in place
to make sure children of all ages were home by
five o'clock at night, and the youngsters were also advised
to travel in groups. Soon things looked to be improving,
and a week went by without anything happening. That was
soon to change. December twelfth was another quiet day. Fred

(01:30:34):
and Darlene Brooks headed out for a long overdue date night,
leaving fifteen year old Tanya wise Cup in charge of
their children. The pair returned it close to midnight to
find their home bathed in darkness. Upon entering the house,
the two noticed a smell they later said reminded them
of rotting meat. They didn't think much of it, as

(01:30:55):
they had recently been battling with raccoons, getting stuck in
the attic and dying. Tired and tipsy, the Brooks went
to bed, assuming that their babysitter was down in the
basement to sleep, spending the night as she tended to
do when she had school the next day. When they
awakened the following morning, the couple went downstairs to check
on Tania and see if she had indeed stayed overnight.

(01:31:18):
What they discovered was nothing short of a bloodbath. Their children, John, Laura,
and Victoria were all dead, letters nailed to their foreheads,
but this time there was a chilling new twist. A
limb from each child was placed under the small Christmas
tree set up in the basement. As for Tania, she

(01:31:40):
laid discarded on the floor, cut from neck to groin,
and left to bleed out. Later that day, the city
announced a new curfew for all residents, stating everyone in
town must be home and have their businesses closed by
four pm. Sheriff Okyle also advised residents take extra precautions

(01:32:02):
to keep their homes locked and defended. The city became
a ghost town come four o'clock. The chimes of clocks
that rang the curfew hour ushered in eerie quiet. December
twenty second and twenty third came and went with no incidents,
but the town remained firmly on guard. The morning of
December twenty fourth came with no surprises as well. It

(01:32:24):
was a dreary winter day, the gloom and holiday cheer
mixing together like cold and warm fronts. Circleville had started
to loosen up slightly, something not hard to do considering
it was Christmas Eve. The curfew was still in effect,
but that seemed to almost add to the magic of
the holiday, as families stayed bundled in together, celebrating in

(01:32:45):
warm homes that stood in contrast to the cold outside.
Night came, and the hours drifted along. It seemed that
perhaps these terrible crimes were at an end. Christmas morning
came and the police, who had stood guard in the
city streets throughout the night, started to head back to
the station, ready to go home to their own families
to celebrate. But before anybody could leave, a call came

(01:33:08):
in somehow the killer had struck again right under their
noses twice. The first victim was ten year old Jackson Devns,
who was found dead in his bedroom by his parents
his window pried open. At the same time, police also
discovered the body of six year old Addison Ferguson, who
was found in a shed in her family's backyard. This

(01:33:30):
sent the town over the edge into a full blown frenzy.
Who was responsible for all these deaths? How could anybody
have broken into the homes and committed the crimes without
being caught? Who was next? Police set up barricades to
close off the town and began a city wide manhunt,
joined by the town's residents. All day they searched, and

(01:33:51):
the next day and the next. For a solid week
they searched, but no leads arose and no culprit was found.
The new year came and it seemed that finally there
was peace. No murders had been committed since Christmas, and
law enforcement officials theorized that there would be no more
incidents since the season was over. On January tenth, Circleville

(01:34:13):
held a citywide memorial service in honor of the victims,
and has held a similar service every Christmas Eve since
these murders left many questions, all starting with who the
murderer was. Upon reflection, they stated that they believed the
murderer due to the use of the letters the children
wrote to Santa Claus, had to work for either the

(01:34:34):
postal service or the public school. As such, the police
conducted mass interviews for all post office and school employees.
While everyone interviewed seemed on edge, nobody stood out as
being a psychopathic killer. As the weeks rolled on, the
case began to go cold. Without conclusive evidence to form
any leads, the city and police made the controversial decision

(01:34:57):
to stop the investigation. Nineteen seventy nine continued on, the
tragedy still hanging over the town of Circleville like the
specter of death. People slowly started to return to what
they would call a normal life, with only hushed whispers
of the Santa Letter murders remaining. Months went by, and
soon it was November. The Christmas spirit began to grow

(01:35:20):
in the town once more, but it was tempered by
fears of a new murder spree possibly arising. In preparation,
Circleville schools announced that they would not put up letter
boxes for kids this year. As a safety precaution, the
post office took action as well, stating that any letters
addressed to Santa Claus would go straight to the police
for protection. Everything that the town could think of they implemented,

(01:35:44):
hoping to avoid another year of mayhem. December nineteen seventy
nine began and ended with no murders. This left everyone baffled.
Why did the killer not strike again? What was it
about this year compared to last to make him or
her not lash out? Perhaps the crimes would be nothing

(01:36:05):
more than a freak event and unsolved mystery. Like so
many others. That feeling continued into the next year, and
the next, and on and on to this day. Nobody
knows who could have been behind the murders. Christmas in
Circleville was never quite the same, but the years dulled
the fear somewhat, and the police allowed the post office

(01:36:26):
to start accepting letters to Santa Claus once more, but
did not allow the school to reopen their dropbox. The
same question always pops up, who did it? While law
enforcement never did name a suspect or conduct any arrests O.
Kyle later said that he had a theory of the
murderer's identity. He suspected that elementary school teacher Linda Morrison

(01:36:50):
was the killer after discovering her dead from suicide in
January of nineteen eighty. His reasoning was based on the
fact that she was the one responsible for handing the
letters to the post office in nineteen seventy eight. It
was his belief that she made photocopies of the letters
before delivering them. As for how she would have selected
her victims, O Kyle claimed that she did so based

(01:37:14):
on which children in the school were receiving discipline for
bad behavior. However, there was no concrete evidence. Perhaps it
was Morrison trying to enact a form of discipline on
the children who acted out in the parents who raised
their children to act as such, though perhaps it was
a disgruntled post office employee. Maybe it was somebody else

(01:37:36):
who worked at one of the schools. Some theories suggest
it was O Kyle himself or another person within law enforcement. Doubtless,
no one will ever knowvershare. All that is known is
that the fear lingers in the cool, crisp winter air
that one day the devilish Deliverer will once again return,

(01:37:57):
bringing Christmas terror to Circleville Babes in terror Land by
Morgan Moore. As with many holiday seasons before it, parents

(01:38:17):
and children flocked to Baron's toy store in the village
of Green Seas. In the middle of the crowd was
Justin Barn, a fourteen year old boy with an apron
featuring a hand sewn version of the store's logo in
the middle. Justin was staying with his grandmother, the owner
of the store, for the holidays while his parents were
away on a business trip. He was enlisted to lend

(01:38:39):
a hand almost immediately upon his arrival. With it being
the store's busiest time of year. Justin could never understand
how she managed it all on her own, but she
had been doing it ever since his grandfather died a
few years ago and was managing it successfully somehow. Justin
moved around the store as best he could, seeing how

(01:39:00):
outed the small store wasn't all. The building itself was
an old brownstone, with the store situated on the ground
floor and Missus Baron's home on the second. The store
could become a claustrophobic nightmare when business was booming, but
he managed stocking the shelves and helping out customers as
best he could. By the time three o'clock came around,

(01:39:20):
Justin was spent and was ready for the day to
be over so he could finally get some rest. Those
thoughts were interrupted when he laid eyes on Kathy Wilcox.
He had known her since fourth grade and had a
crush on her that never faded. Justin always wanted to
tell her how he felt, but he could never muster
up the courage to do it. Somehow, he could picture

(01:39:43):
everything he wanted to say, but any time he saw her,
it all vanished. Justin felt himself beginning to melt as
he kept looking at her. His face turned bright red,
and immediately Justin began to do some busy work around
the area, trying to disguise the fact that he had
been staring at her. Justin's heart beat faster and faster,

(01:40:04):
as if somebody was pounding away on a drum, but
that came to an immediate halt when he felt a
gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw
Kathy there. Hi, Justin, Cathy said sweetly, Hi, Kathy. Justin stammered,
his face feeling like it was on fire. Kathy gave
him an intimate smile, her blue eyes seeming to shimmer

(01:40:27):
to Justin. Mind if I ask you a question? Uh oh,
Justin thought, She's gonna chew me out for looking at her,
and in the middle of the store too, everybody's gonna
think I'm some perv. Sure, Justin responded, after a brief pause.
Could you help me and my sister real quick? What

(01:40:47):
a relief, Justin thought, Oh yeah, for sure. What do
you guys need? He asked. She then began to walk
away down an aisle. Justin followed close behind her. My
sister found something, but I can't reach it, and neither
can she. I saw you and thought i'd ask if
you could bring it down for me. Since you're so
tall and all, Kathy explained, Oh yeah, I should be

(01:41:11):
able to get it for you, Justin replied with a smile.
Kathy returned the smile. Man, she's so cute, Justin thought.
As they kept walking beside one another. The two eventually
got to their location and joined Kathy's sister, Janet. Upon
seeing Justin and the apron identifying him as a store employee,

(01:41:32):
Janet pointed upwards toward the top of the shelf she
was standing at that one. Please Janet asked Justin. Justin
looked up to where the child pointed and saw a
clown doll. The doll had been in the store ever
since he could remember. It had a wooden head and hands,
and was dressed in a hand sewn outfit colored silver
and blue. A jester had adorned its head, bells dangling

(01:41:55):
down playfully. Justin had always thought it looked creepy. Other
people must have thought the same, as the doll had
been around the store ever since he was a child.
But maybe finally someone had found the doll appealing and
wanted to give it a home. Justin smiled and reached up,
just barely able to get the doll. He got a

(01:42:16):
grip on it and brought it down, handing it gently
to the little girl. Here you go, Justin said, Janet
smiled as she held and stared at the doll. Kathy
turned to Justin and gave him a big smile. He
returned it in kind. I want him, Janet responded energetically,
as she held the clown doll up to the two.

(01:42:36):
How much is it, Cathy asked Justin. I'm not sure.
It doesn't look like it has a tag on it.
Let's ask my grandma, Justin said. They arrived at the
register to find Justin's grandmother smiling at the three. There
you are, Justin. What cute friends you have there, she said.
Kathy blushed lightly at the comment, Hey, grandma, how much

(01:42:57):
is this? There's no tag on it or even a
sign I'm on the shelf it was on. His grandmother's
smile turned to a slight frown. Oh honey, I'm so
sorry that doll isn't for sale. I only keep it
on the shelf for decoration, she explained, as sweetly as possible.
But I want it, Janet told her. Are you sure

(01:43:20):
you're not able to sell it? Kathy asked, unfortunately, I am, dear.
My husband made the doll many years ago for Justin's
mother and it just has too much sentimental value for
me to sell it. It's been watching over the store
for years, Justin's grandma explained to the three. Janet frowned,
tears starting to well up. Justin smiled a little bit

(01:43:43):
at the two and at his grandma. It's all right,
I'll put him back, Justin said. He then made a
motion with his head for Kathy and Janet to follow him.
The three of them made their way back to the aisle.
Janet looked utterly devastated that she couldn't have the doll,
and Kathy looked equally saddened for her sister. Once they
got back to the aisle, Justin put the doll back up.

(01:44:06):
He then turned to Kathy with a small grin. She
tilted her head in confusion. What is it? Why are
you grinning like that? She asked, Because I know of
a way to get that doll for Janet, he explained.
Janet's face brightened up at once. Really how Justin moved

(01:44:26):
in a bit closer to Kathy so that he could
talk to her in semi privacy. Janet frowned when she
realized what was going on. My grandma is going to
go out to a party tonight and I'll be alone
for hours. Come on buy around eight and I'll let
you in. We can get the doll then, he explained
to her. But she'll notice, won't she, Kathy asked, don't worry,

(01:44:48):
I'll take care of it. Just be here by eight.
Later that night, Justin made his way downstairs to the
store and opened the front door to find Kathy and
Janet standing there. Justin frowned a tiny bit as the

(01:45:11):
two girls made their way inside. Why did you bring
your sister? He asked, doing his best to hide his
disappointment that it wasn't just Kathy. She wanted to come,
and I couldn't get her to stay home without spilling
the beans. I told my parents I was going out
with friends, and she threatened to tell them what I
was really doing. Kathy explained, I mean, it isn't entirely untrue.

(01:45:34):
You are hanging out with a friend, Justin said, with
a small smile. I'm going Janet blurted out and ran
towards the aisle with the doll. So how are you
going to explain this to your grandma? Kathy asked as
she walked past the display of a toy war scene. Oh,
I'm gonna tell her I ordered a pizza and just
forgot to lock the door on my way back up.

(01:45:55):
I'll take some money out of the register and hide
a few other toys, maybe knock some dis blaze over
and make it look like somebody broke in and robbed
the place. He explained. That's pretty clever, mean, but clever,
she responded as she stopped by the register. Justin stopping
in front of her. Hey, what can I say? Justin said?

