Oh dear, you left out the fact that Christmas Eve was the time to tell ghost stories in England, after all we didn't traditionally do Halloween. A tradtion that the BBC still carries on down to today. The most famous teller of Christmas ghost stories was Dr M. R James who is today better known for his ghostly stories than his scholarly works.
I think one of my favorite ghost stories was written by Frederick Forsyth and published in 1975 as a gift to his wife. The Shepherd takes place on Christmas Eve in 1957 and recalls his experiences with the RAF as a pilot. I suggest reading the book and forego the Disney version or a least reading the book first. It isn’t a long story and even comes with illustrations. I think it’s the perfect example of a British tradition.
Let's not forget the many short ghost stories Charles Dickens wrote like The Haunted Man and The Ghosts Bargain, The Signal Man, To Be Read at Dusk, The Haunted House etc.
@@Jess_of_the_Shire It's a good look for you! Seeing as you haven't gotten to Susan yet, I take it that you're reading Discworld by publication order? Personally I had the approach of dividing it into the various sub-series and reading those in order (i.e the Death books, then the Witch books, then the standalone books, etc). So far the one that I liked best was The Amazing Maurice, and I'm hoping that I'll enjoy the Tiffany Aching books because Pratchett was clearly great at books aimed at younger audiences. I greatly respect and admire Pratchett as a person and as a creative mind, but for some reason his writing style hasn't quite worked for me personally. I greatly enjoy the Hogfather miniseries as well as Good Omens (ignoring the fact that Gaiman is a predator, which led to me selling his stuff to a used book store) but actually reading his work has mostly not done it for me and it bugs me that I can't quite pinpoint/articulate why that is. I greatly enjoyed his essay collection, A Slip of The Keyboard, and was initially drawn to Discworld for a reason, so clearly the man was full of worthwhile ideas.
@@sebastianevangelista4921wait, Gaiman's a what?? Well that's gonna forever stain my experience with his work... Was planning to start reading American Gods after I finish The Brothers Karamazov, just for something a bit less dense, but now I think I might make a start on Pratchett's Long Earth series instead...
"The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man's history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy." -J.R.R. Tolkien, Letters
Christmastide from the beginning would have been dark: not Christmas itself, but Candlemas, when the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape the Massacre of the Innocents. It was believed Jesus was born at Christmas because Adam was born at what became Passover, and there are nine months between. "Christmas" originated from daily Masses, one of which was on Christmas, and the jolliness of St. Nicholas was conflated with Christmas after the British conquest of Neu-Nederland: beforehand, Christmas was a time of drinking and partying, but nothing like Washington Irving. Tolkien alludes to Yule-tide for hobbits being bawdy, like it was for the Germanic peoples.
My favorite Christmas read is Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. And I bet we'll be hearing more on that one in the next video, but I think it also fits this one. Apart from being hilarious (as all Discworld novels) it is pretty dark and twisted, but also really, really insightful
I won't be rereading it this year, since I'm already in the middle of three other books and two audiobooks, but I've recently found that the Sky TV feature-length mini series is available on Prime. I loved their Colour of Magic adaptation, despite its limitations, so I will be making it a point to watch their Hogfather adaptation on Christmas Eve
"So, my dears, I hope you will be happy this Christmas and not quarrel, and will have some good games with your Railway all together. Don’t forget old Father Christmas, when you light your tree." - JRR TOLKIEN
I never thought the family was trapped within the snowgobe at the end but rather that Krampus was just keeping an eye on them like he does with everyone which is also creepy of course. Great video.
I´ve just convinced my partner this year that animation is amazing. So I´m going to tie them to a chair and play them Nightmare Before Christmas, for sure.
Great topic! I totally agree with your points. Also explains the song “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” which I always thought was strange- “There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago…” we seem to have shifted that over to Halloween.
My favorite depiction of the early Christmas traditions you highlight is the well-known BBC series "Tudor Monastery Farm," and their 12 Days of Christmas episode. As much as Dickens and the Victorian Era shaped our modern ideas of the holiday, I have a fondness for the customs of those earlier times. In some way, I think we still maintain a little bit of the "Lord of Misrule" tradition, and the inversion of social hierarchy, in our modern focus on children as the main beneficiaries, the lords and ladies, of the holiday. They are, in a sense, "in charge" of Christmas, as is the child within us all, who we often suppress for the remainder of the year, but who is allowed free rein - and reign - during Christmas.
Thank you so much for the last few minutes, Jess, it really resonates with me! There was a period where I would get moody and mildly depressed around the holiday season because I "should" have been extremely happy but wasn't reaching those heights. Not to mention that it's hard not to grow cynical towards the capitalist hellscape we live in and how it influences that time of year as you pointed out. Discovering darkly comedic, somewhat cynical Christmas joke songs definitely helped once I discovered them, and the past couple of Christmas' have been genuinely better for one reason or another. I hope you have a good Christmas this year, Jess, because we all need some cheer and love given all that's been going on in the world. Nothing bad lasts forever and good people always pull through in the end.
For us Christmas babies, it's a slightly confusing time. All celebrations happen at the same time... But everyone is too busy to share your celebrations.
About the notion of the good old days being so much better. There was a collection of wisdom literature written in ancient Sumer, right at the actual beginning of literate civilization 7000 years ago in present-day Iraq, that expressed that exact notion. In the olden days children were more respectful of their elders, people got along better, and everything was ideal. The idea of "the good old days" is a constant in human civilization that exists regardless of the actual events and trends of the era it's being enunciated in, probably because most of us think back to our childhoods as a time of simplicity and magic, not because they actually were simpler times but because we weren't aware of the complexities going on around us because we were children. If you're interested in the ancient Sumerian wisdom literature by the way, you should check out Wisdom of Ancient Sumer by Bendt Alster, which compiles, translates, and comments on a huge chunk of the oldest surviving literature in the world.
There was no nostalgia in the Middle Ages, which was considered the Age of Light by medieval people: the days before Christ was born were the Age of Darkness. Also, it is hard to tell if the Ancients were complaining about the good old days or just had stupid stereotypes about youth that are still found in the media today.
Since it be the time to be Merry, here's a poem by Tolkien himself! MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄 Noel by J.R.R. Tolkien Grim was the world and grey last night: The moon and stars were fled, The hall was dark without song or light, The fires were fallen dead. The wind in the trees was like to the sea, And over the mountains’ teeth It whistled bitter-cold and free, As a sword leapt from its sheath. The lord of snows upreared his head; His mantle long and pale Upon the bitter blast was spread And hung o’er hill and dale. The world was blind, the boughs were bent, All ways and paths were wild: Then the veil of cloud apart was rent, And here was born a Child. The ancient dome of heaven sheer Was pricked with distant light; A star came shining white and clear Alone above the night. In the dale of dark in that hour of birth One voice on a sudden sang: Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth Together at midnight rang. Mary sang in this world below: They heard her song arise O’er mist and over mountain snow To the walls of Paradise, And the tongue of many bells was stirred in Heaven’s towers to ring When the voice of mortal maid was heard, That was mother of Heaven’s King. Glad is the world and fair this night With stars about its head, And the hall is filled with laughter and light, And fires are burning red. The bells of Paradise now ring With bells of Christendom, And Gloria, Gloria we will sing That God on earth is come.
The lord of snows would appear to be either Morgoth or if we are talking about paganism (winter is considered good in the Mediterranean, so we are not talking about classical mythology), Chernobog for the Slavs, the deceased primordial giant Ymir for the Germanics, and Tapio for the Finno-Ugrians. Since Slavs were used as slaves, Chernobog is the likeliest (despite Jesus being mentioned in the Kalevala), but I would think it is Morgoth.
