12 Creepy Christmas Films

      Here are 12 spine-chilling Christmas movies to add some thrills to the festive season.

      Ranging from films for adults to children's classics, these titles are sure to give you chills — and not just from the winter weather.

      Wishing you a frightfully Merry Christmas.

      **Scrooged**

      Paramount Pictures

      Bill Murray stars in this 1988 comedy that offers a contemporary take on Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. Murray portrays a television executive who jeopardizes his love life due to his grumpy personality.

      After he dismisses an employee on Christmas Eve, he is visited by a series of ghosts who reveal his wrongdoings.

      What makes this film genuinely eerie, aside from some genuinely frightening spirits, is that Murray's character, Frank Cross, remains unapologetically unpleasant almost until the very end, where he suddenly undergoes a seemingly frantic transformation.

      **Krampus**

      Universal

      This 2015 horror comedy explores the European folklore of Krampus, a horned beast that punishes misbehaving children in December.

      When a family's bickering disrupts the Christmas spirit, the demon appears to haunt them, forcing them to unite to defend themselves.

      The film features Adam Scott, Toni Collette, and David Koechner, and was directed by Michael Dougherty.

      **Silent Night**

      RLJE Films

      In this 2021 horror-comedy, Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode play hosts of a Christmas dinner party on the brink of apocalypse.

      Realizing they will be killed by a toxic gas cloud the next morning, the couple and their friends, along with their children, attempt to enjoy their last night on earth without confronting the inevitable.

      Directed by Camille Griffin, this film balances dark humor with poignant themes.

      **Violent Night**

      Universal

      In this 2022 action-comedy, Stranger Things star David Harbour portrays a unique version of Santa Claus.

      When a group of mercenaries takes a family hostage on Christmas Eve, Santa swoops in to rescue them wielding a hammer. It turns out he was once a Viking warrior named “Nikamund the Red.”

      I wouldn't mind having him on my side in such an unexpected holiday crisis.

      **Black Christmas**

      Warner Bros.

      The 1974 slasher film Black Christmas is a pioneer in the spooky Christmas genre. It is actually Canadian and directed by Bob Clark. Although it was remade in 2019, we are focusing on the original for this list.

      The story follows a group of sorority sisters who start receiving unsettling phone calls during winter break. As they tease the caller, the situation escalates when sorority sisters begin to disappear and a local girl is murdered, leading them to suspect a serial killer is at large.

      This film helped to popularize the slasher genre, and it’s intriguing to note that Bob Clark also directed A Christmas Story, one of the most cherished Christmas films ever. While A Christmas Story has a dark sense of humor, it doesn’t reach the bleakness of Black Christmas.

      **Jack Frost**

      From A-Pix Entertainment

      Among the most absurd entries on this list is Jack Frost, a 1997 horror-comedy featuring an evil Frosty the Snowman.

      This malevolent snowman emerges after a serial killer experiences a supernatural incident while being transported to his execution.

      Inevitably, the snowman embarks on a killing spree, staining the snow with blood.

      **A Christmas Horror Story**

      RLJE Films

      This 2015 horror-mystery features William Shatner and is the second film on this list that includes Krampus.

      However, in this movie, even Santa isn't immune to the malevolent creature.

      Directed by Steve Hoban, Brett Sullivan, and Grant Harvey, A Christmas Horror Story depicts the town of Bailey Downs plagued by evil spirits, zombie elves, and, of course, Krampus, as they descend upon the townsfolk.

      **The Nightmare Before Christmas**

      Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

      This classic Tim Burton film features the voices of Chris Sarandon (and Danny Elfman during the musical numbers) as Jack Skellington, aka The Pumpkin King, and Catherine O’Hara as his love interest Sally, a Frankenstein-like woman created by a mad scientist who often tries to confine her.

      When Jack accidentally finds a portal to Christmas-land, he becomes obsessed with recreating the holiday with a Halloween twist.

      However, he soon discovers that normal people don’t appreciate the same macabre elements he enjoys, and ultimately, Sally must save the day by rescuing the real Santa.

      **The Lodge**

      NEON

      Riley Keough stars in this terrifying horror drama as the new girlfriend of a widower whose wife has recently passed away.

      Keough's character spends Christmas in a remote home with her boyfriend’s two children during a snowstorm, only to be haunted by her past involving a creepy cult. The atmosphere becomes chillingly dark.

      Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, this 201