December 23, 2025 • 34 mins
In Austria, naughty children don't get coal — they get beaten by a goat-horned demon who might drown them in a river.
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Tradition” by Andrea Stanet: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Girls Night Out”: https://tinyurl.com/u4zjhwu
“Krampus”: https://tinyurl.com/whz5qc8
All music used with permission of the artists. Spooky Santa theme by Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ). All other music by Nicolas Gasparini (http://bit.ly/2LykK0g).
***Spooky Santa™ and Weird Darkness® are creations and trademarks of Marlar House Productions and Weird Darkness, LLC. Copyright © Weird Darkness, 2023
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
https://weirddarkness.com/KrampusChasedMe
#WeirdDarkness #Krampus #ChristmasHorror #DarkChristmas #Krampusnacht #ScaryChristmas #ChristmasDemon #AustrianFolklore #HolidayHorror #ChristmasLegends
Ho ho ho, kids! If you like the stories Santa is telling, tell your friends and family about the Spooky Santa podcast so they can listen too!
STORY AND MUSIC CREDITS/SOURCES…
”The Tradition” by Andrea Stanet: https://tinyurl.com/wkp7uu6
“Girls Night Out”: https://tinyurl.com/u4zjhwu
“Krampus”: https://tinyurl.com/whz5qc8
All music used with permission of the artists. Spooky Santa theme by Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ). All other music by Nicolas Gasparini (http://bit.ly/2LykK0g).
***Spooky Santa™ and Weird Darkness® are creations and trademarks of Marlar House Productions and Weird Darkness, LLC. Copyright © Weird Darkness, 2023
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
https://weirddarkness.com/KrampusChasedMe
#WeirdDarkness #Krampus #ChristmasHorror #DarkChristmas #Krampusnacht #ScaryChristmas #ChristmasDemon #AustrianFolklore #HolidayHorror #ChristmasLegends
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Requise most most mellow scot stem and.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Style now was scanning star away from a stranger.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
The poor ladies ran leave to young girls, run as
fast as you can. The stalker is coming to seal
your farewell from this mortal coil on earth to fiery hell.
(00:42):
Hello children, it's Sannah with another edition of Spooky Santa,
and I have some more great stories to share with you.
I'll tell a Christmas story of two teenage girls named
Isabella and Chloe, and they are stalked by a dangerous murderer.
I have a very creepy tale to tell by Andrea
(01:03):
Stanitch called the Tradition. But first I'll tell you a
bit more about everybody's favorite Christmas monster, Crampus. And remember,
if you want to write a scary story of your own,
you can email it to letters at Spookysanta dot com
and I can read your story in an upcoming episode.
Now bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights,
(01:27):
pour a mug of hot coco.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
It's magic, you know, and come with Spooky Santa for
another holiday schiller. Most everyone has heard of Crampus, a
(01:50):
legendary creature from Austrian and Hungarian folklore who is associated
with Christmas. On Christmas Eve, while I hand out the presence,
campus deals out the punishment to all the boys and
girls on my naughty list. Crampus gets his name from
the Old German word for claw. In Austria, I am
(02:11):
called Saint Nicholas, and my helper is a terrifying demon
named Crampus who travels with me on Christmas Eve. Crampus
is a red faced, goat horned demon. He's covered in
shaggy black fur. He has chains hanging from his body,
and he rings a large cowbell. He has a long,
(02:32):
waggling red tongue, a tail, and he carries a big
stick and a large black bag. On Christmas Eve, Austrian
children placed their shoes on the windowsill or outside their
bedroom door, and while they sleep, me and Crampis we
creep in and visit the house. If those kids have
(02:53):
been very good, well I leave candy and treats in
those shoes. But if they've been bad, Crampus beats them
with his stick, and if they've been really bad, Crampus
puts them in his black sack and carries those children
off and throws them in a river. Just imagine Christmas
Eve and you've just finished watching a Christmas movie with
(03:17):
your family or singing Christmas carols by the fireside. You're
settling down to sleep when suddenly an enormous, shaggy monster
with horns burst into your bedroom, dragging chains and ringing
a bell. He attacks you and beats you over the
head with a stick while you scream for your parents
to help you. And then he stuffs you into his
(03:38):
bag and kidnaps you as your parents stand by and
do nothing. And finally he throws you into a river
and drowns you. All of that because you didn't behave
yourself during the year, the legend of Crampis became so
popular that his story spread throughout Europe. It became especially
(03:59):
popular in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and northern Italy,
and today Crampus Day is celebrated on December fifth. In
country towns, some men dress up in furs, heavy boots
and ghoulish masks topped with horns so they can look
like Crampus. And then they carry sticks and ring bells
(04:21):
and they go around town visiting the houses of families
with small children. Where their parents open the door, the
men run in and terrorize the children. They start growling
and whipping the air with their sticks. The children scream
and cry, and after everybody has had a good fright,
the parents invite those men to sit down and have
(04:41):
a drink. I even received emails from some children talking
about their experiences with Crampus. We get your email every day.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Here's your manday.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
If you'd like to email me, you can do so
at letters at spookysanta dot com. Christoph sent me an
email about his experience with Crampus. He said, I'm from
originally Austria and I spent many years as a child
being chased around town by Crampus. It's one of the
scariest experiences you can have as a child growing up
(05:22):
in Austria. It's also one of the biggest adrenaline russias
because the danger is quite real. Once Crampis saw my
friends and I and he began to chase us. We
jumped fences and we ran through backyards and Crampus just
kept coming after us. And when he catches you, he
usually gives you a pretty good whooping around your legs,
(05:43):
and yes it hurts. It's also really scary. I can
never forget that terror as a child. Nina also sent
me an email saying I'm Austrian and quite familiar with
the Crampus since I got beaten by him several times
in my childhood. And Gavin emailed me saying my family
(06:04):
lived in Germany when I was young. My siblings and
I had the opportunity to meet Crampis every Christmas. It
was truly terrifying as a kid. Crampus would come into
our house. We were lined up as he asked us
questions about how good or bad we had been all year.
Crampus had a big bag full of kids with legs
(06:24):
and arms sticking out that would actually move around and whimper.
Crampus would walk over and whack the bag with a whip.
Ooh man, what we didn't want to end up in
that Bagoo boy? Maybe I should stop traveling with Crampis
every year. I mean, just when you thought Christmas was
the one time of year that wouldn't be scary, along
(06:47):
comes Crampus. Who speaking of scary, I have another story
to share. This one is called Girls' night Out. Isabella
and Chloe were two typical American teenage girls. After school,
they spent all of their time together, watching scary movies,
(07:10):
having sleepovers, shopping for new clothes. They liked partying, keeping
up with their friends, having fun, and just enjoying life.
