There’s something insidious about the holiday season. Often times you’re trapped in a remote location seized by inclement weather, with a group of people you don’t really want to be stuck with, isolated from your usual routine. To make matters worse, there’s supposedly a corpulent bearded man who is monitoring your every action, rendering judgement on your moral fiber based on stringent, archaic guidelines. So why are all the Christmas movies we see idolized filled with relentless cheer, yuletide greetings, and goodwill towards men? What about the scarier side of the holidays?

Well, on December 4, Universal and Legendary are looking to change that with Michael Dougherty’s new horror-comedy Krampus, which finds Santa’s malevolent counterpart wreaking havoc on one delightfully dysfunctional family. In honor of the film’s release, today on The Dan Cave we’re counting down 9 of the scariest Christmas movies to watch this holiday season. Whether you long for the frenetic frights of Gremlins or you’re in the mood for a sinister snowman in Jack Frost, we’ve got something for you. So kick back, turn off the lights, and make sure the chimney flue is closed — you never know who’s going to come down the ol’ smokestack — because you’ve got some major movie marathoning to do.

What are your favorite holiday horror movies? Share your picks in the comments below!

Looking for something nifty this holiday season? Why not pick up a The Dan Cave t-shirt or a copy of my new Star Wars book? Otherwise, we have you covered with a variety of gift guides for every type of nerd in your life.

• The Movie Lover: everything from Studio Ghibli to Monty Python and beyond.
• The Music Nerd: Death Star speakers, Foo Fighters Christmas sweaters, and much more.
• The Gamer Geek: Limited edition PS4s, elite gaming headphones, and more.
• The Science Nerd: Neil deGrasse Tyson tees, miniature drones, and other science-y delights.
• The Comic Collector: The Sandman, The Walking Dead, The Sculptor, oh my!
• The TV Obsessive: Whovian cardigans, Iron Throne replicas, and box sets galore!
• The Star Wars Superfan: Everything you could want from the galaxy far, far away.

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist, and the author of books about Avengers and Star Wars. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).