Advent (2024) Movie Script
1
[foreboding music]
[graphics whooshing]
[foreboding music]
- After Hayley graduated,
we stayed in touch.
We lived in the
same neighborhood,
but it was more than that.
I genuinely liked her,
and she did these
vlogs on urban legends.
- Look, Hayley, I've only
got like five minutes.
How do I look?
- [Hayley] Constipated.
Try to relax.
- It's just for YouTube, right?
- [Hayley] Yes, and action.
- Hi, my name's Marcus
and I know a Christmas
urban legend.
- [Hayley] And tell them.
- Well, there are
these advent calendars
that are evil.
Behind the doors are challenges,
and if you do one each day
in the buildup to Christmas,
on Christmas morning, the
devil will take your soul.
Something like that.
- [Friend] Marcus, come on mate.
- Sorry, Hayley.
[footsteps rustling]
[clock ticking]
[ominous music]
[graphics booming]
- Special episode
today as we pick up
what may be an actual
Krampus advent calendar.
Some dude in North London
reckons he's got one,
and he seemed friendly enough.
- Oh, I'm sure he was.
As she paid for it in advance
on the deep web with Bitcoin.
So it's all for sure
gonna be above board.
- Whatever.
By the way, Charlie
is still reeling
after reading on the deep web
about an offer for
home vasectomy kits.
- Okay, can I tell them
how much you pay for
this calendar thing?
- No.
- 500 quid.
- I've got a good feeling
about it.
- 500 quid.
- Anyway. That's what
overdrafts are for.
- What? Dodgy advent calendars?
- It's a Krampus calendar.
- Oh, Krampus calendar. Okay.
Search.
Yeah, there's nothing
about it anywhere online.
You're being conned.
- I'm not.
Found a webpage in German,
just need to get around
to translating it.
- Okay, what's the deal
with this calendar?
- Basically, you
play a Christmas game
against the devil for your soul.
- I'll stick with Twister.
- Funny.
- [laughs] 500 quid.
- Little bonus, after Dad
interrupted filming yesterday,
you all started asking about
him so let's go meet him.
- [Charlie] Is he gonna
be okay with this?
- No.
- What's this?
- For my YouTube channel.
- Channel?
- Cheer up, Dad.
He's such a grump.
- What's it for then? A project?
- Yes, sort of.
- You eaten?
- Not hungry.
- [scoffs] We should
have some lunch.
- So, what have you been
doing today then, Dad?
Tell my lovely viewers.
- Started fixing the shed door.
- Sounds super exciting.
- What?
- Nothing.
- You need to clean
your room, Missy.
- I'm 26.
- Move into your own place if
you want to live in a pig sty.
Get a job. Earn some money.
Same goes for your
lovely viewers.
Probably bunch of
losers, I'm sure.
- Merry Christmas too.
- And what are you
going on about Christmas for?
You even have a fucking
tree up. It's November.
- How about I tidy my room if
you get dressed for the day?
It's 2:00 in the afternoon.
How about you shave and
sober up from last night
before starting on another beer?
Start looking for
a job yourself.
- Showing off for all
those who are watching.
If anyone is watching.
[sighs] Look, just 'cause
you got a shiny new camera
doesn't make you popular.
- [Hayley] I have over
a hundred followers.
- Over a hundred. Whoopty fuck.
- And that viewers, is my Dad.
- Hayley never talked to
me about her home life.
I just assumed it...
It was about as okay
as you might expect
given the circumstances.
But there was always
this sadness about her.
You could sometimes
see it in her eyes.
It was only much later
on I discovered
about her struggles
with depression.
- [Charlie] You're
genuinely not scared?
- No. Sounds fun
though, doesn't it?
Having to complete
the 24 challenges.
I mean, I wonder what they are.
Look, I'm a crazy bitch
already. No mind to lose.
The only real crazies are
the ones who buy into it.
And I've come across so
many of those people.
- I am one of those people,
but they're all full of shit.
- As much as I love you
Charlie, you sort of are.
- So you don't believe-
- I'll believe it when I see it.
- No, you know what,
Hayley? I believe it.
This is sort of freaking me out.
I'm gonna get off the next stop.
- Don't be such a pussy and
stay on the bloody train.
- [Charlie] Fine.
[tense music]
- Her thesis, which
was actually very good,
was also on urban myths.
And along with the
volunteer work that she did
at a local charity shop
linked to mental health,
urban legends sort
of became her thing.
[foreboding music]
[lighter crackling]
[foreboding music]
- She'll appear if you
open yourself up to her.
- Okay, so we say
it three times.
Bloody Mary, bloody
Mary, bloody Mary.
Well, this is where I hoped
she would appear in the mirror
looking all puffed
up and bloody-
- Wait.
She might still
appear. It's Halloween.
The veil is thin between
the living and the dead.
- Of course it is.
- Shh.
[Hayley scoffs]
[clicks tongue] The bitch
has left us hanging.
Sorry viewers.
Nice mirror though.
- You get the idea.
She wanted to prove everything
was a bunch of, you know what?
But Charlie believed in it.
He wanted to prove to
her viewers that ghosts
or whatever else
actually do exist.
- Wanna begin?
- Nope.
- Pussy.""
Okay.
Hi ghosts.
If you exist and
wanna contact us,
smack Charlie across the back
of the head or something.
- Hey, you need to be more
respectful of the board.
Sorry viewers.
- Okay, just move the glass
then, Mr. or Mrs. Ghost,
or transgender ghost, we
don't discriminate here,
all are welcome.
Feel free to take your time.
Whenever you're ready.
[foreboding music]
[fire crackling]
Bueller.
Bueller.
Hope y'all know that quote's
from the brilliant '80s film
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
- Stop taking the piss.
- Why?
- 'Cause this
stuff's not a joke.
- Whatever.
- You know what? I'm off.
- Charlie.
- No, my dad was a psychic.
