CNN —“Gremlins” turned a benign Christmas holiday into a snowy backdrop for cartoonish murders. Holiday horror films work for the same reason holiday tearjerkers do: There’s already an “emotional foundation” with holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, DuPée said. Holiday horror is especially taboo because so many of its tropes are sacred — innocent children in footie pajamas! “It can be exhausting to be constantly faced with scenes of happiness, togetherness and love,” said Alexandra West, an author of several books on horror films and co-host of the “Faculty of Horror” podcast. “Putting a horror spin on these holidays offers an antidote and, in some cases, a reprieve.”Olivia Hussey in "Black Christmas," 1974.

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