Creepy Christmas

Well, it's almost that time again everyone! Only 6 days left! 'Tis the season to be bankrupt and to deck the halls with drunken relatives.

But, if the thought of your in-laws and your relatives' children isn't quite enough to fill your soul with horror, perhaps these seven gifts from Satan's Grotto may be just the thing...

Black Christmas (1974)
Argued by some to be the first slasher film, certainly it was the model for many which followed. Margot Kidder stars as a foul mouthed sorority girl in this festive killing spree.

Gremlins (1984)
Little furry creatures can be so much fun to give as pets for Christmas, but not when you feed them after midnight.

The Legend of Hell House (1973)
In the week before Christmas, a group of psychic researchers investigate the most haunted house in the world.

The Toymaker (1991)
A little mute boy is terrorized by his Christmas presents in the best of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" series.

P2 (2007)
A businesswoman is pursued by a psychopath after being locked in a parking garage on Christmas Eve.

The Children (2008)
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.

A Christmas Carol (1971)
An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when he is haunted by ghosts on Christmas Eve. It's a cartoon but Alistair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge and it's really not suitable for young children.

Yes, I know I recommend the same Christmas horror films every year but apart from the "And All Through The House" section of "Tales from the Crypt" (1972) there really aren't all that many good horrors set at Christmas anyway.

Crappy Christmas horrors that I don't recommend are:
Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974)
Night Train Murders (1975)
Christmas Evil (1980)
Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)
Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Santa Claws (1996)
Santa's Slay (2005)
Black Christmas (2006)

I hope everyone in the UK enjoys the new BBC version of "Whistle and I'll come to You" as the latest "Ghost Story for Christmas". There's nothing like that in America so we have to make do with the 1968 Michael Hordern version or watch "Scrooged" and the absolutely awful "A Christmas Story" over and over again. American Christmasses are weird. You can't even buy Warnink's advocaat or those cheesy footballs with earwax in the middle here so pity me as I try to dunk pretzels into Marmite to make DIY Twiglets and wash them down with my own alcoholic version of eggnog.

I've already got my Christmas present to myself anyway, an old Apple iBook (only because it was just $40 on ebay) which I'll be playing with all day while browsing the bargains in the post-Christmas sales.

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you are planning for Christmas.