All his friends
- I know!
are all into this. They all know
how serious it is.
- I know, I didn't,
I didn't mean to.
Come on, sit back
down with me, please?
[foreboding music]
[fire crackling]
- Friends?
- [Charlie] Friends.
- I was just delighted
that she'd found something
to take her mind
off the incidents
of the previous Christmas.
It seemed like a breakthrough.
- [Charlie] I need to get home
and hunt to feed Brewster.
- It's so creepy. A
grown man owns a hamster.
You need to get
yourself a girlfriend.
- [Charlie] So introduce
me to someone then.
Raves have definitely
happened here.
You don't have a
number for this guy?
- Just a weird email that
doesn't work anymore.
But he has my phone
number, Skype, you name it.
- [Charlie] But
how does that work?
- Didn't wanna
give his info out.
You know, one of
those private people?
- Well then, the
camera's definitely
gonna piss him off, Hayley.
- Where is he?
He said 5:00.
Wait, what's that?
[leaves rustling]
[paper rustling]
- [laughs] It is,
it's the calendar.
Oh, it's beautiful.
It's massive.
Players must be age 16 and up.
You really don't
wanna play this game.
Ooh, there it is everyone.
One Krampus calendar.
[phone buzzing]
Oh.
Caller ID withheld.
Guessing it's him.
- [Charlie] Put it on speaker.
- Hello, Mark.
- [Mark] Why are you filming?
- Where are you?
- [Mark] I asked you a question.
- Ah, I, I have this
show on urban legends.
- [Mark] Hmm.
Thanks for
transferring the money.
- No problem. It'd
be great to meet you.
Learn more about how you
got ahold of the calendar.
- [Mark] We won't
be meeting today.
- Why not?
- [Mark] Here's what
you need to remember.
You need to go all the way
no matter what
happens in between.
You must open all 24
doors in sequence.
- But-
- Don't interrupt me.
Each door must be opened
at midnight by candlelight,
and the challenge read aloud.
The challenge must
be executed on
before midnight the next day.
- Okay.
Is, is that everything?
- [Mark] That's everything.
- Okay, well thanks, I guess.
I have a million
questions still,
but it sounds like you're busy.
Did you do all the
challenges yourself?
Mark?
- [Mark] No comment.
- Guess I'll hang up now, Mark.
Feel free to watch the show.
I'll, I'll send
you a link somehow.
- [Mark] Sure.
- Cool. Well, bye then, Mark.
- [Mark] Goodbye Hayley.
Oh, and Hayley.
- Yeah.
- [Mark] Merry Christmas.
- Oh, he was a lot
nicer than that before.
- Can we please get
the fuck outta here?
- She'd been looking into
Christmas themed urban legends,
and I thought I'd
once heard something
about these Krampus calendars.
But that's the thing
with these stories.
They're designed to make you
think you've heard them before.
That's part of their power.
Krampus, of course, is the
horned goat-like creature.
And just as Santa Claus rewards
all the good little girls
and boys with the toys,
Krampus punishes the
children who are bad.
Even dragging them
all the way to hell.
- That's me, age six.
Our artist neighbor painted it.
I look scared.
I was always that kid checking
for monsters under the bed.
Still I'm that kid.
- Hello! Hello!
I'm sorry. Were you filming?
- I was about to.
- Sorry. Your dad let me in.
I thought we could do
something Christmasy tonight.
Get you away from all
this doom and gloom.
- I like my doom and gloom.
- I know, I know
but it's Christmas.
You're gonna have your mint pie.
- Hmm, have it if you want.
- Oh, you sure?
Ah, you heated it
up for yourself.
- Not really, you can have it.
[ornament clattering]
- Hmm. First door tonight.
- She was very insecure.
She was simply obsessed by
her social media presence.
She said she'd go
viral before she died.
Her phone would
ping in my presence
and she'd rip it out simply
to check who had liked
her most recent post.
- James is having
a party tonight.
- Don't change the subject.
- No, I'm just saying
James is having a party.
- So go.
- Come.
- I, I think I'm
getting the flu.
I, I got a temperature.
Here, feel.
- Oh you do, actually.
I'll get you some lemsip.
- Why don't we hang out
here, watch a movie.
- Kind of wanna
get some fresh air.
- So just go then.
- Okay, but I'll be
back before the great
unveiling tonight.
- Yep. [sighs]
- Why don't you come with me?
It'd be nice for you to get out.
Hayley, it's been a year.
[doorknob rustling]
- Hayley needed to
believe in something again
to get behind something
bigger than that one event
which had come to
define her entire life.
And the Krampus challenge
became that thing.
[thunder roars]
[lightning cracks]
- So regular advent calendar
with nice little
chocolates in it.
The kind you
probably had as a kid
though I still actually
buy one most years.
- Same.
- And 25 doors, maybe
a cute little picture
behind them of a
snowman or whatever.
- Or a reindeer
- Made of cardboard.
Not much else to say and this,
drum roll...
[hands thumping]
is a Krampus calendar.
- It was simply just a
nasty, nasty concept.
And for one of those calendars
to have fallen into the hands
of such a vulnerable
young woman.
Wow. That simply
breaks your heart.
- Just get a load of that
lovely image of Krampus.
Makes you feel all
Christmasy inside.
- For the non-German
speakers out there,
allow me to translate.
Warning, use of calendar,
may invite spirits,
living dreams and nightmares
and doppelgangers to manifest
to all in your home.
And a doppelganger is...
- An apparition or a
double of a living person.
Usually a sign of
bad luck to come.
[lightning roars]
- And the word on the sack,
seelen, translates as souls.
Definitely no chocolates
inside this thing.
Something far darker resides
within this old bit of wood.
Or that's what they'd
have you believe.
- Who's they?
- The very small
number of people
that verbally recount this tale.
This is an urban legend you
most likely haven't heard.
