15 Best Scary Christmas Movies

Love Halloween but want to be festive?

Just because it’s Christmas, it doesn’t mean you can’t get your horror movie fix. There are a host of Christmas movies with a horror twist that’ll scratch your itch.

In this article, I’ll reveal the 15 best scary Christmas movies you can watch. I’ll cover everything from ghosts and ghouls to evil Santa and Krampus.

Be sure to read each one; a few might shock you, especially near the end of the list.

If you’re not up for scary Christmas films, check out our list of the top regular Christmas movies this year.

Violent Night

First on the list is the 2022 action comedy movie.

While the movie isn’t intended to be “scary”, there’s plenty of blood, guts, and gore to make this movie a true Christmas horror.

When a group of mercenaries hijack a wealthy family’s estate, it’s up to Santa to save the day. Luckily for the family, Santa is highly adept at killing. I even saw him kill someone with a candy cane in this movie…

Think of it like a cross between John Wick and Home Alone. It’s brilliant, and you’ll love every moment of it.

Starring in this movie is David Harbour, known for his role in Stranger Things, but has also starred in Q-Force, Black Widow, Star Wars: Visions, Extraction, Past My Bedtime, and No Sudden Move.

Silent Night

“Silent nighttttt, Holllly night…”, sorry, you know the song. Well, this movie is nothing to do with the popular Christmas carol.

Simon, Nell, and their son Art prepare to host their family and friends for what seems to be the perfect festive gathering.

However, while there may be laughter and joy in the household, there’s something incredibly wrong. The world around them is ending, and no amount of mulled wine will make humanity’s destruction go away.

Will they survive the apocalypse?

This movie stars Keira Knightley, Lily-Rose Depp, Roman Griffin Davis, Matthew Goode, Annabell Wallis, and Lucy Punch.

Black Christmas

When you think of Christmas, the last colour you think of is black, right? Well, this movie turns the festivities into one of the most gruesome slasher movies.

As the winter break begins, a group of young sorority sisters begin receiving anonymous phone calls. At the start, the girls thought it was funny and played along with the caller. However, things take a turn for the worse when the caller becomes threatening.

Soon after, one of the girls goes missing, and another is murdered, leaving them to suspect there’s a serial killer on the loose.

It’s the perfect movie to watch to get your spook on during Christmas.

This movie stars Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Keir Dullea, and Lynne Griffin.

Better Watch Out

Babysitter Ashley travels to the Lerner’s home to care for their 12-year-old son Luke during the Christmas period. But she soon finds herself defending the boy when unwanted intruders arrive.

This movie is a brilliant psychological horror set during the Christmas period. It’ll have you hiding behind your pillows while your Christmas lights shine away.

Better Watch Out stars Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Dacre Montgomery, Patrick Warburton, and Virginia Madsen.

Mercy Christmas

Meeting the perfect woman around the festive period sounds like something from a fairy tale. However, when Michael Briskett meets the girl of his dreams, she invites him to her family’s home for the holiday celebrations.

But, Michael’s dreams are soon shattered when he discovers that he will be the main course on Christmas day.

Will Michael manage to escape this sticky situation, or will he end up tied up and stuffed on the table?

The Film Stage said, “Mercy Christmas won’t be for everyone, but it’s difficult to deny its entertainment value.”

This movie stars Cole Gleason, Steven Hubbell, Casey O’Keefe, Gwen Van Dam, and Whitney Nielsen.

Krampus

During this American horror movie, you’ll have both your festive and horror needs filled.

Max is sick and tired of constantly quarrelling with his family members, especially around Christmas.

He writes a letter to Santa but is mocked by his older cousin for still believing in the jolly red present bringer. Max lashes out at his family for mocking him and declares that he hates them all.

Later that evening, Max accidentally summons a Christmas demon known as Krampus, who goes on a killing spree around town, punishing Max’s family.

The movie is as gory as it is creepy. If you want to watch a scary movie before Christmas, this is the one for you.

It stars Michael Dougherty, Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, and Stefania LaVie Owen.

A Christmas Horror Story

This 2015 Christmas anthology is a horror movie with plenty of twists and turns.

A festive radio host tells several interwoven stories that take place on the night of Christmas Eve.

In this movie, you’ll see a spirit terrorising a family, Santa slaying evil, and a student’s Christmas becoming a nightmare. Everything you need for the perfect festive film.

Starring in this anthology is the legendary William Shatner (Star Trek), George Buza (X-Men: Mutant Academy 2), Zoe De Grand Maison (Riverdale), and Rob Archer (V-Wars).

The Children

The Children is one of the eeriest Christmas movies you’ll watch.

To be honest, I find any scary movie with children in creepy; I’m not sure why but it’s probably from watching Children Of The Corn at a young age… that stuck with me for years.

In this movie, what should be a relaxing Christmas vacation quickly turns into a nightmarish fight for survival as all of the children begin to turn against their parents.

The Children will give you a creepy festive movie to sink your teeth into.

Starring in this 2008 horror is Stephen Campbell, Rachel Shelley, Eva Birthistle, Jeremy Sheffield, and Hannah Tointon.

The Gingerdead Man

OK, I know what you’re thinking… this is one of those silly movies like “Sharknado,” and you’d be right. But it’s a pretty fun Christmas horror movie if you take it for what it is.

When a witch resurrects her serial killer son in the form of a giant gingerbread man, he is hell-bent on hunting down the girl who’d had him executed.

Sure, the movie is a little daft, but it’s worth the watch as it’s a great festive slasher to give you a scare.

This film stars Gary Busey, Robin Sydney, Ryan Locke, Larry Cedar, and Alexia Aleman.

Dead End

Set during the lead-up to Christmas, a family is travelling to a Christmas Eve gathering and decides to take a shortcut down a creepy wooded road.

As you know from any other horror movie, this was their first mistake… shortcuts never work out.

After nearly crashing, the family pick up a ghostly hitchhiker and her child. But, things begin to take a turn for the worst when a series of seemingly connected “accidents” start picking them off one by one.

Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Alexandra Holden, and Amber Smith are starring in this creepy roadside Christmas movie.

Jack Frost (1997)

WARNING: This is NOT the 1998 family movie of the same name starring Michael Keaton, don’t make the mistake of putting this on for your children.

Jack Frost is a black comedy slasher movie set at Christmas. It follows a notorious serial killer “Jack Frost” who has an accident on the way to his execution.

During the accident, he’s transformed into a mutant killer snowman who racks up a large body count in the small town nearby.

Only Sheriff Sam Tiler, the man responsible for Jack’s first capture, can save the day.

Shannon Elizabeth, Scott MacDonald, Eileen Seeley, and Christopher Allport are starring in this chilling festive film.

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

This 1984 horror movie classic is an absolute GOREFEST.

Young Billy is traumatised after watching his parents’ murder on Christmas Eve. He’s placed into an orphanage run by nuns, where he is regularly abused.

As he ages, Billy develops some psychological issues. When he lands a job working in a local shopping mall as Santa, he snaps and goes on a killing spree.

When the movie was released, its marketing campaign caused great controversy as many parent groups thought it was advertising Santa as a killer.

Screen Rant said, “Most of the objections toward the film were based solely on the marketing campaign, which featured a man in a Santa suit going down a chimney with a bloody axe.”

This controversial movie stars Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, and Britt Leach.

Gremlins

You’ve seen Gremlins, right? If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. It’s a classic 80s movie which often brings up the debate about whether or not it’s a Christmas movie…

Well, I’m going to say Gremlins is as much a Christmas movie as Die Hard, aka it is a Christmas movie.

Gremlins follows Billy, whose father bought him a mysterious pet from China. However, this pet comes with three specific instructions; you guessed it, Billy doesn’t follow them.

His failure to stick to the rules releases a horde of monsters, and only Billy, with his new pet “Gizmo”, can save the day.

Oh, and this movie’s set at Christmas, so yeah, it is a Christmas movie.

The film stars Zach Galligan, Corey Feldman, Phoebe Cates, and Jonathan Banks.

The Advent Calendar

Eva, a paraplegic woman, is given a mysterious advent calendar on her birthday. However, instead of the small treats that you’d traditionally get, each “gift” is scarier and bloodier by the day.

Now it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why I’ve placed this movie on a “Scary Christmas” movie list; everyone loves advent calendars, no matter how old you are.

But I’m not sure I’d be a fan of the one Eva received.

This festive-themed horror stars Eugenie Derouand, Honorine Magnier, Clement Olivieri, and Janis Abrikh.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Whether it’s Christmas or Halloween, this movie is suitable for both.

Jack Skellington, from Halloween Town, discovers a magical set of doors which lead to various lands. When he enters Christmas Town, he’s enchanted by the town’s wonders and becomes obsessed with Christmas.

His obsession with Christmas leads to him kidnapping Santa Claus, so he can bring him back to Halloween Town to show everybody.

However, things don’t go to plan, and certain villains emerge, looking to take over all of the towns that the doors lead to.

This animated movie stars Danny Elfman, Catherine O’Hara, Chris Sarandon, Paul Reubens, and Ken Page.