They had no way of knowing the horrible fate that
life had in store for them. One night, Isabella and
Chloe decided to have a girl's night out. They planned
(07:31):
to sneak out to a nightclub as soon as their
parents went to sleep. Isabella kissed her parents good night
and went upstairs to bed, as she usually did. When
she thought everybody had finally gone to sleep, she took
out her cellphone, called her friend Chloe and told her
to meet her at the store down the street. Chloe
agreed and hung up. Isabella quietly opened her bedroom window,
(07:55):
trying not to wake anybody. After all, she was sneaking
out and she wasn't supposed to. She stepped out onto
the windowsill and climbed down the drain pipe. As she
walked down the deserted street, she got a strange feeling
that she was being watched. The hairs on the back
of her neck pricked up. She glanced behind her, but no,
(08:18):
she was alone. When she came to the corner store,
there was nobody around. So she took out her cellphone
and called Chloe. Okay, I'm at the store, she said,
hurry up, or I'm going home. What's wrong, asked Chloe.
I don't know, replied Isabella. This just doesn't feel like
other nights. Something isn't right. I've got a bad vibe.
(08:42):
Stop it, you're just being paranoid, laughed Chloe. I'll be
there in two minutes. Isabella hung up the phone, but
she couldn't shake the feeling that someone or something was
watching her. Five minutes later, Chloe turned up and the
two girls walked together to the nightclub. The girls were
too young to get into the club, but the bouncers
(09:04):
never asked them for an id. They strolled inside and
pretty soon they were dancing to the music and flirting
with guys on the dance floor. Around three am, Isabella
was chatting to a really cute guy who must have
been at least ten years older than her. Suddenly she
felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. It was a
(09:26):
text message from her ex boyfriend Anthony. She hadn't heard
from him since they broke up a month ago, and
the text read come outside, I've got a huge surprise
for you. Curious, she looked around and saw Chloe busy
talking to some other man. So without saying goodbye, Isabella
walked out the door of the nightclub. She had only
(09:48):
taken a few steps when she received another text message.
It read meet you around the corner over by the dumpster.
The street was dimly lit and deserted. Isabella had a
bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something didn't
feel right, but she told herself she was just being stupid,
(10:09):
just being overly cautious. Inside the nightclub, Chloe was looking
for her friend. After waiting for fifteen minutes, she began
to grow impatient. She scanned the dance floor, but there
was no sign of Isabella. She even checked the restrooms,
but they were empty. At three point twenty seven am,
(10:29):
a relieved Chloe finally got a text from her friend Isabella,
and it read meet me outside now hurry. When Chloe
got outside, she received another text, I'm around the corner
over by the dumpster. Come watch me, sparkle. Chloe followed
the directions, crossing the dark and lonely street. When she
(10:50):
rounded the corner, she was confronted by a horrific sight.
Her heart almost froze at her chest. Isabella was hanging
upside down from a street light in a parking lot
behind a dumpster. Sparkling Christmas tree lights were wrapped around
her ankles. There was a large pool of blood below her.
(11:10):
Her body was completely stripped of clothing, revealing deep wounds
along her stomach and chest. Chloe fell to the ground
and began screaming hysterically. Some people who were standing at
the door of the nightclub heard her cries and came
rushing over. When they turned the corner and saw Isabella's
bloody corpse hanging in front of them, they too were horrified.
(11:33):
The police were called and they questioned Chloe for hours.
Still in a state of hysteria, she could barely talk,
sobbing uncontrollably. She told them how she and Isabella had
snuck out that night and gone to the nightclub together.
She tried to remember all of the guys they had
spoke with and flirted with on the dance floor. They
(11:55):
asked her if she knew of anybody who would want
to harm Isabella, but well, Chloe could think of anyone.
As much as she wanted to catch Isabella's killer, she
was of no help to the investigation. During the interrogation,
one of the cops produced a plastic bag and took
out a blood stained envelope. We found this lodged in
(12:15):
your friend's throat and it's addressed to you, said the
cop as he handed her the envelope. The name Chloe
was scrawled across the front of the envelope. With trembling hands,
she took out the piece of paper inside and read it,
and the letter said maybe if you stayed in bed
like you were supposed to, things like this wouldn't happen.
(12:37):
Don't go sneaking around at night, bad things could happen.
The cops had to grab her before she fainted. An
ambulance took Chloe to the hospital and she was treated
for shock. When Chloe returned home the next day, she
was still shaken up. Her parents told her that Isabella's
ex boyfriend, Anthony, had been arrested for murder. He was
(13:00):
later released after passing a light detector test, though he
claimed his phone had been stolen on the day of
the murder. The police didn't rule him out as a
suspect in the case, but they didn't have enough evidence
to charge him either. As fate would have it, Isabella's
murder would remain unsolved. Nobody was ever brought to the
(13:21):
trial for the crime, and as time went on, people
began to forget about it. Two years had passed and
Chloe had almost managed to forget about the terrible night
when her best friend had been savagely murdered. One night,
she called her boyfriend and asked him to meet her
at the park. It was about two am. She began
(13:42):
to walk to the park, but she felt a strange presence,
just like the woman Isabella had told her about the
night she was murdered. She was almost to the park
when that feeling came across her, so she let it
go and her phone beat. It was a text message
from her boyfriend. Almost there, baby, love you lots, it said.
(14:05):
It made her feel much better. Her last task was
to pass by the store. The park was on the
other side. She began to walk, but she heard something
behind her and immediately she began to run. Her boyfriend
got to the park and waited for about fifteen minutes.
At two thirty five am, he got a text from
Chloe and it read keep walking forward and you will
(14:28):
see me. He did as the text suggested, and walked forward,
and there, hanging upside down from a tree was the
mutilated body of Chloe Cristmas tree lights were wrapped around
her ankles, and she was completely naked and covered in blood,
exactly the way Isabella had been found two years earlier.
(14:50):
Her boyfriend called the police and he was interrogated all night.
The next day, when Chloe's boyfriend got home, there was
a letter waiting for him on his parents' doorstep. It
was stained with small drops of blood, and the note
inside read don't go sneaking around at night, bad things
could happen. How I wish I could tell you that
(15:12):
the murders of Isabella and Chloe were finally solved, but
sadly that's just not the case. Today. The police say
the investigation is still ongoing, but well they don't have
any new leads. The murders are seldom spoken about nowadays.
They were high profile cases at the time, but due
to the strange lack of evidence, people soon forgot about them.
(15:36):
Everyone who was involved went on with their lives. You
might be wondering how I know so much about these cases. Well,
I'd rather not go into it, considering it is still
an ongoing investigation. If you must know, I was the
police officer who was assigned to the case. I was
the cop who handed Chloe the blood stained letter. You
(15:59):
may be wondering why the murders were never solved. Well,
like I always say, don't go sneaking around at night.
Bad things could happen. Ooh, sounds like the murderer was
the police officer himself. Not a very good story at all.
(16:20):
Oh well, then again, it does teach a lesson, do
not sneak out at night, because bad things can happen.
My final story is from Andrea Stanet and it's called
the Tradition. They left her alone in the woods. After
(16:41):
all she had done to convince her family to take
their annual Christmas trip up to their cabin and the catskills,
they had left her alone, and now the sun was
going down. Rochelle Cheu was perfectly safe in the family's
semi rustic cabin. Every Christmas vacation since she was born,
she her mom, dad, and brother Mark took a retreat.
(17:05):
They'd arrive on Christmas Eve, play music, drink cocoa, tell
Christmas stories, and decorate. Never in thirteen years had there
been a problem, if anything, The problem was her family's attitudes.
The rule had always been no phones, no computers, no television,
strictly family time. But when it had come time for
(17:29):
planning this year's trip, Dad wanted a staycation so he
could work from home, and Mark, now a high school senior,
he was obsessed with well himself. Even Mom turned a
bit rocky. Wouldn't it be nice to go to a
ski resort for a change. We always snowboard at the cabin.
(17:50):
You guys can't just go changing family traditions, Rochelle said.
The ride up state from Westchester had stunk. It was
bad enough. Dad and Mark grumbled about cutting down a tree.
The tradition was they had a live one every year.
What was the big deal? And Mom suggested they buy
a fake tree with led D lights. No, what's wrong
(18:14):
with you people? Mark can't wait to get away from
us and go away to college. And Dad, all you
ever think about is your stupid job and you, she
hissed at her mother from the back seat. Five minutes
without your phone, and you're going into convulsions. You were
all ruining Christmas Eve with that. Rochelle, also known as
(18:34):
Rocky by her family, burst into tears. And refused to
talk to anyone for the duration of the ride. Once
the car was unpacked, Dad and Mark cut down the tree,
and then they and Mom left for the ten mile
drive into town for food and supplies. Well, now that
Rocky was alone with the eight foot pine tied up
in the living room, she regretted fighting with her family.
(18:58):
If they were ruining Christmas, well, she wasn't helping at all.
That they just didn't get it. All she wanted was
for her family to be together for Christmas, really together,
not just occupying the same space at the same time
while still ignoring each other. They all thought she was
weird because she preferred to talk to her friends in
(19:19):
person instead of spending hours texting or video chatting. And
she'd rather play outside than online. What's wrong with that girl?
A fire blazed in the fireplace, Rocky considered curling up
in front of it with a blanket, her kindle, and
her thermos of hot chocolate with her. But now that
she was alone, she felt guilty and strangely uneasy, as
(19:43):
if forcing everyone to stick to tradition had been a
terrible idea. Maybe everyone would forgive her if she made
all the beds leaving her things on one of the
two love seats that faced each other. She found the
plastic bins with all the linens. She walked past the
closet sized bathroom toward the back of the cabin, where
(20:04):
her and Mark's bedrooms sat across from each other. She
could see her breath as she moved around the beds
and small dressers in each room. Twenty minutes later, each
of the downstairs beds were heaped with several layers of blankets.
Rocky stopped at the bathroom before heading up to her
parents' loft. She gathered her mane of black curls and
(20:25):
tamed them into a messy bun that she secured with
a hair tie kept around her wrist. She inspected her
dark brown face to see if the ZiT that she'd
been fighting was any smaller. It wasn't. Zipping her green
fleece up to her chin, she went to finish her task.
Balancing the bedding in front of her, she climbed the
(20:46):
ladder to the loft. She spread the sheets and comforter
over the king sized futon. As she fluffed pillows in
the lavender scented cases, she heard a scratch on the roof.
Probably a bird or a squirrel. Dad paid landscapers to
make sure the tree line was well away from the cabin,
so if any trees did fall, they wouldn't wreck the house.
(21:09):
Holding still, Rocky continued to listen downstairs, The fire logs shifted.
The following silence pressed in on her. The back of
her neck prickled. Whatever she'd heard it must have gone away.
She climbed back down the ladder. Her foot reached the
bottom rung when a thud made her jump. Had the
(21:31):
noise come from the roof or the side of the house.
She glanced around, alert and breathing faster, now straining to
hear anything going on outside. Why had she insisted on
leaving the cell phones in the car's glove compartment. Oh right,
she had insisted on the unplugged version of their vacation.
(21:51):
After a minute, she made a dash across the living
room to the kitchenette and picked up the land line
to call her parents. She should call the police. No,
they'd probably assumed she was being funny or dumb. It
didn't matter. She realized there was no dial tone anyway.
Goosebumps broke out over her arms. What was going on?
(22:14):
She rummaged through a drawer until she found the large
carving knife. Curling her fingers around the handle, she weighed
the weapon. Reconsidering, she placed it on the counter. This
is ridiculous. Her family was fond of pranks. They must
have parked down the road to mess with her as
revenge for dragging them here. Oh, stop scaring yourself, Rocky,
(22:36):
she said to herself. It had to be her family,
because as far as she knew, there was no one
else in the area who would be around the cabin.
About a mile to the east, a middle aged couple
kept to themselves. A half mile down the road to
the west sat a farmhouse abandoned since the owner's kids
had sent him to a nursing home. Maybe somebody was
(22:58):
staying there illegally. Crossing back to the love seat, Rocky
pulled a set of earbuds from her pocket. When Mark
tried to scare her, she would simply ignore him. She
dropped onto the couch and scrolled through her audio book collection.
She snuggled under her blanket and settled on a John
Green short story collection. As one finger poised to tap play,
(23:22):
a crash at the front door startled her. Her kindle
bounced to the couch, earbuds ripped out of her ears,
and the thermist toffled to the floor. That's it, she muttered,
flinging the blanket off. She shouted at the door as
she stumped her way toward it, mark, if you don't
cut it out, I'll tell mom what you and Gail
have been up to after school. Expecting to see a
(23:45):
snowball flying at her, she threw the door wide open,
ready to duck. The solar lights lining the edges of
the property cast a pale glow along the driveway, and
the porch light shone down over her head. Hello. Black
eyes met hers and thin lips arked into a razor's
sharp grin. A bronze skinned boy about her age with
(24:09):
spiky jet black hair, balanced on one foot, bracing himself
against the wall with one hand. His other ankle, she noted,
with a WinCE, was twisted at a weird angle. Rocky
stepped back. She glanced behind the boy at the path
that led to the porch steps. She hadn't heard any engines,
but she couldn't see any skis or snowshoes either through
(24:33):
the front lawn and beyond the log fence surrounding the yard.
The snow was smooth and clean, untouched, no footprints. Who
are you? Her fingers grasped the edge of the door.
You are not welcome here, she said. His gaze shifted
to the tree lying on its side, and the boy scowled.
(24:54):
You must leave tonight. Excuse me, this is private property.
You need to get out of here. Rapid fire bangs
at the back of the house as loud as a
machine gun, seized Rocky's attention. She slammed the door and
locked it behind her, and in five quick strides she
reached her room. She yanked the curtains aside. Motion activated
(25:18):
lights flooded the back yard, and Rocky froze over. A
hundred crows glared at her from the snow covered lawn.
Long seconds tipped by as she and the birds just
stared at each other. Slowly, she eased the curtain shut
and retreated from the room, closing the bedroom door. After
(25:39):
a pause, she secured Mark's room as well. Whatever this was,
it was no prank. Confused, she went back to the
front window and peeked out the driveway. Lights illuminated dozens
of cold colored shapes perched silently along the fence, shadows
against the crystalline sheen of snow. Although there was no wind,
(26:01):
tree branches rustled ominously across the road. Icy fingers chilled
Rocky's spine, heart thumping. She crept to retrieve the knife
from the counter and checked the time on the oven display. Mom,
Dad and Mark wouldn't be back for at least another hour.
She couldn't just sit here waiting, surrounded by these weird birds.
(26:24):
She'd go crazy if she hadn't already. She eyed the
front door. It would be insane to go out there,
the worst thing she could possibly do. Rocky checked outside
one last time, telling herself there was nothing to be
afraid of, and she cracked the door open. The strange
boy was gone. Still, she felt beady black eyes tracking
(26:47):
her every movement. Knife in hand, she stepped onto the
threshold and breathed in a frosty, shuddering breath. She opened
her mouth to speak. Outside, the tree erupted. The crows
along the fence burst into the air. Thousands of specterlike
bodies swarmed inside from every direction. Glass rained into the house.
(27:12):
Wood splintered talons shredded the curtains, Each slice a ragged screen.
A cyclone of wings and beaks forced Rocky inside. She
tried to find refuge behind the couch. She crouched and
covered her head, slashing at the crows with the knife.
They pecked and clawed and engulfed her. A cacophony of
(27:33):
cawing provided an angry soundtrack to the destruction. She shrieked
against the onslaught stop, why are you doing this? Everything
went silent. Finally she looked up. Glass shards covered the
floor in furniture. Black feathers floated in the air. Scratches
(27:54):
and punctures scored her exposed skin. Rocky's face, arms and
hands stuck. She felt her face blood smeared over the
pads of her stiff fingers and dripped down her cheek.
The crews were gone except for one, silhouetted in the
open doorway. It had a twisted leg. Snow whisked up
(28:17):
the porch steps and swirled around the bird. It grew feathers,
smoothing and solidifying, disappearing into the form of the boy.
She now noticed the solid black snow gear that he wore.
She held the knife out in front of her, limping.
He advanced on her. You planned to stick me with
that knife. I don't know. Are you going to make me?
(28:41):
He stopped a few feet away, and his lips curved
into a cruel smile. Stupid humans think you own the
whole world. Every year, you people come here and destroy
our homes. Every year, we have to find new places
to live. Her voice shook and tears streamed down her cheeks.
(29:03):
What are you talking about? We just come here to
have family time. We've never destroyed the arch of one
inky eyebrow stopped her as she recalled his earlier look
of disgust. Her gut clenched. The trees, our Christmas trees,
and how many trees had the landscapers cut down? His
(29:27):
lip curled. Yours, your trees, our homes. He cocked his head.
Get out of here, human, Never disrupt our homes again.
Next time you won't be spared. His arms stretched wide
as his body shrank down to his crow form. With
a blink and a woosh, he took flight. I'm sorry,
(29:51):
I didn't know, she said. An uncaring breeze swallowed her words.
With shaking hands, Rocky shut the door, returned the knife
to the counter, and bandaged her wounds before settling in
front of the fire to wait for her family to return.
She was curled up under the blankets when she heard
a car engine rev Tires screeched to a stop, rapid
(30:15):
popping like heelstones. Hit the car in a meter, sit up,
and turned toward the noise. What now? A scream chilled
Rocky to the bone. Mom, Mom, Dad, and Mark shouted
as footsteps thundered up the porch stairs. The door smacked
the wall behind it. Her family flung themselves inside. A
(30:36):
cloud of crows packed at them before flying out again.
Dad slammed the door. His chest heaved and his eyes
were wide. What on earth? White down feathers poked out
of his jacket, leaning against the door, staring into space
with his mouth gaping. Mark looked worse. Scratches Chris crossed
(30:57):
his face and blood dripped down one of his chein Rocky.
Mom yelled, baby what. She lurched over and crushed Rocky
in a hug. Hundreds of crows came out of nowhere.
No reason, I don't understand. Her hair stuck up in
every direction. She sobbed against Rocky's shoulder. There was a reason, Mom,
(31:20):
Rocky secured the door they're mad that we cut down
their homes. We have to leave. I know it sounds crazy,
but you saw them. Doesn't matter. Right now, we need
to get out of here. Dad was already in the kitchen,
picking up the knife Rocky had used to defend herself.
Throwing a blanket over their heads. Mom held her close
(31:40):
while Dad and Mark protected their sides. Huddled awkwardly together,
they rushed to the car. A crack right across the
rear driver's side window. They closed and locked the doors,
leaving everything behind, and raced toward the safety of home.
Crows lined the way, darkly, dotting the tops of mail boxes,
(32:01):
road signs, and street lights. Just before the car turned
onto the highway, one large bird swooped in front of
the windshield with a loud caw, A crow with a
twisted foot. Rocky recounted all that happened at the cabin.
Unable to deny what they had all experienced, they eagerly
discussed selling the cabin where they had spent so many
(32:24):
happy times, the cabin where so many family traditions had
begun in Unison, Mark, Mom and Dad finally looked at her. Rocky, yeah,
she said, trying to fix her hair and regain some
semblance of normalcy. I'm thinking some things make better memories
than traditions. Maybe we start a new holiday tradition, this
(32:47):
time with fewer pine trees and more palm trees. Well,
I must admit having Christmas with palm trees around does
sound very nice. In fact, I might have to do
(33:10):
that once I'm done with my rounds on Christmas Eve.
What a nice vacation that would be. Hey, did you
like the stories I told? If so, please do Santa
a favor and tell your friends and family members about
the Spooky Santa podcast. That way they can listen to
and remember, you can write your own scary story and
(33:31):
email it to me at letters at Spookysanta dot com.
If you want to learn more about the stories I've
told or the authors who wrote them, you can find
links in this episode's show notes. Spooky Santa is a
registered trade mark of Marler House Productions copyright Marler House Productions,
twenty nineteen. And now, be a good little boy or
(33:53):
girl and join me next time for more creepy tales
from Spooky Santa. Things started
Requise most most mellow scot stem and.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Style now was scanning star away from a stranger.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
The poor ladies ran leave to young girls, run as
fast as you can. The stalker is coming to seal
your farewell from this mortal coil on earth to fiery hell.
(00:42):
Hello children, it's Sannah with another edition of Spooky Santa,
and I have some more great stories to share with you.
I'll tell a Christmas story of two teenage girls named
Isabella and Chloe, and they are stalked by a dangerous murderer.
I have a very creepy tale to tell by Andrea
(01:03):
Stanitch called the Tradition. But first I'll tell you a
bit more about everybody's favorite Christmas monster, Crampus. And remember,
if you want to write a scary story of your own,
you can email it to letters at Spookysanta dot com
and I can read your story in an upcoming episode.
Now bolt your doors, lock your windows, turn off your lights,
(01:27):
pour a mug of hot coco.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
It's magic, you know, and come with Spooky Santa for
another holiday schiller. Most everyone has heard of Crampus, a
(01:50):
legendary creature from Austrian and Hungarian folklore who is associated
with Christmas. On Christmas Eve, while I hand out the presence,
campus deals out the punishment to all the boys and
girls on my naughty list. Crampus gets his name from
the Old German word for claw. In Austria, I am
(02:11):
called Saint Nicholas, and my helper is a terrifying demon
named Crampus who travels with me on Christmas Eve. Crampus
is a red faced, goat horned demon. He's covered in
shaggy black fur. He has chains hanging from his body,
and he rings a large cowbell. He has a long,
(02:32):
waggling red tongue, a tail, and he carries a big
stick and a large black bag. On Christmas Eve, Austrian
children placed their shoes on the windowsill or outside their
bedroom door, and while they sleep, me and Crampis we
creep in and visit the house. If those kids have
(02:53):
been very good, well I leave candy and treats in
those shoes. But if they've been bad, Crampus beats them
with his stick, and if they've been really bad, Crampus
puts them in his black sack and carries those children
off and throws them in a river. Just imagine Christmas
Eve and you've just finished watching a Christmas movie with
(03:17):
your family or singing Christmas carols by the fireside. You're
settling down to sleep when suddenly an enormous, shaggy monster
with horns burst into your bedroom, dragging chains and ringing
a bell. He attacks you and beats you over the
head with a stick while you scream for your parents
to help you. And then he stuffs you into his
(03:38):
bag and kidnaps you as your parents stand by and
do nothing. And finally he throws you into a river
and drowns you. All of that because you didn't behave
yourself during the year, the legend of Crampis became so
popular that his story spread throughout Europe. It became especially
(03:59):
popular in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and northern Italy,
and today Crampus Day is celebrated on December fifth. In
country towns, some men dress up in furs, heavy boots
and ghoulish masks topped with horns so they can look
like Crampus. And then they carry sticks and ring bells
(04:21):
and they go around town visiting the houses of families
with small children. Where their parents open the door, the
men run in and terrorize the children. They start growling
and whipping the air with their sticks. The children scream
and cry, and after everybody has had a good fright,
the parents invite those men to sit down and have
(04:41):
a drink. I even received emails from some children talking
about their experiences with Crampus. We get your email every day.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Here's your manday.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
If you'd like to email me, you can do so
at letters at spookysanta dot com. Christoph sent me an
email about his experience with Crampus. He said, I'm from
originally Austria and I spent many years as a child
being chased around town by Crampus. It's one of the
scariest experiences you can have as a child growing up
(05:22):
in Austria. It's also one of the biggest adrenaline russias
because the danger is quite real. Once Crampis saw my
friends and I and he began to chase us. We
jumped fences and we ran through backyards and Crampus just
kept coming after us. And when he catches you, he
usually gives you a pretty good whooping around your legs,
(05:43):
and yes it hurts. It's also really scary. I can
never forget that terror as a child. Nina also sent
me an email saying I'm Austrian and quite familiar with
the Crampus since I got beaten by him several times
in my childhood. And Gavin emailed me saying my family
(06:04):
lived in Germany when I was young. My siblings and
I had the opportunity to meet Crampis every Christmas. It
was truly terrifying as a kid. Crampus would come into
our house. We were lined up as he asked us
questions about how good or bad we had been all year.
Crampus had a big bag full of kids with legs
(06:24):
and arms sticking out that would actually move around and whimper.
Crampus would walk over and whack the bag with a whip.
Ooh man, what we didn't want to end up in
that Bagoo boy? Maybe I should stop traveling with Crampis
every year. I mean, just when you thought Christmas was
the one time of year that wouldn't be scary, along
(06:47):
comes Crampus. Who speaking of scary, I have another story
to share. This one is called Girls' night Out. Isabella
and Chloe were two typical American teenage girls. After school,
they spent all of their time together, watching scary movies,
(07:10):
having sleepovers, shopping for new clothes. They liked partying, keeping
up with their friends, having fun, and just enjoying life.
They had no way of knowing the horrible fate that
life had in store for them. One night, Isabella and
Chloe decided to have a girl's night out. They planned
(07:31):
to sneak out to a nightclub as soon as their
parents went to sleep. Isabella kissed her parents good night
and went upstairs to bed, as she usually did. When
she thought everybody had finally gone to sleep, she took
out her cellphone, called her friend Chloe and told her
to meet her at the store down the street. Chloe
agreed and hung up. Isabella quietly opened her bedroom window,
(07:55):
trying not to wake anybody. After all, she was sneaking
out and she wasn't supposed to. She stepped out onto
the windowsill and climbed down the drain pipe. As she
walked down the deserted street, she got a strange feeling
that she was being watched. The hairs on the back
of her neck pricked up. She glanced behind her, but no,
(08:18):
she was alone. When she came to the corner store,
there was nobody around. So she took out her cellphone
and called Chloe. Okay, I'm at the store, she said,
hurry up, or I'm going home. What's wrong, asked Chloe.
I don't know, replied Isabella. This just doesn't feel like
other nights. Something isn't right. I've got a bad vibe.
(08:42):
Stop it, you're just being paranoid, laughed Chloe. I'll be
there in two minutes. Isabella hung up the phone, but
she couldn't shake the feeling that someone or something was
watching her. Five minutes later, Chloe turned up and the
two girls walked together to the nightclub. The girls were
too young to get into the club, but the bouncers
(09:04):
never asked them for an id. They strolled inside and
pretty soon they were dancing to the music and flirting
with guys on the dance floor. Around three am, Isabella
was chatting to a really cute guy who must have
been at least ten years older than her. Suddenly she
felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. It was a
(09:26):
text message from her ex boyfriend Anthony. She hadn't heard
from him since they broke up a month ago, and
the text read come outside, I've got a huge surprise
for you. Curious, she looked around and saw Chloe busy
talking to some other man. So without saying goodbye, Isabella
walked out the door of the nightclub. She had only
(09:48):
taken a few steps when she received another text message.
It read meet you around the corner over by the dumpster.
The street was dimly lit and deserted. Isabella had a
bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something didn't
feel right, but she told herself she was just being stupid,
(10:09):
just being overly cautious. Inside the nightclub, Chloe was looking
for her friend. After waiting for fifteen minutes, she began
to grow impatient. She scanned the dance floor, but there
was no sign of Isabella. She even checked the restrooms,
but they were empty. At three point twenty seven am,
(10:29):
a relieved Chloe finally got a text from her friend Isabella,
and it read meet me outside now hurry. When Chloe
got outside, she received another text, I'm around the corner
over by the dumpster. Come watch me, sparkle. Chloe followed
the directions, crossing the dark and lonely street. When she
(10:50):
rounded the corner, she was confronted by a horrific sight.
Her heart almost froze at her chest. Isabella was hanging
upside down from a street light in a parking lot
behind a dumpster. Sparkling Christmas tree lights were wrapped around
her ankles. There was a large pool of blood below her.
(11:10):
Her body was completely stripped of clothing, revealing deep wounds
along her stomach and chest. Chloe fell to the ground
and began screaming hysterically. Some people who were standing at
the door of the nightclub heard her cries and came
rushing over. When they turned the corner and saw Isabella's
bloody corpse hanging in front of them, they too were horrified.
(11:33):
The police were called and they questioned Chloe for hours.
Still in a state of hysteria, she could barely talk,
sobbing uncontrollably. She told them how she and Isabella had
snuck out that night and gone to the nightclub together.
She tried to remember all of the guys they had
spoke with and flirted with on the dance floor. They
(11:55):
asked her if she knew of anybody who would want
to harm Isabella, but well, Chloe could think of anyone.
As much as she wanted to catch Isabella's killer, she
was of no help to the investigation. During the interrogation,
one of the cops produced a plastic bag and took
out a blood stained envelope. We found this lodged in
(12:15):
your friend's throat and it's addressed to you, said the
cop as he handed her the envelope. The name Chloe
was scrawled across the front of the envelope. With trembling hands,
she took out the piece of paper inside and read it,
and the letter said maybe if you stayed in bed
like you were supposed to, things like this wouldn't happen.
(12:37):
Don't go sneaking around at night, bad things could happen.
The cops had to grab her before she fainted. An
ambulance took Chloe to the hospital and she was treated
for shock. When Chloe returned home the next day, she
was still shaken up. Her parents told her that Isabella's
ex boyfriend, Anthony, had been arrested for murder. He was
(13:00):
later released after passing a light detector test, though he
claimed his phone had been stolen on the day of
the murder. The police didn't rule him out as a
suspect in the case, but they didn't have enough evidence
to charge him either. As fate would have it, Isabella's
murder would remain unsolved. Nobody was ever brought to the
(13:21):
trial for the crime, and as time went on, people
began to forget about it. Two years had passed and
Chloe had almost managed to forget about the terrible night
when her best friend had been savagely murdered. One night,
she called her boyfriend and asked him to meet her
at the park. It was about two am. She began
(13:42):
to walk to the park, but she felt a strange presence,
just like the woman Isabella had told her about the
night she was murdered. She was almost to the park
when that feeling came across her, so she let it
go and her phone beat. It was a text message
from her boyfriend. Almost there, baby, love you lots, it said.
(14:05):
It made her feel much better. Her last task was
to pass by the store. The park was on the
other side. She began to walk, but she heard something
behind her and immediately she began to run. Her boyfriend
got to the park and waited for about fifteen minutes.
At two thirty five am, he got a text from
Chloe and it read keep walking forward and you will
(14:28):
see me. He did as the text suggested, and walked forward,
and there, hanging upside down from a tree was the
mutilated body of Chloe Cristmas tree lights were wrapped around
her ankles, and she was completely naked and covered in blood,
exactly the way Isabella had been found two years earlier.
(14:50):
Her boyfriend called the police and he was interrogated all night.
The next day, when Chloe's boyfriend got home, there was
a letter waiting for him on his parents' doorstep. It
was stained with small drops of blood, and the note
inside read don't go sneaking around at night, bad things
could happen. How I wish I could tell you that
(15:12):
the murders of Isabella and Chloe were finally solved, but
sadly that's just not the case. Today. The police say
the investigation is still ongoing, but well they don't have
any new leads. The murders are seldom spoken about nowadays.
They were high profile cases at the time, but due
to the strange lack of evidence, people soon forgot about them.
(15:36):
Everyone who was involved went on with their lives. You
might be wondering how I know so much about these cases. Well,
I'd rather not go into it, considering it is still
an ongoing investigation. If you must know, I was the
police officer who was assigned to the case. I was
the cop who handed Chloe the blood stained letter. You
(15:59):
may be wondering why the murders were never solved. Well,
like I always say, don't go sneaking around at night.
Bad things could happen. Ooh, sounds like the murderer was
the police officer himself. Not a very good story at all.
(16:20):
Oh well, then again, it does teach a lesson, do
not sneak out at night, because bad things can happen.
My final story is from Andrea Stanet and it's called
the Tradition. They left her alone in the woods. After
(16:41):
all she had done to convince her family to take
their annual Christmas trip up to their cabin and the catskills,
they had left her alone, and now the sun was
going down. Rochelle Cheu was perfectly safe in the family's
semi rustic cabin. Every Christmas vacation since she was born,
she her mom, dad, and brother Mark took a retreat.