(01:46:17):
Cathy smiled a bit as she fiddled with some small
toys by the register. She looked around, then returned her
gaze to Justin. Why are you doing this for us?
Why are you risking getting into so much trouble? His
mind raced at a million miles an hour, trying to
figure out how to explain why he was so willing
to help her sister out. No, help her out. Before

(01:46:40):
he could give it any more thought, he'd blurted out
his response, It's because I like you. I've always liked you.
I think you're sweet and cute, and I just wanted
to help because I like you, and I thought maybe
you'd like me back if I did it. He gasped
for breath. Justin closed his eyes and took several deep breaths,
eventually regaining control of his breathing. After a few brief minutes,
he opened his eyes, finding that Cathy was staring at him,

(01:47:03):
her mouth dropped open some and her eyes wide dread filled.
Justin his heart beating harder and harder. Oh no, she's
going to leave and never speak to me again, and
tell everybody I'm a loser and a freak, but she
surprised him by smiling at him warmly and widely. Justin
slowly smiled back. They brought their faces close to one another,

(01:47:26):
only a hair's breath to part. The scream that ripped
through the air put an end to that. Janet Cathy
called out and rushed toward the location the scream emanated from,
Justin following in her wake. The duo arrived to find
Janet laying on the floor, screaming and crying in agony,
her eye sockets bleeding profusely. As for the former resident

(01:47:47):
of those yawning black holes, they were in the hands
of the clown doll. The toy turned its head and
looked at them. Justin and Cathy bolted from the aisle,
the clown doll right behind them. As they ran down
the aisles, Cathy shrieked as the other toys began to
spring from the shelves and joined the hunt. Stuffed bears

(01:48:07):
and lions pawed at them with vicious claws that sprang
from their plush paws. As metal model cars pelted down
on the teams like rain, leaving bruises and cuts. Justin
managed to grab a baseball bat from a nearby barrel
and started swinging away as Kathy grabbed a stick horse
and did the same. The two sent toys flying left
and right, but more and more came forth. Soon Justin

(01:48:28):
and Cathy found themselves surrounded. They continued to swing away,
but soon the terror toys grabbed their weapons and pulled
them away, leaving the pair defenseless. Justin and Cathy looked
at each other and took hold of each other's hand,
ready to accept their doomed fate. The store lights came
alive and bathed everything in a warm, fluorescent glow, causing

(01:48:49):
the pair to start. Oh no, look at this mess,
The voice of Justin's grandmother rang out. The older woman
looked around at all the toys, who now looked back
at her. She stopped a few feet away from the
rattled teens. Grandma, what's going on? Why are you home?

(01:49:09):
Justin spat out in a mix of confusion and anger,
And why did they attack us and my sister? My god,
Janet Cathy started, but soon stopped as she succumbed to
raw grief. The senior shook her head and sighed, I
suppose I should explain you see these toys, all of them.

(01:49:30):
They come alive every nightfall. But why how, Justin demanded, Justin,
dear your grandfather, Your grandfather made them that way. Business
hasn't been the same for years, not since that damned
department store opened up. Then, when we learned your grandpa

(01:49:53):
didn't have long left, he was afraid of what would
happen to the store. To me, it was his opinion
in that without any help, the store would have shut down.
So he decided to create some help. Your grandfather came
across a strange scroll during the war in a bombed
out toy store, a store he swore was filled with screaming,

(01:50:15):
burning toys. You can guess the rest. These toys have
been cleaning, stocking, and providing security as you've seen here
ever since, these wonderful toys. They're loyal and always have
been and always will be. Justin and Cathy were taken aback.

(01:50:38):
They believed it all, after all, how could they not,
But something still bothered them. Oh thank god, we're safe, then,
Cathy told them. The two smiled as they looked at
each other and then at Justin's grandma, but the smiles
faded as they saw that the elder in front of

(01:50:59):
them was grim grandma. Justin started with a shaky voice.
I'm sorry, love, but you were trespassing. You know I
don't like you coming down here at night to say
nothing of your friend here and her sister. The store
was closed. Besides, they don't move during the day, but

(01:51:21):
they can still hear. When I left for the party,
they told me about your little plan. That's why I
came back early. You mean you're gonna turn us into
the police, Cathy asked, no, Unfortunately for you two. I
leave all my security matters up to them, and I
believe I know what they'll do with you, she explained.

(01:51:44):
The toy soldiers from the war scene filed in, aiming
their guns at the teenagers. Justin and Cathy's faces displayed
pure and utter terror. With that, Justin's grandmother left and
made her way to the stairs. She looked over at
the two again and shook her head and sighed. Then,
with a flick of her wrist, she turned off the lights.

(01:52:06):
A stream of sharp bangs filled the storm. The weather
outside is Frightful by Shane Magliovoka. It was the worst

(01:52:30):
blizzard the city had seen in over a decade. In time,
the storm would be known as the Christmas Eve Blizzard
of seventy three, but tonight it was just the storm.
Patrol Woman Halsey Stone strained her eyes scanning the sidewalk
as the radio car crawled down the street, her partner,
officer Roy socerso at the wheel. This part of the

(01:52:51):
city had been hit hard by the country's current financial stagnation,
decaying buildings, junk piled on the side of the street,
broke down, cars left to rot, and open lots. For Stone,
this was too much like the poverty she'd grown up around.
Many of the large buildings were seemingly abandoned, but in truth,
whole families lived within their walls, as did the normal

(01:53:12):
cast of junkies, drunks, and other shady characters. An anonymous
caller had reported a woman screaming for help. They'd circled
the block a few times but come up with nothing.
The blizzard had driven everyone indoors. Between the strong gusts
of wind and the visibility being shit, nobody in the
right mind would be out here, but here they were

(01:53:35):
on Christmas Eve, no less, not that either of them
had anywhere else to be. Stone had left her family
behind when she'd moved to the big city and her
partner was estranged from his wife and daughter. Stone's left
hand clasped and unclasped her holster, almost keeping a steady rhythm.
Enough snapped Socer, So what with the holster? Kid shit?

(01:53:58):
She hadn't realized she'd been doing it. She could get
lost in thought sometimes, Sorry, this is just a bullshit call, kid, Sure.
Stone took off her uniform cap. She smoothed back some
of her long blonde hair that obstinately refused to cooperate.
What you think there's something to this call? Probably just

(01:54:19):
some junkie trying to steal a few bucks, or some
asshole trying to stay warm by raping a He stopped himself,
his face reddened a little. Sorry, kid Stone adjusted her
dirty blonde ponytail. Maybe he was right. How long do
you want this to go on? Soccer So said, what
your shitty attitude? No Oakie looking for our phantom suspect. God.

(01:54:44):
She hated that. When somebody back at the precinct found
out about her family coming from the Ozarks, one of
the assholes had started calling her Oakie. They'd got it
from some old song and it stuck like glue. You
got somewhere to be, she said, somehow making it sound
like fuck you. He shot her a look, no, just

(01:55:06):
think our time could be spent better. She drummed her
fingers on the dash. All she wanted to do was
bounce soccer So's head off the dash. The anger was
always there, had always been there once it scared her.
Now it was a friend. You know what, Okie, I'm
gonna make it your call. Do we continue looking? Stone

(01:55:29):
took a deep breath. My choice, no, bitching, you're a call.
Since she'd been a kid, she'd had a feeling. She
could always tell when something bad was coming. Stone had
that feeling now another time around. If there's nothing, we go. Okay,
fair enough. Soccer So turned the corner. As outside the

(01:55:51):
wind gusted. Stone could feel the car move a little,
pushed by the wind. We've been at this dance for
almost a month now, kid, I'm supposed to be training you,
be your partner, and I know Jack and shit about you.
That was the way she liked it. There was too
much in her past. What's there to know? I'm from Missouri.

(01:56:14):
Should open up more, hang out with some of us.
Why you guys constantly make fun of me and where
I came from. That's just ribbing. You no different than
any other rookie. You make it harder on yourself anyway,
acting like a brat. Sorry, I'm just not miss fun.
In Games, a woman came out of the blanket of

(01:56:34):
falling snow running at their car, screaming. There was blood
on her hands and jacket. Soccer So swerved the car
and ended up in a snow bank. Stone was already
undoing her seatbelt. Fuck you, okay, kid, Yeah. The woman
came running towards them. Stone started to open the door.
Oh god, officer, I'm so sorry, ma'am. Take it easy.

(01:56:56):
Is that your blood? Are you injured? She shook her head. No,
the woman was shaking his blood. Soccer So tried getting
his door open, but the snow bank wouldn't give As
he slammed the door repeatedly against the packed snow. Stone
took the panicked woman towards their car. What's your name, ma'am, Dorothy,

(01:57:16):
it's Dorothy, Okay, Dorothy. I need you to get in
the back of the car. Dorothy hesitated, What why? You'll
be safe until we can get somebody to look at you.
Soccer So finally gave up on getting his door to open.
Dorothy slid in and sat in the middle of the
back seat. A steel mesh separated Dorothy from Soccer. So

(01:57:39):
you'll be safe here, now. Can you tell me what happened? Dorothy.
Dorothy told her how she'd been cutting through the alleyway
on her way home from the corner store when a
large man had come out of a nook in the
alley and chased after her. When she fell on the
icy ground, he grabbed her. Terrified, she pulled a metal
nail file from her purse, stuck it into his leg,

(01:58:00):
and made her escape. Dorothy pointed to the alley across
the street a little ways back. It was there. Thank you, Dorothy,
Stone said, you're very brave. My partner will take care
of you until an ambulance arrives. I will Dorothy looked
up at Stone, perhaps sensing what was about to happen.
I looked into his eyes. Officer, there was nothing inside.

(01:58:25):
Stone tried to reassure her. It's gonna be okay, kid,
don't even think Soccriso said. She cut him off. Call
it in, get back up. Stone slammed the door shut
before he could protest any more. She took off down
the street towards the alley Dorothy had indicated. This was it,
that feeling of dread that she'd felt. Her heart felt

(01:58:46):
like it was going to break free from her chest.
She'd made it to the alley. He could still be
here nursing his wound, she thought. Ultimately he wasn't in
the alley, but something was the nail file. He'd pulled
it out. Now he'd bleed more and make her job easier.
Stone followed the blood down another alley and out to

(01:59:07):
a deserted street. She had never been much of a hunter.
Her dad had tried to teach her, but her patience
was lacking. He'd seemed so disappointed in her. But those
times out in the woods with him, just walking, those
were some of her favorite memories of growing up. But
now her father was spending another Christmas in prison. She sighed.

(01:59:27):
From somewhere above Christmas music drifted down hark the Herald Angels.
The heavy snowfall was quickly covering the blood. Stone came
out of the alley. She heard voices in a door close.
She spun around her gun at the ready. A young
couple stood there holding Christmas gifts, a look of shock

(01:59:49):
etched on their faces. Their little dog on a leash
yelped at her. The man raised his hands, dropping the gifts.
Have you seen anyone suspicious other than me? Maybe bleeding?
The dog continued yelping. The man pulled hard on its leash.
Shut up, Mitzi. Stone wouldn't mind slamming the guy against

(02:00:09):
the wall. No, officer, I need you both to go
back inside. There's a dangerous and wounded man in the vicinity.
Stone crossed the street. The trail continued down past a
large abandoned building, then it stopped ahead of her. Stone
heard a loud metallic clank, like a metal door or
lid closing. She regretted, leaving socc or So behind no.

(02:00:33):
Stone thought, this is where I show them what I
can do. She crouched slowly. She peeked around the corner
of the building until she had a full view of
the small street that lay beyond. There, next to an
abandoned theater was a metal hatch set in the ground.
Those led to basements. Soccer So had told her. Stone

(02:00:57):
gun at the ready inch towards it. Snow had been
brushed off very recently, and there was a bloody handprint
on the hatch. Got you, bastard, she thought. She pulled
a rag from her jacket. There was no way she
was taking a chance of fucking up the evidence her
service pistol Ready, Stone pulled on the latch. Locked, of course,

(02:01:21):
she'd have to find another way in. Then she heard it,
the rustle of wings. Stone looked up. Perched on a
rusty metal railing was a large white owl. It stared
at her with its large luminous eyes, eyes that looked
into her. She stared at it, transfixed. Then it struck

(02:01:45):
her what it was. Sitting on the railing of a
fire escape. She ran over and discovered the bottom of
the escape's ladder was just out of reach. Frantically, she
looked around for something she could use to get up there,
and there it was, sitting against the far wall of
an adjacent building, an old plastic chair. She carried the

(02:02:06):
chair over, and on tiptoes, she reached and pulled herself
up all that tree, climbing as a kid. Paid off
the fire escape led to a locked second story metal door.
Not far from it was a window set above a
narrow ledge. She stepped over the metal railing and on
to the ledge. The wind howled. She feared a really

(02:02:27):
strong gust might blow her off her perch. Her feet
knocked snow free as she inched towards the window. Finally
she made it. Using the flashlight from her belt, Stone
smashed through the glass and climbed through the window into
the dark interior. She played the beam of the flashlight
over the floor and walls of what had once been
in office. The broken glass crumbled under foot as she

(02:02:51):
made her way through the room. Stone crept into the
hallway and soon entered the main theater area. Paint was
chipping off the walls. The seats that hadn't been ripped
out or to face in some way were covered in
years of dust. She headed towards the stage area. Her
snow covered boots kicked up dust as she moved, leaving

(02:03:11):
wet tracks on the dirty floor. Stone climbed onto the stage.
An ugly looking green couch sat by itself at the center,
the curtain pulled shut behind it. She opened the curtain
and entered the back stage, Stone's flashlight being caught a
blank white face. She almost pulled her trigger before she
realized a mannikin stood before her. She walked past the

(02:03:36):
expressionless figure, fuck you, asshole. There was a long, dark
hallway that led off the back stage area. Old mattresses
were stacked in a haphazard pile stained with god knows what.
A musty smell permeated the air. A large wood wardrobe

(02:03:57):
sat in the middle of the hall. Rotting Stone raised
her weapon in her left hand and reached out with
her right. She yanked the door open, causing it to
fall off. In the process. Stone backed up it was empty.
Continuing on, she passed a pile of broken props and
raggedy costumes on racks, before arriving at a metal staircase

(02:04:20):
leading to the basement. She headed down, the metal clanking
under her boots. The basement hallway was lined with brick
and appeared to be in better shape than the walls above.
Another foul smell filled the air down here, the smell
of something rotten. A mattress lay on the floor. Next

(02:04:41):
to it sat stacks of books and empty soup cans.
Someone was living here. Taped to the wall were newspaper
clippings and excerpts from books and magazines, all concerning axe murders.
Above them, scrawled in blood red the axe man cometh.