I know I hadn't and well
I've heard them all,
but I'll be investigating
if there's more to it
by taking on the
Krampus calendar
and documenting the
whole thing on camera.
Is this the real deal or a fake?
Let's find out as we
open the first door.
- My offer to play
Twister still stands.
- Okay. The craftsmanship
on this thing is amazing.
I wonder who made it.
No signature anywhere.
[gasps] Okay, let's
get the first door.
And just after midnight.
[Hayley sighs]
[Hayley vocalizing]
- What are you waiting on?
- Okay, so I am a
little bit scared.
- Okay, brilliant. Let's see
if we can get your money back
and we'll put it towards
a New Year's ski trip.
[ominous music]
[door thumping]
- Evil praise on the broken,
the innocent and
the seemingly brave.
From the moment she
opened that first door,
Hayley didn't stand a chance.
[door thumping]
- Hayley!
- What the hell, Charlie.
- No, don't.
[light switch clicks]
Well that's not working.
Look please, Hayley. We
don't know what's out there.
- I am not scared.
[audio crackling]
One.
Two.
Three.
[door thumps]
[audio crackles]
Don't stop filming
Charlie, you promised.
- [Charlie] Hayley!
- [Hayley] Yeah?
- [Charlie] Shadow.
Oh, this is it.
The whole reason we've
been doing this stuff.
- [Charlie] What are you saying?
- I, I'm going
down these stairs.
I want you to come with me.
- [Charlie] No chance.
- Charlie.
- No!
- I do not believe in ghosts.
I'm going down these
stairs right now
and you're coming with me.
Do it for the viewers.
- I don't give a fuck
about the viewers.
Sorry, viewers.
[Hayley whimpers]
Okay.
[exhales sharply]
Yesterday up on the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
Oh now I wish he'd go away.
[exhales sharply]
Remember that from school?
[exhales sharply]
[stairs creaking]
- [Charlie] Why do
stairs have to creak?
- Because they're old.
[stairs creaking]
Ready to catch this
thing on camera?
[stairs creaking]
[audio crackling]
[footsteps plodding]
a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed
[electricity crackling]
Mary was that mother mild
[music fades]
[Stephen snores]
Dad?
He came down to
earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable
[Hayley exhales sharply]
[ominous music]
[fire crackling]
Okay.
[footsteps thumping]
- Hey!
- This is stupid.
- Please turn the
lights back off.
[light switch clicks]
[foreboding music]
Whoop!
- [Charlie] You okay?
- I'm fine. Okay. [laughs]
So that's three times clockwise.
Now it's three times
anti-clockwise.
So I changed direction, right?
I think that's what it means.
Don't think it means
me walking backwards.
At least I hope not. Whatever.
[footsteps thumping]
[foreboding music]
And now I get to make a wish.
Okay, so that's done.
[chair thumping]
[fire crackling]
[footsteps rustling]
[stairs creaking]
[chair rustling]
Give me the camera.
[foreboding music]
[magazine rustling]
- Hayley never really
understood the calendar
that hung on her wall.
Digging a little deeper, I
discovered it all ties back
to a seldom told
Krampus chapter.
Something which has
only a line or two
in some of the earlier
books on folklore.
I was told the story
by a Krampus obsessive,
but even they were at a
loss to give me very much
in the way of details.
- Repeat task today.
Circle the tree again.
Gonna get so bloody dizzy.
Hope you all like the
Christmas jumper, by the way.
Somewhat of a break
from the usual black,
and a gift of
course from my Nan.
[door thumps]
- [Dad] Hayley.
- Yeah?
- [Dad] Bed.
- [breathing deeply] I
am 26. Goodnight, Dad.
I'll sneak back down in an hour.
[ominous music]
- Listen.
In a pear tree
- [Charlie] Christmas carols
as bloody usual, Hayley.
It's 4:00 in the morning.
- Keep recording. I
know what I heard.
[door thumps]
- [Charlie] What the fuck?
[door thumps]
What was...
On the second day
- Someone...
My true love sent to me
or something...
Five
out there knocking
on the window.
Golden rings
I'm gonna get the curtains.
- [Charlie] Hayley.
- [Hayley] It's okay.
- Come closer.
- No.
- Charlie.
[Charlie breathing deeply]
- [Hayley] You ready?
- [Charlie] Don't
say that. Just do it.
[Hayley breathing deeply]
- Okay.
[door thumps]
[curtain rustling]
Four calling birds, three
French hens, two turtle doves
[window lock clicks]
[wind whooshing]
[door thumps]
[door thumps]
- The mirror.
[window lock clicks]
[door thumps]
[Christmas carol
continues faintly]
Hmm?
- Germany 1921,
and wooden advent calendars
with numbered doors first
come into existence.
Legend has it the Krampus
is the devil himself.
And he was rather peeved
at the church's domination
of a season which he
considers his own.
And for anyone who doubts his
ruling of the holiday season,
just take a look at the
rather glaring clues.
Santa coming down the
chimney into the fireplace
is pretty much a
descent into hell.
The common nickname
for the devil, old Nick
is derived from St. Nicholas,
and it takes a great
deal of black magic
to keep reindeer flying through
the sky dragging a sleigh.
Word had reached Krampus
about the advent calenders,
and he took it upon himself
to spread a little mischief
to remind people that
he was still there.
[foreboding music]
[clothes rustling]
[hands rustling]
[ominous music]
- So we have a lineup
of Christmas movies.
"Elf," "Home Alone 1 and 2,"
"Muppets Christmas Carol,"
and "Scrooged."
Charlie's coming over
later with pizza.
So this task [clicks
tongue] officially rules.
- Krampus appeared one
evening at a marketplace
outside Berlin handing
out beautifully crafted
but slightly sinister
looking advent calendars
to anyone who would take one
to unleash a little
hell on earth,
to provide a little
light entertainment
in exchange for your soul.