Not a movie or something to read, but here are two things I think everyone should watch. 1. The Black Adder Christmas Carol (It's just hilarious) 2. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (interesting fact, the NYPD doesn't have a choir, so they used their drum and pipe band, and the members didn't know Galway Bay, so they sang The Mickey Mouse Club theme song).
The timing of this video is absolutely perfect because I rewatched Krampus (2015) just a few days ago! One of my personal go-to Christmas films is Gremlins, but that wasn’t always the case. When I was 7 my dad showed it to me having somehow forgotten that the gremlins kill people, and I was traumatized for a few years. After I finally overcame my fear I went back and realized that it was a goofy dark comedy, so naturally it fits my sensibilities (I would also argue that Gremlins 2 is an absurdist masterpiece). As for other movies that I plan to watch this year, I always watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and thankfully The AFI Silver Spring is showing the full cut this year on the big screen, so naturally my mom and I have discussed going to see it. Disney were cowards for cutting an important song for fearing that it would upset kids, even though it’s healthy for kids to be exposed to all kinds of feelings because it helps develop their emotional intelligence. Not to mention that the final song of the film is a reprise of the one that got cut and doesn’t have the same impact without it. PS there's a really fun song about Krampus by Lacuna Coil called 'Naughty Christmas' and I highly recommend it!
As someone whose introduction to Tolkien was through the Rankin Bass Hobbit and RotK, I have always enjoyed their cast of Christmas monsters from the Bumble to the Agwas.
The need for balance is the recurring theme in the human condition. There can be no joy without pain. there can be no Christmas, without the hurt of heart in mankind. Thank you for reminding us all of that.
"There were never any good old days, they are today, they are tomorrow. It's a stupid thing we say, cursing tomorrow with sorrow" -Gogol Bordello. I'm a non-christian that would prefer not to celebrate, but I married a woman that loves the family aspect of the holiday. The only tradition I still follow of it, as dad would, we would watch the Muppet Christmas Carol.
xmas/yule is bright to keep back the creepy darkness. I think the best version of 'A Christmas Carrol' is the 1952 Allister Sim which includes the great mass of damned spirits outside Scrooge's window that marley joins as he leaves.
I went to the pharmacy yesterday to pick up a prescription, my daughter begged for a candy to take to the playground to share with her friends. So we turned down the candy aisle. In addition to the normal candies, & the Christmas candies, there are now Valentines Day candies to be purchased as well. & Christmas hasn’t even come yet!
We are currently in Advent and in the Middle Ages the four weeks of Advent were characterized with Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. Today they are characterized with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. I am so glad that I am preaching in the 21st century. 😊
It's always funny learning about Christmas traditions from the other side of the world where it winter during this time, however in New Zealand where I'm from its summer where we are. So we have BBQ, swimming and eating outside are how we celebrate Christmas.
If you're in the Baltimore area, in a couple weeks there's going to be a staged reading of a play I wrote: "A Christmas Carol for Edgar Allan Poe", which I think counts for something new to watch. It's definitely scary (and sad, and funny). Poe didn't write about Christmas specifically, but he was a fan of Charles Dickens and you can certainly see traces of him keeping up with the wintertime creepy tradition in some of his works. Even 'The Raven' takes place "in the bleak December".
@@Jess_of_the_Shire Will you ever do a Poe video? There's a fun anecdote about him during the author conversation between Stephen King and George R. R. Martin if you're at all interested.
@@Jess_of_the_Shire Talking about Charles Dickens, I would say Scrooge does not represent consumerism (unlike Donald Trump), for he is austere. He abandons miserly selfishness for joy to all mankind, joy to mankind being different from an austere Christmas of giving to the poor. Charlie Brown versus crass consumerism is a different conflcit from Scrooge.
Here in Austria, Krampus has its origins in the celtic culture (2000 BCE. - 0 BCE.). Its the same as with Halloween. We celebrate St. Nikolaus with his companions (Krampus, Percht, Satan, Witch, Goats,...) on 6th of December and its a mix of old folk traditions and christian traditions and the traditions varies from region to region (Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, Croatia, Slowenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and South Tirol).
The Netherlands had zwarte piet, black Peter. Late in the 18th century a school master changed him in a Moor to be less frightening. And then some time ago Americans started to scream black face, what is actually was. So now it’s just a white dude that won’t take you in a sack with him, and don’t beat you. Krampus also isn’t black anymore, I think. While he is on all older pictures.
For me, the sheer fact that my family (I’m from a South American country so maybe it’s different for most reading this) has always celebrated Christmas by awaiting until midnight, and then “de madrugada”(past midnight and before dawn, I’m surprised there isn’t a English word for that time of the day) start celebrating. So for me Christmas has always been associated with the darkness of only being celebrated at night, and with the somberness that comes from being sleepless as we wait in vigil.
I loved everything about this video, though I'm shocked Jess mentioned Gryla, but not Jólakötturinn, the dread Yule Cat, who's also Gryla's pet. Heck, she's even holding a mug with cats on it. 😼Jola was a massive cat, about the size of a house, who would devour the naughty / lazy who did not get new clothes for Christmas. I'm getting ready to run a module with my D&D group over the holidays called, "Beware the Yule Cat." It promises to be a romp. 😸 Side Note: Human sacrifice during Roman Saturnalia is actually a myth.
Huh. I learned something today. Thank you. I'd only ever heard the version where the Yule Cat eats those too ungrateful to wear the clothes they received for Christmas rather than the ones who didn't receive any clothes at all.
Long day for me. I’m glad to come home and find that you’ve spent some time on scary Christmas stories. Personally, I’m one of those annoying Christmas fans that loves the music, even though I haven’t always decorated for the last few years since Covid (I did last year but am struggling this year again). I absolutely love Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carole and the Muppets’ take on it as well as a few others. My favorite Christmas special however is Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. I had no idea as a child what that special was teaching me but I love everything about it. I loved the Winter Warlock! I love how he is encouraged to find redemption after meeting Santa and how the special embraces the idea that occasionally a little rebellion is the right thing to do.
Once, I met briefly with Mr. Vincent Price. Mr. Price told me that the longer nights invoke "old spirits." He meant memories of those who are no longer with us. Christmas is a depressing time of year for many -- especially those who have lost loved ones during the regular course of the year. Yes, all of us know the story of Scrooge and the phantoms who visited him on Christmas Eve. For me, I push aside the tragedies of this life. I embrace Light and honour the birth of The Christ. Many thanks, Jess of the Shire. Your dress is charming. Merry Christmas from yours truly and Charlie Ginger Tigger😸🎄🎅
It's... tricky. The Scrooge we get to know in the story is a fundamentally traumatized person. It's this festering trauma that pushed him into Victorian capitalism. He's spend a life trying to use money & a cold business mind-set to insulate himself against a world his childhood experiences taught him is cut-throat & unforgiving. It's because his terrible behaviour ultimately stems from trauma & deep insecurity that the supernatural intervenes to give him a last chance to course-correct.
Wow, I was close, I thought the article was written in the 1870s. Also, every generation says the younger generation sucks. Here are two examples. In the Grimm's Fairytales collection, a couple are deciding to have kids because they're both very lazy and want the kids to do all the work. They decide against it because, "Children these days never listen to their parents and never do as they're told." Plato remarked that Socrates hated literacy saying, "In my day, we learned by rote and remembered more. These children being brought up to read inevitably for get what information they've learned since they can read about it."
Tremendous video! I love the way you cover the different examples of media and so seemlessly transition between them and the differrent eras they are from
Your rant about the idea of 'Christmas perfection' around the 37min mark had me laughing so hard. And in complete agreement! Thanks so much for this video, it really distills the deeper meaning of what Christmas and the winter solstice season can be. A blending of light and shadow, which we all are. And need to embrace to grow as heealthy human beings. I do love the 2015 Kampus film, and also really enjoy the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's idea of the 'Scary Solstice', along with their Cthulhu Xmas carol albums.
Bravo Jess! Really appreciated everything you had to say. And you didn't talk bad about Xmas, American culture has lost the plot around this time of year in many ways. Excited for the Santa video :)
Another movie for the dark list. The Ref , is one of my new favorite Christmas movie. The family comes over Christmas eve but a thief is hold up in there house pretending to be their marriage counselor.
1. A Christmas recommendation not for reading or watching per se, but for listening to (and which you may know about already): the Sufjan Stevens collections _Songs for Christmas_ and _Silver and Gold._ Both are mixtures of traditional carols with compositions of his own, happy _and_ melancholy themes on full blast right next to each other (most musicians are less _honest_ than that!). "Put the Lights on the Tree," especially with its adorable music video, is so sweet it actually makes me tear up; he has a version of "O Holy Night" right next to "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!", the second verse of which lands like a slap in the face; "Sister Winter" actually helped me through a first Christmas after the death of a dear friend of my family's; and only Sufjan Stevens would ever have the guts to name a song "Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well You Deserved It)"! When I had cottoned on to the point of this video, the first thing I thought of was a line from his song "Lumberjack Christmas": _No one can save you from Christmases past / You have to love it or leave it at last._ 2. Whether coincidentally or because it became an influence on the "spooky" side of the holiday, the Christian tradition of Christmas is itself a lot more complex than people often realize. E.g.: 28 December is a feast once known as "Childermas," commemorating the infants in and around Bethlehem. According to Matthew 2:1-18, when the Wise Men saw astrological signs of a great new ruler being born in Judea, they naturally went to the capital of Judea, probably expecting to congratulate Herod the Great on the birth of a new son; when they find out they should be in Bethlehem, they agree to report back to Herod but were warned against him in a dream -- the event recounted in the famous Coventry Carol.
Thank you so much for your video, the first of yours that got recommended to me. It seems like this video was meant to find me because I'm just in a rather melancholic state right now. In February it will be the first time that I will be away from my family and family home for an extended amount of time since I will start studying abroad. There's a lot of uncertainty currently about many things and I'm not in as a happy mood as I have been before in previous Christmas times. Because of this, I really like what you said about introspection and not adhering to this make-believe of a time that must be absolutely happy. That's what I love about the season, though, over where I live. There are a lot of lights put up during this dark time that is winter, so no matter how dark it might be, there is still light and hope present. But the one does not work without the other and that is an important lesson to take away. Nevertheless, I hope that you and everyone reading this will have a time that also includes happy memories to make and a break from the chaos of the world outside.
The 1999 version of a Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart is also a great adaptation and has a dark creepy atmosphere even before Christmas Future shows up
I’m taking my youngest to see “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” on Tuesday. Then we are going to read the book. I read it in the 90’s when I was a kid & have read it yearly since.
As far as alternative of dark Christmas stories go, the movie “Violent Night” was a hugely cathartic watch for me, especially David Harbour as Santa Claus, who does surly and badass every bit as well as he does tender and paternal.
I have always heard this was a very British thing - their Christmas is basically like our Halloween. You mention / discuss SGATGK - this points to one of the answers to your question, I think. The pagans, particularly the Celts, saw the Autumn and Winter season as a time when the veil between material and spiritual worlds became thinner and thinner - the nights are longer, so this gives ghosts and ghouls more time to roam about. A really fantastic source for this whole question is Charles Taylor's masterwork "A Secular Age" - a bit of a doorstop, but it answers this question better than any book you'll find in the last - probably 30 years.
As Andy Williams once sang -It's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas's long long ago. Wait!?! Scary ghost stories???? uh yeah just ask Mr. Scrooge.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like if there was a holiday monster who punished bad parents. I know a concept like that wouldn’t work because adults don’t believe in mythical figures like kids do and therefore can’t be scared into behaving better. But I imagine if there was a Krampus-like figure who hunted abusive/neglectful parents, it would be a WAY MORE terrifying monster since adults are expected to know and act better as role models and guardians. So the punishment given to those who choose to hurt kids is extra worse.
It might not make a video because they're not that well known, but Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy is another really good example of the kind of dark, subversive Christmas story you're talking about. Her stories and Terry Pratchett's Hogswatch are my favorites.
Recommendation: Arthur Conan Doyle - Tales for a Winters Night - there is a good audio read by William Sutherland Truman Capote - A Christmas Memory - again, a nice audio read by Celeste Holm
As much as I love the wholesome vibes around this time of year, I think the loss having the dark and creepy Christmas stories beyond the classic 'A Christmas Carol' is a real shame. I think these stories highlight those more positive feelings rather than take away from them. After all, there is no light without darkness. And as much as I love the endless 'A Christmas Carol' remakes, I really hope the culture changes so that's there are more of these creepy stories being made.
M.R. James wrote a huge amount of ghost, macabre, and demoniac stories which he would recite at Christmas Eve. BBC have Ghost Stories for Christmas productions going back to 1971 with such greats as The Stalls of Barchester, Whistle and I'll come, Lost Hearts, etc. the series also contains some stories by Dickens, Doyle and, coming this Christmas, Nesbitt. These are an absolute must for cold, dark evening chills and unease. A.C. Doyle - The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is the most Christmassy Holmes story. Charmingly rendered by Jeremy Brett, but Peter Cushing is more twinkly. Well worth a read and a watch for some Christmas cheer.
I have always interpreted the ending of Krampus slightly differently. After-all if he was just going to trap them anyway, then why make them think they escape. I instead see the snowglobes as magical in nature, allowing the Krampus to see those he has visited, to know to return if they ever step out of line again. Basically: "I'll let you go, but I'll be watching you." I'm pretty sure I am the only one who sees it that way, but it makes more sense to me plot wise than: "You decided to make a noble sacrifice to save your family, so I'll just imprison all of you instead."
Canadian author Robertson Davies used to write and tell a ghost story each year for his college's Christmas party, and those stories are collected in the book "High Spirits." The stories are mostly more humorous than scary, but it's well worth a read.
I think you need to listen to Tom Lehrer's "Christmas Carol." He's Jewish, but he so beautifully lampoons the commercialism that has infected the Christmas season, even as far back as the 1950s.
Christmas was Yule in the northern countries for thousands of years before the coming of christ, and to this day, in the germanic world, the holiday is nearly unchanged save for the addition of mentions of Jesus. The tree, the lights, the gift giving, the supernatural characters like Santa and Elves visiting at night to either leave presents or perpetrate mischief depending on behavior - that's all 100% the legacy of pre christian germanic paganism, and it survived nearly unaltered up to today
She only has so much time, but she doesn't show us the freakin' hardcore animated Disney version with Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer. Holy crap is that one messed-up. It's already dark enough, and then you get to the part where the Ghost _pushes him into the grave,_ and the coffin opens, as the literal actual fires of Hell burst out of it. WTF?!? I'm really surprised that scene didn't freak me out as a child. I was actually more disturbed by Mickey laying the crutch on Tiny Tim's grave and the creepy gravediggers. "Tap it down tight, Charlie. That's good enough for the likes of him."
This is well written and I loved hearing about the comparison of Christmas and Halloween thank you for your time and your opinions I love watching your videos
Another creepy adaptation of a Christmas Carol is the 1971 short film by Richard Williams, it has perhaps some of the scariest takes on the Ghosts, they even include the wandering spirits and Ignorance and Want which don't normally appear in some adaptations
Jeanette Winterson's 'Christmas Days', is a short story collection chock full of Ghost Stories, meditations on grief and loss and still is packed full of festivity and joy- highly recommend if you can get your hands on a copy!
Incidentally, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol after touring a Manchester Factory and corresponding with Frederich Engels (of Communist Manifesto fame). This blows the minds of readers today, lol. Lots of Christmas background to Tolkien too (as I'm sure you know, being a Hobbit!). "Yule" is celebrated at Beorn's House in The Hobbit, and the Fellowship setting out from Rivendell on December 25th.
I always thought Marley was a true friend. As a kid, I assumed Marley had advocated for Scrooge's intervention, not wanting the man he never admitted to considering a friend to suffer his fate.
Wassailling is another tradition associated with winter. Apparently, carol singing and a level of misrule during these events made for quite rowdy and sometimes even violent celebrations of winter.
my favourite fact about the historical St Nicholas is that he punched someone in the face at an ecumenical council because he didn't like their theology #SantaGoals
It's good to get the reminder that you can like certain aspects of the season without liking the connection to Christianity or capitalism. Many of these traditions are older than either, and embrasing those things is nothing to feel guilty about. Also after watching this since I want to write a book that's basically an autobiography with some fantacy elements incorporated the idea of using Krampus as inspiration for a monster to fight could totally work. How do I express nerves over an end of year job evaluation in a fantacy style to make it seem bigger? Put Krampus in there. Also it would allow for my character to be more nervous about performance review than Krampus, (hopefully) get to stay on and have that give her the confidence she needs to hold off Krampus.
Hey Jess! Here's a scary Christmas story, my parents post holiday arguments when those yuletide bills rolled in! Now, while I don't agree with all you said in the video I appreciate and can relate to the sentiment regarding emotional expectations during this time of year. By the way, I prefer "Scrooge" with Albert Finney as the best Christmas Carol adaption. Anyway, I liked the video, though I usually just watch your Tolkien videos, this one was very nice. Please take care, be safe and happy holidays. Thank you.
I personally love the yule cat story. It's an icelandic tale about a big cat that eats children and people if they don't give each other clothes for winter. Don't get me wrong despite that I like halloween I like a "jolly" christmas too I'm not even american or icelandic, so halloween or the story I told you don't even belong in my culture but I don't care. There's something about these "scary stories" at christmas time that are so nice =) I also feel like they are overlooked.
Krampus lnfluanced Dr. Susses 😢the Grinch *. On other hand Krampus and Saint Nick ( whose actually a Turkish Saint from Myra , both opposes with one another like good cop and bad cop . Yuletide is more darker then it seems. 😊
Favorite Christmas memory: When my daughter was 4 we were in pet smart and saw the Santa Claus they hire to take pictures with pets (mostly dogs). She ran over to tell him what a friend wanted, and then another friend. Before she could name a third friend Santa rudely interrupted: “What would you like for Christmas?” “Santa is for kids whose families don’t buy them gifts!” Santa’s mouth dropped open in shocked disbelief that a child who believed in him didn’t want anything from him. I burst out laughing and he gave me a weird look. I said that’s a long list of names does he need to write it down as I pulled out a pen. My daughter added information on about another half dozen friends in addition to the first two Man I wish I had a video recording of the encounter
Incessantly the reason she didn’t want something from clause was because she was given a choice. One gift from a stranger or nine gifts from grandparents, godparents, aunts & uncles and parents all of whom love her. She picked the nine gifts from family.
First of all, thank you. Great message for Christmas. As to reading / watching “The Dark is Rising” by Susan Cooper. And the BBC dramatisation of “The Box of Delights”.
Recently watched Klaus and Arthur xmas. Pretty good for newer flicks. Its a wonderful life, Scrooged, NL xmas vacation, shop around the corner, planes trains automobiles, earnest saves xmas, charlie brown xmas, white xmas. Watch them.
Out of curiosity, Jess, have you ever seen the stage musical Black Friday? I don't think it's performed anymore, but you can a filmed performance on the TH-cam channel Team Starkid (though you might want to watch another Team Starkid play on their called "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" first. The two plays have some of the same characters, but in different universes. I think you can still follow Black Friday if you see that one first, but there are a few jokes you might miss). It's very clearly about consumerism and materialism - especially in America - and uses the start of the Christmas shopping season to make that point, so anyone looking for more dark Christmas stories might like it. At the same time, it’s not devoid of sentiment or sympathy for people who are unhappy during Christmas. And think getting stuff will make them feel better.
I appreciate the glimpses of The Muppets’ Christmas Carol. It really is the best film adaptation
100%
I truly believe it's one of the most accurate and most enjoyable!
@@Jess_of_the_Shire It's just so wholesome!
Best Scrooges: 1) Michael Caine 2) George C Scott 3) Alastair Sim.
@@idristaylor5093 Your #1 is correct.
Oh dear, you left out the fact that Christmas Eve was the time to tell ghost stories in England, after all we didn't traditionally do Halloween. A tradtion that the BBC still carries on down to today. The most famous teller of Christmas ghost stories was Dr M. R James who is today better known for his ghostly stories than his scholarly works.
The telling of a ghost story on Christmas Eve is the framing device of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw.
The telling of ghost stories on Christmas Eve is also the inciting incident for the narrator of Susan Hill’s The Woman In Black.
I think one of my favorite ghost stories was written by Frederick Forsyth and published in 1975 as a gift to his wife. The Shepherd takes place on Christmas Eve in 1957 and recalls his experiences with the RAF as a pilot. I suggest reading the book and forego the Disney version or a least reading the book first. It isn’t a long story and even comes with illustrations. I think it’s the perfect example of a British tradition.
@@teambanzai9491 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation plays that evey Christmas Even on "As It Happens"
Let's not forget the many short ghost stories Charles Dickens wrote like The Haunted Man and The Ghosts Bargain, The Signal Man, To Be Read at Dusk, The Haunted House etc.
I love the immediate contrast between the grandma-ish chair cover and the Susan Sto-Helit hair and makeup
Spot on, I was thinking "Hogfarther" right off, and hoped she would include it.
I was imagining Cruella de Vil.
While I'm working my way through Pratchett, I haven't actually gotten to Susan yet lol. This is just what I look like
@@Jess_of_the_Shire It's a good look for you! Seeing as you haven't gotten to Susan yet, I take it that you're reading Discworld by publication order? Personally I had the approach of dividing it into the various sub-series and reading those in order (i.e the Death books, then the Witch books, then the standalone books, etc). So far the one that I liked best was The Amazing Maurice, and I'm hoping that I'll enjoy the Tiffany Aching books because Pratchett was clearly great at books aimed at younger audiences. I greatly respect and admire Pratchett as a person and as a creative mind, but for some reason his writing style hasn't quite worked for me personally. I greatly enjoy the Hogfather miniseries as well as Good Omens (ignoring the fact that Gaiman is a predator, which led to me selling his stuff to a used book store) but actually reading his work has mostly not done it for me and it bugs me that I can't quite pinpoint/articulate why that is. I greatly enjoyed his essay collection, A Slip of The Keyboard, and was initially drawn to Discworld for a reason, so clearly the man was full of worthwhile ideas.
@@sebastianevangelista4921wait, Gaiman's a what?? Well that's gonna forever stain my experience with his work... Was planning to start reading American Gods after I finish The Brothers Karamazov, just for something a bit less dense, but now I think I might make a start on Pratchett's Long Earth series instead...
"The Birth of Christ is the
eucatastrophe of Man's history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy."
-J.R.R. Tolkien, Letters
To Him Who alone hath wrought great wonders, Hallelujah; for His mercy endureth for ever, Hallelujah.
Christmastide from the beginning would have been dark: not Christmas itself, but Candlemas, when the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape the Massacre of the Innocents. It was believed Jesus was born at Christmas because Adam was born at what became Passover, and there are nine months between. "Christmas" originated from daily Masses, one of which was on Christmas, and the jolliness of St. Nicholas was conflated with Christmas after the British conquest of Neu-Nederland: beforehand, Christmas was a time of drinking and partying, but nothing like Washington Irving. Tolkien alludes to Yule-tide for hobbits being bawdy, like it was for the Germanic peoples.
@rikhuravidansker 🫡🎄
My favorite Christmas read is Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. And I bet we'll be hearing more on that one in the next video, but I think it also fits this one. Apart from being hilarious (as all Discworld novels) it is pretty dark and twisted, but also really, really insightful
I read it again every Christmas, (actually an unabridged audiobook) 'Death' makes a great Santa.
I won't be rereading it this year, since I'm already in the middle of three other books and two audiobooks, but I've recently found that the Sky TV feature-length mini series is available on Prime. I loved their Colour of Magic adaptation, despite its limitations, so I will be making it a point to watch their Hogfather adaptation on Christmas Eve
"So, my dears, I hope you will be happy this Christmas and not quarrel, and will have some good games with your Railway all together. Don’t forget old Father Christmas, when you light your tree."
- JRR TOLKIEN
Such a sweet quote!
@Jess_of_the_Shire Agreed! Dearest Xmas to you and all!
I remember what one of the Doctor Who Christmas specials one said of the holiday:
Christmas, halfway out of the dark.
I never thought the family was trapped within the snowgobe at the end but rather that Krampus was just keeping an eye on them like he does with everyone which is also creepy of course. Great video.
I´ve just convinced my partner this year that animation is amazing. So I´m going to tie them to a chair and play them Nightmare Before Christmas, for sure.
I have tried to watch that movie SO many times and I fall asleep every time. I approve of your idea though 👌
Great topic! I totally agree with your points. Also explains the song “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” which I always thought was strange- “There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago…” we seem to have shifted that over to Halloween.
My favorite depiction of the early Christmas traditions you highlight is the well-known BBC series "Tudor Monastery Farm," and their 12 Days of Christmas episode. As much as Dickens and the Victorian Era shaped our modern ideas of the holiday, I have a fondness for the customs of those earlier times. In some way, I think we still maintain a little bit of the "Lord of Misrule" tradition, and the inversion of social hierarchy, in our modern focus on children as the main beneficiaries, the lords and ladies, of the holiday. They are, in a sense, "in charge" of Christmas, as is the child within us all, who we often suppress for the remainder of the year, but who is allowed free rein - and reign - during Christmas.
I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the recommendation! And I love the point about the kids and misrule. It's funny how traditions develop
@@Jess_of_the_Shire I was surprised you did not mention Quasimodo and the Feast of Fools, or that Tolkien implied hobbit Yule was bawdy.
Thank you so much for the last few minutes, Jess, it really resonates with me! There was a period where I would get moody and mildly depressed around the holiday season because I "should" have been extremely happy but wasn't reaching those heights. Not to mention that it's hard not to grow cynical towards the capitalist hellscape we live in and how it influences that time of year as you pointed out. Discovering darkly comedic, somewhat cynical Christmas joke songs definitely helped once I discovered them, and the past couple of Christmas' have been genuinely better for one reason or another. I hope you have a good Christmas this year, Jess, because we all need some cheer and love given all that's been going on in the world. Nothing bad lasts forever and good people always pull through in the end.
For us Christmas babies, it's a slightly confusing time. All celebrations happen at the same time... But everyone is too busy to share your celebrations.
About the notion of the good old days being so much better. There was a collection of wisdom literature written in ancient Sumer, right at the actual beginning of literate civilization 7000 years ago in present-day Iraq, that expressed that exact notion. In the olden days children were more respectful of their elders, people got along better, and everything was ideal. The idea of "the good old days" is a constant in human civilization that exists regardless of the actual events and trends of the era it's being enunciated in, probably because most of us think back to our childhoods as a time of simplicity and magic, not because they actually were simpler times but because we weren't aware of the complexities going on around us because we were children.
If you're interested in the ancient Sumerian wisdom literature by the way, you should check out Wisdom of Ancient Sumer by Bendt Alster, which compiles, translates, and comments on a huge chunk of the oldest surviving literature in the world.
There was no nostalgia in the Middle Ages, which was considered the Age of Light by medieval people: the days before Christ was born were the Age of Darkness. Also, it is hard to tell if the Ancients were complaining about the good old days or just had stupid stereotypes about youth that are still found in the media today.
Since it be the time to be Merry, here's a poem by Tolkien himself! MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄
Noel
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Grim was the world and grey last night:
The moon and stars were fled,
The hall was dark without song or light,
The fires were fallen dead.
The wind in the trees was like to the sea,
And over the mountains’ teeth
It whistled bitter-cold and free,
As a sword leapt from its sheath.
The lord of snows upreared his head;
His mantle long and pale
Upon the bitter blast was spread
And hung o’er hill and dale.
The world was blind,
the boughs were bent,
All ways and paths were wild:
Then the veil of cloud apart was rent,
And here was born a Child.
The ancient dome of heaven sheer
Was pricked with distant light;
A star came shining white and clear
Alone above the night.
In the dale of dark in that hour of birth
One voice on a sudden sang:
Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth
Together at midnight rang.
Mary sang in this world below:
They heard her song arise
O’er mist and over mountain snow
To the walls of Paradise,
And the tongue of many bells was stirred
in Heaven’s towers to ring
When the voice of mortal maid was heard,
That was mother of Heaven’s King.
Glad is the world and fair this night
With stars about its head,
And the hall is filled with laughter and light,
And fires are burning red.
The bells of Paradise now ring
With bells of Christendom,
And Gloria, Gloria we will sing
That God on earth is come.
The lord of snows would appear to be either Morgoth or if we are talking about paganism (winter is considered good in the Mediterranean, so we are not talking about classical mythology), Chernobog for the Slavs, the deceased primordial giant Ymir for the Germanics, and Tapio for the Finno-Ugrians. Since Slavs were used as slaves, Chernobog is the likeliest (despite Jesus being mentioned in the Kalevala), but I would think it is Morgoth.
@rikhuravidansker Thnx for the info!
@SirBoggins You're welcome.
@rikhuravidansker 🫡🫡
Not a movie or something to read, but here are two things I think everyone should watch.
1. The Black Adder Christmas Carol (It's just hilarious)
2. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (interesting fact, the NYPD doesn't have a choir, so they used their drum and pipe band, and the members didn't know Galway Bay, so they sang The Mickey Mouse Club theme song).
Have you ever seen Black Friday by Team Starkid?
Muppet Christmas Carol is my absolute favorite adaptation. Michael Caine is a brilliant actor.
For an unusual take on Santa Claus in the modern era, there is a Finnish movie "Rare Exports". Lots of, er, gruesome fun.
The timing of this video is absolutely perfect because I rewatched Krampus (2015) just a few days ago! One of my personal go-to Christmas films is Gremlins, but that wasn’t always the case. When I was 7 my dad showed it to me having somehow forgotten that the gremlins kill people, and I was traumatized for a few years. After I finally overcame my fear I went back and realized that it was a goofy dark comedy, so naturally it fits my sensibilities (I would also argue that Gremlins 2 is an absurdist masterpiece). As for other movies that I plan to watch this year, I always watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and thankfully The AFI Silver Spring is showing the full cut this year on the big screen, so naturally my mom and I have discussed going to see it. Disney were cowards for cutting an important song for fearing that it would upset kids, even though it’s healthy for kids to be exposed to all kinds of feelings because it helps develop their emotional intelligence. Not to mention that the final song of the film is a reprise of the one that got cut and doesn’t have the same impact without it. PS there's a really fun song about Krampus by Lacuna Coil called 'Naughty Christmas' and I highly recommend it!
The Muppet Christmas Carol is such a classic. I also watch it every year!
@@Jess_of_the_Shire You have impeccable taste 👍! Never trust someone who dislikes The Muppets or The Henson Company.
As someone whose introduction to Tolkien was through the Rankin Bass Hobbit and RotK, I have always enjoyed their cast of Christmas monsters from the Bumble to the Agwas.
"Krampus: The Yule Lord", by Brom is one of my all-time favorite holiday reads. And it's beautifully illustrated, too.
im reading this now its amazing!!!
Tokyo Godfathers is the one movie I come back to every Christmas
The need for balance is the recurring theme in the human condition. There can be no joy without pain. there can be no Christmas, without the hurt of heart in mankind.
Thank you for reminding us all of that.
"There were never any good old days, they are today, they are tomorrow. It's a stupid thing we say, cursing tomorrow with sorrow" -Gogol Bordello.
I'm a non-christian that would prefer not to celebrate, but I married a woman that loves the family aspect of the holiday. The only tradition I still follow of it, as dad would, we would watch the Muppet Christmas Carol.
xmas/yule is bright to keep back the creepy darkness. I think the best version of 'A Christmas Carrol' is the 1952 Allister Sim which includes the great mass of damned spirits outside Scrooge's window that marley joins as he leaves.
Jess, with this video you had done a better job than my therapist in my reconciliation with Christmas. Thank you very, very much.
I went to the pharmacy yesterday to pick up a prescription, my daughter begged for a candy to take to the playground to share with her friends. So we turned down the candy aisle. In addition to the normal candies, & the Christmas candies, there are now Valentines Day candies to be purchased as well. & Christmas hasn’t even come yet!
We are currently in Advent and in the Middle Ages the four weeks of Advent were characterized with Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. Today they are characterized with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. I am so glad that I am preaching in the 21st century. 😊
Brilliant and insightful about one of the most challenging seasons of the year. Lots of great comments as well. Thanks, Jess!
It's always funny learning about Christmas traditions from the other side of the world where it winter during this time, however in New Zealand where I'm from its summer where we are. So we have BBQ, swimming and eating outside are how we celebrate Christmas.
That sounds like a blast!
@@Jess_of_the_Shire I second that!
If you're in the Baltimore area, in a couple weeks there's going to be a staged reading of a play I wrote: "A Christmas Carol for Edgar Allan Poe", which I think counts for something new to watch. It's definitely scary (and sad, and funny).
Poe didn't write about Christmas specifically, but he was a fan of Charles Dickens and you can certainly see traces of him keeping up with the wintertime creepy tradition in some of his works. Even 'The Raven' takes place "in the bleak December".
That sounds so neat! I love Poe, I hope the reading goes well
@@Jess_of_the_Shire Will you ever do a Poe video? There's a fun anecdote about him during the author conversation between Stephen King and George R. R. Martin if you're at all interested.
I don't think I will be available, but will pass it on!
@@Jess_of_the_Shire Talking about Charles Dickens, I would say Scrooge does not represent consumerism (unlike Donald Trump), for he is austere. He abandons miserly selfishness for joy to all mankind, joy to mankind being different from an austere Christmas of giving to the poor. Charlie Brown versus crass consumerism is a different conflcit from Scrooge.
Here in Austria, Krampus has its origins in the celtic culture (2000 BCE. - 0 BCE.). Its the same as with Halloween. We celebrate St. Nikolaus with his companions (Krampus, Percht, Satan, Witch, Goats,...) on 6th of December and its a mix of old folk traditions and christian traditions and the traditions varies from region to region (Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, Croatia, Slowenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and South Tirol).
The Netherlands had zwarte piet, black Peter. Late in the 18th century a school master changed him in a Moor to be less frightening. And then some time ago Americans started to scream black face, what is actually was. So now it’s just a white dude that won’t take you in a sack with him, and don’t beat you.
Krampus also isn’t black anymore, I think. While he is on all older pictures.
France had the "Père Fouettard" (Father Flogger)
For me, the sheer fact that my family (I’m from a South American country so maybe it’s different for most reading this) has always celebrated Christmas by awaiting until midnight, and then “de madrugada”(past midnight and before dawn, I’m surprised there isn’t a English word for that time of the day) start celebrating. So for me Christmas has always been associated with the darkness of only being celebrated at night, and with the somberness that comes from being sleepless as we wait in vigil.
This is one of the most beautiful videos I’ve seen on the Internet.
I loved everything about this video, though I'm shocked Jess mentioned Gryla, but not Jólakötturinn, the dread Yule Cat, who's also Gryla's pet. Heck, she's even holding a mug with cats on it. 😼Jola was a massive cat, about the size of a house, who would devour the naughty / lazy who did not get new clothes for Christmas. I'm getting ready to run a module with my D&D group over the holidays called, "Beware the Yule Cat." It promises to be a romp. 😸 Side Note: Human sacrifice during Roman Saturnalia is actually a myth.
Huh. I learned something today. Thank you. I'd only ever heard the version where the Yule Cat eats those too ungrateful to wear the clothes they received for Christmas rather than the ones who didn't receive any clothes at all.
Remember, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Dramatic, scary, displaying love, and with villains that are so cool they could be fairies. :)
I would add the movie “Bad Santa” to the list of dark Christmas stories.
One of your best yet! Between this and the vampire video, I’d love to see you do more horror content!
Long day for me. I’m glad to come home and find that you’ve spent some time on scary Christmas stories. Personally, I’m one of those annoying Christmas fans that loves the music, even though I haven’t always decorated for the last few years since Covid (I did last year but am struggling this year again). I absolutely love Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carole and the Muppets’ take on it as well as a few others. My favorite Christmas special however is Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. I had no idea as a child what that special was teaching me but I love everything about it. I loved the Winter Warlock! I love how he is encouraged to find redemption after meeting Santa and how the special embraces the idea that occasionally a little rebellion is the right thing to do.
I love Christmas music for like 5 days, and then it starts to get old haha
@@Jess_of_the_Shire Yeah I'm with you there! Are there any particular songs that you get sick of more quickly than others?
Once, I met briefly with Mr. Vincent Price. Mr. Price told me that the longer nights invoke "old spirits." He meant memories of those who are no longer with us. Christmas is a depressing time of year for many -- especially those who have lost loved ones during the regular course of the year. Yes, all of us know the story of Scrooge and the phantoms who visited him on Christmas Eve. For me, I push aside the tragedies of this life. I embrace Light and honour the birth of The Christ. Many thanks, Jess of the Shire. Your dress is charming. Merry Christmas from yours truly and Charlie Ginger Tigger😸🎄🎅
I love the darker aspects of Christmas it’s the darkest part of the year
You are an amazing story teller and have me captivated...and the Music choice...perfect.
It's... tricky. The Scrooge we get to know in the story is a fundamentally traumatized person. It's this festering trauma that pushed him into Victorian capitalism. He's spend a life trying to use money & a cold business mind-set to insulate himself against a world his childhood experiences taught him is cut-throat & unforgiving. It's because his terrible behaviour ultimately stems from trauma & deep insecurity that the supernatural intervenes to give him a last chance to course-correct.
Very well put! Scrooge is certainly a complex character
@@Jess_of_the_Shire Aw thanks! Your message - "You're under no pressure to feel a particular way around Christmas" - it helps 🍁
@@stijnvantongerloo9122 Same
Wow, I was close, I thought the article was written in the 1870s. Also, every generation says the younger generation sucks. Here are two examples.
In the Grimm's Fairytales collection, a couple are deciding to have kids because they're both very lazy and want the kids to do all the work. They decide against it because, "Children these days never listen to their parents and never do as they're told."
Plato remarked that Socrates hated literacy saying, "In my day, we learned by rote and remembered more. These children being brought up to read inevitably for get what information they've learned since they can read about it."
Tremendous video! I love the way you cover the different examples of media and so seemlessly transition between them and the differrent eras they are from
Your rant about the idea of 'Christmas perfection' around the 37min mark had me laughing so hard. And in complete agreement! Thanks so much for this video, it really distills the deeper meaning of what Christmas and the winter solstice season can be. A blending of light and shadow, which we all are. And need to embrace to grow as heealthy human beings. I do love the 2015 Kampus film, and also really enjoy the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society's idea of the 'Scary Solstice', along with their Cthulhu Xmas carol albums.
Bravo Jess! Really appreciated everything you had to say. And you didn't talk bad about Xmas, American culture has lost the plot around this time of year in many ways. Excited for the Santa video :)
Great vid, Jess! I always appreciate the research you've done, the structure of your videos and the insights you bring!
Another movie for the dark list. The Ref , is one of my new favorite Christmas movie. The family comes over Christmas eve but a thief is hold up in there house pretending to be their marriage counselor.
1. A Christmas recommendation not for reading or watching per se, but for listening to (and which you may know about already): the Sufjan Stevens collections _Songs for Christmas_ and _Silver and Gold._ Both are mixtures of traditional carols with compositions of his own, happy _and_ melancholy themes on full blast right next to each other (most musicians are less _honest_ than that!). "Put the Lights on the Tree," especially with its adorable music video, is so sweet it actually makes me tear up; he has a version of "O Holy Night" right next to "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!", the second verse of which lands like a slap in the face; "Sister Winter" actually helped me through a first Christmas after the death of a dear friend of my family's; and only Sufjan Stevens would ever have the guts to name a song "Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well You Deserved It)"! When I had cottoned on to the point of this video, the first thing I thought of was a line from his song "Lumberjack Christmas": _No one can save you from Christmases past / You have to love it or leave it at last._
2. Whether coincidentally or because it became an influence on the "spooky" side of the holiday, the Christian tradition of Christmas is itself a lot more complex than people often realize. E.g.: 28 December is a feast once known as "Childermas," commemorating the infants in and around Bethlehem. According to Matthew 2:1-18, when the Wise Men saw astrological signs of a great new ruler being born in Judea, they naturally went to the capital of Judea, probably expecting to congratulate Herod the Great on the birth of a new son; when they find out they should be in Bethlehem, they agree to report back to Herod but were warned against him in a dream -- the event recounted in the famous Coventry Carol.
Thank you so much for your video, the first of yours that got recommended to me. It seems like this video was meant to find me because I'm just in a rather melancholic state right now. In February it will be the first time that I will be away from my family and family home for an extended amount of time since I will start studying abroad. There's a lot of uncertainty currently about many things and I'm not in as a happy mood as I have been before in previous Christmas times. Because of this, I really like what you said about introspection and not adhering to this make-believe of a time that must be absolutely happy. That's what I love about the season, though, over where I live. There are a lot of lights put up during this dark time that is winter, so no matter how dark it might be, there is still light and hope present. But the one does not work without the other and that is an important lesson to take away. Nevertheless, I hope that you and everyone reading this will have a time that also includes happy memories to make and a break from the chaos of the world outside.
christmas is a gift of the heart. everything else just gets in the way wishing you a very merry everything !
The 1999 version of a Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart is also a great adaptation and has a dark creepy atmosphere even before Christmas Future shows up
I’m taking my youngest to see “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” on Tuesday. Then we are going to read the book. I read it in the 90’s when I was a kid & have read it yearly since.
Of course, the scariest part of Christmastime is the final exam stretch…
Just saw the Krampus at our local Christmas Market yesterday. Made quite a few children scream, but in a fun way.
As far as alternative of dark Christmas stories go, the movie “Violent Night” was a hugely cathartic watch for me, especially David Harbour as Santa Claus, who does surly and badass every bit as well as he does tender and paternal.
I have always heard this was a very British thing - their Christmas is basically like our Halloween. You mention / discuss SGATGK - this points to one of the answers to your question, I think. The pagans, particularly the Celts, saw the Autumn and Winter season as a time when the veil between material and spiritual worlds became thinner and thinner - the nights are longer, so this gives ghosts and ghouls more time to roam about. A really fantastic source for this whole question is Charles Taylor's masterwork "A Secular Age" - a bit of a doorstop, but it answers this question better than any book you'll find in the last - probably 30 years.
Great video! I love that you chose the Muppet version of "A Christmas Carol" that movie is a straight 11 out of 10.
As Andy Williams once sang -It's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas's long long ago. Wait!?! Scary ghost stories???? uh yeah just ask Mr. Scrooge.
Jess, you are a wonderful and captivating storyteller! I was rapt by not only your words, but also your compelling delivery! Thank you for this essay!
Thank you so much for watching!
I sometimes wonder what it would be like if there was a holiday monster who punished bad parents. I know a concept like that wouldn’t work because adults don’t believe in mythical figures like kids do and therefore can’t be scared into behaving better. But I imagine if there was a Krampus-like figure who hunted abusive/neglectful parents, it would be a WAY MORE terrifying monster since adults are expected to know and act better as role models and guardians. So the punishment given to those who choose to hurt kids is extra worse.
This is a darn good video, Jess. My Christmas hat off to you.
It might not make a video because they're not that well known, but Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy is another really good example of the kind of dark, subversive Christmas story you're talking about.
Her stories and Terry Pratchett's Hogswatch are my favorites.
Recommendation: Arthur Conan Doyle - Tales for a Winters Night - there is a good audio read by William Sutherland
Truman Capote - A Christmas Memory - again, a nice audio read by Celeste Holm
As much as I love the wholesome vibes around this time of year, I think the loss having the dark and creepy Christmas stories beyond the classic 'A Christmas Carol' is a real shame. I think these stories highlight those more positive feelings rather than take away from them. After all, there is no light without darkness. And as much as I love the endless 'A Christmas Carol' remakes, I really hope the culture changes so that's there are more of these creepy stories being made.
M.R. James wrote a huge amount of ghost, macabre, and demoniac stories which he would recite at Christmas Eve. BBC have Ghost Stories for Christmas productions going back to 1971 with such greats as The Stalls of Barchester, Whistle and I'll come, Lost Hearts, etc. the series also contains some stories by Dickens, Doyle and, coming this Christmas, Nesbitt. These are an absolute must for cold, dark evening chills and unease.
A.C. Doyle - The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is the most Christmassy Holmes story. Charmingly rendered by Jeremy Brett, but Peter Cushing is more twinkly. Well worth a read and a watch for some Christmas cheer.
I have always interpreted the ending of Krampus slightly differently. After-all if he was just going to trap them anyway, then why make them think they escape. I instead see the snowglobes as magical in nature, allowing the Krampus to see those he has visited, to know to return if they ever step out of line again. Basically: "I'll let you go, but I'll be watching you."
I'm pretty sure I am the only one who sees it that way, but it makes more sense to me plot wise than: "You decided to make a noble sacrifice to save your family, so I'll just imprison all of you instead."
Canadian author Robertson Davies used to write and tell a ghost story each year for his college's Christmas party, and those stories are collected in the book "High Spirits." The stories are mostly more humorous than scary, but it's well worth a read.
I think you need to listen to Tom Lehrer's "Christmas Carol." He's Jewish, but he so beautifully lampoons the commercialism that has infected the Christmas season, even as far back as the 1950s.
Krampus is feared not only in Austria but also in South Tyrol , a Italian region
Christmas was Yule in the northern countries for thousands of years before the coming of christ, and to this day, in the germanic world, the holiday is nearly unchanged save for the addition of mentions of Jesus. The tree, the lights, the gift giving, the supernatural characters like Santa and Elves visiting at night to either leave presents or perpetrate mischief depending on behavior - that's all 100% the legacy of pre christian germanic paganism, and it survived nearly unaltered up to today
She only has so much time, but she doesn't show us the freakin' hardcore animated Disney version with Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer. Holy crap is that one messed-up. It's already dark enough, and then you get to the part where the Ghost _pushes him into the grave,_ and the coffin opens, as the literal actual fires of Hell burst out of it. WTF?!?
I'm really surprised that scene didn't freak me out as a child. I was actually more disturbed by Mickey laying the crutch on Tiny Tim's grave and the creepy gravediggers. "Tap it down tight, Charlie. That's good enough for the likes of him."
Darkness around Christmas reminds me of the tragedies that have happened to my family around this time. Too many deaths.
This is well written and I loved hearing about the comparison of Christmas and Halloween thank you for your time and your opinions I love watching your videos
Thank _you, Lady Jessica. I felt it prying at your Angels' line of visionary. I' should stand as grateful to tale.
Another creepy adaptation of a Christmas Carol is the 1971 short film by Richard Williams, it has perhaps some of the scariest takes on the Ghosts, they even include the wandering spirits and Ignorance and Want which don't normally appear in some adaptations
Jeanette Winterson's 'Christmas Days', is a short story collection chock full of Ghost Stories, meditations on grief and loss and still is packed full of festivity and joy- highly recommend if you can get your hands on a copy!
Love what you do. Keep it up. Merry Christmas!
Incidentally, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol after touring a Manchester Factory and corresponding with Frederich Engels (of Communist Manifesto fame). This blows the minds of readers today, lol. Lots of Christmas background to Tolkien too (as I'm sure you know, being a Hobbit!). "Yule" is celebrated at Beorn's House in The Hobbit, and the Fellowship setting out from Rivendell on December 25th.
I always thought Marley was a true friend. As a kid, I assumed Marley had advocated for Scrooge's intervention, not wanting the man he never admitted to considering a friend to suffer his fate.
Wassailling is another tradition associated with winter. Apparently, carol singing and a level of misrule during these events made for quite rowdy and sometimes even violent celebrations of winter.
The 1934 version of The March of the Wooden Soldiers is pretty scary, perhaps unintentionally.
I didn't grow up with Christmas, and sometimes I feel like I dodged a bullet.
Loving binging your content. Keep up!
Excellent! After 68 years, you’ve just given me permission to do as I please and not do as society predicts…. Thank you….
my favourite fact about the historical St Nicholas is that he punched someone in the face at an ecumenical council because he didn't like their theology #SantaGoals
Cheers, Jess - Merry Christmas & greetings from the UK 😊👍🏻
It's good to get the reminder that you can like certain aspects of the season without liking the connection to Christianity or capitalism. Many of these traditions are older than either, and embrasing those things is nothing to feel guilty about. Also after watching this since I want to write a book that's basically an autobiography with some fantacy elements incorporated the idea of using Krampus as inspiration for a monster to fight could totally work. How do I express nerves over an end of year job evaluation in a fantacy style to make it seem bigger? Put Krampus in there. Also it would allow for my character to be more nervous about performance review than Krampus, (hopefully) get to stay on and have that give her the confidence she needs to hold off Krampus.
Hey Jess! Here's a scary Christmas story, my parents post holiday arguments when those yuletide bills rolled in!
Now, while I don't agree with all you said in the video I appreciate and can relate to the sentiment regarding emotional expectations during this time of year.
By the way, I prefer "Scrooge" with Albert Finney as the best Christmas Carol adaption.
Anyway, I liked the video, though I usually just watch your Tolkien videos, this one was very nice.
Please take care, be safe and happy holidays. Thank you.
I will still watch, again, the 1951 Alistair Sim version.
I personally love the yule cat story. It's an icelandic tale about a big cat that eats children and people if they don't give each other clothes for winter. Don't get me wrong despite that I like halloween I like a "jolly" christmas too I'm not even american or icelandic, so halloween or the story I told you don't even belong in my culture but I don't care. There's something about these "scary stories" at christmas time that are so nice =) I also feel like they are overlooked.
Krampus lnfluanced Dr. Susses 😢the Grinch *. On other hand Krampus and Saint Nick ( whose actually a Turkish Saint from Myra , both opposes with one another like good cop and bad cop . Yuletide is more darker then it seems. 😊
Favorite Christmas memory:
When my daughter was 4 we were in pet smart and saw the Santa Claus they hire to take pictures with pets (mostly dogs). She ran over to tell him what a friend wanted, and then another friend. Before she could name a third friend Santa rudely interrupted: “What would you like for Christmas?”
“Santa is for kids whose families don’t buy them gifts!”
Santa’s mouth dropped open in shocked disbelief that a child who believed in him didn’t want anything from him. I burst out laughing and he gave me a weird look. I said that’s a long list of names does he need to write it down as I pulled out a pen.
My daughter added information on about another half dozen friends in addition to the first two
Man I wish I had a video recording of the encounter
Incessantly the reason she didn’t want something from clause was because she was given a choice. One gift from a stranger or nine gifts from grandparents, godparents, aunts & uncles and parents all of whom love her. She picked the nine gifts from family.
First of all, thank you. Great message for Christmas. As to reading / watching “The Dark is Rising” by Susan Cooper. And the BBC dramatisation of “The Box of Delights”.
Great topic and deep dive.
Because the whole point of Christmas is about the solstice… you know the time before darkness and cold comes and kills everything
Good job. Thanks Jess!
Recently watched Klaus and Arthur xmas. Pretty good for newer flicks. Its a wonderful life, Scrooged, NL xmas vacation, shop around the corner, planes trains automobiles, earnest saves xmas, charlie brown xmas, white xmas. Watch them.
Out of curiosity, Jess, have you ever seen the stage musical Black Friday? I don't think it's performed anymore, but you can a filmed performance on the TH-cam channel Team Starkid (though you might want to watch another Team Starkid play on their called "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" first. The two plays have some of the same characters, but in different universes. I think you can still follow Black Friday if you see that one first, but there are a few jokes you might miss).
It's very clearly about consumerism and materialism - especially in America - and uses the start of the Christmas shopping season to make that point, so anyone looking for more dark Christmas stories might like it. At the same time, it’s not devoid of sentiment or sympathy for people who are unhappy during Christmas. And think getting stuff will make them feel better.