(02:05:03):
Oh great, he's got a secret identity. At the far
end of the room was a metal door. A large
rusty chain was wound through the handles and secured with
a padlock. Before she could reach the door, something wet
hid her face. Stone turned her beam upwards to see
multiple severed arms hanging from large strands of butcher's twine.

(02:05:28):
Not thinking, she bolted forward and crashed into the metal
doors with all her might. The doors tore from their
rusty hinges and crashed to the floor with stone and tow.
She quickly sprung to her feet and swung her flashlight
around the new room. Taped to the walls in various
sizes were crosses made out of paper. She inspected one
of the crosses on the wall closest to her to

(02:05:50):
find it was made from Bible pages. At the far
end of the room was some kind of demented altar
made primarily of lashed together bones. A large metal cross
stood at its center, surrounded by a multitude of crimson candles,
which filled the surrounding air with acrid smoke. I've taken
their sin, a deep voice said from behind her. Startled

(02:06:14):
Stone spun around to see a brute of a man,
covered in shoddy, bloodstained clothes, standing in the doorway, cradling
an axe in his arms as if it were a
newborn baby. Around his right leg, a rag was tied
where he'd been stabbed by Dorothy. I cut it from
their bodies. You killed them, freed them. They died without sin.

(02:06:38):
He walked forward towards her with a limp. Freeze, you motherfucker,
Stone barked, her voice trembling. He stopped in his tracks.
I was chosen. He held out the axe. It chose me.
Shut up. She didn't want to hear his psycho sails. Pitch.
Put the axe on the ground and place your hands

(02:07:00):
behind your head. He stared at her as if not comprehending.
I've been to another plane, ascended. I was sent back
to do their work here, do it? Fuck her, Stone screamed,
her anger getting the best of her. He set the
axe down, tenderly, putting his hands together behind his head. Neil,

(02:07:23):
He did as he was told with some effort. She
moved forward and kicked the axe away. She noticed before
its flight that it was covered in strange symbols. The
wind outside sounded like whispers in the air, calling her.
I can't help, but notice your left handed he said.

(02:07:45):
This caught her off guard enough that the man was
able to lunge at her legs with a pocket knife,
catching her in the side of her right leg. The
thirty eight in the flashlight fell from her hands as
she instinctively grabbed her wound. Stone retreated as painfully he
stood and retrieved his axe. Do you know what it's
like to die? The painful death of a million screams

(02:08:06):
in silence every day. Stone fell against the wall, leaving
a trail of blood in her wake. Then they came
to me. Angels took my pain, gave me this axe.
God teaches us with pain. That's how we become worthy

(02:08:26):
of his love through pain. He limped forward. Stone's head
began swimming wildly. Would you like to meet God, he asked,
raising the axe. She felt the cold metal sticking in
her leg. With all her remaining strength and channeled anger.
Stone pulled the knife from her wound. The pain was immeasurable.

(02:08:50):
You first, Stone screamed. She plunged the blade deep within
his breast, causing him to howl in agony. Stone pulled
out the blade and brought it down again and again
and again, until blackness took her. She awoke to find

(02:09:11):
the man in a fetal position. Sobbing loudly, Stone crawled
forward and found her thirty eight. The man started to
slowly rise, using the axe to prop himself up. Don't
you move, Stone said, hoarsely. I could have helped you.
He stood fully on, shaking legs. I said, don't move.

(02:09:33):
She took aim. Her arms felt like rubber, cleanse the
world of sin. He limped towards her, dragging the axe
along the ground. Stop, she said, her voice breaking. You
see it, don't you see them. It's in your eyes,
in your soul, he said, reaching out for her with

(02:09:57):
a bloody hand. Stone's wheezed, the trigger firing around into
his chest and another into his forehead. His brains exited
in a geyser of gore. He fell to his knees,
the axe clattering to the ground. Then he fell forward.
His body shuddered and lay still. The darkness took her

(02:10:19):
once more. Stone saw her parents playing with her as
a child, followed by the great white owl swooping down
from the sky. It landed in a tree watching her.
It spoke to her. Oakie Oakie Oki Okie, soccer so

(02:10:42):
called from somewhere out in the hall here, she said.
Stone wasn't sure if he'd hear her. He stumbled into
the room. Hang on, kid, He put a hand over
her wound, pressing tight backups coming, stay awake, okay, she
grabbed his arm. God, horns are killing me. After tracking
your damn ass all over town. I'm dying and you're

(02:11:05):
bitching about your feet. Shut the fuck up, You're not dying.
They make them tough where you're from, right, Missouri? She
nodded and smiled. Well, Merry Christmas, Missouri. Satan Claus by

(02:11:28):
Keith Tom December twenty fifth, nineteen ninety eight. One five am,
Edward burst out of the back door of his house.
His foot missed the second step of the concrete stairs,
and he went sprawling, landing hard on the neglected wooden
deck of his back patio. Gasping for breath, he struggled

(02:11:50):
to his feet, losing one of his slippers. After a
few tries, he regained his balance and raced off into
the woods that edged his backyard. Burrs and thorns tore
at his skin clothing as he plunged into the darkness.
As Edward ran, he heard a loud crash as something
large and powerful followed after him. An unearthly roar filled

(02:12:11):
with hate and rage, rang through the night. Edward pushed
himself harder, charging faster into the forest. After a few
minutes of running in a blind panic, Edward felt a
sharp pain run from his chest down his arm. He
gasped and dropped at the base of a large elm tree. Sobbing,
he worked himself into a sitting position, trying to breathe

(02:12:34):
through the pain. He wiped blood from his face, some
his some from his wife. Hearing a branch breaking, Edward
tried to push himself up, but the pain in his
chest nearly caused him to black out. Fighting unconsciousness, he
felt hot breath on his face as he fought to
open his eyes. When he did, Edward saw yellow, bloodshot

(02:12:58):
eyes staring into his As the creature snorted, sending its moist,
rancid breath into his face. It let out a blood
curdling scream as it reached for him with long arms
ending in razor sharp claws. As the creature tore Edward apart,
his last thought was not of the intense pain or
the realization that his life was over. It was a question,

(02:13:22):
is that thing wearing a Santa hat? Edward thought as
he passed into darkness. December twenty fourth, nineteen ninety nine.
Eleven fifteen, am Emily looked incredulously at her thirteen year
old brother Tyler satan clause, are you fucking serious? She said, Well, yeah,

(02:13:47):
I mean it's real, well not real, but they think
it's real, Tyler said, trying to gather his thoughts. So
we're going to summon a pretend demon dressed like Santa
Clau to take care of our stepfather, Emily said, with scorn,
Well sorta, Tyler sighed, taking a deep breath and slowly

(02:14:09):
letting it out. Okay, so take the legend of Bloody Mary.
The story goes that if you look in the mirror
and say her name three times, she'll appear and start
killing people. Now everyone knows that's not real. If you're
having a sleepover with friends and they dare you to
look in the mirror and say her name, you will.
You know it's not true and nothing will happen. But

(02:14:30):
he said excitedly, if it's night and you're alone in
the house and you're standing in front of a mirror,
when the thought crosses your mind to say her name
three times? Will you do it? Without waiting for an answer,
Tyler went on, no, you wouldn't, and why not. The
logical part of your mind will say, surely it's not real,
it's just crazy talk. But on a primal level, you

(02:14:53):
know that if you say her name three times, she
may appear. This belief is what gives these creatures their power.
Tyler paused, slightly out of breath. You are one weird kid.
Emily said, yeah, well, you know, growing up in this
house does tend to make one unusual. Tyler replied solemnly.

(02:15:15):
Emily shook her head. Okay, I'm still confused. What creatures
are you talking about? Tyler looked Emily in the eyes,
something he rarely did with anyone. To be honest, I
don't know. I just know they exist. Throughout history, different
cultures had legends of horrific creatures that terrorize the common folk.

(02:15:36):
I think that these were all some kind of a
supernatural force that draws power from the beliefs and fears
of the people. If enough people believe in them, then
these ghosts, demons, or whatever can draw strength in life
from these beliefs that will actually become these creatures. Wow,
I think this is insane, said Emily, speechless. I know,

(02:16:00):
and I accept that, but I need your help. For you,
this is a win win. If you help and it works,
we'll be rid of that asshole forever. Tyler looked at Emily,
who nodded emphatically. If it doesn't work, then you have
something else to make fun of me for. Not that
there's any lack of material for that, Tyler said, pointing
to the piles of role playing manuals and superhero comic

(02:16:23):
books stacked around his bedroom. Not for the first time,
Emily was amazed at how smart her brother was. Naive
and childlike, but also so goddamn smart. She had sworn
to herself to do whatever she had to do to
make sure that he reaches adulthood without life crushing his soul.

(02:16:44):
She was only a year older than him, but she
was a survivor. She could take all the pain and
suffering that life and her stepfather could dish out. Tyler, however,
was a fragile soul. If this helped him deal with
all the bullshit, then she was willing to go along
with it. Fuck it, I'm in, she said, consider it
your Christmas present. Well really, Tyler said, clearly expecting more resistance.

(02:17:11):
Emily continued, Look, this is the most batshit crazy thing
I've ever heard. But you're my brother and I'll do
anything to support you. So Satan Clause, Tyler took a
few seconds to blink some tears away. Okay, So Satan
Clause is an urban legend that's been around for at
least fifteen years. Basically, it's a story of a department

(02:17:34):
store Santa that was beaten to death by a gang
of kids, and his wife got a revenge by baking
cookies with her blood. She tricked the kids into eating them,
which caused her husband to come back from the dead
and kill everyone. Tyler finally paused to take a breath.
At least nine times in the last seven years, there
have been a series of gruesome deaths on Christmas Eve,

(02:17:55):
so brutal that the police have suspected it was either
the work of a Satanic cult or were some kind
of huge, unidentified wild creature. I disagree. I think it
was the legend of Satan Clause that killed them, and
that's what I want for dear Old Frank, Tyler said,
referring to their stepfather. He deserves to die, Emily said,

(02:18:19):
in a cold, hard voice, for what he's done to
mom you and for what he tried to do. Emily
trailed off. Tyler awkwardly reached out and patted her hand.
I know he'll pay for all of it, So all
we need to do is get Frank to eat some cookies,
Emily asked. Tyler nodded, what do you need from me?

(02:18:44):
Emily finally asked. December twenty fifth, nineteen ninety nine, twelve
thirty six am Emily rubbed the band aid covering her finger,
thinking that only her brother could talk her into using
her blood as an ingredient in a cookie recipe. If

(02:19:05):
she had to be honest, She enjoyed cutting her finger
a lot more than baking the cookies. The first batch
ended up a burned, smoking mess, and she had to
mix up and recut a second batch. She shook her head,
thinking about the things that people do for family. Emily
looked down at her brother asleep on the couch next
to her and sighed, she loved that crazy little bastard.

(02:19:29):
She turned back towards the large picture window to keep
up her vigil on the dark street outside. After a
minute or so, the lights from an approaching car lit
up the neighboring houses. Emily leaned further over the back
of the couch, face pressed against the window to get
a better look. When a familiar car pulled into the
driveway of the house across the street, Emily grabbed her

(02:19:51):
brother and shook him awake. Tyler, Frank just pulled into
our driveway, Emily whispered loudly. Tyler sat up, rubbing his eyes.
Looking around, he asked, where's Missus Patterson. Missus Patterson is
in bed. It's past midnight, Emily said. Missus Patterson was
an elderly woman who lived across the street from them, and,

(02:20:11):
understanding their volatile family situation, often let the kids spend
the night at her house while their mom was working
the graveyard shift at the nursing home. Grab the binoculars
and keep your voice down, Emily commanded. Tyler's eyes popped
open as he suddenly remembered what they had planned for Frank.
He grabbed his cheap pair of binoculars from the coffee
table and joined his sister. Leaning over the back of

(02:20:34):
the couch, Frank pulled into the snow covered driveway, his
ragged old Ford, sliding to a stop, almost hitting the
garage door. He opened the car door and stumbled out.
Frank was a tall, lean man, what some may call wiry.
He had a face that used to be quite handsome
and may still be to some hidden under the years

(02:20:54):
of hard living and even harder drinking. Frank lived to
drink and spent most evening complaining about his miserable life
to the regulars at Whitey's Tavern, a dive bar a
few blocks from his house. He would usually come home
shit faced tonight, however, he was well beyond that. One
of the bar patrons, a well to do businessman that

(02:21:15):
liked to flaunt his success, kept buying drinks for the house.
Frank kept drinking, and he kept getting angrier. Frank's passed
kept rolling around in his head. Why has his life
turned out like shit? Why is everyone against him? Why
did that bitch of an ex wife keep hounding him
for money to buy gifts for a bunch of ungrateful

(02:21:36):
little shits. Why did his current wife keep picking up
extra shifts when she should be home taking care of him.
Why do her fucking brats show him no respect in
his own goddamn house. Frank shut the car door and
made his way up the icy walkway to the front
of the house, swaying as he opened up the front
door and walked inside. Hey, anyone here, Frank, slamming the

(02:22:00):
front door. Where the fuck is my dinner? Frank listened
to the sounds of an empty house as he remembered
that his bitch wife was working tonight. Frank mumbled curses
under his breath as he walked across the small living
room to the kitchen. Seeing a pizza box on the counter,
he opened it up and grabbed a slice. Chewing on
the cold pizza, he walked over to the fridge and

(02:22:23):
grabbed a beer. He was walking back to the living
room when he noticed a plate of cookies with a
note under it. Squinting, he picked up the note and
read it. Frank, I know we've not gotten along, but
for mom's sake, I want to try to fix that.
Please accept these cookies as a peace offering. Merry Christmas, Emily,
the note said. Frank picked up the plate with the

(02:22:45):
cookies and turned back to the living room. He paused
at the end of the counter and dropped the cookies,
plate and all into the trash can. Tyler reached out
and grabbed Emily's arm. He picked up the cookies, he said, excitedly,
looking through the binoculars walking Wait. Oh no, he threw
them away, Tyler said quietly, as silent tears began to

(02:23:09):
roll down his face. Give me those, Emily said, as
she grabbed up the binoculars. She brought them up to
her face and pointed them at the run down house
across the street. Because a particularly violent outburst from Frank
last week resulted in the curtain rods being ripped down,
she had a good view of the living room and
most of the kitchen. Emily focused on Frank, sitting in

(02:23:30):
an armchair, drinking a beer and watching TV. Emily sighed,
lowering the binoculars. Damn, oh, well, we tried. She turned
to her brother, and her heart broke when she looked
upon his face wet with tears. Hey, don't worry, we'll
get through this. Emily reached out and hugged Tyler, who

(02:23:54):
began to sob louder. Okay, it'll be okay. Emily leaned
back and looked Tyler in the eyes. You know that
this wasn't going to actually work, don't you, Tyler? Shrugged,
wiping at the wetness on his cheek. Emily sighed, okay, fine,
I still owe you a Christmas present. I'll go over

(02:24:17):
there and try to get the ass hat to eat
a blood cookie. Even if some creature doesn't rip him
a new asshole, it would be fun just watching that.
Tyler hugged her tightly for a few seconds. Emily hugged
him back. She then stood up and looked at Tyler,
you stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes.
Walking away, Emily thought, once again, the things you do

(02:24:40):
for family. Emily stood on the front stoop of her house,
shivering in her thin jacket. She took a few deep breaths,
trying to build up her courage. Damn it, why did
I agree to do this, Emily thought, exhaling. She turned
the doorknob and walked inside. Oh hi, Frank, she said,

(02:25:00):
as she shut the door. Where the fuck have you been?
Frank said, without taking his eyes off the TV set. Oh,
I'm staying at a friend's house. I just stopped by
to pick something up I forgot. Emily answered, where's your
retarded brother? Frank said, still watching TV. Emily ignored the insult.
He's staying with them too. Mom knows your mom doesn't

(02:25:23):
tell me shit. I never know what the fuck is
going on in my own house, Frank said, raising his voice.
Oh I figured she would, Emily said. A silence fell
over them, only broken by the muted sound of the television.
Uh did you see the cookies I baked you, Emily
asked hesitantly. Frank tossed an empty bottle across the room.

(02:25:45):
It landed on the bare wooden floor and rolled to
a stop next to a table lamp. Get me another beer,
Frank said. Emily stood still for a few seconds, trying
to keep her temper in check. She then walked to
the fridge and grabbed a beer from a half full
six pack. She paused and grabbed a cookie out of
the trash can before moving to the living room. Here's

(02:26:07):
your beer, Emily said, trying to sound cheerful. She sat
a beer on the end table next to Frank's prized recliner. Also,
here's one of the cookies I made for you, she said,
sitting a cookie down next to the bottle of beer.
Frank's hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm.
He began moving his index finger lightly tracing circles on

(02:26:27):
the inside of her wrist. He looked up at her, sneering,
Emily pulled out of his grip. She glared at Frank,
struggling to hold her temper. Look, I'm trying to be nice.
I made you some cookies as a piece offering, and
the least you could do is try one, Emily said
through gritted teeth. Frank opened the beer and took a
long pull from it. He slammed it down on the

(02:26:49):
end table, smashing the cookie. If you want to be
nice to me, he said, sarcastically, you could make me
a sandwich. After a few moments, Frank looked over and
noticed that she was still standing there, staring daggers at him.
Look women are only good for two things, he said,
cooking and fuckin' it's your choice. Bawling her hands into fists,

(02:27:15):
Emily turned and walked back to the kitchen. After taking
a moment to calm herself down, she opened up the
fridge and grabbed some baloney and a jar of mayonnaise.
Hearing the fridge door open, Frank yelled, get me another
beer too. Emily ignored him and grabbed a butterknife from
the utensil drawer. She slapped the blooney on a piece
of bread and smeared a generous portion of mao on top.

(02:27:38):
Reaching back into the trash can, she grabbed another cookie.
She rolled the jar of mayonnaise over the cookie, reducing
it to crumbs. Scooping up the crumbs, she tossed them
on the sandwich and smashed the second piece of bread
on top. She turned around and dropped the plate as
she ran into Frank, who had walked up behind her.
Taking advantage of her surprise, he reached and pulled her

(02:27:59):
close to him, the alcohol from his breath burning her eyes.
I decided that I'm not hungry, which only leaves one option,
Frank said. Emily growled with rage, bringing her knee up
with all of her might, swinging towards his crotch. Frank
laughed as he turned slightly, taking the blow on his

(02:28:20):
upper thigh. Darling, you ain't gonna catch me with that
move again. Emily started to reach up towards Frank's face,
her fingers curled into claws. Frank's hand shot out and
grabbed her by the neck. Stop fighting, or I'll crush
your fucking throat, he growled as he squeezed her neck.
Emily began to panic as Frank squeezed harder. She was

(02:28:41):
swinging her arms wildly, trying to knock his hand loose.
Frank wasn't a large guy, but he possessed an unexpected strength.
He used that strength to lift her up by the
neck and slam her down on the counter. Emily's head
hit the formica hard enough to cause her to briefly
lose consciousness. She woke up to fingers tugging at the
buttons on her shirt. She tried protesting, but it felt

(02:29:02):
like she was moving in slow motion. A slap stung
her cheek and threatened to send her back into darkness.
Frank pulled his hand back and slapped her again. Little
miss cock teas Frank said, leaning over her. As he
brought his hand back to hit her again, something flew
by his head. He looked up as a pair of

(02:29:23):
binoculars hit the front door and shattered what the Frank
said as something leaped on him from behind, arms reaching
around his face. Frank laughed as he realized who'd attacked him.
It's the little fucking retard coming to rescue his sister,
Frank said, grinning like a madman. Frank reached back and

(02:29:44):
grabbed Tyler by the back of the shirt and tossed
him into the refrigerator door. Tyler slid down and hit
the ground hard. With Frank's hands off her throat, Emily
was able to catch her breath as she coughed and
struggled to clear her head. She reached out with fumbling hands,
trying to find something, anything, to help her. When she
felt a cold metal handle, she grabbed it and swung

(02:30:05):
it blindly at Frank. The mayonnaise covered butter knife slammed
into Frank's upper arm, burying itself deep enough to hit bone.
As Frank screamed and ripped the knife out of his arm,
Emily began rolling around the counter, hitting the edge. She
fell off, landing on the trash can and sending it
crashing across the floor. The noise jolted Frank into action,

(02:30:25):
and he leapt forward, trying to grab her ankles as
she scrambled across the cracked linoleum onto the cheap, threadbare
carpet of the living room. Emily crawled toward the front door,
but stopped when she looked back and noticed Tyler, who
was beginning to stir on the kitchen floor. She tried
to yell for her brother, but her bruised and swollen
throat could only manage a weak moan. Frank stormed into

(02:30:47):
the living room. As he approached Emily, she cocked her
leg back and aimed to kick at his knee. He
jumped to the side, avoiding her strike, and pounced on her,
pinning her to the carpet. He leaned forward inches from
her face and said, in a quiet, each filled voice,
Merry Christmas. Frank leaned back and started swinging his fist
to Emily's head. She did her best to block the blows,

(02:31:09):
but he kept on swinging, unleashing the rage upon her.
After a few moments, he stopped out of breath and
looked back toward the kitchen. Tyler was standing there, holding
something triumphantly in his hand. Frank, let her go, I'll
do it, I swear, Tyler yelled, holding his hand out.

(02:31:29):
Emily looked up, her face already starting to swell, and
tried to focus on Tyler. When she saw what he
was holding in his hand, a realization hit her like
a bucket of cold water. She knew what he was
about to do. She knew and she believed. Emily tried
to yell at him to stop, but all she could
do was lay there and watch. Frank, looking confused, stood

(02:31:54):
to face the youngster. Tyler held up a cookie for
a few seconds and then yelled, take this, you son
of a bitch. He then shoved the whole cookie in
his mouth and started chewing vigorously. Frank shook his head
and said, you are one fucking weird kid as he
began to move. Tyler stood there defiantly, chewing as Frank

(02:32:16):
closed in on him. Just as Frank crossed over into
the kitchen, a loud thud shook the house. At first,
Emily thought a car hit their house, but as a
thunderous roar pierced the night, she knew that Tyler had
been correct. Satan Claus had arrived. Frank, who had his
fist raised to strike Tyler, turned and took a few

(02:32:39):
steps toward the door, holding his ears. The scream suddenly stopped.
There were a few seconds of silence, dead silence, where
the only sound you could hear was the beating of
your own heart, and then the front door exploded. Fragments
of wood, glass and metal shot through the air, revealing
a gruesome creature. The creature filled the doorway, ducking down

(02:33:06):
to enter the room. It had a vaguely wolf like
face and large pointed horns. It wore a tight, dirty
red jacket trimmed in white fur on its ape like torso.
It stood on two massive legs that ended in cloven
hoofs that caused the ground to shake with every step.
It had long, wicked claws at the end of its
elongated arms. The strangest part was the almost comical, undersized

(02:33:29):
red hat that sat on the creature's head. Frank appeared dazed,
dozens of small cuts along his face and arms. He
staggered forward as if he were going to push by
the creature to leave. The demon looked down at Frank
as if amused, then grabbed him by the neck. It
raised Frank high and then slammed him to the floor.
Emily stumbled to her feet and ran to Tyler, who

(02:33:51):
was slumped against the fridge. The creature roared as it
began to tear Frank's chest open. Emily grabbed Tyler by
the shoulders and turned toward the back door, when a
body part, probably a leg, flew across the room and
slammed into the wall next to it. She then gathered
up Tyler and ran down the hall to her mom's bedroom,
the only one with a lock on the door. Emily

(02:34:11):
laid her brother on the floor. Then she noticed he
was gasping for air. She looked down and saw blood
pouring from a wound on his chest, where a large
piece of wood was protruding. Sobbing, she cradled him in
her arms, listening to the blood rattle in his chest
with every breath. The house shook as the creature walked
down the hall. It stopped in front of the bedroom

(02:34:31):
door and kicked the door off of its hinges. It
took two long steps and stood over the two siblings.
Leaning down, It took in a deep breath and seemed
to shiver with anticipation. Emily held her brother tight and
closed her eyes. The creature reached forward, a single talon
waving in the air teasingly. All of a sudden, the

(02:34:54):
creature stood up straight, whipping its head around like it
heard something off in the distance. It turned and bolted
out of the room. Emily sat there in a state
of shock, convinced that any moment would bring the creature back.
When the phone rang, Emily's heart jumped. She reached with
one hand to the nightstand and grabbed the receiver. She

(02:35:15):
tried to say something, but could only produce a weak,
raspy grunt. Hello, Emily, this is mom. Emily managed to
croak out, Mom, Yes, honey, it's mom. You sound sick.
You better go get some sleep. I just wanted to
call and thank you for trying to make nice with Frank.

(02:35:35):
I know it's been a hard year, but I think
things will get better. It was a nice gesture to
bake him some cookies. He doesn't have much of a
sweet tooth, so I hope you don't mind that I
brought some to work. I've been passing them out in
the breakroom and they're a huge hit. Everybody just loves them.
Emily's mom paused as loud noises and screams can be heard.

(02:35:57):
Oh my, something is going on down the hall. I
better get off here and see if I can help
you get some rest. Merry Christmas, sweetheart, the phone went dead.
Christmas Cranberries by LF Falconer. Ronnie was no longer content

(02:36:21):
with pulling the legs off of crickets that bored him anymore,
as did wingless dragonflies and tailless lizards. So today it
was Fluffy, the long haired tabby with the blue collar
that jingled softly with the cat's subtle movements to protect
the birds. Fluffy's owner, Missus Kent from the neighboring house,

(02:36:45):
was often known to say Fluffy was missus Kent's favorite,
and Ronnie did not like missus Kent, for missus Kent
was mean. Her mouth was always turned down in a frown,
and her eyes glinted like a pirates. She never missed
the opportunity to complain to Ronnie's mom when he'd picked

(02:37:05):
the apples from missus Kent's tree off the single branch
that overhung the back fence, and she refused to return
any balls that accidentally ended up in her yard. Yes,
missus Kent was a mean old bitdy, So this day,
Ronnie thought, when he caught Fluffy trespassing, was to be

(02:37:27):
Fluffy's last. Ronnie's eyes gleamed as he firmly held the
writhing cat beneath the water of his wading pool. He
imagined the cat to be missus Kent as he kept
holding her down tighter and tighter until she was quite dead.
Beneath the shallow water, he smiled. A sweet tang like

(02:37:49):
cranberry's filled his mouth. He savored the taste as he
shoved the wet, dead cat into a garbage bag and
stuffed it into the trash can in the alley. For
a long time, Ronnie stared at the trash can, reveling
in satisfaction, relishing the taste of cranberries. In all of

(02:38:13):
his six years of life, he could never remember feeling
so good that was in June. By the first of September,
just one week before his seventh birthday, Ronnie was beginning
to hunger. With the need to feel good again, he

(02:38:34):
began to crave the cranberries. For his birthday, his father
brought home the puppy, a happy eight week old Lab
Border Collie mix, At his mother's suggestion. The boy named
the dog Susie, and within a few days, Susie was
fetching the ball Ronnie would toss. Very few were lost

(02:38:57):
to missus Kent's yard anymore. At night, Susi would curl
up in her crate at the footboard of Ronie's bed,
and she rarely woke before daylight. In the morning, she
would follow Ronnie like a shadow, and wait patiently outside
the closed bathroom door until he would let her out
in the back yard to tend to her own duties.

(02:39:20):
When Ranie would come home from school, Susi would brim
with joy and exuberance, wagging her entire hind quarters. Four
weeks after Rannie's birthday, Susie disappeared. Ranie knew where the
dog had gone. Though Susy had done nothing to set
Ranie into a fit of anger, the boy had simply

(02:39:43):
wanted to feel good. He had been hungry. He'd wanted
to taste the cranberries. He had taken his father's clawhammer
out of the garage. He'd bashed it against Susie's head.
He'd bashed again and again, each blow, feeding his hunger,

(02:40:07):
filling his mouth with tang until cranberry drool overflowed and
dribbled onto his chin. The hunger was sated, He'd tossed
the hammer behind the rose bush, unlatched the alley gate,
and shoved Susie's little body into a box in mister
Phipps's trash can at the end of the block. He

(02:40:30):
would be full for a while. Ronnie felt good. Ronnie's
mother and father posted the reward fliers around the neighborhood
in hopes of inducing the return of the missing pup.
Five days after he'd put them up, Ronnie's dad took
the flyers down, even though the lost puppy had not

(02:40:54):
been found. A week before Halloween, Ranie was blessed with
a new sister. His mother had gone to the hospital
and came home two days later with baby Elizabeth wrapped
in her arms. Grandma Rose and Grandpa Sig and Grandpa
Paul all came for the Thanksgiving holiday dinner with much

(02:41:16):
fuss and ado over baby Elizabeth. Grandma Rose clicked her
favorite photo, so she said, of a smiling Rannie lovingly
holding his new one month old sister in his arms.
Little did Grandma Rose know that when she posed the
children for that shot, how hungry Rannie was growing, how

(02:41:40):
Rannie's bright smile was merely instigated by his inner anticipation
and his knowledge of how to feel good, how to
taste more cranberries. He tried to fill his hunger at
the Thanksgiving feast, but the ones from the cairn were
too sweet, They weren't the same. They did not make

(02:42:05):
him feel good. After dinner, the women gathered in the
kitchen for the cleanup, and the men retired to the
living room in front of the TV. So Ronnie, Grandpa
Paul asked, as he settled upon the sofa, what do
you want Santa to bring you for Christmas this year?
Ronnie scooted forward in his seat. A baseball bat would

(02:42:28):
be nice. He had no desire for a ball or
a glove. A shiny red baseball bat red like cranberries.
His grin was as wide as his eyes. It made
Grandpa Paul smile. I always loved baseball as a boy,
Grandpa Sigg said, loosening his tie. Grandpa Sigg always wore

(02:42:52):
a tie. You never know when you'll need to make
a good impression, he always said. Ronnie's dad, Jim, leaned
back in his recliner. Santa might not come this year.
Why not, Jimmy, Grandpa Sigg asked. He's not short of cash,
is he No? But sometimes it's just best if he

(02:43:16):
stays away. Ronnie's dad muted the TV and set the
remote aside. Dad, why don't you tell Ronnie about the
Santa you knew as a boy. Are you sure? Grandpa
Sig ran his tie back and forth through his fingers.
Times are different, and here in America Santa Claus has

(02:43:38):
changed his m a little. He's changed his m O
a lot, Dad, So indulge me and help me teach
the boy a little folklore from his heritage. My Ronnie's
old enough to know there's more than one Santa in
the world. He looked over at his son and winked,
aren't your son. Ronnie sat out up proudly. Yes, I am,

(02:44:03):
and the boy listened and rapped awe as his father's
father began the tail. Well, here in America, Santa Claus
might come accompanied by a red nosed reindeer. Grandpa sigin toned,
But back where I come from, Santa or Sami Klaus,

(02:44:23):
as he's known, makes his rounds with Schmutzy. Ronnie giggled
at the sound of the name, spoken in his grandfather's
residual German accent. Is that a Swiss reindeer? He asked.
Grandpa Sig shook his head solemnly. No, Schmutzy is Samyklaus

(02:44:47):
evil altar. While Samyklaus wears a red cloak and a
tall red hat, Smutzy dresses in Suti gray. Sami Klaus
has a long white beard, and Smutzy is black as coal.
Schmutzley's face too, is black as an ink well, and
his eyes glow red as embers in a fire. Sammy

(02:45:11):
Klaus leaves treats in the shoes of good little children,
while Schmutzley beats the naughty children with his broom. And
with those boys and girls who've been truly, truly bad,
he sweeps them into his sack and spirits them away
deep into the wilderness, to be eaten and never seen again.

(02:45:35):
Ronnie stared wide eyed. Why are you telling the boy
that horrible tale, Grandma Rose asked, coming out of the
kitchen with a handful of fresh washed china for the cabinet.
There's nothing wrong with Ronnie knowing the folklore of his heritage, Mom,
Jim said, after all, I grew up with it, and

(02:45:55):
look how sane I turned out. Well. I didn't approve
of your father telling you those stories then, and I
don't approve of you scaring my grandson with them now.
It's too late, Jim said, reaching for the TV remote.
The tale of Schmultzy has been told. I'm not scared, Grandma,
Ronnie lied, After all, this is America. Santa's changed his

(02:46:20):
m O. Grandpa Sig and Grandpa Paul both laughed. Grandma
Rose shook her head and returned to the kitchen. Ronnie
stared at the TV. The sound was reinstated, but Ronnie
didn't hear it. All that filled his mind was the
picture of glowing red eyes on a black face, and

(02:46:41):
the hunger for cranberries faded into the background. When Ronnie
relayed the story of Samit Claus and Schmultzy to his
friend Jason at school, Jason just laughed. It's not real,
Jason said, There's no such thing as Santa anyway. It's
only your parents. And that is what Ronnie wanted to believe,

(02:47:05):
or at least that in America there was Sanna, not
semi cloths, and certainly no Schmultzy. And maybe he hadn't
been that naughty though he wanted to be. He was
craving the cranberries, but it would have to wait. He

(02:47:26):
couldn't take any chances before Christmas. Two days before Christmas,
Ronnie watched, licking the taste of cranberries on his lips
as his mother bathed baby Elizabeth in the infant's tub
upon the tabletop. Can I help he tentatively asked. After

(02:47:48):
a moment's consideration, Mother nodded, of course, Ronnie. She handed
the boy the soft washcloth when he stepped close. Just
gently wash her body, okay. Mother held Elizabeth securely in
the tub. Ronnie rubbed the cloth over the baby's soft
shoulders and belly and imagined grabbing hold of the baby's ankles,

(02:48:11):
whirling her around and flinging her against the wall, then
jumping up and down on her body once she hit
the floor. He imagined skewering her with the fireplace poker
and roasting her like a marshmallow. He imagined taking his
fingers and poking them into Elizabeth's wide blue eyes and

(02:48:33):
cramming the soaking wet washcloth down her throat. He licked
the tang of cranberries away. Here. Mother interrupted his thoughts.
Hold her steady for me while I lay out the towel.
Ronnie's hands replaced his mother's beneath Elizabeth's arms. He looked

(02:48:53):
up into his mother's eyes. They were smiling. The tang
in his mouth sweetened. Mother leaned over to unfold the
towel beside the infant's tub. Ronnie began to release his grip,
Elizabeth slipped a bit. Could she slide all the way
down until she drowned? Ronnie wondered, Not likely, but perhaps

(02:49:19):
she could slip fast enough that were he to try
to catch hold of her again, her tiny little neck
might snap in the process, her tiny little neck so
skinny in its frailty trying to hold up her big
bobbling head, and maybe her big bobbling head just might

(02:49:43):
pop right off in his hands. Pop the cranberry tang
caused a slip of drool to dampen Ronnie's chin. His
eyes grew wide as he stared at his sister. He
let go his grip. Elizabeth started to slide. Whoa. Mother

(02:50:04):
quickly caught the baby before she slipped into the shallow water,
and laughed nervously. She can be a little wiggle bug, can't.
She almost got away from you. You have to be
more careful with your sister, Ronnie, His father spoke from
the doorway as he entered the room. Yes, Ronnie agreed,
taking a step back, relieved mother had been so quick.

(02:50:28):
Christmas was close. He couldn't be naughty before Santa came,
but afterwards afterwards he could feel good again. On Christmas Eve.
He could not sleep. His stocking was hung, but would
it be filled? Was Santa real? Would he come? And

(02:50:53):
what about Schmultzy? But this was America, of course Santa
would come, Sata and a red nosed reindeer to leave
presents under the tree, not red eyed Schmutzli. He had
been being oh so very good, even though the hunger
for Cranberry's was unendurably strong. Elizabeth was sleeping in her

(02:51:17):
room across the hall. Mother and father were sleeping in
their room at the end of the hall. Ronnie stared
out the dark window to the starlit night beyond. Please
let Santa come, he whispered. He only had to wait
until after Santa came. He couldn't be bad before Santa came,

(02:51:40):
But afterwards everything would be all right and he could
feel good again. After all, this was America, and in America,
Santa wanted little boys to feel good. Santa rewarded good
with presents. Ronnie stared at his bedroom door. Elizabeth was

(02:52:00):
across the hall. Mother and father were at the end
of the hall. At the other end of the hall,
around the corner in the living room, the brightly lit
Christmas tree cheerfully winked, awaiting its yearly night stalking visitor.
Every year, it was Santa who came, Not Semiklaus, not Schmoltzy.

(02:52:22):
This was America. Ronnie pulled the blanket up to his
chin and stared out the dark window. The tang was
in his mouth. He just wanted to feel good, that's all.
He didn't want to be naughty, and there was only
one way to feel good, and here in America. Santa

(02:52:45):
brought presents to the good, maybe even a baseball bat, bright,
shiny and red thunk. He could hear the metallic sound
of the bat's impact. Thunk, thunk, hollow and resonant, red, gleaming, slick, gosh.

(02:53:06):
He was so hungry. He wanted to feel good, to
feel good for Santa. Elizabeth was across the hall. He
sat up in bed and stared at the door. Was
there truly a Santa? If so? Was he American? Or
was he Swiss? And had he come yet? Ronnie laid

(02:53:31):
back down. It was getting hard to breathe. His mouth
was full. He needed to feel good. When would Santa
come so he could feel good? He needed to know
Santa had come before he could feel good. He sat
back up and dangled his feet over the side of
the bed. He stared at the door. Elizabeth was across

(02:53:53):
the hall. Had Santa come yet? Ronnie was so oh
very hungry, starving he could taste the cranberries he needed
to feel good. Bare feet hit the floor, he crept
to the bedroom door, peeked into the hall, looked to

(02:54:15):
his parents closed bedroom door, then to Elizabeth's. His hands
began to sweat. Ronnie eased his way into the hall
without squeaking The door hinges and padded for the living room.
He peeped around the corner into the room, a wash
with twinkling colored lights, and gasped, Santa was real. He

(02:54:41):
had come. The stockings were bulging filled to the brim.
Beneath the tree, under a big green bow was a
shimmering red baseball bat, the color of cranberries. He crouched
to his hands and knees and crawled for the tree. Hesitant,
his hand touched the cold aluminum that gleamed beneath a

(02:55:04):
barrage of twinkling lights. He slowly lifted it up and
gave the bat a loving caress. In America, Santa wanted
little boys to feel good In America, Santa rewarded the good.
He rewarded the good with shiny aluminum baseball bats to

(02:55:24):
enable the good never to stop. Ronnie wanted to feel good.
He had waited for so so long. The sweet tang
of cranberries filled his mouth as he hugged the red
baseball bat and eased back down the hall. Turning the

(02:55:45):
knob to Elizabeth's bedroom door, he gently pushed it open.
He stepped inside. Thunk, thunk, thunk, a gleam of red.
The bat hit the floor. The flyer Ronnie's father tacked

(02:56:10):
to the electric pole featured the smiling face of a
seven year old boy. A reward was being offered for
any information leading to the missing boy's whereabouts, but Jim
knew no reward would ever be paid out. Jim knew
Ronnie had been a bad boy. Jim had found the

(02:56:33):
bloody hammer, matted with dog hair and gore. He knew
Ronnie had lied about the puppy running off through the
open gate, and Jim feared what Ronnie would do with
a shiny new baseball bat. Yes, Ronnie was certainly a

(02:56:54):
very bad boy, and very bad boys had to be
whisked away forever. The Naughty List by Keith Tomlin. Andy Price,

(02:57:14):
twelve years old, went to sleep on Christmas Eve in
a dry, warm bed in the Saint Luke's Home for
Wayward Youth and woke up on a cold, damp stone floor.
He groggily sat up and looked around the large chamber.
A dozen other kids about his age were also waking up,

(02:57:38):
each looking about with the same dazed and confused look
that he had. There were three girls and ten boys,
including Andy, all wearing their nightclothes. Andy stumbled to his feet,
reaching out to the nearby wall to steady himself. The
wall felt cold against his bare hand. He looked closer,

(02:58:01):
and it seemed that the walls and even the ceiling
were made from ice. A dim luminescence emitted from the ice,
creating a soft light that lit the entire chamber. Each
wall of the square room had tunnels that led off
of it, and the tall ceiling had a large circular
hole in the middle. Some kids began milling about, exploring

(02:58:26):
the cavern and looking down the corridors. Others remained seated
on the floor, unable to believe what their eyes were
telling them, and he stood apart against the wall and
studied the other kids. He knew that knowledge was power,
and he wanted to gain as much information as possible
to ensure that he would as always come out on top.

