Top Christmas Movies to Make Your Holiday Horrific

‘Tis the season to be jolly, not scared, right? Who are we kidding, horror movies work year round.

With the snow falling, now is the perfect time to cuddle up under a blanket and enjoy some top-notch scary movies.  And while Halloween is the headline holiday for horror flicks, there are a fair number of Christmas scary movies that are perfect for the winter season.

Let’s take a look at some of the best Christmas/holiday horror movies around. First, we’ll start with a Christmas season classic that is family-friendly but slightly scary classic for the little-ones.

Honorable Family-Friendly Mention: Home Alone

Is Home Alone a horror movie? From the point of view of adults, that’s a big no. However, being home alone can certainly be terrifying for children, and the idea of robbers breaking into your house with no parents to protect you and no way to call the police could certainly frighten anyone.

As an adult, you might not remember it, but Home Alone can certainly get kids on the edge of their seats. Yet unlike most of the movies on this list, this classic flick is also family friendly and a great treat for the holidays. There are some mild scares, but they’re quickly washed out by the hilarity of what unfolds.

And besides, Home Alone paved the way for our “Must Watch” holiday horror selection at the end of this article.

The Gremlins: A Holiday Horror Genre Definer

Is Gremlins the scariest Christmas horror movie? Nah, but it makes this list for its great special effects, excellent humor, and overall influence on the horror genre. Gremlins helped cement two distinct blends of horror: comedy-horror and Christmas horror. For that alone, it earns its place in film history.

Comedy horror often trades pure terror for laughs. While many comedy-horror movies may make you sweat, push you to the edge of your seat, and may occasionally get you to jump with fright, they rarely make you feel that existential terror that can keeps you up at night. Scarier movies use comedy at times, but with comedy-horror, the scares take a back seat to laughs. And when it comes to enjoying scary movies with friends, comedy horror can go a long way.

The Children: Find Out How Scary Kids Can Be

Coming in next is The Children, a low-budget film from the United Kingdom that delivers plenty of holiday scares.

You might not realize that The Children is a horror movie if you happen across it while flipping through channels. At first, the movie seems like a typical holiday family get together. But ominous music hints at something much darker.

Imagine Children of the Corn, except with snow and holiday decorations instead of corn. An infection strikes the small children in the family, turning them into vicious hell spawns. Soon, the adults must figure out how to protect themselves and family members while also trying not to kill the murderous little deviants.

Evil children anchor some of the greatest films in horror history, and for good reason. Innocence turned evil offers a powerful chilling effect. The child actors in The Children put in excellent performances, especially given their age and the genre.

Krampus: Don’t Lose the Holiday Cheer

Christmas is a season to rejoice. But let’s be real, the holidays can also increase family tensions, and instead of encouraging time with loved ones, the season can open old wounds and lead to bickering. While many families enjoy the holidays, some don’t. That includes the dysfunctional family in Krampus.

Buried under a blizzard and haunted by the mythical “Krampus” monster, which punishes people who lose the Christmas spirit, the Engel family must protect one another and try to rekindle the holiday spirit.

But can they do so before Krampus exacts its toll?

The Shining: An All-Time Horror Classic

What’s a horror movie list without at least one film classic? The Shining is one of the most famous and influential horror movies of all time, and for good reason. Beyond the terrors, Jack Nicholson puts on a masterful performance as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in Colorado.

You might be dreaming of a white Christmas. The Shining may make you wish for otherwise. A snow-blanketed landscape, long-nights, and winter isolation set the ground for the many scares in this winter-horror classic.

Our Must Watch Holiday Horror Selection: Better Watch Out

In Home Alone, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culcin) must defend his home from two buglers. Getting robbed is no joke, but Home Alone is a classic of slapstick comedy owing to the two bungling goofball robbers that Kevin clearly has outsmarted.

What if you took a similar concept, ramped it up from rated PG to rated R? And what if instead of slap stick comedy, you have flat out psychological terror?  What you get is Better Watch Out.

Like Home Alone, a house is under assault, but the perpetrators are no bungling burglars. And this time around, the kid of the house isn’t alone, he’s got a babysitter. Together, they need to defend the home and ward off dangerous threats. But perhaps the greatest evil is already in the house with them?