It really was a very bad bargain
'cause normally souls
are exchanged for riches.
Of course, people
thought it was a hoax.
Someone in a costume.
Though some reported there
was something unearthly
about the way those eyes
of his had fixed upon them.
It sent chills down spines
already frozen by
that unrelenting snow.
- Today's challenge
was a repeat one.
Circle the Christmas tree.
Yet again, Charlie didn't
even stay up for it.
He's out for the count
in the spare room.
This book that fell,
my mother would read this...
[door thumps]
- This room clean yet?
- Dad, please.
- What are you hiding?
- Mom is still here.
- Do I need to worry about you?
- No more than I need
to worry about you.
That's what people who
love each other do.
[door thuds]
- [Speaker on TV]
Yeah, this might-
- Most of you will see
this in the morning.
I've woken Charlie up
and he's not too happy.
- I'm so fucking tired.
- Well I heard my
dad talking to my mom.
- [Charlie] What?
- He was walking around
downstairs saying her name.
- [Charlie] Did, did
you hear him well?
- No. Look, let's
just go check it out.
- [TV] My time is short.
You will be haunted
by three spirits.
Without their belief,
you cannot hope to
shun the path I tread.
You shall be called the
vision of a Christmas past.
- Dad's room is never open.
- [TV] And the
Christmas has yet to come.
Expect the first when the
clock strikes midnight tonight.
[floor creaks]
[footsteps pattering]
[foreboding music]
[footsteps rustling]
- Dad?
[foreboding music]
[footsteps rustling]
Dad!
[foreboding music]
[footsteps rustling]
[door thuds]
[hinges creak]
[Stephen whimpers]
- It's all my fault.
You see, I'm so
sorry. [whimpers]
[door thuds]
[footsteps rustling]
[door thuds]
[object thuds]
[object creaks]
[foreboding music]
- The Krampus calendar
became a game whispered about
at the Christmas parties
of the fashionable elite.
As is so often the case,
someone knew someone
who knew someone who had one.
There were said
to be 50 in total.
They kind of looked like
regular advent calendars.
But behind each
of those 24 doors,
there were the challenges
often repeated,
which you've seen
Hayley take on.
These challenges were
written in blood,
in the form of a
spell or incantation,
to place a curse upon the player
to slowly remove your soul
from your body over 24 days.
The devil's idea of a joke.
- Okay, viewers.
You keep asking about my
mother, so here she is.
Ah, doesn't matter how she...
Strangely, she used to read
me the story before bed.
Such a sad story about a
girl freezing to death,
'cause she has happy visions
when she lights matches.
Visions that die out
when the flame does
until she dies
striking the last match
and enters into
one of her visions.
[lip smacks]
Merry Christmas, Mom.
[foreboding music]
Before we get to
tonight's challenge,
what to say about last night?
- It was terrifying and
I think we should stop
all of this right now.
- No surprises there.
[exhales sharply] I said
I'd believe it if I saw it,
but it doesn't quite
work like that.
What I saw, that you saw too,
you're gonna put down
the camera tricks
and well, I'm gonna deny.
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
- Terrific.
How we get just one night off
from the bloody
Christmas carols.
- Because it just doesn't
sink in right away.
Ride and sing
Like...
Tonight
when I got the phone call
about my mom's body being found,
Jingle all the way
I knew that call had happened.
Oh what fun it is to ride
I knew what had happened, but,
Jingle bells
well, I didn't for
one second believe it.
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
[footsteps rustling]
[candlelight holder thumps]
[clothes rustling]
Laughing all the way
[foreboding music]
[Hayley breathing deeply]
- So something
strange is happening
that we can't quite explain.
Well, there's a lot
we can't explain,
but this is a bit
different. [chuckles]
This morning I noticed my
dad was unusually cheery,
smartly dressed,
and well, sober.
[liquid sloshing]
Remember that German website
about the Krampus calendar?
Well, I finally translated it.
It says there's an early
task in the calendar
where after you circle
your tree and make a wish,
if the calendar's power
is truly activated,
just for a day, your
wish will come true.
The world may change
as if made of elastic.
You would question everything
you thought you knew.
It can be a frightening and
heart-breaking experience
as your face is pressed
against the glass
of the life you truly want.
I wish that things were like
the way they were before.
That my mom was alive
and my dad was happy.
[footsteps plodding]
How's your day been, Dad?
- Yeah, I did some
work on the shed door.
I think it's fixed.
- Do you mind us filming?
- No, of course not.
How's it all going?
- Oh good. Want a beer?
- No, no thanks.
- Where are your cigarettes?
- Gave up.
Filthy habit. Those
things will kill you.
- What are you up to?
- Oh, so there's this job that
I'm thinking about going for.
[Hayley chuckles]
- Stop it. What are
you even talking about?
Hayley.
Look, I know things haven't
always been easy between us,
especially since...
I, I just want you to
know that
I'm here.
Is everything okay?
- [Hayley] No.
- You need to sleep.
You know, I think you should
have a really good lie down.
You'll feel so much
better afterwards.
[wind whooshing]
[footsteps rustling]
[siren blaring]
- Dad?
- Hey honey.
- What are you up to?
- I don't know.
I came out here for
something. [chuckles]
- What was it?
- I dunno.
You still have a temperature?
- Just a little.
- You need to sleep.
Can't have my little
girl getting sick.
What would your mother say if
she saw you up and out of bed?
- All right.
Let's have a look
at tonight's challenge.
- What's this?
- It's a key.
- You cut yourself.
- It was a challenge.
- It was a challenge, but the
challenge was the self-harm.
- It's just a game, Charlie.
- It's not,
just a game Hayley.
[doorknob rattles]
[door thuds]
- She wanted me to
watch all her shows
and I promised I would.
But life just gets busy.
Well, especially
around Christmas
and I just couldn't
keep up with her output.
[foreboding music]
[paper rustling]
While fields and floods
[paper rustling]
Repeat the sounding joy
[paper rustling]
Repeat, repeat the sounding
[door thuds]
[hinges creak]
[Charlie laughs]
- Brilliant.
Massive improvement.
[paper rustling]
[paper rustling]
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders
[paper rustling]
Of all His love
Joy to the world
[paper rustling]
[hinges creak]
[door thuds]
[door thumps]
[door thumps]
We wish you a merry
[hinges creaking]
[footsteps plodding]
And a happy new year
Good tidings we bring
To you and your kin
We wish you a
merry Christmas
[footsteps thumping]
[wind whooshing]
[door thumps]
[lock clanking]
- Do you have your keys?
[hinges creaking]
[footsteps thumping]
We wish you a
merry Christmas
We wish you a
merry Christmas
We wish you a
merry Christmas
[foreboding music]
[footsteps thumping]
[doorknob rattles]
[door thuds]
[footsteps plodding]
[audio crackling]
[doorknob rattles]
[hinges creaking]
[footsteps rustling]
[Stephen whimpering]
[Stephen whimpering]
[Stephen whimpering]
[Stephen whimpering]
- If you were to only open
the first door of
a Krampus calendar,
there'd still be a price to pay.
A sickness develops
because you are dying.
As your soul leaves your body,
your body gives up on you.
Though it's extremely unlikely
you'd stop opening doors.
Once it's in your possession,
it acts like an extremely
powerful magnet.
It exerts a form
of hypnosis on you.
The high temperature that
one develops is a response
to being suddenly stood
over the flames of hell
as realities collapse.
- As you can see, my
temperature, flu, bullshit,
whatever it is,
hasn't gone away.
This is a very mucusy
area right now.
But with that screen
there to protect you,
you all are fine being
this close to me.
Last night's challenge.
[foreboding music]
[Hayley inhales deeply]
[papers rustling]
[phone clanks]
Oh, sorry. Yeah, you go.
I'm just filming things.
- It's all right, thanks.
[Hayley gagging]
[Hayley coughing]
- Are you all right?
[car whooshing]
Bloody tooth fell out.
Gonna end up looking
like a witch.
Challenge number 12 was to
stay up all night, yet again,
lots of caffeine will
be needed. [chuckles]
[doorknob rattles]
- Hayley?
Get some sleep. I mean it.
- Sorry.
And turn that
fucking camera off.
[lighter clicks]
[doorknob rattles]
[hinges creak]
[door thumps]
- The tasks start off by
being easy, almost fun,
but become progressively harder
and or more disturbing.
The player doesn't realize
they're being manipulated,
turned into a puppet
by an unseen force.
People don't pick up on
the increase in severity
of the challenges.
A gradual desensitization
takes place
through challenges which
force you to skip sleep
and render your brain dead.
You no longer question the
calendar hanging on your wall,
easier to take your
soul if you're worn down
and unable to fight back.
- Charlie's out and
his mom has let me in.
I told her I needed to pick up
some camera
equipment. [chuckles]
He is not gonna be
happy about this,
but it has to be done.
[foreboding music]
- [inhales deeply]
Um, bottom line is,
I have to complete
these challenges.
Now, I'm not gonna kill a
dog or anything, no way.
But Charlie owns a
hamster, Brewster.
Hear me out.
It is very old and, and
will die soon anyway.
Also, it's a nasty
little fucker.
It bit loads of times.
I have racked my
brain on this one,
and the hamster simply needs
to take one for the
team. [chuckles]
I gotta make it look like
a natural death though.
This will send it quickly
into a peaceful sleep.
[inhales deeply] Deep breath.
Now, where is little Brewster?
[Brewster squeaks]
[graphics ding]
[graphics ding]
[graphics ding]
[foreboding music]
- So this is gonna get some
weird looks from the neighbors.
[hinges creaking]
[door thumps]
[hinges creaking]
- Hayley, your dad.
- Oh, shit.
[hand thumps]
- I was a little worried.
She was perhaps
spending too much time
looking into the dark side,
but that was Hayley all over.
Once she got an
idea into her head,
she was gonna go all the way.
- [exhales sharply]
Challenge was to stay awake
all night again.
I'm getting better at it.
Just takes little tricks like
going out for short walks,
protein bars every few hours,
and, um, weirdly pinching
yourself quite a bit.
- Strangely, she never
shared the call with Mark
with anyone.
The calendar already
had its claws in her,
but she did record it.
- Hello, who's this?
- I shouldn't have
sold you the calendar.
I didn't want to be the only one
telling a story
people laughed at
till I stopped telling it long
enough to doubt it happened.
- How far did you go
- Door 23.
Couldn't finish it.
Got scared.
Look at me.
I'm alive, but barely. [gasping]
This, this fever,
this, this sickness.
Hot as hell all the time.
Just wanna tear off my flesh.
Every day, there are nightmares.
The worst you
could ever imagine.
You can't really sleep ever.
These nightmares,
they just get crazier
[gasping] every day.
[siren blaring]
- [Hayley] Why did you call?
- [gasps] Merry Christmas.
[flesh squelching]
[laptop thumps]
[foreboding music]
- Tonight's challenge
involves nudity,
though I promise you perverts
won't get much of a look.
Don't get off on this.
- [Charlie] [scoffs] You wish.
- Or put it in your
spank bank or wank bank
or whatever it is.
What is it again?
[Charlie scoffs]
Spank bank or wank bank?
- [Charlie] I don't know.
[Hayley exhales sharply]
[fire crackling]
[clothes rustling]
- [Hayley] Krampus.
I invite you in.
[fire crackling]
Well, that was disappointing.
[ominous music]
- [Charlie] What the hell?
- What?
[object thudding]
[stairs creak]
[object thudding]
[stairs creak]
[stairs creak]
[object thudding]
Was it my mom?
- [Charlie] Hayley,
I'm gonna go.
