Latest / True Horror Stories / 3 Christmas Horror Stories That Will Ruin Your Holiday Spirit

Transcript

3 Christmas Horror Stories That Will Ruin Your Holiday Spirit · True Horror Stories

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: That Christmas Eve was almost perfect. The night was cold,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: stars scattered across the sky, and the warmth of our
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: little house wrapped around us. As we put the last
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: few ornaments on the tree. My sisters and I had
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: begged Mom to keep us up just a little longer,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: just a few more minutes, to make Christmas last, to
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: stretch out that magical night.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: We'd pulled out all the tricks we knew.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: Just one more story, Mommy, please can we sing one
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: more carol?
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: She had laughed, indulging us. But finally, just like every year,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: she promised us Santa wouldn't come if we were awake,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: And up we went, reluctantly, but with a kind of
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: breathless anticipation of the morning. So up we climbed, leaving
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: her by the tree. I still remember her face, warm
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: with the soft light of knowing her children were happy.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Only it didn't stay that way. The scream was what
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: got me. It ripped right through the house, thick with fear.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: I didn't know it was my mother's voice right away.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: There's something in a true scream that doesn't sound human,
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: something that feels like it reaches out to grab you
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: in the dark and frees you where you stand. My
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: sisters and I stumbled out into the hallway, barely awake
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: and totally clueless. The house was still dark except for
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the weak glow of the Christmas lights from the living room.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: My youngest sister clutched my arm, her eyes wide and frantic.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: We all stayed still, paralyzed, listening to that awful silence
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: after a scream. But then a faint sound took over footsteps,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: a man's footsteps. He wasn't like a shadow. He was
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: more real than that. The closer he came, the clearer
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: his face was, even in the dark. And it wasn't
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: the face of someone we knew, not a neighbor, not
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: a family friend, not even a stranger you see in
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the street. Something was off, something that told me, told
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: all of us, that.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: He shouldn't be there. Ssh.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: He brought his index finger to his lips. That's when
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: it came to light the glimmering blade. He was holding
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: a knife. It's cold metal glinted even in the weak
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Christmas lights that danced along the walls. He didn't move
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: like a man who was lost or scared. He moved
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: with purpose, his eyes locked on us, not in a
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: way that was angry, or even rushed, just deliberate. My mother,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: who I noticed cornered behind the tree, screamed again. It
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: was a sound of pure terror, a sound that seemed
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: to come from her very soul. We wanted to run,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: but it was as if we were all glued to
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: the floor. I'd read about the fight or flight response,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: but I never knew about freeze.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: That's what it.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Felt like, like everything around us had stopped and we
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: were just stuck there, trapped in some horrifying nightmare we
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: couldn't wake up from. I heard a shuffle, a muffling sound,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: and my mother's voice rose in a high pitched whimper.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: I saw her then lying against the wall, clutching her stomach.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Her hands were red and sticky, blood so much of it.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: She tried to stand but couldn't. Her face twisted with pain, fear,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: and something else like she was begging us not to
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: be there, to go away, as if that would keep
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: us safe. He didn't stop, He just stood there, towering
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: over her. His chest heaved as he held the knife out.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: His breathing filled the room, almost rhythmic. It was the
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: only sound other than the faint buzz of the Christmas lights,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and then without a word, he lifted the knife again,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: so calm, like it was nothing, and brought it down hard.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: I don't remember the scream that came out of me.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I don't even know if it was real or just
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: in my head, but it was like something broke inside
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: of me, Like the scream was everything I was in
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: that moment, every terrified second stretched out as he lifted
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: the knife again and again. I could feel the warmth
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: of my sister's hand trembling against mine.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: She was sobbing, but it was silent.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: Her face was buried in my arm as her tiny
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: frame shook with fear. I wanted to cover her eyes,
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: but I couldn't move.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: I just couldn't.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: The knife kept coming down, each time of thought, each time,
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: another flash of blood. The way he moved it was
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: like he was possessed, like he wasn't even human. His
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: face held this expression one I can still see if
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: I close my eyes, blank, emotionless, like it was nothing
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: to him, just a task, something he was supposed to do.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: I realized then that he'd come for her. It wasn't
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: a robbery, but a homicide. He looked up once, finally,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: his eyes finding us through the dark, and for a moment,
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: his lips curved, not a smile, not quite, but close,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: like he knew he'd won, like he knew this night.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: This Christmas was his. As I held my.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Sister tighter, the sound of sirens pierced through the air.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: Red and blue lights started flashing through the windows, cutting
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: into the room, throwing shadows across the walls, and he
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: stepped back, just once, just long enough for me to
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: see what he'd done. Mom was silent, still, her eyes open,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: but not seeing us anymore. The man was gone before
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: the police got there, vanishing into the cold Christmas night,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: leaving behind nothing but the echo of that awful scream,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the red stains across the floor, and the hollow space
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: that my mother used to fill. They never found him.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: The questions were left hanging, and we were left wondering.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: And every Christmas since, it's like she's there with us,
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: her face pale and her eyes wide, forever trapped in
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: that night. Only the lights feel dimmer, the laughter quieter,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: like even our happiest moments are haunted by her memory.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Christmas isn't the same, and it never will be. It
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: was December twenty second, twenty thirteen and Patricia Burns was
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: making turkey on Christmas Eve with her two daughters when
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: her ex, Clifford Burns, stopped by the house wearing a mask.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: He stabbed Patricia to death right in that kitchen. Unfortunately,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: her teenage daughters watched their mother meet a horrifying end.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Before calling nine to one one for help, Clifford burn
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: gave reason that he just wanted to see his daughters.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: After the rocky marriage with Patricia Burns, forty six, was
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: charged with second degree murder. He accepted a plea deal
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: and was sentenced to twenty three years to life behind
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: bars being an orphan. Every year, my friend Julia's family
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: invited me to their Christmas dinner. I remember the garland
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: wrapped around their front door and the scent of pine
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: and cinnamons spilling out as I walked in. The whole
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: family of ten was there, kids and adults, But this
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: year the energy was off.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: Julia's eyes kept darting toward the door.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: Are you okay.
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: Waiting for someone?
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: Julius sighed, just worried Brent might show up.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Brent was her ex husband, a loose cannon. They married
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: when they were eighteen and divorced just five years later.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: He was abusive, reckless, and everyone but Julius saw it
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: coming from a mile away. They'd been going through a
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: nasty divorce and he'd lost custody of their son, Peter
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: just weeks before. I'd only met him a few times,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: but that was enough to feel his intensity. Brent had
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: this presence about him, something dark.
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: I told him he couldn't see Peter until after the holidays,
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: but he's not taken no very well. He got a
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: restraining order. Don't worry, you're with family.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: She managed a weak smile, but I could see the
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: worry on her face. Later, while we were gathered around
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: the tree, there was a knock at the door. Julia's
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: face went pale, and the laughter in the room died instantly.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: I got up to answer it, expecting to brush off
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: some random visitor, but as I opened the door, my
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: breath caught.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: It was Brent, dressed as Santa Claus.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: He had the red suit, the hat, and even a
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: fake white beard that only half covered his face. But
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: it wasn't a joyful Santa standing there. His eyes were cold, focused.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: He clutched a massive bulging sack over a shoulder. Frent,
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: You're not allowed to be here. He pushed me aside
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: and barged in. Julie aghast, clutching Peter close to her.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: I just came to bring gifts for my son. It's Christmas.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: After all, the room was quiet. You need to leave, Brent,
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: his eyes narrowed. I came all this way like measue
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: my son. Just for a minute. A tense silence filled
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: the room. I could feel the unease building as Brent's
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: gaze drifted to each of us. Then he reached into
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: the sack and pulled out something long and metallic, wrapped
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: and shimmering paper. He ripped it open, revealing a shotgun.
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: What the hell?
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Before I could even process it, he raised the gun
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: and pointing it around the room as he spoke, his
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: voice eerily calm. You all turned on me. You took
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: everything I want my family back. The room erupted into chaos.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Julius screamed, pulling Peter behind her as people scrambled for cover.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: I froze, feeling a numb sort of horror wash over
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: me as Brent started firing shots. I jumped behind the couch,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: grabbing Julia's hand and pulling her along as she clutched Peter,
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Brent shot her dad twice in the chest, then changed
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: her mom into the kitchen, where he ended her. I
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: could hear him talking almost to himself, rambling about betrayal,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: about everything he'd lost. His voice was a blend of
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: bitterness and raw fury, and had sent chills down my spine.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: They took away my everything? Why everything? Why everything?
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: Somehow we managed to crawl toward the back hallway, and
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Julia and I ushered Peter into a closet. I handed
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: her my phone, whispering that she should call the police
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: while I tried to draw Brent away. I made my
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: way to the front door, hoping he'd seen me from
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: the kitchen and follow I glimpsed the destruction behind, the
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: shattered decorations, the spilled drinks, the smear of blood on
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: the floor.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Brent shouted from the kitchen.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: You're not trying to leave the party early, are you, Alissa.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: I bolted, but he shot at me. He hit my
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: leg and I went down. That was the most afraid
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: I'd been as I desperately crawled to the door while
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: he walked up to me, ready with his gun. I
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: saw Julia's brother and uncle lying in blood nearby, and
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: I knew that.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: My fate would be the same.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: But just as he was about to shoot, Julia jumped
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: out of nowhere. She wrestled him and yelled at me
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: to leave. I got up on one leg and hopped out,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: rushing to the neighbors for help, who were already out.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: That's when we all heard two more shots go off.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: The police cars arrived quickly, and they barged in, only
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: to find a bloody Santa with his son sitting in
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: his lap, a shotgun lying at his feet, meat beside
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: the body of Julia. Brent was taken away, sentenced to
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: a lifetime in prison. I took the custody of Julia's
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: son and lost his entire family to that madman. It's
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: a wound where he could never heal from. The story
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: is inspired from the Covena massacre, one of the most
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: shocking crimes in recent American history, which occurred on Christmas
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Eve two thousand and eight. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, recently divorced
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: and deeply resentful, arrived at his former in laws home
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: in Covina, California, dressed in a Santa Claus suit. The
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: family was celebrating their annual Christmas gathering with about twenty
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: five relatives and friends and attendants. Without warning, Pardo entered
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: the house and opened fire with semi automatic handguns, instantly
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: killing several guests. He then used a homemade flamethrower to
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: set the house ablaze, causing the residence to burn down completely.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: Nine people, including his ex wife, Sylvia Pardell, lost their
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: lives that night. After the rampage, Pardo drove to his
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: brother's house, where he later took his own life. A
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: massacre was motivated by a bitter divorce and Pardo's financial struggles.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: He had recently lost his job and was forced to
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: pay significant alimony to his ex wife. At sixty seven,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: I had learned to value every relationship I cultivated, especially
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: those that blossom from trust and affection. Patty Michelle White
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: seemed like an ordinary woman on the surface, but her
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: story was more complicated than it appeared. We met years
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: ago through my family at one of our many family parties.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: She was a friend of my nephew's and at first
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: I didn't think much of her. However, when she found
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: herself in a dark place in her life, facing financial difficulties,
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: I decided to open the door or of my home tour.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: I offered her a place to stay, something I thought
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: would help her find her way. I remember the first
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: day she arrived at my house. She had a small
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: suitcase and a shy smile, perhaps a little nervous.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Michelle, this means so much.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: She said.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: I looked into her eyes and she seemed like a
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: grateful woman. I could only pity her for what she
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: was going through. In time, we shared more than just
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: a space. We even had late night conversations, which were
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: honestly the best part of my days. We talked about life,
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: lost dreams, and the choices that it brought us to
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: where we were.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: Remember when we were young and thought we'd have it
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: all figured out by this age, I would joke, Yeah,
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: and here we are just trying to survive.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: I would reply, laughing at how ironic life can be.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: As the weeks went by, Patty became part of my routine.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I even let her use my car to run errands,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: and I shared my debit card pin with her so
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: she could buy food for both of us. It was
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: a mutual trust that bordered on blind faith, and she
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: often told me she thought of me as a mother.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: She made me feel useful, like I was reliving my
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: parental days. One afternoon, my twin brother Phil came to visit,
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: eager to meet Patty.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: It's always good to meet new friends.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: He told me as he sat in the kitchen sipping
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: a cup of coffee. Patty just walked in, smiling and
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: bringing freshly baked cookies. It was quite a pleasant afternoon.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: She talked about her problems with her ex, her financial situation,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: and how she was trying to get her job back,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: but she always seemed motivated.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: She's taken good care of ya. Huh, Phil said to
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Patty in a joking tone.
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: I am definitely stealing some of her love.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: She replied, laughing. I felt a warmth in my chest,
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: a joy at the connection we had made. As the
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: weeks turned into months and Christmas approached, we decorated the
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: house together, creating a festive atmosphere filled with laughter. The
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: thought of spending the holidays with someone I had come
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: to love like a daughter was exciting, and this year
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: the big annual party would be at my house. Little
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: did I know the gift my good friend Patty had
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: prepared for me.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: One day, while I was in my room.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I decided it would be a good idea to give
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: Patty a key to the house.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: This is just to make you feel more comfortable here.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: I said, as I handed it to her with a smile.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: She took it with trembling hands, her face reflecting a
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: mixture of happiness and something else I couldn't identify. I
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: even felt compassion, realizing that no one had ever treated
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: her this well. A few days later, as I was
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: getting ready to host some friends for dinner, I noticed
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: that Patty seemed a little more nervous than usual. I
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: saw her pacing the house, her gaze restless, as if
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: waiting for something.
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: Everything okay, Patty, I asked.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Her, and she smiled, but something in her eyes didn't
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: match her express On the evening of the sixth of December,
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Phil came to see me again. During dinner, he couldn't
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: stop laughing and telling stories from our childhood while Patty
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: served the food.
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: But only he and I were laughing.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: She looked quite serious and lost in thought, which worried
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: us both. Finally, after Phil left, we were alone in
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: the house, surrounded by twinkling lights and the smell of
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: freshly baked cookies. I felt comfortable and confident, as if
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: everything were fine. But what I didn't know was that
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: the night ahead was going to change everything.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: Patty, you scared me.
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: Patty.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: Michelle o Dowd, a sixty seven year old Florida resident,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: was found murdered on December two, twenty eleven. Her twin brother,
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Phil Axed, discovered her in her apartment after growing concerned
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: about her absence from work.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: The scene was horrifying.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: Michelle had been beaten, strangled, and her body was hidden
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: beneath Christmas gifts. The apartment was in disarray, with valuables missing,
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: including her debit card, which had been used at nearby
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: ATMs and captured.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: On security cameras.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: The main suspect, Patty Michelle White, a thirty seven year
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: old family friend, had lived with Michelle for a time
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: and had access to her home than cards. It was
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: revealed that White had returned to Florida from South Carolina
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: with the intent to rob her. Phil Axed described his
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: sister as a sweet and innocent person and expressed his anguish.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: Over her brutal murder.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: White confessed to the crime after being apprehended in South
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Carolina and was extradited to Florida, where she was sentenced
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: to forty five years in prison for murder and robbery.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: The investigation was led by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.