Naughty List: Novella

THE NAUGHTY LIST

It started like any other Christmas...

The village of Oakhaven is picture-perfect in December 1993. Holly wreaths hang on every door, fairy lights twinkle in frosted windows, and the smell of cinnamon and roasting chestnuts fills the air. For nine-year-old Megan Turner, it should be the most magical time of year.

Then her mum brings down an old Christmas decoration from the loft—a vintage elf named Jingles, with a too-wide smile and glass eyes that seem to follow you across the room. It's just a harmless tradition, Mum says. A bit of festive fun to watch over them until Christmas morning.

But as the winter days darken, something shifts in their little cottage at the end of the lane. Mum grows distant, neighbours begin to disappear. And Megan can't shake the feeling that Jingles is always watching, always listening, keeping his list of who's been naughty and nice.

Because some Christmas traditions hide secrets that should have stayed buried in the attic.

From author of Whispers in the Woods Don Campbell, comes a visceral descent into festive horror that asks what happens when holiday cheer turns to nightmare and the thing meant to bring joy brings only terror?

"A creeping, insidious reality that will have you questioning everything you know" -Author Kirsty Williams
"The first horror book that ever made me cry!" -Rebecca Allen (Horrifically Well Read, Bled, and Said podcast)

Contains disturbing content. Not suitable for sensitive readers.