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12 Bloody Days of Christmas: Day 1 ‘Creepy Christmas Traditions’

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The holidays can be a horrifying time for any red-blooded gore hound. All the cheer and merriment being spread around is enough to make anyone sick, even those of us who genuinely enjoy this time of year. Let’s face it- there’s only so much blatant overzealousness that one can take. Even non-horror fans can agree that the month of December can, sometimes, be a little too much. So for those of us still living in October, who would prefer to watch Santa’s Slay and countdown the days until Halloween; this series is for you. Think of the 12 Bloody Days of Christmas as my way of saying hey, horror fans can be merry too. On the first day of Christmas, Bloody-Disgusting gave to me — “Creepy Christmas Traditions”!

Day 1: Creepy Christmas Traditions
Day 2: Christmas Characters Gone Wrong
Day 3: Horrifying Holiday Decorations
Day 4: Twisted Yuletide Tales
Day 5: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Day 6: Creepy Christmas Movies
Day 7: Terrifying Toys
Day 8: Top 10 Potential Holiday Weapons
Day 9: Horror’s New Year’s Resolutions
Day 10: Top Picks for the New Year
Day 11: Ghosts of Christmas
Day 12: Happy Horror Holidays

Day 1: Creepy Christmas Traditions
Ah, traditions. Every family has them. From lighting the menorah, to secret Santa, all the way to fruit cake, holiday traditions take precedence over almost every aspect of our lives during this time of year. Each of us has a routine, whether cultural or family-oriented, that we associate with Hanukkah, Christmas, or whichever holiday is being honored.

But, as I quickly found out, not every tradition is as cheerful as you may think. There are some down-right creepy holiday traditions out there that may be the perfect solution to your insatiable need for something quirky.

Krampus

Kind of a funny name, right? But this demon is nothing to laugh about.

And yes, I said demon.

According to some worldly regions, this funny-looking creature, that I believe could pass for a demented goat, accompanies St. Nicholas on his Christmas journeys. His job is to warn and punish bad little children, while the `angels’ get gifts and candy. The best part about this tradition is that the locals, in countries like Austria and Hungary, set aside December 5th as a day of celebration in honor of the great Krampus. Basically it’s an excuse to dress up in elaborate, demonic costumes, play drinking games and cause mayhem. In fact, if you’re interested in the whole Krampus experience, you won’t even have to cross the ocean- the town of Tivoli, New York celebrates Krampus Night each year.

If I was a kid and heard this, I’d be freaked out. It’s a lot worse than that lump of coal my mom used to threaten me with.

Knock, Knock!

Feel like trick or treating on Christmas? Well, move to Germany! Though the tradition is now rarely celebrated, and only in small, rural towns, `Knocking Nights’ was favored by many during the month of December. For the three Thursday nights preceding Christmas, children dress in costume and move from house to house chanting rhymes beginning with the word `knock’. Pair that up with some noisemakers and a treat for their hard work, and it sounds a lot like one of our favorite holidays; Halloween. I vote that we celebrate Halloween once a week, every week, in October- what do you guys think?

Shelf Elf

I spend a lot of time at Barnes and Noble. I’m a stereotypical writer- coffee, bookstore, laptop. The other day, as I was enjoying my White Chocolate Mocha, I caught a glimpse of The Elf on the Shelf. Staring at me. No, seriously, he was staring at me through the plastic box. I finally picked him up, read the book, and decided that this is quite possibly the creepiest thing I have ever seen. This coming from the girl who watches The Exorcist in the dark, that says a lot.

The Elf on the Shelf is another ploy by parents to make their children behave during the holidays. The elf sits around your house, takes note as to whether the kids are worthy of a visit from Santa, and he reports back to the big guy. He supposedly lands in a different spot each morning after making his nightly visit to the North Pole. It sounds good in theory, but according to reports, some kids are psychologically `disturbed’ by the elf, some even reporting post-traumatic stress from the thought of a little man running and flying around their house at night. Maybe we should sick Krampus on him.

Spiders on a Tree

Move over Snakes on a Plane: If you visit the Ukraine during Christmas, you’ll instead have Spiders on a Tree. Those from a Ukrainian background traditionally decorate their trees with spider webs instead of tinsel. This is a sign of good luck, falling in place with the legend of a widow who was too poor to afford decorations for the tree. To her and her children’s surprise, they awoke on Christmas morning to their tree beautifully decorated in webs, which, with the rising sun, turned to silver. As a result, the family never wanted again. It’s a beautiful take on a seemingly gothic presence.

Hide the Broom!

Norwegian Christmases tend to mirror what those of us in the United States partake- church services, bountiful feasts, merry-making, and broom hiding. Wait- broom hiding? You heard me- on Christmas Eve, you won’t find a single household in Norway that has a broom or any type of brush. The Norwegian culture believes that witches and evil spirits will rise from the grave on the night before Christmas and steal these necessities to fly through the sky, creating chaos and mayhem until the arrival of dawn.

It sounds a lot like Halloween but, looking at its origin, Christmas in Norway is built upon a Viking celebration called Jul, which, in essence, is a drinking day. Since Viking traditions are built off of folklore, the dead, and dark days of winter, it’s not that far off to think that cemeteries and the walking dead are just as much a part of Christmas as Yule logs and stocking stuffers.

Demented Winter Festival

In the country of Latvia, Christmas is instead taken over by a Pagan festival known as Ziemassvētki. No, I can’t pronounce it either- personally, I think it sounds like a location used for filming HOSTEL, but it’s actually a winter festival that starts on the evening of December 24th and ends on the 25th. In addition to devouring delicacies such as boiled pig’s snout, peas and beans- the locals also leave out food for the `ghosts’ to share. Leaving it in a hay barn, the sauna, etc. this food would be available to the dearly departed until the New Year. As if that isn’t enough to creep you out, there’s the Latvian `mummers’- groups of gypsies or townspeople that dress up as bears, horses and even Death, going from door to door singing songs to drive away evil spirits. But they don’t get candy- instead; they’re invited in for food and ale. Sounds like the grownup version of trick or treating to me.

And there you have it, some of the creepiest, strangest and most awesome Christmas traditions around. Hey, anything is better than fruit cake and out of tune carolers.

Don’t forget to show your love for Andrea by visiting her blog: The Albin Way

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Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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