(02:58:50):
As he studied the kids, he began to sort them
into categories. Are they weak or strong? Are they a threat?
Can he manipulate them into doing what he wants? How
can he use them to ensure that he will win?
Whatever sick and twisted game this was. All of this

(02:59:12):
came to Andy as naturally as breathing. He always got
what he wanted and nothing stood in his way. No teachers,
no laws, not even his parents. Andy was born to
Greg and Mary Price, a young couple living in Chicago.
Greg was a junior architect and Mary was a kindergarten teacher.

(02:59:35):
They had met in a Bible study class and soon
fell in love. They married and within a year Mary
gave birth to their first child, Andrew or Andy, as
he was lovingly called. He was a perfect baby, never crying,
never raising a fuss. When he was eight and small

(02:59:57):
pets and animals started disappearing around the neighborhood, no one
suspected the quiet Price kid. They put the disappearances down
to rumors of coyotes roaming the Chicago suburbs. When Andy
was ten and bigger pets began disappearing, some neighbors did

(03:00:17):
begin to point fingers at that odd price child who
always seemed to be watching them with a hint of
a knowing smile on his young face. His parents never
suspected their son was anything but a perfect little angel,
at least not until they brought home their second child, Susan,

(03:00:39):
when Andy was eleven. Little accidents began to happen to
the baby. Mysterious bruises appeared, and they twice found the
baby choking, having somehow swallowed a marble and a coin.
The final incident was when the crib tipped over during
the night, and the resulting injury required Susan to have surgery.

(03:01:02):
When his parents began to suspect that Andy maybe behind
these accidents, an electrical outlet started a fire that only
Andy survived. Loud, eerie music, reminiscent of the tune you
would hear from a Jack in the box toy began
drifting down from the hole in the ceiling. It slowly

(03:01:25):
increased in volume until it shook the walls. This went
on for so long that Andy thought his ear drums
would shatter. He pressed his palms against his ears and
fell to the floor, screaming for it to stop, and
suddenly it did. A few heartbeats later, a high pitched

(03:01:47):
voice began reciting a poem in a hypnotic sing song voice.
Judgment passed, Trial done, judged, naughty everyone, No games, no rules,
no referee. Two choices, fight or flee survived the night?
Only two ways? Kill the monster or escaped them maze.

(03:02:09):
The voice stopped, but the echoes rang along the corridors
for minutes before finally fading away. Andy struggled to his
feet as a grinding sound like an old rusty gate
being opened, shook the room. Seconds later, a massive creature
dropped from the hole, landing heavily on the floor. The

(03:02:32):
creature stood up straight, twice as tall as Andy. It
had an apelike body that was covered with long white fur.
It roared, opening its oversized mouth to reveal rows of
razor sharp teeth. The creature's long arms flexed as its

(03:02:52):
powerful muscles rippled beneath the long hair. Each hand had
long fingers that were tipped with wickedly sharp claws. The
creature slowly swiveled its massive head to survey its surroundings.
Most of the children who had been shocked by the
reveal of the monster snapped to life and began running

(03:03:15):
for the nearest tunnel. This seemed to amuse the creature,
and it threw back its head and roared again, this
time in anticipation of the hunt. When the creature first appeared,
Andy had slid along the wall and ducked into a
side passage. He peered out around the corner and watched

(03:03:38):
the chamber quickly empty of children except for two. One
of the younger looking kids, a petite girl dressed in
a pink nightgown, had curled into a ball on the
ground and kept repeating this is not happening, over and
over again. The other kid, a red haired boy, stood

(03:04:00):
pressed against the wall, his face filled with horror and disbelief.
A large wet stain had appeared on his Marvel superhero
pajama bottoms, running from his crotch to his ankles. The
creature clicked his tongue as it walked over to the
boy that was standing. It seemed to smile as it
gently reached out one claw hand and slowly wrapped it

(03:04:23):
around the boy's chest. It pulled him close and stared
in his eyes before it raised his other hand and
flicked a finger out, slicing the boy's throat. It seized
the boy's head in its free hand and bent it
back like snapping open a pixie stick. It raised the

(03:04:44):
child above his head and let the blood flow into
its mouth, blood splattering all over the creature's face and chest.
When the blood stopped, the creature flung the lifeless body
across the cavern. As the creature turned to face the
girl on the ground, she began chanting, this is not happening,

(03:05:04):
louder and more frantic. The creature's arm shot out and
grabbed her by the ankle. In one smooth motion, it
whipped its arm around, slamming the girl's head into the wall.
It split open and splattered blood, bone, and brains all
over the room. As the creature began to feed, Andy's

(03:05:25):
mind raced, searching for possibilities of how to control the situation.
He had always known what to say and do to
ensure that he got what he wanted. Now his mind
came back with nothing except panic. This was new to him.
Andy had never before tasted fear. He turned and ran.

(03:05:48):
The passages were wide, at least eight feet across and
not quite as tall as the starting chamber. Side tunnels
ran off of this one in seemingly random intervals. Echoes
seen to have a life of their own and reverberated
all around Andy. He heard the echo of the girl
chanting this is not happening, as well as the wet,

(03:06:09):
hollow thunk of her head hitting the ice. He could
also hear echoes of something large moving quickly. Andy felt
disoriented and began choosing passages at random, trying to put
as much distance between him and that creature as possible.
More screams echoed through the halls as the creature found
another victim. After a few minutes, Andy paused, gasping for breath.

(03:06:34):
As he looked down a side tunnel. He noticed that
it opened up into a room. He skulked along that
corridor and peered around the corner. The room was large
and had ceilings as tall as the first chamber. Along
the far wall was a wooden rack with metal items

(03:06:54):
arrayed along its length. It took Andy a moment to
realize what was on the rack. Swords, Andy whispered. As
Andy took a few steps forward, a boy dressed in
transformers pajamas charged into the room. Run it's coming, he
yelled once again. Andy turned and ran. Andy didn't know

(03:07:17):
how long he ran. It seemed like days. He heard
screams echoing all around him, unclear if they were old
screams echoing their way back around or new ones. He
ran out of one tunnel into a larger corridor and
had to immediately duck as the largest of the children

(03:07:37):
tried to take his head off with a sword. You
stay away, I don't trust you, and I'll kill anyone
that gets too close to me. The boy screamed, swinging
his sword in the air as he backed away from Andy.
He moved past a side tunnel when a blur of
white sprang out of it. The creature leaped at the boy,
pinning him to the ground. It began to tear limbs

(03:07:59):
off the large boy like a child might wings off
a fly. Andy ran. After a few minutes. Andy ran
into a chamber with four children standing in a semicircle,
each holding a short spear. The tallest of the kids
pointed to a wooden rack of spears behind them, saying, hey, kid,
grab a weapon. We're gonna kill that damn thing. Andy

(03:08:23):
ran to the rack and snatched one up. Nodding at
the tall boy, he walked over to the left side
of the phalanx, making sure he was closest to the exit.
The kids stood at the ready, watching for the creature,
as ready as they were. The attack happened so quickly
only the tall kid was able to bring his spear

(03:08:44):
up to attack. The creature burst out of the tunnel
that Andy had come through and smashed into the circle
of kids. Tall kid was able to put a spear
in the side of the creature, but the powerful beast
barely noticed. The creature knocked over two defenders with one
powerful blow and grabbed tall kid in the other hand.
Andy turned and ran, panting with effort. Andy ran as

(03:09:10):
fast as he could. Looking back, he saw one of
the other defenders, a young girl with long hair, wearing
sweatpants and a shirt with a peace sign. She ran
up alongside him, matching his speed and gave a small nod.
Andy nodded back. They ran together for a few seconds
before he heard the creature roar and felt the ground

(03:09:32):
shake as the beast pursued them. Andy didn't dare look,
but he could tell the creature was gaining fast. The
girl gave him another quick look and a shrug as
she increased her speed and began to pull away from him.
Andy tried to dig deeper, but he had nothing left.
The creature was getting closer and he was running out

(03:09:53):
of options. He then realized that he was still holding
the spear. His mind started to race through the potentials.
Attacking the creature with it would do nothing except get
him killed. He could drop it and hope that it
increases his speed, or as soon as his mind came
up with the third possibility, he acted without even fully

(03:10:16):
realizing what he was going to do. He thrust the
spear forward as he ran, and just barely he was
able to catch the girl in the back of her
thigh with the tip. It wasn't a deep wound, but
it was just enough to make her stumble and fall.
He ran past without looking down at her. A few
strides later, her scream and the sound of snapping bones

(03:10:40):
echoed in the hallway. The passageway led to another room.
Andy ran into it and stopped for a second to
catch his breath. He felt the ground shake and knew
the creature was making its way down the hall towards him.
Just as Andy was about to run down another passageway,

(03:11:00):
the kid with the Transformer pajamas came stumbling into the room.
He held a wounded arm and was panting heavily. Hey kid,
Andy said, I owe you one from earlier. This way
is safe. I'll catch up to you in a second.
I just need to catch my breath. Andy pointed back
the way he just came. Thanks, the Transformer kid said,

(03:11:24):
as he started moving down the corridor that Andy just exited.
As Andy turned down another passage, he smiled as he
heard screams and a beastly roar of triumph. Minutes or
maybe hours later, Andy was cold to the bone and
could not control his shivering, but he kept running. His

(03:11:46):
feet were leaving bloody footprints with every step, but he
was numb to that, as he was numb to everything else.
He ran without thinking, letting his subconscious guide him through
the maze. After an incalculable amount of time, he entered
into a large oval room, bigger than any other he

(03:12:07):
had seen so far. He slowed down as he noticed
that there were no other corridors leading off of this room.
As he walked further, into the massive chamber, he noticed
a door at the far end. Andy approached the door.
A painted sign that hung over it had a single

(03:12:28):
word written exit. Andy reached out and placed his hand
on the wood of the door. It felt real. A
tear ran down Andy's cheek as he realized that this
was not an illusion. He slowly turned the door handle
and the door clicked and began to open. A sharp,

(03:12:51):
icy breeze blew in from the outside, and Andy started
to take a step forward to cross the threshold. He
suddenly stopped when he noticed shapes in the darkness outside.
Dozens and dozens of little humanoid creatures stood around the
outside of the exit door. Andy could feel all of

(03:13:14):
their eyes on him. Is this a trick? Andy yelled
at them, but did not get a reply. Andy tried
to think to push back the fog and fatigue that
clouded his mind. Shaking his head, Andy realized that there
was only one choice and started once again to step

(03:13:37):
through the door. As he lifted his foot, a powerful
hand grabbed him around his waist and lifted him in
the air. He was spun around to face the creature.
Its black eyes drilled into his mind, his soul. It
seemed to smile as it drew him closer. The thing

(03:13:58):
opened its mouth and, with a deep rumble, croaked out
a single word, naughty. That was the last thing that
Andy heard before the creature's teeth tore his head from
his body. The creature greedily fed and tossed the corpse

(03:14:19):
behind him as it started to move back into the
bowels of the maze. As Andy's lifeless body hit the floor,
the sound of bells echoed through the maze. The creature
grabbed its massive head and fell to the floor. As
it slumped over, the little humanoid creatures began to flood

(03:14:39):
into the room. These little creatures, known to some as elves,
formed a circle around the fallen monster. When the bells
stopped ringing, the elves began to chant in their high
pitched voices, chanting ancient and powerful words long forgotten by humanity.

(03:15:01):
As the chanting grew louder, the white fur that covered
the creature's body began to turn black and crumble into ash.
Its bare skin started to smoke, giving off waves of
intense heat. The skin rippled and pulsated, and soon began
to flow like lava, forming a mound on the floor.