- And so go. Don't come back.
[object thudding]
[audio crackling]
[Hayley sniffs]
[foreboding music]
- I will stare at my reflection
but looking the way I do,
I can't promise I
won't break the mirror.
[static buzzing]
[static buzzing]
[hand thumps]
Still out there?
Oh god, I stink.
I have seen the
woman Charlie filmed.
That's not my mom.
But my mom is still out there.
I can feel it.
Mom,
I know you never left us.
I need to see you.
Please.
[Hayley whimpers]
- As your soul is daily
extracted from your body,
hungry spirits
gather around you,
like dogs on a bone.
They want a piece of
it, but they're too weak
and broken to do anything
but warm their hands.
Krampus knows your soul is his.
[tense music]
[tense music continues]
[Hayley thuds]
[Hayley gasping]
- Okay.
[audio crackling]
[Hayley gasping]
[calendar thuds]
[Hayley gasping and sniffing]
[hands thudding]
[Hayley gasping]
[Hayley gasping]
[Hayley thuds]
[static buzzing]
[static buzzing]
[foreboding music]
[fire crackling]
[fire crackling]
- Yes, it's said that if you
complete all the challenges
in the early hours
of Christmas morning,
the devil will come for you.
Well, that soul of yours anyway.
After which you'll feel
compelled to gift your body
to Krampus by throwing
yourself out of a high window
to destroy your
now useless flesh.
Of course, the whole thing was
largely laughed off as a hoax
or an incitement to moral panic.
That is until the morning
of Christmas that year
when bodies were found on
the streets of Germany,
[wind whooshing]
people had leapt from high
windows to their deaths.
Inside every house there
was a Krampus calendar,
with all 24 doors opened up.
The authorities took
away 33 calendars,
leaving 17,
which may or may not have
been used still out there.
[foreboding music]
- [exhales sharply] Dad. Dad!
- [Dad] What?
Is that thing on?
- No.
- You're acting strange.
- I'm not.
- Well, yes you are.
- Because I'm fucking strange.
You got a problem with that?
Dad.
- What?
- It's your fault.
- Don't. No.
- It is your fault.
- Excuse me?
- You treated her so badly.
- Hayley.
- Why weren't you nicer to her?
Why can't you just be nice?
- How?
- It isn't hard-
- How dare you.
- To be decent.
- Fuck off.
What the hell is this?
What is this saying?
What is this?
- It's one of the rules.
Yeah, he told me
to burn my clothes.
- What is this?
- It's a Krampus calendar.
I made a wish and
the wish came true
and you stopped
drinking for a day.
Had to buy some more
after, didn't you?
All very strange.
Do you remember
standing here one night
staring at this thing?
Yeah. I can show you.
- I'm taking this.
- No, give it back.
Give it up please, Dad.
Please Dad, just
a few more days.
- A few more days Until what?
- Until Christmas.
- I'm getting you
professional help.
[door thuds]
- Hayley's mother had
become that person
you see in the town center
conversing with the air.
I bumped into her,
but she looked right through
me as she did to everyone else.
And then one evening,
she took a can of
petrol from the garage
of Hayley's car mechanic father
and the rest is
Hayley's history.
[ominous music]
[static buzzing]
- [Hayley] Charlie,
what are you doing?
- [Charlie] Can't hear you.
- [Hayley] Come in here.
- [Charlie] Just checking
the low light settings.
- Come in here. I wanna
show you something.
- What?
Show me what?
You better not be trying
to jump out on me.
I'm gonna film you
looking like a twat.
- [Hayley] Come
in here a moment.
- [Charlie] Okay.
What are you doing down there?
- Shh.
There's someone in my bed.
[foreboding music]
[Charlie breathing deeply]
Charlie, what are
you doing in here?
- The Krampus calendar is
a game that cannot be won.
It is said there is no 25th door
beacuse there'd be no one
left alive to open it.
- You've had a few
days break from me
and thank you for your words
of worry, but I'm fine.
Just the last few challenges
have been repeats.
[foreboding music]
Well, here we are.
Door 24, our final challenge.
[fire crackling]
[Stephen gasping]
- [Dad] Hmm.
Hayley, what are
doing back there?
- [Hayley] Challenge 24.
- [Dad] Challenge what?
- [Hayley] My calendar.
- [Dad] [laughs] That
thing they told you
to burn all your clothes.
- [Hayley] Yes.
- [Dad] Dumb bitch.
What's the challenge?
- Take a life.
- [Dad] What?
What are you hiding
behind your back?
Whatever you're thinking
of doing, don't.
Hayley.
Hayley, what the
hell are you doing?
[flesh squelching]
[Stephen groans]
[Stephen groans]
[flesh squelching]
[Stephen groans]
[Hayley gasping]
[graphics dinging]
- A merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.
You wanna know what it
feels like to kill someone?
It doesn't feel like anything.
Like taking off a jacket.
Slightly colder after.
[calendar thuds]
[object clattering]
[footsteps rustling]
[object rustling]
[object rustling]
[match sparking]
[Hayley whispering]
[flame crackling]
[matches clattering]
[clothes rustling]
[footsteps plodding]
[objects clattering]
[lock clicks]
[wind whooshing]
[flesh squelching]
[door creaking]
[hooves stomping]
- I was driving back
from a Christmas party,
when I saw her lying there.
She'd somehow survived the fall,
but she was in a
critical condition.
The ambulance arrived
and rushed her
straight into a hospital.
Thereafter, she spent
some time in jail
before she was
eventually transferred
to a psychiatric hospital
where she resides to this day.
I have visited her,
but it's like visiting a ghost.
She doesn't speak,
doesn't move a muscle.
She's locked away
in there somewhere
and someone's thrown
away the key.
She'd have been delighted
to know that her
videos had gone viral.
Well, for about the five minutes
before YouTube pulled them down.
