Christmas Evil

On Christmas Eve 1947 in suburban New Jersey, a man dressed as Santa climbs down the Stadling chimney and is fed milk and cookies. He leaves presents under the tree for Harry and his brother. Later, young Harry wakes to noises and witnesses his mother being groped by the Santa figure, a moment that drives him to cut his hand on a shard from a shattered snow globe.

The trauma from that night never leaves him. He retreats to the attic and internalizes the fantasy of being Santa, later turning it into a ritual by sleeping in the costume and decorating his apartment. As he grows older, he begins spying on neighborhood children to judge their behavior.

Thirty-three years later, Harry works in a low-level position at the Jolly Dreams toy factory, where colleagues mock him as a schmuck. He continues to live the Santa fantasy, sleeping in a costume and filling his apartment with Christmas décor, and he spends nights spying on neighborhood children to record their behavior.

Coworker Frank asks him to cover a shift so he can be with his family. On his way home, Harry spots Frank drinking with friends, which distresses him and leads him to break one of his dollhouse figures in anger. This moment marks a turn toward more violent outbursts.

The following day, he cancels Thanksgiving dinner with his brother Phil and his family. Phil resents Harry’s odd behavior, while his wife Jackie remains more sympathetic.

At the company Christmas party, Mr. Wiseman announces a corporate toy donation plan that requires production increases and employee contributions. Harry suspects that Wiseman and the new training executive George Grosch don’t actually care about the children. He leaves the party disgusted, already planning sabotage.

That night, he fills bags with toys stolen from the factory and bags with dirt. The act signals his intent to derail the cynical charity scheme and marks his growing disconnect from reality.

On Christmas Eve, while applying a Santa beard, Harry falls into a fugue state and believes he truly is Santa. Wearing the suit, he begins delivering toys to his nephews and to the hospital, and leaves dirt for a 'bad boy' named Moss Garcia. Hospital staff greet him cheerfully as he continues his rounds.

On the street after Midnight Mass, a group of teenagers taunt him and he brutally murders them with a toy soldier and a hatchet. The violence underscores his slide into irredeemable rage.

Harry is welcomed at a neighborhood Christmas party, where locals treat him as harmless. He uses the occasion to uplift the mood and remind the children that they must be good to receive gifts.

He breaks into Frank’s home and kills him with his sack of gifts and a Christmas tree star. He leaves toys behind for Frank’s kids, illustrating his twisted sense of justice.

On Christmas morning, Harry returns to Jolly Dreams and activates the assembly lines, destroying all toys because he deems them subpar. The plant descends into chaos as his ritual ends up sabotaging production.

His van gets stuck in the snow on a festively lit street, and a torch-bearing mob forms to pursue him. The chase deepens his delusions as the neighborhood closes in.

Harry drives to Phil’s house, where Phil realizes the truth about the Santa killer. A struggle ensues, Phil incapacitates him, and the mob forces the van off a bridge, sending it plunging toward the Moon as the story ends.