(03:15:25):
As the mound cooled, the skin hardened into a shell,
into a cocoon. As one the elves stopped their chant.
They stood silent and unmoving, watching the cocoon in awe.
The minutes stretched on, the silence in the chamber was deafening,

(03:15:47):
until suddenly a large crack echoed throughout the room as
the cocoon split open on top, the elves sprang into motion.
Most of the elves clapped and danced. A few ran
forward with small hammers and chisels and delicately began to

(03:16:07):
chip away at the shell of the cocoon, reverently handling
every small piece they chipped off to the other elves,
who carefully carried it through the exit door. After minutes
of chiseling, the side of the cocoon burst open, spilling
its contents onto the stone floor. Gallons of thick, greenish

(03:16:28):
yellow liquid poured from the hole, and with a splash,
a tall, rotund man with a long white beard slid
from the cocoon onto the floor. A large group of
elves rushed forward, some cleaning up the liquid with towels,
others gently wrapping the man in heavy blankets and carrying

(03:16:50):
them out into the cold, dark night. Santa Claus opened
his eyes and looked around the room, stifling a yawn.
His face turned from confusion to concern when he noticed
that the room was filled with his little helpers. Why hello, everyone,

(03:17:13):
is something wrong? Santa said in his deep booming voice,
his hand stroking his long white beard. One elf stepped
forward and gave a small bow. In a high pitched,
squeaky tone, he said, we're sorry to wake you, Santa,
but it's Christmas Eve. And Christmas Eve, Santa interrupted. He

(03:17:36):
leapt out of bed, almost knocking over a score of elves.
I overslept again. Prepare the sled, gather the gifts. I
have millions of good little boys and girls to visit tonight.
The elves cheered as Santa grabbed his black boots off
the floor and rushed out of the room. The elves
kept cheering as they followed Santa out of the bedroom,

(03:18:00):
all except one. This elf walked over to a small
writing desk and sat down. He removed a quill, pen
and a parchment from a drawer. Dipping the pen into
an inkwell, he wrote naughty across the top of the
paper in a smooth, elegant font He then drew thirteen

(03:18:23):
lines underneath it. He put the pen down and sat
there waiting waiting for the new list of naughty boys
and girls for next Christmas Eve. Lady Frankenstein by Rob Fields.

(03:18:51):
December twenty third was the absolute biggest Christmas shopping day
in Strickfield. Usually, most everyone was out shopping. Strickfield Town
Center Mall was even packed the one season of the
year when it usually was. However, there was one person
who had other plans during the holiday season. Just outside

(03:19:13):
the village limits, in an old mansion that was thought
to be abandoned, Vincent Frankenstein was alone in a third
floor laboratory and working on an experiment that was on
a large slab. He had just finished to fixing the
hands to the lifeless female body. As he admired his work,
he knew that his female creation would correct many of

(03:19:36):
the flaws that had plagued his ancestor, Henry Frankenstein many
years ago. After finding Henry's thought to be lost journals
and studying them over immensely, Vincent had started work on
trying to rediscover and harness that great ultraviolet ray that
was said to have brought life to all things living.

(03:19:59):
Vincent's first experiment was on a cat that had been
hit by a car. Vincent fixed the body up as
best he could. He achieved success in turning the ray
on the cat and restoring life to it after he
had performed many tests on it. The cat had not
shown any hostile tendencies. In fact, it acted as if

(03:20:20):
it had never died and even took nourishment upon its rebirth.
Vincent had succeeded in restoring a dog to life with
the same results. One experiment after another. Vincent would continue
his research until he was absolutely certain that his updated
process worked flawlessly. Once he felt that he had compiled

(03:20:40):
enough data, he decided that he would do what Henry
had accomplished on two occasions to create a human being
from dead parts and endow the amalgamation with life. Like
his great ancestor before him, he secured fresh body parts
for his creation anywhere he could them. It had taken

(03:21:01):
Vincent a great deal of time and a lot of preservation,
but he had nearly completed a female body. All that
was missing was a perfect head, and this part was
where Vincent would exercise the utmost caution, for he remembered
that Henry's first creation had turned out for the worst.
Henry had unknowingly placed the brain of a dead criminal

(03:21:24):
within the head of what became known as Frankenstein's Monster
or simply just Frankenstein. Yes, Henry's first creation had killed
many people, including a little girl who was playing by
the water near her village. Vincent could not allow such
a mistake to be made a second time. Henry had

(03:21:47):
also recorded in another journal that he, with the help
of one doctor Septimus Pretorious, had created a female of
his own to be a companion and mate for the
original creation. However, the female creation had come to reject
her potential mate and was believed to be destroyed in
an explosion. Vincent had thought ahead and removed his creation's

(03:22:09):
reproductive system to make her sterile so that his creation
could not produce potentially dangerous offspring. Vincent had read in
Strickfield's local newspaper that a young woman from North Ridgeway
had recently passed away due to an extreme loss of blood.
He was certain that the head would be in great
physical condition and would be perfect for his creation. That night,

(03:22:34):
he had gone to North Ridgeway Memorial Hospital after disengaging
the security cameras. Vincent made his way to the morgue
and found the naked female body with his perfect head.
When Vincent thoroughly examined the body of Annabeth Winter's, he
couldn't understand what had caused this once living, beautiful girl

(03:22:55):
to die from such an extreme loss of blood. His
research on Annabeth Winters showed that she had been a
top level athlete from North Ridgeway University, so she was
not a dangerous criminal. Vincent's creation would have the perfect
head and brain of Annabeth Winters. It had taken Vincent

(03:23:17):
a great deal of time to properly attach the spinal
cord to the brain of Annabeth Winters. Upon successful completion,
he stitched the flesh together to finish, making the head
a part of the body. Vincent hooked up the completed
body to the multiple machines to both inject and conduct
the circulation of blood. All he needed now was the

(03:23:40):
perfect storm to grant him that one jolt of powerful
lightning in conjunction with his ultraviolet ray to bring his
creation to life. His Christmas wish couldn't have been granted
soon enough. This Christmas season just happened to be unseasonably warm,
guaranteeing green holiday. Vincent heard the loud rumbling and knew

(03:24:05):
that he needed to act quickly. After he finished wrapping
the body in special bandages to help evenly distribute the
forthcoming electrical current, all was ready, He threw the switches
to both open the panel in the roof and send
the body upward until it was outside and exposed to
the storm. Vincent monitored his instruments closely. When the needles

(03:24:29):
and digital displays spiked in their readings, he knew that
the lightning had struck the rods at each corner of
the slab and had sent millions of volts throughout the body.
In conjunction with the ultraviolet ray that he had mounted
just above, Vincent brought the body back down, closing the
roof panel. When the slab was back on the floor again,

(03:24:51):
Vincent waited for any sign of movement. He didn't have
to wait long when a hand started to move. It's alive,
he gasped. It's alive. My god, I've succeeded. He took
his scissors and proceeded to cut the rappings to reveal

(03:25:13):
the creation's head. Then he cut the wrappings to reveal
her hands. And feet. It struck him odd that the
creation's stitched areas were quickly healing up into a single,
unified flesh. He heard his creation moaning and knew that
she was scared. He looked into the beautiful face of
his creation. It's all right, You're going to be just fine.

(03:25:37):
I'll take very good care of you. The Creation regarded
her creator for a moment and screamed. Then she started heaving.
Vincent saw that his creation was angry, now very angry.
She screamed again to show her rage. Then Vincent noticed
that the Creation's eyes were glowing. It was during her

(03:26:02):
third scream, one for freedom, that she broke the iron
shackles that had secured her wrists and ankles to the slab.
No Stop. Vincent held out his hands to try to
take hold of her to calm her down. The Creation
quickly grabbed a heavy table nearby and flung it at
her creator. He ducked to avoid serious injury. When Vincent

(03:26:23):
got to his feet, the Creation screamed with rage again.
Seeing the door to her right, she proceeded to walk
to it to her freedom. Stop. Vincent yelled at her.
When the Creation had reached the door, she found it
was locked. She smashed her fists through the thick wooden
door as if it were brittle. It was then when

(03:26:44):
Vincent saw the full length mirror near the control panel.
The creature had no reflection. It was then that Vincent
Frankenstein had gotten his answer as to why the body
of Annabe Beth Winters was in such good condition in
spite of a loss of blood. The young woman had

(03:27:08):
been sired by a vampire. In utilizing her head, Vincent
had made an even worse mistake than what Henry before
him had made. No, he had not given his creation
the brain of a dead criminal. He had given his
creation the head of a newborn vampire. The creation easily

(03:27:29):
smashed through the French doors and walked down the steps
to the front yard to continue her escape. The rain
poured on her seemingly mummified body. The Creation relished her
freedom in spite of the weather. She came to a
dirt path and walked it for several minutes before she
arrived at a road. Seeing a sign with an arrow

(03:27:50):
that pointed left, she turned in that direction and headed
to Strickfield. The roads were deserted as she walked to
her destiny nation. When she entered the Strickfield village limits.
She noticed that every house was bright with Christmas lights
and decorations. There were even houses with animatronics doing their

(03:28:13):
programmed actions. As the Creation stared at this winter wonderland,
she started to become uncomfortable. She growled and clutched her throat.
She looked and saw a man working to replace a
few bulbs in a string of Christmas lights. She hissed

(03:28:35):
with delight and began to make her way towards the man.
When she reached him, the man saw her bare feet
and looked up at her bandaged body. Listen, you get
the hell off my property, he grumbled, Not unless you
want me to call the God. The man fought to

(03:28:55):
break her iron grip as she held his coat and hair.
She tilted his head back to fully expose his neck,
before opening her mouth to reveal her sharp fangs. The
man screamed as she bit into his neck and began
to drink. The Creation felt herself becoming stronger and more

(03:29:15):
vibrant with each swallow of blood. When she was finished,
she shoved the corpse away from her. The Creation heard
other sounds nearby, mainly a car engine. She looked and
saw the car in another person's yard that had damaged
an animatronic Santa Claus. Shortly after, four high school kids,

(03:29:37):
two boys and two girls, got out of the car.
One of the girls pointed to the vandalized Santa Fuck you,
Principal van Deiste. The other girl kicked the Santa head
that had fallen at her feet. Yeah, go get fucked you, motherfucker.
One of the guys pointed to the house. Hey, we

(03:29:58):
should see if Principal van Deste is he then we
can smash his door in and kill his ass. The
other guy muttered, I can't believe that son of a
bitch expelled us from high school just because Stevie tripped
little alien Donnerly in the hallway yesterday. The girl named
Stevie turned and shoved the guy. And then that fucking bitch,

(03:30:19):
Bella Tabon beat the shit out of me for it.
Bella Tabon beat the shit out of all of us.
The other girl yelled, but Principal van dest expels us.
I say we beat the living shit out of Van
dest then we find Bella Tabon and fucking kill her
ass too. Stevie slapped the other girl on her arm

(03:30:41):
quickly hey, look. The four of them turned their attention
to the Creation. One of the guys started laughing when
he saw her staring at them from nearby. Is that
bitch dressed up like a like a mummy? The other
guy yelled to her, Hey, airhead, Halloween was two months ago.

(03:31:05):
It's not trick or treat weekend, bitch, Stevie added, none
of these houses are giving out candy, but will beat
your fucking ass if you don't fuck off. The other
girl further added when the Creation wouldn't walk away, they
got back into their car. The guy driving turned the
wheel towards the Creation and hit the gas. Yeah, run

(03:31:28):
that fucking bitch over, Stevie yelled. The Creation didn't look
the least bit afraid. In fact, her eyes glowed hot
as she screamed with rage and raised her fists. As
the car was about to hit her. The Creation brought
her fists down on the car's hood and hit it
with enough force to both stop the car dead in

(03:31:49):
its tracks and make the rear end go way off
road and slam back down just as hard. The Creation
moved the vehicle and saw all the four enemies who
had pissed her off. They were moaning in pain. The
girls in the back were bleeding from their heads. As
for the guys up front, they were both on the

(03:32:10):
hood after crashing through the windshield. Together. She could smell
how delicious the red leaking liquid from their wounds was
and grabbed the driver. He screamed as the Creation drank
him dry. After tossing him aside, she grabbed the other
guy and drank him up. That left only the two

(03:32:31):
girls now. The Creation moved to the passenger's side and
ripped the door off. She reached inside and pulled the
girl next to Stevie out. She held her by her
hair with one hand. With the other, she grabbed the
neck of her turtle neck sweater. The girl cried out
when she felt the Creation's fingers pierce her flesh. She

(03:32:54):
screamed as the Creation pulled down fast, ripping the front
of her turtleneck sweater away past her stomach, tearing all
the flesh beyond with it. The Creation threw the girl
onto her back, leaving her vital organs exposed as blood
pulled around the body. Stevie saw this and screamed in terror.

(03:33:14):
The Creation heard her and screamed with rage. Yet again,
She moved to the driver's side door and ripped it off,
throwing it aside. She reached in and grabbed Stevie. She
pulled her out of the car and held her where
she stood. What are you, Stevie choked out. As the

(03:33:35):
Creation moved her hands to the sides of Stevie's head
to crush her skull in. She felt two sharp jabs
on her shoulder blade. She screamed as she felt the
voltage go through her entire body, making her release Stevie.
When the Creation refused to fall, the voltage only seemed
to increase. She turned and saw Vincent Frankenstein at the

(03:34:00):
other end of the Taser rifle. She grabbed the cables
and yanked hard enough to pull the rifle away from him.
When the rifle landed in front of her, she stomped
on it with one bare foot to snap it in two.
You are my Creation, stop this at once, Vincent yelled.
The Creation screamed with rage and stretched her hands out

(03:34:22):
into claws. As she was ready to attack Vincent. They
both heard a low moan from Stevie. Seeing that the
Creation was distracted, Vincent rushed at her and threw his
body into her to knock her down. He moved quickly
and lifted Stevie into his arms. As the Creation suddenly
sat up, Vincent ran as fast as he could and

(03:34:43):
threw some nearby yards. Fortunately, he knew Strickfield quite well.
The Creation would not catch him and Stevie so quickly,
at least not so long as she hadn't yet understood
all of her potential vampiric powers. The Creation, frustrated that
she had lost her two victims, looked up and screamed
so loudly that anything of a fragile nature nearby would

(03:35:06):
either break or crack. When she finished, she turned and
continued walking through Strickfield. The next morning, Christmas Eve, the
Creation awakened and left the abandoned barn that she had

(03:35:26):
taken shelter in. It had finally stopped raining, but it
was quite cloudy and chilly. She seemed disoriented at how
much more light was outside compared to the darkness of
the night before. Just the same she began to walk again.
The Creation would find its way to Strickfield Town Center Mall.