Nothing excuses what Hayley did,
and we could go around
in circles debating
whether her actions
were down to Hayley
or her use of the
Krampus calendar.
Her footage is often
re-examined by people
who come away
scratching their heads.
Once upon a time
there was a girl
whose curiosity got
the better of her.
The police that
searched her home
naturally found the calendar
and it was swiftly removed,
never to be seen again.
As to the calendar's
ongoing legacy,
a video emerged from
Russia last year
of a boy circling
a Christmas tree.
I'll leave you with this.
Rumor has it that what the
police found under the 24th door
wasn't the challenge,
take a life that had
previously been there,
but a drawn picture of Hayley,
like she was trapped
inside the thing,
her pleading hazel
eyes staring out of it.
[foreboding music]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[ominous music]
[ominous music continues]
[ominous music continues]
[film slate clapping]
- [Crew] That was good.
That's definitely good. We
got that recorded right?
[group laughing]
That's terrific.
[foreboding music]
[graphics whooshing]
[foreboding music]
- After Hayley graduated,
we stayed in touch.
We lived in the
same neighborhood,
but it was more than that.
I genuinely liked her,
and she did these
vlogs on urban legends.
- Look, Hayley, I've only
got like five minutes.
How do I look?
- [Hayley] Constipated.
Try to relax.
- It's just for YouTube, right?
- [Hayley] Yes, and action.
- Hi, my name's Marcus
and I know a Christmas
urban legend.
- [Hayley] And tell them.
- Well, there are
these advent calendars
that are evil.
Behind the doors are challenges,
and if you do one each day
in the buildup to Christmas,
on Christmas morning, the
devil will take your soul.
Something like that.
- [Friend] Marcus, come on mate.
- Sorry, Hayley.
[footsteps rustling]
[clock ticking]
[ominous music]
[graphics booming]
- Special episode
today as we pick up
what may be an actual
Krampus advent calendar.
Some dude in North London
reckons he's got one,
and he seemed friendly enough.
- Oh, I'm sure he was.
As she paid for it in advance
on the deep web with Bitcoin.
So it's all for sure
gonna be above board.
- Whatever.
By the way, Charlie
is still reeling
after reading on the deep web
about an offer for
home vasectomy kits.
- Okay, can I tell them
how much you pay for
this calendar thing?
- No.
- 500 quid.
- I've got a good feeling
about it.
- 500 quid.
- Anyway. That's what
overdrafts are for.
- What? Dodgy advent calendars?
- It's a Krampus calendar.
- Oh, Krampus calendar. Okay.
Search.
Yeah, there's nothing
about it anywhere online.
You're being conned.
- I'm not.
Found a webpage in German,
just need to get around
to translating it.
- Okay, what's the deal
with this calendar?
- Basically, you
play a Christmas game
against the devil for your soul.
- I'll stick with Twister.
- Funny.
- [laughs] 500 quid.
- Little bonus, after Dad
interrupted filming yesterday,
you all started asking about
him so let's go meet him.
- [Charlie] Is he gonna
be okay with this?
- No.
- What's this?
- For my YouTube channel.
- Channel?
- Cheer up, Dad.
He's such a grump.
- What's it for then? A project?
- Yes, sort of.
- You eaten?
- Not hungry.
- [scoffs] We should
have some lunch.
- So, what have you been
doing today then, Dad?
Tell my lovely viewers.
- Started fixing the shed door.
- Sounds super exciting.
- What?
- Nothing.
- You need to clean
your room, Missy.
- I'm 26.
- Move into your own place if
you want to live in a pig sty.
Get a job. Earn some money.
Same goes for your
lovely viewers.
Probably bunch of
losers, I'm sure.
- Merry Christmas too.
- And what are you
going on about Christmas for?
You even have a fucking
tree up. It's November.
- How about I tidy my room if
you get dressed for the day?
It's 2:00 in the afternoon.
How about you shave and
sober up from last night
before starting on another beer?
Start looking for
a job yourself.
- Showing off for all
those who are watching.
If anyone is watching.
[sighs] Look, just 'cause
you got a shiny new camera
doesn't make you popular.
- [Hayley] I have over
a hundred followers.
- Over a hundred. Whoopty fuck.
- And that viewers, is my Dad.
- Hayley never talked to
me about her home life.
I just assumed it...
It was about as okay
as you might expect
given the circumstances.
But there was always
this sadness about her.
You could sometimes
see it in her eyes.
It was only much later
on I discovered
about her struggles
with depression.
- [Charlie] You're
genuinely not scared?
- No. Sounds fun
though, doesn't it?
Having to complete
the 24 challenges.
I mean, I wonder what they are.
Look, I'm a crazy bitch
already. No mind to lose.
The only real crazies are
the ones who buy into it.
And I've come across so
many of those people.
- I am one of those people,
but they're all full of shit.
- As much as I love you
Charlie, you sort of are.
- So you don't believe-
- I'll believe it when I see it.
- No, you know what,
Hayley? I believe it.
This is sort of freaking me out.
I'm gonna get off the next stop.
- Don't be such a pussy and
stay on the bloody train.
- [Charlie] Fine.
[tense music]
- Her thesis, which
was actually very good,
was also on urban myths.
And along with the
volunteer work that she did
at a local charity shop
linked to mental health,
urban legends sort
of became her thing.
[foreboding music]
[lighter crackling]
[foreboding music]
- She'll appear if you
open yourself up to her.
- Okay, so we say
it three times.
Bloody Mary, bloody
Mary, bloody Mary.
Well, this is where I hoped
she would appear in the mirror
looking all puffed
up and bloody-
- Wait.
She might still
appear. It's Halloween.
The veil is thin between
the living and the dead.
- Of course it is.
- Shh.
[Hayley scoffs]
[clicks tongue] The bitch
has left us hanging.
Sorry viewers.
Nice mirror though.
- You get the idea.
She wanted to prove everything
was a bunch of, you know what?