(17:05):
They'd arrive on Christmas Eve, play music, drink cocoa, tell
Christmas stories, and decorate. Never in thirteen years had there
been a problem, if anything, The problem was her family's attitudes.
The rule had always been no phones, no computers, no television,
strictly family time. But when it had come time for
(17:29):
planning this year's trip, Dad wanted a staycation so he
could work from home, and Mark, now a high school senior,
he was obsessed with well himself. Even Mom turned a
bit rocky. Wouldn't it be nice to go to a
ski resort for a change. We always snowboard at the cabin.
(17:50):
You guys can't just go changing family traditions, Rochelle said.
The ride up state from Westchester had stunk. It was
bad enough. Dad and Mark grumbled about cutting down a tree.
The tradition was they had a live one every year.
What was the big deal? And Mom suggested they buy
a fake tree with led D lights. No, what's wrong
(18:14):
with you people? Mark can't wait to get away from
us and go away to college. And Dad, all you
ever think about is your stupid job and you, she
hissed at her mother from the back seat. Five minutes
without your phone, and you're going into convulsions. You were
all ruining Christmas Eve with that. Rochelle, also known as
(18:34):
Rocky by her family, burst into tears. And refused to
talk to anyone for the duration of the ride. Once
the car was unpacked, Dad and Mark cut down the tree,
and then they and Mom left for the ten mile
drive into town for food and supplies. Well, now that
Rocky was alone with the eight foot pine tied up
in the living room, she regretted fighting with her family.
(18:58):
If they were ruining Christmas, well, she wasn't helping at all.
That they just didn't get it. All she wanted was
for her family to be together for Christmas, really together,
not just occupying the same space at the same time
while still ignoring each other. They all thought she was
weird because she preferred to talk to her friends in
(19:19):
person instead of spending hours texting or video chatting. And
she'd rather play outside than online. What's wrong with that girl?
A fire blazed in the fireplace, Rocky considered curling up
in front of it with a blanket, her kindle, and
her thermos of hot chocolate with her. But now that
she was alone, she felt guilty and strangely uneasy, as
(19:43):
if forcing everyone to stick to tradition had been a
terrible idea. Maybe everyone would forgive her if she made
all the beds leaving her things on one of the
two love seats that faced each other. She found the
plastic bins with all the linens. She walked past the
closet sized bathroom toward the back of the cabin, where
(20:04):
her and Mark's bedrooms sat across from each other. She
could see her breath as she moved around the beds
and small dressers in each room. Twenty minutes later, each
of the downstairs beds were heaped with several layers of blankets.
Rocky stopped at the bathroom before heading up to her
parents' loft. She gathered her mane of black curls and
(20:25):
tamed them into a messy bun that she secured with
a hair tie kept around her wrist. She inspected her
dark brown face to see if the ZiT that she'd
been fighting was any smaller. It wasn't. Zipping her green
fleece up to her chin, she went to finish her task.
Balancing the bedding in front of her, she climbed the
(20:46):
ladder to the loft. She spread the sheets and comforter
over the king sized futon. As she fluffed pillows in
the lavender scented cases, she heard a scratch on the roof.
Probably a bird or a squirrel. Dad paid landscapers to
make sure the tree line was well away from the cabin,
so if any trees did fall, they wouldn't wreck the house.
(21:09):
Holding still, Rocky continued to listen downstairs, The fire logs shifted.
The following silence pressed in on her. The back of
her neck prickled. Whatever she'd heard it must have gone away.
She climbed back down the ladder. Her foot reached the
bottom rung when a thud made her jump. Had the
(21:31):
noise come from the roof or the side of the house.
She glanced around, alert and breathing faster, now straining to
hear anything going on outside. Why had she insisted on
leaving the cell phones in the car's glove compartment. Oh right,
she had insisted on the unplugged version of their vacation.
(21:51):
After a minute, she made a dash across the living
room to the kitchenette and picked up the land line
to call her parents. She should call the police. No,
they'd probably assumed she was being funny or dumb. It
didn't matter. She realized there was no dial tone anyway.
Goosebumps broke out over her arms. What was going on?
(22:14):
She rummaged through a drawer until she found the large
carving knife. Curling her fingers around the handle, she weighed
the weapon. Reconsidering, she placed it on the counter. This
is ridiculous. Her family was fond of pranks. They must
have parked down the road to mess with her as
revenge for dragging them here. Oh, stop scaring yourself, Rocky,
(22:36):
she said to herself. It had to be her family,
because as far as she knew, there was no one
else in the area who would be around the cabin.
About a mile to the east, a middle aged couple
kept to themselves. A half mile down the road to
the west sat a farmhouse abandoned since the owner's kids
had sent him to a nursing home. Maybe somebody was
(22:58):
staying there illegally. Crossing back to the love seat, Rocky
pulled a set of earbuds from her pocket. When Mark
tried to scare her, she would simply ignore him. She
dropped onto the couch and scrolled through her audio book collection.
She snuggled under her blanket and settled on a John
Green short story collection. As one finger poised to tap play,
(23:22):
a crash at the front door startled her. Her kindle
bounced to the couch, earbuds ripped out of her ears,
and the thermist toffled to the floor. That's it, she muttered,
flinging the blanket off. She shouted at the door as
she stumped her way toward it, mark, if you don't
cut it out, I'll tell mom what you and Gail
have been up to after school. Expecting to see a
(23:45):
snowball flying at her, she threw the door wide open,
ready to duck. The solar lights lining the edges of
the property cast a pale glow along the driveway, and
the porch light shone down over her head. Hello. Black
eyes met hers and thin lips arked into a razor's
sharp grin. A bronze skinned boy about her age with
(24:09):
spiky jet black hair, balanced on one foot, bracing himself
against the wall with one hand. His other ankle, she noted,
with a WinCE, was twisted at a weird angle. Rocky
stepped back. She glanced behind the boy at the path
that led to the porch steps. She hadn't heard any engines,
but she couldn't see any skis or snowshoes either through
(24:33):
the front lawn and beyond the log fence surrounding the yard.
The snow was smooth and clean, untouched, no footprints. Who
are you? Her fingers grasped the edge of the door.
You are not welcome here, she said. His gaze shifted
to the tree lying on its side, and the boy scowled.
(24:54):
You must leave tonight. Excuse me, this is private property.
