The holidays and horror go hand in hand quite well. This is something one may not consider at first as this time of year is typically meant to be a celebration of merriment and good tidings. However, there is an undercurrent of sinisterness that can be found when looking at this holiday and this can also be found in many of the figures associated with the holiday. True, the first one that people think of during this time of year is Santa Claus but there are other figures such as Krampus and this is where Archie Horror comes in last year, Archie Horror put out a book focusing on holiday horror. The title is an anthology with two stories that focus on holiday creatures and a third that reimagines two classic Archie Holiday characters into more sinister beings. It’s interesting as there is an argument that good horror can usually hope somewhere within it and yet these stories don’t contain much hope. The first one maybe as it’s more of a monster fight of Werewolf Jughead versus Krampus and the other two involve two characters getting their comeuppance for being horrible people. Well okay, the second one is more of a revenge story and I will go into detail about this as I explore the stories below.
Cover
The cover is pretty fun as it features Jughead in his lycanthrope form taking on the Krampus in front of a Christmas tree and this is true to the first story featured in the story as it is set in the world of Jughead: The Hunger. This does a great job of showing you what you can expect from this tile. Holiday fun with monsters.
Stories
Now unlike the previous Archie Horror anthology I looked at for Halloween, there is no wraparound segment for this book. It just drops you straight into the stories and that works fine for the most. Our first story. ‘Twas The Night Before Hunger opens with Betty and Archie coming to Jughead as they explain that they believe they saw Krampus Jughead says that he isn’t interested and this shocks Betty at first. Okay, this is where I gotta bring up an issue I have with Hunger’s take on Betty. Betty is typically the All-American nice girl next door but Jughead: The Hunger turned into a Buffy-esque monster hunter and dialed the badass bitchiness to eleven. It’s so jarring and it’s played for laughs compared to Archie being portrayed as wimpy but I never found it funny but rather annoying. This is where we learn that Jughead has a Krampus story and basically, Krampus came into the Jones’s house and Jughead saw him as he went for a midnight snack he werewolves out and fights and then eats Krampus.
This is the most fun and in an odd sense the lightest of the three stories included in this anthology. They get darker as the comic continues and this is the only one where you see a win. Okay, that’s sort of a lie as the next story, Cat Got Your Tounge does have a kind of win. Now this story includes a creature I was unfamiliar known as the Yule Cat.
This creature comes from Icelandic folklore and its deal is to eat children who didn’t receive new clothing on Christmas day. So, the horrific aspect is already there and this is where the story comes in as we follow a character named Shelia Wu who is doing her best to just and try and fit in. We see this with a patchwork coat that she made herself that garners the ire of the teens as Veronica mocks it.
Shelia waits a year and tries again making patchwork clothing for the teens which just leads to more ire as Cheryl burns the clothes. While it’s true that Ronnie and Cheryl can be big jerks, the asshole meter is dialed up to eleven. This is something that will also be explored in the final story starring Reggie but there it worked a bit better and in a way felt more cathartic. Cheryl goes to burn the coat that Shelia is wearing . Well, it does come with the territory as that is what the Yule Cat does. This leads to Ronnie leading the townspeople in a Gaston-esque moment as she quotes The Mob Song but things don’t exactly go her way as Yule Cat attacks Ronnie and she ends up as part of Shelia’s coat as something to wear. Yikes.
This was an interestign read and I feel as though this is a good primer for what the Yule Cat is and can lead people to looking more into what the creature is actually like. The last story in this antholgoy does what Archie Horror has built itself upon taking classic characters from the Archie Comics stable and re-imaging them as horror creatures. And as I said this is one where the attacks feel catharic as we follow Reggie as he uses a girl for a date that unbeknownst to him is a sugarplum fairy and he knows who the two are and is scared and Sugar Plum decides to have some fun and punish Reggie as he selfishly used Christmas cheer for himself and after seeing how he has mistreated other women. She tears him apart and leaves him as a snowman.
My Final Thoughts
Overall this was a decent read with probably the Yule Cat story being my favorite. The combination of the holidays and horror is always fun and it delivers quite well in this comic. I always enjoy looking at Archie Horror and this was no exception. I hope that you’ve enjoyed my look at this comic.
About Author
Ouch. I feel kind of bad for Veronica and Reggie. Those are some E.C Comics level fates. Also thanks for informing me about the legend of the Yule Cat. It’s a creature I was unfamiliar with, but you’re right that there’s plenty of horror material to be derived from it.
Yeah, there’s a lot that can be done with the Yule Cat. The set up is already pretty horrific. And yeah Reggie and Ronnie’s fates are pretty gruesome. Though Reggie’s as I said felt cathartic as he was being punished for being such a womanizer.