Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but the season also holds some dark secrets in the shadows. While Christmas is now mostly associated with an abundance of Amazon boxes, forced family get-togethers, and baked goods, there was a time when the season represented the dangers of icy weather. Christmas may be well lit and paved now, but once upon a time, it was the season of darkness and death.
The Dark Side of Winter
Let’s start with the obvious: winter is bleak. The days are short, the nights are long, and everything is covered in ice and snow. For much of history, winter was a season spent trapped indoors. Families would huddle together and hope their rations would see them safely to spring. The outside world would become dark and desolate, not even the furry creatures dare to embark out in the winter’s snow.
Ancient Traditions
Christmas, as we know it, is a relatively recent invention. But the winter solstice has been celebrated for centuries, often with pagan rituals and beliefs. Eventually, these beliefs would blend with early Christian traditions and German folklore, eventually becoming the Coca-Cola themed wonderland we all love to this day.
This is why we have the tradition of telling ghost stories around the fire on Christmas Eve. Each culture that celebrated the solstice left its mark on Christmas. However, most of these traditions did not come from a family-friendly place. This can be easily seen in the rise of Krampus horror films. These customs warned of the dangers of the season and why it is important to respect the traditions of those who survived.
The Ghosts of Christmas Past
This one should be pretty obvious. The most popular Christmas story ever told is still Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol. Now, my favorite version of this will always be The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, but if you watch an adaptation a little closer to the book, it can be downright horrifying.
The story covers the morality of Christmas and greed. It shows us that it is important to use the season as a time to give and reconnect with our communities. The Ghost of Christmas Future warns us of the dangers of greed and isolation and tells us not to focus on monetary gains but instead to help the sick children of the world. Thankfully, with Dickens’ tale, the world avoided an over-monetized, commercial-driven holiday that equates present cost with love held.
So, Is Christmas Actually Haunted?
Maybe “haunted” isn’t exactly the right word. But here’s the thing: Christmas is a time of heightened emotion, of intense family gatherings, and of confronting both the good and the bad from the past year. All those things create an atmosphere that’s ripe for storytelling, and horror is just one way to explore that.
Whether it’s through ghost stories, monster movies, or just a general sense of unease, horror is an integral part of the Christmas experience, a way to acknowledge the darkness while still celebrating the light. It reminds us that even in the midst of joy and celebration, there’s always a little bit of shadow lurking just around the corner.