You need to get out of here. Rapid fire bangs
at the back of the house as loud as a
machine gun, seized Rocky's attention. She slammed the door and
locked it behind her, and in five quick strides she
reached her room. She yanked the curtains aside. Motion activated
(25:18):
lights flooded the back yard, and Rocky froze over. A
hundred crows glared at her from the snow covered lawn.
Long seconds tipped by as she and the birds just
stared at each other. Slowly, she eased the curtain shut
and retreated from the room, closing the bedroom door. After
(25:39):
a pause, she secured Mark's room as well. Whatever this was,
it was no prank. Confused, she went back to the
front window and peeked out the driveway. Lights illuminated dozens
of cold colored shapes perched silently along the fence, shadows
against the crystalline sheen of snow. Although there was no wind,
(26:01):
tree branches rustled ominously across the road. Icy fingers chilled
Rocky's spine, heart thumping. She crept to retrieve the knife
from the counter and checked the time on the oven display. Mom,
Dad and Mark wouldn't be back for at least another hour.
She couldn't just sit here waiting, surrounded by these weird birds.
(26:24):
She'd go crazy if she hadn't already. She eyed the
front door. It would be insane to go out there,
the worst thing she could possibly do. Rocky checked outside
one last time, telling herself there was nothing to be
afraid of, and she cracked the door open. The strange
boy was gone. Still, she felt beady black eyes tracking
(26:47):
her every movement. Knife in hand, she stepped onto the
threshold and breathed in a frosty, shuddering breath. She opened
her mouth to speak. Outside, the tree erupted. The crows
along the fence burst into the air. Thousands of specterlike
bodies swarmed inside from every direction. Glass rained into the house.
(27:12):
Wood splintered talons shredded the curtains, Each slice a ragged screen.
A cyclone of wings and beaks forced Rocky inside. She
tried to find refuge behind the couch. She crouched and
covered her head, slashing at the crows with the knife.
They pecked and clawed and engulfed her. A cacophony of
(27:33):
cawing provided an angry soundtrack to the destruction. She shrieked
against the onslaught stop, why are you doing this? Everything
went silent. Finally she looked up. Glass shards covered the
floor in furniture. Black feathers floated in the air. Scratches
(27:54):
and punctures scored her exposed skin. Rocky's face, arms and
hands stuck. She felt her face blood smeared over the
pads of her stiff fingers and dripped down her cheek.
The crews were gone except for one, silhouetted in the
open doorway. It had a twisted leg. Snow whisked up
(28:17):
the porch steps and swirled around the bird. It grew feathers,
smoothing and solidifying, disappearing into the form of the boy.
She now noticed the solid black snow gear that he wore.
She held the knife out in front of her, limping.
He advanced on her. You planned to stick me with
that knife. I don't know. Are you going to make me?
(28:41):
He stopped a few feet away, and his lips curved
into a cruel smile. Stupid humans think you own the
whole world. Every year, you people come here and destroy
our homes. Every year, we have to find new places
to live. Her voice shook and tears streamed down her cheeks.
(29:03):
What are you talking about? We just come here to
have family time. We've never destroyed the arch of one
inky eyebrow stopped her as she recalled his earlier look
of disgust. Her gut clenched. The trees, our Christmas trees,
and how many trees had the landscapers cut down? His
(29:27):
lip curled. Yours, your trees, our homes. He cocked his head.
Get out of here, human, Never disrupt our homes again.
Next time you won't be spared. His arms stretched wide
as his body shrank down to his crow form. With
a blink and a woosh, he took flight. I'm sorry,
(29:51):
I didn't know, she said. An uncaring breeze swallowed her words.
With shaking hands, Rocky shut the door, returned the knife
to the counter, and bandaged her wounds before settling in
front of the fire to wait for her family to return.
She was curled up under the blankets when she heard
a car engine rev Tires screeched to a stop, rapid
(30:15):
popping like heelstones. Hit the car in a meter, sit up,
and turned toward the noise. What now? A scream chilled
Rocky to the bone. Mom, Mom, Dad, and Mark shouted
as footsteps thundered up the porch stairs. The door smacked
the wall behind it. Her family flung themselves inside. A
(30:36):
cloud of crows packed at them before flying out again.
Dad slammed the door. His chest heaved and his eyes
were wide. What on earth? White down feathers poked out
of his jacket, leaning against the door, staring into space
with his mouth gaping. Mark looked worse. Scratches Chris crossed
(30:57):
his face and blood dripped down one of his chein Rocky.
Mom yelled, baby what. She lurched over and crushed Rocky
in a hug. Hundreds of crows came out of nowhere.
No reason, I don't understand. Her hair stuck up in
every direction. She sobbed against Rocky's shoulder. There was a reason, Mom,
(31:20):
Rocky secured the door they're mad that we cut down
their homes. We have to leave. I know it sounds crazy,
but you saw them. Doesn't matter. Right now, we need
to get out of here. Dad was already in the kitchen,
picking up the knife Rocky had used to defend herself.
Throwing a blanket over their heads. Mom held her close
(31:40):
while Dad and Mark protected their sides. Huddled awkwardly together,
they rushed to the car. A crack right across the
rear driver's side window. They closed and locked the doors,
leaving everything behind, and raced toward the safety of home.
Crows lined the way, darkly, dotting the tops of mail boxes,
(32:01):
road signs, and street lights. Just before the car turned
onto the highway, one large bird swooped in front of
the windshield with a loud caw, A crow with a
twisted foot. Rocky recounted all that happened at the cabin.
Unable to deny what they had all experienced, they eagerly
discussed selling the cabin where they had spent so many
(32:24):
happy times, the cabin where so many family traditions had
begun in Unison, Mark, Mom and Dad finally looked at her. Rocky, yeah,
she said, trying to fix her hair and regain some
semblance of normalcy. I'm thinking some things make better memories
than traditions. Maybe we start a new holiday tradition, this
(32:47):
time with fewer pine trees and more palm trees. Well,
I must admit having Christmas with palm trees around does
sound very nice. In fact, I might have to do
(33:10):
that once I'm done with my rounds on Christmas Eve.
What a nice vacation that would be. Hey, did you
like the stories I told? If so, please do Santa
a favor and tell your friends and family members about
the Spooky Santa podcast. That way they can listen to
and remember, you can write your own scary story and
(33:31):
email it to me at letters at Spookysanta dot com.
If you want to learn more about the stories I've
told or the authors who wrote them, you can find
links in this episode's show notes. Spooky Santa is a
registered trade mark of Marler House Productions copyright Marler House Productions,
twenty nineteen. And now, be a good little boy or
(33:53):
girl and join me next time for more creepy tales
from Spooky Santa. Things started
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