Best Christmas Horror Movies

The link between midwinter festivals and Horror is a strong one. Scholars say this is due to the duality of various holidays set at the darkest time of the year. These events are both a celebration of life and a recognition of death. Reflecting on those lost in the year that passed and giving thanks while looking to the future. In the modern day, this translates into a goodly number of horror movies set at Christmas.

Best Christmas Horror Movies as of 2025

Focusing on Christmas in specific, it is difficult to say precisely when the holiday became associated with horror. It is known that the English tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas had fallen out of favor by the early Victorian era. Charles Dickens single-handedly saved that tradition in 1843, with his publication of A Christmas Carol.

Many Christmas horror movies have adapted Dickens’ work to varying degrees. However, the best of them make use of the same themes of redemption, charity, and salvation, rather than emulating his story wholesale. Given that, for the sake of Peace on Earth, this list intentionally avoids all adaptations of A Christmas Carol. That still leaves a considerable number of cinematic gifts that may be called the Best Christmas Horror Movies ever.

Black Christmas (1974)

It is Winter Break and most of the members of one sorority have already left for the semester. However, unbeknownst to them, an unexpected guest has moved into their attic. When one of the co-eds goes missing, the police are reluctant to investigate until a teenage girl is found dead in a nearby park. This sets up a deadly game of cat and mouse, involving obscene phone calls and increasingly violent deaths.

The original 1974 Black Christmas movie is remembered for many reasons. Historically, it is counted as one of the first slasher horror films, as well as one of the first Christmas horror movies. It is also remembered somewhat ironically, as director Bob Clark later became famous for directing 1983’s A Christmas Story.

Beyond that, Black Christmas is notable for being a rare horror movie of the time where the young heroes are not idiots. This point was of particular importance to Bob Clark, given that most youth films of the time were based around “bikinis, beach blankets and bingo.” There have been two updated adaptations of Black Christmas since then (one in 2006 and one in 2019) but neither of them hold a candle to the original.

Gremlins (1984)

Inventor Randall Peltzer hoped to find a unique Christmas gift for his son, Billy. A trip into Chinatown leads to his discovering a creature called a mogwai in a strange shop. The shop’s owner, Mr. Lee, refuses to sell the mogwai, though his grandson later makes a deal with Mr. Peltzer.

There are three important rules for caring for mogwai. Don’t let them touch water. Keep them away from all bright lights, especially sunlight. And most importantly, do not ever feed them after midnight. Naturally, all of these rules are swiftly broken, resulting in the mogwai multiplying and transforming into destructive creatures called Gremlins. This sets off a night of terror on Christmas Eve, as the monsters are unleashed upon the little town of Kingston Falls.

There are some who dispute Gremlins’ classification as a horror movie. However, the movie sparked outrage from parents who assumed a Steven Spielberg movie with a cute creature was safe for children. This, and similar complaints about the content Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, prompted the MPAA to create the PG-13 rating.

Given that legacy, it seems more than fair to quantify Gremlins as a horror movie. Director Joe Dante certainly intended for it to be viewed as such. “So the idea of taking a 4-year-old to see Gremlins, thinking it’s going to be a cuddly, funny animal movie and then seeing that it turns into a horror picture, I think people were upset,” Dante told the AP. “They felt like they had been sold something family friendly and it wasn’t entirely family friendly.”

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

In the magical land of Halloween Town, the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington is in charge of organizing the yearly celebration of all things scary. However, Jack has grown bored with this routine and longs for something more. He finds it when he stumbles upon a doorway leading to other holiday themed lands and wanders into Christmas Town.

Confused and delighted, Jack returns home to tell his followers what he has seen. This leads to the bold declaration that they will take over for “Sandy Claws” this year. Hijinks ensue, as Jack’s well-meaning efforts to improve on the winter holiday nearly ruin Christmas for everyone.

Some would argue that The Nightmare Before Christmas is the definitive Tim Burton movie. Certainly it contains many of his hallmarks, with Danny Elfman music and Gothic misfit protagonists who may be spooky but are not mean. However, the stop motion animation of director Henry Selick also deserves a mention for contributing to the film’s unique aesthetic. All these elements combine to make a slightly scary holiday film suitable for those children who believe that every day is Halloween, even at Christmas.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Strange things are afoot in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland. Reindeer are turning up dead everywhere and children are going missing. This leads to bad blood between the local farmers and the employees of the Subzero corporation, who are excavating an ancient burial mound.

It soon becomes apparent that the Subzero personnel have unearthed the lost tomb of Santa Claus. However, he is far from the right jolly old elf of modern stories. Indeed, he and his elven allies are monstrous child-snatchers.

In reviewing Rare Imports: A Christmas Tale, legendary critic Roger Ebert described it as “a rather brilliant lump of coal for your stocking.” This was high praise given Ebert’s general distaste for the horror genre. He further described it as an “original, daring, carefully crafted film” and “an R-rated Santa Claus origin story crossed with The Thing.”

Better Watch Out (2017)

Unfortunately for 12-year-old Luke, his parents still think he’s too young to be left home unsupervised while they go to a Christmas party. The one bright-side to this is they hire his crush, 17-year-old Ashley, as a babysitter. However, any plans for a misguided seduction are forgotten in the wake of an apparent home invasion.

It is impossible to discuss the story of Better Watch Out without giving away some incredible twists. Suffice it to say, the movie changes up the standard home-under-siege formula well beyond the Christmas setting. The movie also benefits from some strong performances by its core cast of young actors.

How we chose the Best Christmas Horror Movies

Originality was the watchword in compiling this list of the Best Christmas Horror Movies. There are all manner of movies featuring slasher Santas or Krampus on a rampage. These were avoided simply because, while many of them have their merits, the theme is still repetitive.

For similar reasons, it was agreed to avoid any horror franchises that did a Christmas-themed one-off film. Finally, a focus was put on movies that make the holiday an integral part of the plot. This eliminated many great horror films, which make use of yuletide finery to contrast with the scary story, but do not have to be set at Christmas.

Source: Comingsoon.net