If you’re like me, you can only take so much of Rudolph and Charlie Brown. Sure, those specials are fun to watch once a year, but some of us like a little terror with our revelry. So to satiate your weird wandering spirit, here are 3 creepy Christmas specials to watch this holiday season.
“Glim-Glim” from Monsters
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, it seemed every station had at least one regular horror series. Monsters was one of those offerings, and like any good horror anthology, it featured holiday-themed episodes. In “Glim-Glim”, a tale of an alien inadvertently wreaking havoc on a neighborhood, the acting is appropriately over-the-top, and the special effects remind viewers of a bad school play, but that only makes it that much more enjoyable. Similar to many of the denouements in Monsters, the ending of “Glim-Glim” goes for a sad, maudlin twist, so consider yourself warned. Pass the tissues, please… and more spiked eggnog too.
“The Night of the Meek” from The Twilight Zone
In the 1960s, Rod Serling was the master of the television creep factor. With The Twilight Zone, he crafted some of the most unforgettable half-hours in small screen history. In December of 1960, he wrote the holiday-themed “The Night of the Meek”, which follows a down-on-his-luck Santa who might just get his ultimate Christmas wish. Truth be told, this episode is less creepy than some of the series’ installments, focusing instead on the wonderment of the season. But with that opening and ending narration from Serling and the omnipresent unease of any Twilight Zone episode, “The Night of the Meek” still easily makes the cut.
“And All Through the House” from Tales from the Crypt
When I was young, I was a pretty tough kid. Very little scared me. However, that intro from Tales from the Crypt got me every time. Whenever it was on, I’d force myself to watch the Crypt Keeper pop out of nowhere and laugh maniacally, but youthful bravery notwithstanding, I’d often still have nightmares afterwards. In fact, it gives me shudders to this day. For those who want some festive spirit with their scary puppets, “And All Through the House” has you covered. After all, nothing says the holidays like escaped mental patients and premeditated murder. All with a healthy dose of camp, of course.
Happy haunting, and happy viewing!
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons