Creepy Things You Never Saw In Classic Christmas Movies

#1 RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964)

This one probably has the biggest creep factor, and not just because of the gruesome revenge dentistry scene in which Hermey extracts the passed-out Bumble's teeth, although that would probably be enough. For starters, Rudolph's dad, Donner, responds to his son's birth defect (that very shiny nose) by encouraging him to cover it up and lie about it to fit in. Great message, dad. This obviously backfires in Rudolph's face and sets in motion the entire story, which is one of self-imposed exile and mortal danger. You know, Christmas-y stuff. It also teaches kids about hostile workplaces like the one fostered by the head elf who berates and taunts Hermey in front of everyone for his admittedly weird dream of becoming a dentist. Just fun, light holiday themes all around here. And as if all of that wasn't enough, remember the Bumble we mentioned? Well, after his horrifying oral injury, they throw him off a cliff, along with the story's hero, Yukon Cornelius, who returns at the end with the now docile Bumble, who's presumably been tortured into being some kind of zombie pet. Are we entirely sure they weren't writing a Halloween movie and just missed the deadline by a few months?

#2 FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (1969)

This wonderful tale starts when a seemingly drunk, terrible magician, Professor Hinkle, spectacularly fails during a magic show that the children's teacher inexplicably hired him to perform on the day before Christmas. There are a million questions about that, but what's truly creepy in this movie is how the whole story hinges on the fact that these kids stole this man's magic hat. Yes, we're aware that he had given up and was going to throw the hat away, but he never got the chance, because his backstabbing, red-eyed rabbit took off, leaving Hinkle to get trampled by the children as they ran outside. As he runs after them to fetch his rabbit and hat, that's when he sees Frosty come to life, and Hinkle realizes the potential of hiskey word hismagical hat. The crime is so obvious that the narrator steps in to try to convince the audience otherwise, but we don't buy it. Is a man not entitled to change his mind? Sure, Hinkle goes on to literally murder Frosty in front of Karen, but how would you feel if someone stole a winning lottery ticket out your hand at the exact moment you realized you hit the jackpot?

#3 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

Suicide, sudden death by stroke, housing projectsthey're all here for this joyful holiday tale!

But what's really creepy is the method that George Bailey's guardian angel uses to change George's mind about killing himself. (Again, Merry Christmas!) He pretends to drown, forcing George to jump in and save him, just as he had to do as a boy when his brother, Harry, fell through a frozen lake. This is the accident that costs George the hearing in one of his ears, and arguably started the chain of events that trapped him in Bedford Falls for his entire life. We don't even have to get into how Harry is a total jerk, whose wealthy father-in-law, college education, and hero military status all probably could have done something to help the George's business, but don't. Apparently having a wonderful life is all about not realizing it until you're at your absolute breaking point, upon which holy intervention is your only hope. That's a clear message you want to send to anyone struggling with hopeless despair.

#4 MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)

Most of this movie is so completely ridiculous, you have to just laugh at the silliness of it all. A real world trial over the true identity of Santa Claus? Come on. But there is one momentwhen Kris Kringle actually beats the Macy's personnel counselor in the head with his canethat's shocking not only because of the inappropriate violence, but also because it takes place in front of a group of kids. "Were you all good little boys and girls this year?" "Yes, Santa, we swear it, just please not in the face!" And wait, what kind of a department store is regularly psychoanalyzing its employees anyway? This movie is even weirder than we thought.

#5 HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! (1966)

We could point out the blatant canine abuse of poor little Max, the Grinch's dog who's mercilessly whipped and forced into doing the labor of a pack mule, or the fact that the Whos seem to be weird cat-people creatures who also have insect-like antennae. And is Cindy Lou Who an amputee? The imagery is all over the place, but the creepiest thing is how the story undermines its whole morality at the end. Think about it. What is the Grinch's grand gesture after executing his theft to make a statement against the materialist excess of the holiday? He rides into Whoville like a hero and gives it all back! He rewards them for not caring about material things by giving them back all of their material things. That's like a judge sentencing a pot dealer to a vacation in Amsterdam. We're not really sure the message got through there.

#6 A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965)

The whole symbol of the Christmas spirit in A Charlie Brown Christmas is Charlie's sad little tree. You know, the one that the other kids hate and mock until they dress it up with Snoopy's lights and ornaments? This, for some reason, makes Charlie Brown happy despite that fact that he was previously disgusted by the exact adornments when they were on Snoopy's doghouse, because they represented the commercialization of Christmas. Not to mention, the Viking and Egyptian use of evergreen boughs and palm branches to worship various gods predated the Christian use of the tree for thousands of years. So, when the kids could care less about Christmas until they make the tree beautiful with store-bought goods, they're basically engaging in pagan nature worship with a little capitalism tossed into the mix. Did we mention the whole special was commissioned and broadcast on behalf of the Coca-Cola Corporation? But that's not really relevant, because that's a company that's never made a dime off of selling Christmas, right?