The Holiday One

Hallowe’en’s end was loudly heralded, though, most notably for those stuck in a retail job, or anywhere in the vicinity of a mall. It wasn’t hard to tell what would come after it: its coming was foretold with the harvest's end, as the days grew cold and daylight became scarce. The carols and jingles – though their jovial tunes remained intact – felt haunting as their frequency grew, the bells tolling for all who heard them. There were many holidays that fell within December’s grasp, but one held a tighter grip on the western zeitgeist than the rest: Christmas.

(I wanted to lean more into a subtle horror tone to this one rather than titillating, I just wish I could've gotten it out sooner...)