Christmas Horror, Vol. 1  edited by Chris Morey and illustrated by Zach McCain

Dark Regions Press, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-1-62641-118-0

Available: ebook, paperback, hardcover deluxe signed and numbered edition available through Dark Regions Press (with an additional story by William Meikle)

Dark Regions Press has put out yet another great anthology. This collection of eight stories focus on, as the title indicates, the Christmas holiday, and the horror that can lurk around every corner. It’s not all carols, mistletoe, and peace on earth in these tales of horror.

“Red Rage” by Stephen Mark Rainey flips back and forth between the present day story of the Worshams, a family preparing to celebrate their first Christmas in their new home, and the events of a previous holiday season held in the house, shared by a husband and wife with a strained relationship. At the center of both storylines is an ornament on the tree that exudes rage– and anyone who looks into it feels that rage, until it consumes them. Can the Worshams survive their holiday, or will the shadow come for them, too?

I’ve been a fan of Jeff Strand’s work for some time, and his short story, “Pointy Canes,” doesn’t disappoint. Uncle Jack’s thirty year ritual of sucking on candy canes to fine points and collecting them in a box has come to completion, and he wants those closest to him join in a special event. His family is incredulous to what he suggests, but after one of them dares to argue, the rest of the family decides to go through with the candy cane ritual.

Shane McKenzie’s “Naughty” was really hard to get through because of the content. A group of teenagers sexually assault and murder a disabled girl. Two of the boys are unwilling to go through with the rape, but the eldest uses violence to influence them to continue. Five years later, the youngest is in a relationship that has culminated in his girlfriend’s pregnancy. It’s Christmas Eve, and he’s sitting in front of the fireplace waiting for…something. He’s convinced he will be the last to go. After all, the others who attacked that young girl have been found dead in the most gruesome of ways, his brother possibly being the most disturbing. What will happen to the last survivor?

“Krampusnacht in Cell Block J”, by Cody Goodfellow, is set in a corrupt juvenile detention system where the inmates are celebrating Christmas by indulging in activities and substances that ensure distraction from how the guards will celebrate in their own way. One of them dresses as Krampus and inflicts abuse on those lost in their pleasures. It’s carried on this way for years, but this time is different. The new inmate doesn’t know the drill, and accidentally summons the real Krampus. Those involved in the corrupt justice system have been very bad, and the new inmate wants them to pay.

The other stories in the anthology are also fantastic. In John Skipp’s “The Shittiest Guy in the World (A Christmas Fable)” we meet the most unexpected sin eaters. In “Belsnickel” by J.F. Gonzalez, Amy’s Uncle Floyd comes to visit to continue an old family tradition. What will she find under the tree when he is done? Joe R. Lansdale’s “Santa Explains” is the story of a down-and-out Santa explaining to his family that this year will be different, that they won’t have to be disappointed in him, ever again. He has the perfect solution to all of their problems. Black Friday can be tough, and “The Endless Black of Friday” by Nate Southard shows what happens when the blackness of the night or early morning spread swallows the world as it comes.

If you need a little bit of the grotesque and macabre for your holiday season, pick up Christmas Horror, Vol. 1. You won’t be disappointed. Each story delivers its own message of Christmas fear in their pages, and is accompanied by a full color illustration to set the mood. Highly recommended.

Contains: blood, gore, sexual abuse

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker