Here we are, just eleven days out from the dreaded C-word. Whether or not you observe, I am sure you are tearing your hair out in anticipation. I stopped into my barber’s for a haircut yesterday and no sooner was I in the door than we were mobbed by mummers, about eight or ten of them in their traditional ragtag regalia and with sacks over their heads and ugly sticks, presumably on their way to the annual parade. (One creative soul had a white lampshade over his head with eyes drawn on the front.) Not a little bit terrifying, I have to tell you, especially in such a small space!

I will next be haunting your inbox in January, so in the spirit of the season I will leave you with our first annual Sunday Scaries Naughty List of nasty treats to inflict on your poorly behaved loved ones or to enjoy/endure yourself.

Some great and terrible books to read

Hey You Assholes by Kyle Seibel - an exceptional short story collection by a young master of the form.

The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee - An overwhelmed Asian single mother receives unexpected assistance from a supernatural source connected to generations of ancestral trauma in this bold, darkly witty horror-inflected chiller.

One of Us by Dan Chaon - Shades of The Night of the Hunter and Geek Love in this feisty, creepy new novel about telepathic twins, on the run from their murderous uncle, who take shelter in a bizarre traveling carnival.

Little Horn by Gemma Files - Supremely disquieting short stories and novelettes from Canada’s reigning queen of horror, including sixteen illustrations by the author.

The Deviant Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou - A two-part psychological thriller that puts the ‘graphic’ in graphic novel. A queer couple become enmeshed in the gruesome crimes of a Santa Claus suit-wearing child-killer (or killers?) who, fifty years after the original murders, appears to have returned.

The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo - A good old-fashioned deliciously nasty blood-and-thunder Gothic tale of a dysfunctional Filipino family reuniting after their patriarch’s passing only to have the horrors of their family’s role in their country’s repressive regime visited upon them in the form of an ancestral curse.

And still to come…

Persona by Aoife Josie Clements - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is already one of the best books of 2026. A trans woman discovers pornography of herself she has no memory of making, only to find herself led to an unimaginably deeper evil.

The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad - The debut collection by one of our best short fiction writers, transcending and transforming various genres as she dances through eras of history with aplomb.

Some grim and gorgeous things to watch

It Ends (2025) by Alexander Ullom - Four college friends in a car trapped on an endless forest road. Letterboxd debuted its video store by releasing one of the best horror films of 2025 in the last few weeks of the year.

The Occupant of the Room (2025) by Kier-La Janisse - Based on an Algernon Blackwood short story. A schoolteacher takes a room in an overbooked inn in the Alps where the current occupant has gone missing. Hijinks ensue. The occupant’s fate is no great surprise but the journey toward the final destination is most rewarding. Features a career-best performance by an almost unrecognizable Don McKellar.

Blood and Black Lace (1964) by Mario Bava - One of my favourite Giallos. A fashion model’s tell-all diary goes missing after she is murdered, sending an already seething collection of characters into absolute turmoil. The plot as always is nonsense and very much beside the point but the aesthetic is everything. All your Christmas light colours are represented here to lurid effect.

The Yellow Night by Ramon Porto Mota - An anticipatory echo of It Ends above, a group of friends celebrate the end of high school by traveling by boat to a Brazilian island where one of their number has an uncle. But why is the island nearly deserted, why is it so dark, and why is everything so strange and disorienting? Is the answer in their fractured memories, or is it in what lies ahead for them?

Wake Up Dead Man (2025) by Rian Johnson - Joining the Josh O’Connor fan club immediately. A thoroughly engaging Gothic-inflected whodunit with our favourite modern detective Benoit Blanc leading the charge. I could watch one of these films every year for the rest of my life.

Black Christmas (1974) by Bob Clark - I will not rest until we have a Criterion 4K. As close to perfect as any horror film could hope to be: a captivating group of characters, a capable cast including some legends-in-the-making, a sharp snappy script with many well-earned laughs, shrewd use of the holiday season and the waves of emotions that it provokes, shocking bursts of violence, a truly terrifying killer—and an overwhelming feeling of dread as, unlike everyone else, we know from the very first moments exactly where he is. If you’ve never seen it, ‘tis the season!

My holiday gifts to you

Old Father Christmas (1993) by Richard Sharples - For fans of Robin Redbreast and Penda’s Fen, a haunting original modern opera based on a story by Juliana Horatia Ewing (itself based on a Christmas Mumming play) that explores the Pagan roots of Santa Claus. “Before his smart, consumer-friendly image, he was a wood god - wild and unpredictable. The jolly old soul we are so used to is in fact a character of chaos, struggling with his primal instincts.”

Ommadawn Pt. 2 / On Horseback by Mike Oldfield - You know him best as the composer of Tubular Bells, employed by William Friedkin as the theme for The Exorcist, but you may not know this wondrous seventeen-minute confection combining traditional and now-vintage electronic instruments to take us on an expansive fantastical journey through English folk music, only to segue into an enchanting little tune about the simple joys in life. I heard this many decades ago in the wee hours of the New Year in 1985 (Thank you CFNY!) and it still brings tears to my eyes. This lost version, a 1975 demo, is also a treat.

Anoushka the Christmas Spider by David Demchuk - a delightfully dark retelling of the Ukrainian folktale, not at all suitable for children. Enjoy!

That’s it till the New Year—thank you everyone, much love to you and yours, and till we meet again always remember: “Hey and away we go, through the grass, across the snow! Big round beastie, big round face, I’d rather be with you than flying through space!”