(03:35:49):
The Creation walked in and saw that many people were
going in and out of the stores or doing business
with vendors at kiosks. But what really intrigued her at
that moment were the many little versions of the people.
As she watched the smaller people move about, her facial

(03:36:09):
expression softened until Hey, you, you can't be in here
without any shoes on. You're gonna have to leave. The
Creation glanced to see a fat security guard next to her.
She ignored him and started walking again. Hey. The guard
grumbled and grabbed her arm. The Creation screamed in anger

(03:36:33):
before she grabbed him and sank her fangs into his throat,
which caused panic among the shoppers who saw. After tossing
the body aside, she screamed at the people and went
for them. She had killed and drank two more before
a little boy had crossed in front of her. The
Creation picked up the boy. Stop. The mother called out, please,

(03:36:58):
don't hurt my baby. The creation looked at the woman
only for a moment before returning her attention to the boy.
After examining the boy, she finally lowered him and let
him go. The mother quickly snatched up her son and
ran as fast as she could. Suddenly, two police officers

(03:37:20):
appeared with their guns drawn. The Creations screamed at them
as they fired at her. To their disbelief, the officers
found their bullets were useless. She was on them the
moment their guns were empty. After she drained them of
their blood, she made her way through the mall. Many

(03:37:44):
families scrambled to flee once they saw her. A few
of the boldest dared to try and fight the Creation,
only for her to drink them up. Another fat security
guard tried to take her down, but was quickly and
easily thrown with one hand right through the Little Santa's
House at the center Court. It seemed as if the

(03:38:06):
Creation would continue her reign of terror at the mall,
but she reached the main doors and smashed right through
them to finally leave. Some of the police ran after
her to try and subdue her, but they would find
their efforts to be futile. These officers were most fortunate

(03:38:26):
that the Creation only smashed them to the parking lot
and left them with their lives. She screamed at them
before she turned and continued on her way. Stevie opened
her eyes and awoke to find herself covered up in
a four post bed. She saw that she was wearing

(03:38:49):
a gown and felt that she had a bandage wrapped
around her forehead. She felt a little scared as she
looked around and wondered where she was. It's all right,
Vincent said to her as he entered the room. Where
the fuck am I, Stevie demanded, You're in my home,

(03:39:10):
young lady. I treated your headroom and put you to
bed so you could rest. Stevie shrieked and pointed in
a random direction that thing. Vincent sighed, sadly, she's still
out there. I'm afraid. I went out to try and
find her, but was unsuccessful. Stevie understood immediately and pointed

(03:39:32):
an accusing finger at him. You created that motherfucking thing,
she sprang out of bed, fucking why. Vincent held up
his hands. I am truly sorry for what she did
to you and your friends, and nothing I can do
will ever make up for that. I'll have to carry
every death she's caused with me for the rest of

(03:39:53):
my life. He lowered his hands and sighed, I only
wanted to be able to create life from death, the
way my ancestor did many many years ago. Vincent explained
everything to Stevie. The more he explained, the more Stevie
became furious. She finally screamed at the top of her

(03:40:15):
lungs and lunged at Vincent. She took him down and
screamed more as she threw fist after fist at him. Finally,
she fell off him and heaved, God, damn you, God
damn you. Yes, perhaps God himself will damn me to
hell for what I've done. Vincent agreed, but I still
have to find my creation just the same. But how

(03:40:38):
the fuck will you kill her? Asshole? Stevie mocked him.
You fucked up by putting the head of a vampire
on her. Vincent sat up and faced her. You believe
in vampires, Stevie sneered in disgust. I was raped by
one and survived. I ended up killing his mother fucking

(03:40:58):
ass after he tried tore me. She moved on to
her knees and glared at Vincent with anticipation. I'm definitely
gonna help you kill that fucking thing. When Stevie saw
that Vincent was apprehensive, she growled and attacked him, getting
on top of him again. When he looked up at her,
she glared down at him. You listen to me, motherfucker.

(03:41:21):
She pointed in a random direction. That fucking thing killed
my friends, It damn near killed me. How many more
people do you think she's going to kill right fucking now? Huh,
They're all on your fucking head. Okay, okay, Vincent conceded.
I was hoping to take her alive so that maybe

(03:41:42):
I can fix her. Stevie got off Vincent and stood up.
There is no fixing her. You know it, and I
know it. Vincent got up and faced Stevie. I'll get
you some fresh clothes, then we'll go look for my creation.
Stevie continued to glare at him with distrust as he
left her room. The Creation walked onto the Strickfield University

(03:42:05):
grounds and looked at the Christmas decorations. She didn't understand
why there were so many brightly colored lights, the multiple snowmen,
or even the fat men wearing red and white suits.
She really didn't understand too much, except that people were
after her, that she needed to feed on their blood,
and that she now felt certain desires growing inside her.

(03:42:29):
The Creation continued walking the campus, but she didn't see anybody.
Of course, she couldn't have known that nearly every student
had left Strickfield University for the holiday break. She screamed
in frustration at not getting what she desired, she approached
a nearby animatronic Santa Claus and sent its head flying
right off its shoulders with a quick punch. She reached

(03:42:51):
inside its open neck to kill it some more. The
creation screamed and became angrier as the high voltage sir
through her body. She stopped the voltage by ripping the
animatronic Santa in half. Jesus Christ, what are you doing?
Someone called out to her. The creation was ready to
scream at the person, but she quickly stopped and calmed down.

(03:43:17):
She allowed the chunky guy with glasses to approach her.
You you all right? She didn't answer, but continued to
look him over. Wow, you sure are tall. He looked
down at her bare feet, and you don't even need heels.
Then he saw that her wet bandages had parted enough

(03:43:39):
in several places to reveal that she didn't have any
clothing on underneath at all. Hey, you can't stay out
here looking like that if the police see you. He
took her hand. Come on, my house is just over there.
I can give you something to wear out of my
sister's room. The creation allowed the guy to lead her

(03:44:00):
off campus and to the nearby house where he lived
with his family. He brought her inside and took her
upstairs to his bedroom. My parents aren't home, but I'll
take care of you. Listen, do you have a name?
When she still didn't answer him, he pointed to himself,
I'm Reggie. Reggie. When she remained silent, he motioned for

(03:44:24):
her to stay. I'll get a scissor in some clothes.
The Creation waited until Reggie returned with the promised items.
He set the clothes on his desk and proceeded to
use the scissors to cut off her bandages. After several minutes,
he had her completely naked. You know what, maybe you
should take a shower first, Reggie suggested the bathroom. The

(03:44:50):
Creation seized Reggie and kissed him hungrily. Reggie couldn't believe
his luck and kissed her back. She ripped t shirt
off like it was tissue paper and sat down on
the bed. Reggie looked down at the beautiful naked Creation
who truly truly desired him. She growled and ripped his
jeans open. He eased her onto her back, got naked

(03:45:15):
and climbed on top of her. Reggie had finished drying
the creation off after giving her a shower. Then he
dressed her in his sister's clothing. Even though the items fit,
they were still too small for her. The t shirt
revealed her full stomach, and the jeans were more like Capri's.

(03:45:38):
The Creation looked at him and attempted to smile for
the first time ever. Then she took his hand and
held it between her two hands. She closed her eyes
and let him kiss her lips again. He sat down
next to her and admired her. I can't believe we

(03:45:58):
just had sex, Reggie told her. This sort of thing
just doesn't happen to me. The Creation smiled for him
a second time. Then she quickly turned her head when
she heard noises coming from downstairs. Somebody's home. Reggie explained,

(03:46:19):
don't worry, nobody's gonna hurt you. The Creation wouldn't release
his hand. Only when he assured her that he would
return did she let him go. He opened the door
and headed downstairs. The Creation heard talking, but she couldn't
understand the words. It wasn't long after that she heard

(03:46:39):
quick movements on the stairs, along with Reggie yelling something
was wrong. She stood up and moved to the door.
She walked right through it, turning it into boards and kindling.
She turned to see Vincent, Frankenstein, and Stevie in the hallway.
She screamed angrily and moved at them. Oh shit, Stevie shrieked.

(03:47:00):
She raised her shotgun and blasted the Creation and the shoulder. No,
Reggie yelled. The Creation only jerked back on its impacted
shoulder and showed Stevie just how fast she could heal.
Stevie and Vincent quickly moved back downstairs. They hadn't counted
on the Creation leaping all the way down the stairway.

(03:47:23):
Stevie cried out in fright as the Creation suddenly grabbed
her and put her right through the front door. Then
she turned to face Vincent and Reggie. For a moment,
she seemed to convey betrayal towards Reggie. When she saw
him shaking his head. Quickly, she realized he was innocent.
Her Creator and the girl had found her somehow. Vincent

(03:47:46):
raised his hands in front of him. Let me take
you home. I can fix you. Please don't be like this,
no more killing, Please just come with me. The Creation
still didn't understand him, but she screamed with hatred at him.
She was about to grab him when she took another
shotgun blast, this time in the back. The Creation turned

(03:48:07):
to see Stevie. Come and get me, you fucking bitch,
she called out. As she turned and ran, The Creation
screamed and darted outside. It hadn't taken the Creation long
to almost be upon Stevie. Suddenly she felt Vincent jumping
onto her back. As she was about to grab him,
she felt the sharpness of a needle going into her shoulder,

(03:48:31):
followed by something squirting out. Vincent dropped off her back
and stuck her with a second needle. The Creation fell
to her knees and then onto her side. We don't
have much time, Stevie. Let's get her back to the lab,
Vincent said. I can't believe I'm agreeing to let you
try and fix her. Stevie muttered, you should just fucking

(03:48:53):
kill her. When Stevie saw Reggie coming outside, she pointed
right at him. Shut the fuck up and get back inside.
You fuck looking, fat fuckstick. What are you going to
do with her? He demanded. When Stevie raised the shotgun
to him and pumped it, he quickly squealed and darted
back inside. The Creation opened her eyes and felt as

(03:49:19):
if she was moving, yet she found she was incapacitated.
She looked up and saw the sky was moving fast.
She clinched her teeth and found the chain securing her
wouldn't give. She growled through her teeth as she exerted
her strength again. This time the chains broke in several places.
She moved to her feet and leaped from the pickup truck.

(03:49:43):
As soon as she landed on her bare feet, she
heard the truck break to a halt. Vincent and Stevie
got out. The Creation looked at them and screamed the
loudest she had ever screamed. The two of them tried
to get back into the truck, but the Creation moved
to it quickly. She easily lifted the truck and threw
it right off the side of the bridge they were on.

(03:50:04):
The truck soon made a huge splash in the Castallia River,
where the raging waters would carry it away. Vincent and
Stevie turned to run, but the Creation only had to
leap to catch them. She backed them up to the
edge of the bridge. It would take a combined desperate
attempt for them to survive. As Vincent injected the Creation

(03:50:27):
with his last two tranquilizers, and Stevie placed her shotgun
under the Creation's chin and blasted the top of her
head off. The Creation staggered back and fell off the
side of the bridge. She dropped into the Castalia River,
where the raging waters quickly carried her body away. You
think we stopped her, Stevie asked quickly. Vincent sighed, I

(03:50:53):
don't know. I just don't know. On Christmas morning, the
Creation had awakened. She didn't know how long she had
been unconscious, but she was lying on the side of
the river. She slowly pulled herself to her feet and
felt her head, which was fully restored. She didn't understand

(03:51:17):
how she had survived, and she really didn't care. There
was only one thing that Creation did care about, and
put her hands on her swollen belly. Vincent Frankenstein hadn't
counted on the Creation's vampiric healing factor restoring the ovaries
that he had removed prior to giving her life. On

(03:51:39):
Christmas Eve, she had conceived life with Reggie. Later on
Christmas Day, her first child would be born, the first
child of a superior new race. That's all for tonight,

(03:52:01):
my spookies, a stocking spilled open with killers in red,
curses sealed with ribbon, and snow that buries everything but
the echoes of the screams. Remember this is only the beginning.
Every Saturday until New Year's another long cozy binge of

(03:52:24):
holiday horror will drop into your feed. More ghosts, more storms,
more reasons to sleep with the lights on and the
tree still plugged. In Tomorrow, something uninvited slips into the
stream yet again, some kind of unknown broadcast crackling voices

(03:52:48):
from the past, addressing you like an old friend who
knows exactly where you're listening from. On Monday, we have
terrifying and true where we unrepp the hidden dangers of
a Victorian Christmas candle lit trees that turned parlors into pyres,
toxic decorations, poisoned treats, and real history that proves the

(03:53:14):
good old days of Christmas or anything but safe. And
of course, on Wednesday, a brand new weekly spooky Christmas
horror story by the one and only Charles Campbell blows
in with the storm. A lonely widower, a Christmas Eve hurricane,

(03:53:34):
a ghost who may not be what she seems, and
something ancient in the weather that has come to collect
a debt. Until then, my spookies, keep the cocoa hot,
keep the volume high, and I'll see you on Monday.

(03:53:54):
Ho Ho Ho

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10 Scary Christmas Horror Stories — Holiday Ghosts, Killer Santas & Winter Nightmares

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}10 Scary Christmas Horror Stories — Holiday Ghosts, Killer Santas & Winter Nightmares