December 24, 2008 Here again is our annual round-up of the top Christmas horror movies. Ever since Charles Dickens combined hauntings with Christmas tidings in "A Christmas Carol," horror and the holidays have gone together like eggnog and brandy. Here's our little roundup of the Top 7 yule-time terror titles:

1. Black Christmas. No. Not "Black" as in "The Black Knight" or "The Black Godfather." A pretty bad title for an otherwise excellent Canadian horror film, one that clearly and greatly influenced "Halloween."

2. Tales From the Crypt. The holidays only play a small role in this film – in the story with Joan Collins battling a psycho Santa. But it helped introduce a killer Santa subgenre that carried on into the nineties.

3. Silent Night Deadly Night. The most famous Christmas horror film, this was banned by parents groups enraged that a film would make Santa a psycho killer.

4. Rabid. A shopping mall Santa gets wasted big time in this classic from David Cronenberg.

5. Deep Red. The scariest Christmas murder ever in a film opens this classic from Dario Argento.

6. Jack Frost. The most unintentionally funny Christmas horror film of this or any other age.

7. Christmas Evil. Too talky for most fans, but an interesting and early psycho Santa film. Also known as "Trouble in Toyland."

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