A Horror Christmas Story

Hi, I’m Bernard, the Head-Elf at the North Pole. Everything has changed lately, everything. But we don’t feel that anything even did. Reason – we were made to feel so. It all started four months ago, when Santa’s behaviour started deteriorating. He had been acting strangely, and his health was in a bad state. He had always been known to be fat, but now he was that excessively; obese, I would rather say. However, his worsening health was our second concern, because the first one was ‘Santa’ had got an ague! How could he? North-Polars don’t fall ill. Even we elves are immortal… mostly, until forced past our limits; made to give the life up.

‘Twas a September night, and it rained deadly cats and dogs. The blizzard was howling like a hound and we shut ourselves up in our stone cottage. The fireplace was lit, to make the place around comfy to sit. The hall was warm in the weather cold, and we had our time, the family of little ones and the two big-old. Jessica, Mrs. Claus to be precise, was like our mother. Always cared for us, treated us like her own children, and her husband like her entire world; although we had been alive for eons. That night, while we sipped coffee made over that very kindling that warmed our bones, there was a pain in the eyes of Jessica as I had never seen before. Each time she looked at Santa, she looked with pain; a pain I had never seen before. It was close to grief, as if she had lost something, and perhaps forever. And when I looked at him, I saw it clearly. Not something psychological or emotional, but even his own body spoke of it. He used to be healthy, but now he was getting unimaginably fat. His dark circles darkened day by day and every night. Anyways, what could we do? And what could we have done when Santa wasn’t happy talking about it? We got up finishing our coffees anyways before it got any cold, and then left for the bed.

It was 3 AM the next day and the sky hadn’t tamed yet. There was someone in the kitchen under the abruptly blinking light – Lucy, a sweet, little elf, my beloved. So close to my heart, I still dreaded what she had to see and no one believed. She was searching snacks in the upside shelves. Cookies perhaps, as she liked those – light yet satisfying.

“Lucy,” a heavy voice came from behind. She got scared. She turned back suddenly, and… sighed.

“Huh! Santa, you scared me!” she said.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to, little girl,” said Santa.

“What are you doing here this time?” She asked.

“Well, I could be asking the same question.” 

“Obviously,” said Lucy. “But you’re much, much punctual than us, Santa.”

“Just ‘punctual,’ you should say.”

“Yah,” the lady-elf said. 

“Because you aren’t any punctual, Lucy.” He said looking inside the fridge.

“That’s true. I blame my late-night hunger pangs.”

“I completely understand you today, because I have the same feeling right now. I wonder if this disease is communicable and I caught it too.”

“Such a strange thing to hear from you, Santa.”

“Oh, I thought you would say that it was funny.”

Santa closed the fridge. “Could you get something to eat?”

“Oh, yes, yes. Of-course.” she said, and immediately pulled a chair from the dining-table. Putting it close to the kitchen slab, she climbed it, and started looking for the something, or just the cookies. 

“Found it!” Lucy said, and jumped down the slab. 

“Uh,” she said and she had jumped forgetting that it was 3AM and everyone was still asleep. Anyways, she turned her face up to hand it over to Santa first. But what she saw, she didn’t dare to. Santa was crouching on the slab by the sink, swallowing the raw meat as if he had been hungry for days! 

“…Santa!” Lucy said, with pain and shock. The cookie box slipped from her hands. She was baffled absolutely. Claus after devouring the last piece, got down to the floor and walked out of the kitchen with a burp, without even looking at Lucy.

❆ ❆ ❆

Read complete story

Get Paperback or Kindle eBook from Amazon

Get Kindle eBook (India)

Get PDF

Or read for free on Wattpad

Broken by misfortune, the Claus family is overwhelmed by the anomalous events which began occurring all of a sudden. With the eclipse in their lives, the responsibility falls onto Bernard, the head-elf’s shoulders to ensure everyone remains safe. But when all that happening is associated with black magic, he finds himself weak. As he looks for the cause of the misery, he finds out the reality is darker than he thought it could be; the possible solution he discovers is just another leap of faith. Will Bernard be able to handle all that?

This story is a plunge into an abyss of gloom and bleakness rather than an amble through a usual cheerful and hallmark Christmas tale.