This Week in Horror History is your winter horror watchlist, breaking down Christmas horror movies, winter thrillers, and classic ghost stories for the week of November 26–December 2. In this episode of the Weekly Spooky horror podcast, host Henrique Couto revisits Misery (1990), Scrooge / A Christmas Carol (1951), Violent Night (2022), deep-cut sequel The Descent Part 2 (2009), and cult anthology Deadtime Stories (1986) to help you build the perfect cold-weather horror marathon.

We start in the snow with Misery (1990), Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s cabin-fever nightmare. A bestselling author crashes in a blizzard and wakes up trapped with his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, whose devotion turns surgical. It’s tense, wintry, and weirdly cozy in that “stuck inside with the storm howling outside” way—perfect for the dark days after Thanksgiving.
How to watch (U.S.): You can see it for free on Tubi, or rent it wherever you like to do that sort of thing.

Then we slide straight into holiday hauntings with Scrooge / A Christmas Carol (1951), one of the most iconic Christmas ghost stories ever filmed. Alastair Sim’s Ebenezer Scrooge is dragged through past, present, and a terrifying future by rattling chains, graveyards, and skeletal specters. It’s gothic, eerie, and still strangely comforting—a reminder that Christmas horror began with moral dread and vengeful spirits long before killer Santas.
How to watch (U.S.): You can watch it free on Tubi, on Plex, or wherever you rent your movies.

From there we jump to modern holiday carnage with Violent Night (2022), where Santa picks up a sledgehammer and goes to war with mercenaries during a Christmas Eve hostage situation. It’s loud, cathartic, funny, and surprisingly sweet at its core—ideal Black Friday recovery viewing when you want bloody Christmas action, tinsel, and a very bad night for the naughty list.
How to watch (U.S.): It’s streaming on Peacock, or you can snag it anywhere you rent digital movies.

The Deep Cut Spotlight crawls underground with The Descent Part 2 (2009), the much-maligned cave sequel that deserves another look. Sarah is dragged out of the caves amnesiac and traumatized, only to be pressured into leading a rescue team back into the darkness. What follows is a brutal, grim follow-up packed with creatures that feel a little too plausible—perfect “cozy nightmare fuel” as you settle into your turkey coma and wonder what’s lurking just beyond your flashlight beam.
How to watch (U.S.): It’s free to watch on Plex, or rentable wherever you normally pick up digital horror movies.

To cap the episode, Henrique recommends Deadtime Stories (1986), a trashy, off-the-wall horror anthology movie that leans into fairy-tale weirdness and late-night TV vibes. It feels tailor-made for cold-weather sleepovers: campy, bizarre, and just dangerous enough to feel like you shouldn’t be watching it right before bed.
How to watch (U.S.): You can watch it free on TubiTV, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Fandango at Home Free, and Plex, or with a subscription on Amazon Prime Video and Sling TV.

Along the way, we roll through the Birthday Roll, raising a drumstick to horror favorites like Peter Facinelli, Joe Dante, and Nestor Carbonell, and talk about how Christmas horror has evolved—from the moral reckoning of Scrooge to Santa as bruised action hero and the creeping dread of being trapped, whether you’re snowed in or sealed underground. If you’re hunting for winter horror movies and Christmas horror classics to plug into your December calendar, this week’s horror history has you covered.

This episode is sponsored by Cozy Earth...