Three terrifying Christmas horror short stories intrinsically linked by one creepy Santa doll.
Most families have traditions they pass down through the generations. And marriages create new traditions, but they also include the spouse’s family. So for some, the in-laws, especially the mother-in-law, cause anxiety—as was the case for Maya’s Christmas Eve dinner. Gifts from the mother-in-law can be glorious or downright insulting. But, for Maya, it was both terrifying and devastating.
Usually, Santa evokes joy and excitement during the Holiday season. Not this time. Christmas Eve dinner for Maya, her husband, and the dreaded mother-in-law starts a horrific family tradition of paranoia and evil tendencies.
Where one sister, Maya, finds herself serving two life sentences in prison, another, Grace, is spending the rest of her life trying to make up for the evil doings of the other. But then, there’s Jillian, Grace’s daughter. What tradition will she uphold? Will she choose evil or redemption? Only Santa knows the truth—after all, he is a magical being, full of goodness and light. At least that’s what we’ve all been told.
“That’s Creepy, Santa – The Trilogy” by Julie Kusma
The great thing about books, is that you don’t have to be on the season they refer to in order to fully enjoy them, but this short collection will surely be of interest in every Christmas and Holiday Season, because we are talking about the Award-Winning Writer, Julie Kusma, a.k.a, THE “Queen of Horror” of the Writing Community on Twitter, so quality of high order is to expect.
There’s unrestrained brutality, blood and horror that reaches the point of the beautifully macabre and twisted when we read the scenes that Julie Kusma prepared for us, making us try to understand the reasons behind the plot, not minding at all if brutality and horror is all there is to the story, because we feel that, in our depths, it’s enjoyable, especially after that INCREDIBLE final plot twist. NICE!
A great thing about these stories is that they are connected in some way and the continuation of one story to the other gives a flow and adds layers to both the previous and the next story we’ll read, which is fantastic! There are so many details and Easter eggs that you will want to pay close attention after you realize what Julie Kusma did. Awesome stuff here.
Julie Kusma knows how to give stark personalities, disgusting, or very likable traits to the characters in play, and toy with our sense of bizarre. It’s delightful to see how easily a scene can turn from normal to creepy and from warm to frigid.
The three stories are stringed masterfully, and at the end, we get a piece of information that promises more stories like this, and things get more interesting.
We should have a full book about these stories because there are so many secrets and revelations. This collection of short-stories is very nice. Loved it!
Book Score: 8.7/10
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Julie Kusma, Author 