Previously: “Doorless Chambers.”
Who’s up for a little holiday party? A gathering of friends, or family, or colleagues? A chance to eat, drink, and be merry? Well, whatever your party-going situation may be this season, you’d best hope the holiday celebration in question isn’t anything like the one in this week’s Christmas-themed creepypasta. It’s titled “The Company I Work For Has A Wonderful Christmas Tradition.” And, uh…
…Well, let’s say that the titular company and I have very different definitions of the word “wonderful.”
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
Published the Creepypasta Wiki by Creepy Thomas O. — who you may also know as Thomas O. Wagner — in December of 2023, this one puts me rather strongly in mind of a particular Shirley Jackson short story. You know the one, don’t you? Yeah. That one.
It’s perhaps a bit predictable as a result — or at least, it is if you’re familiar with the Jackson story to which I’m referring — but it’s still a delight to read, with a terrific contrast between tone and content that helps it really stick the landing. Find a brief excerpt below, and read the full story here.
Happy holidays, friends.
And remember: Not all gifts come nicely wrapped up with a big bow on top.
***
At my company’s annual Christmas party there’s always a table full of presents. One of the presents is extra special — we just don’t know which one. At this year’s party there were about three hundred employees gathered in the event space on the first floor, far below the offices and boardrooms on the upper floors where the company typically does business.
We’d all been led inside and instructed to pick one of the nicely wrapped gifts off the table. This was no different from the year before, or any of the years before that. I selected one at random — there was no point in trying to figure out which box held which gift, so I just grabbed something from the middle of the table. Last year I unwrapped my gift to find a voucher for an all-expenses paid ski vacation to Colorado. My wife, kids, and I had a great time. Another such gift would be greatly appreciated.
Our CEO, Mr. Jackson, was abnormally cheerful, but I suppose that was just the Christmas brandy kicking in. As the happy holiday banter flittered across the room, he stood on a platform and held up his arms to silence the crowd, and then waited for the excited chatter to recede.
***
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[Photo via congerdesign/Pixabay]
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