But Charlie believed in it.
He wanted to prove to
her viewers that ghosts
or whatever else
actually do exist.
- Wanna begin?
- Nope.
- Pussy.""
Okay.
Hi ghosts.
If you exist and
wanna contact us,
smack Charlie across the back
of the head or something.
- Hey, you need to be more
respectful of the board.
Sorry viewers.
- Okay, just move the glass
then, Mr. or Mrs. Ghost,
or transgender ghost, we
don't discriminate here,
all are welcome.
Feel free to take your time.
Whenever you're ready.
[foreboding music]
[fire crackling]
Bueller.
Bueller.
Hope y'all know that quote's
from the brilliant '80s film
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
- Stop taking the piss.
- Why?
- 'Cause this
stuff's not a joke.
- Whatever.
- You know what? I'm off.
- Charlie.
- No, my dad was a psychic.
All his friends
- I know!
are all into this. They all know
how serious it is.
- I know, I didn't,
I didn't mean to.
Come on, sit back
down with me, please?
[foreboding music]
[fire crackling]
- Friends?
- [Charlie] Friends.
- I was just delighted
that she'd found something
to take her mind
off the incidents
of the previous Christmas.
It seemed like a breakthrough.
- [Charlie] I need to get home
and hunt to feed Brewster.
- It's so creepy. A
grown man owns a hamster.
You need to get
yourself a girlfriend.
- [Charlie] So introduce
me to someone then.
Raves have definitely
happened here.
You don't have a
number for this guy?
- Just a weird email that
doesn't work anymore.
But he has my phone
number, Skype, you name it.
- [Charlie] But
how does that work?
- Didn't wanna
give his info out.
You know, one of
those private people?
- Well then, the
camera's definitely
gonna piss him off, Hayley.
- Where is he?
He said 5:00.
Wait, what's that?
[leaves rustling]
[paper rustling]
- [laughs] It is,
it's the calendar.
Oh, it's beautiful.
It's massive.
Players must be age 16 and up.
You really don't
wanna play this game.
Ooh, there it is everyone.
One Krampus calendar.
[phone buzzing]
Oh.
Caller ID withheld.
Guessing it's him.
- [Charlie] Put it on speaker.
- Hello, Mark.
- [Mark] Why are you filming?
- Where are you?
- [Mark] I asked you a question.
- Ah, I, I have this
show on urban legends.
- [Mark] Hmm.
Thanks for
transferring the money.
- No problem. It'd
be great to meet you.
Learn more about how you
got ahold of the calendar.
- [Mark] We won't
be meeting today.
- Why not?
- [Mark] Here's what
you need to remember.
You need to go all the way
no matter what
happens in between.
You must open all 24
doors in sequence.
- But-
- Don't interrupt me.
Each door must be opened
at midnight by candlelight,
and the challenge read aloud.
The challenge must
be executed on
before midnight the next day.
- Okay.
Is, is that everything?
- [Mark] That's everything.
- Okay, well thanks, I guess.
I have a million
questions still,
but it sounds like you're busy.
Did you do all the
challenges yourself?
Mark?
- [Mark] No comment.
- Guess I'll hang up now, Mark.
Feel free to watch the show.
I'll, I'll send
you a link somehow.
- [Mark] Sure.
- Cool. Well, bye then, Mark.
- [Mark] Goodbye Hayley.
Oh, and Hayley.
- Yeah.
- [Mark] Merry Christmas.
- Oh, he was a lot
nicer than that before.
- Can we please get
the fuck outta here?
- She'd been looking into
Christmas themed urban legends,
and I thought I'd
once heard something
about these Krampus calendars.
But that's the thing
with these stories.
They're designed to make you
think you've heard them before.
That's part of their power.
Krampus, of course, is the
horned goat-like creature.
And just as Santa Claus rewards
all the good little girls
and boys with the toys,
Krampus punishes the
children who are bad.
Even dragging them
all the way to hell.
- That's me, age six.
Our artist neighbor painted it.
I look scared.
I was always that kid checking
for monsters under the bed.
Still I'm that kid.
- Hello! Hello!
I'm sorry. Were you filming?
- I was about to.
- Sorry. Your dad let me in.
I thought we could do
something Christmasy tonight.
Get you away from all
this doom and gloom.
- I like my doom and gloom.
- I know, I know
but it's Christmas.
You're gonna have your mint pie.
- Hmm, have it if you want.
- Oh, you sure?
Ah, you heated it
up for yourself.
- Not really, you can have it.
[ornament clattering]
- Hmm. First door tonight.
- She was very insecure.
She was simply obsessed by
her social media presence.
She said she'd go
viral before she died.
Her phone would
ping in my presence
and she'd rip it out simply
to check who had liked
her most recent post.
- James is having
a party tonight.
- Don't change the subject.
- No, I'm just saying
James is having a party.
- So go.
- Come.
- I, I think I'm
getting the flu.
I, I got a temperature.
Here, feel.
- Oh you do, actually.
I'll get you some lemsip.
- Why don't we hang out
here, watch a movie.
- Kind of wanna
get some fresh air.
- So just go then.
- Okay, but I'll be
back before the great
unveiling tonight.
- Yep. [sighs]
- Why don't you come with me?
It'd be nice for you to get out.
Hayley, it's been a year.
[doorknob rustling]
- Hayley needed to
believe in something again
to get behind something
bigger than that one event
which had come to
define her entire life.
And the Krampus challenge
became that thing.
[thunder roars]
[lightning cracks]
- So regular advent calendar
with nice little
chocolates in it.
The kind you
probably had as a kid
though I still actually
buy one most years.
- Same.
- And 25 doors, maybe
a cute little picture
behind them of a
snowman or whatever.
- Or a reindeer
- Made of cardboard.
Not much else to say and this,
drum roll...
[hands thumping]
is a Krampus calendar.
- It was simply just a
nasty, nasty concept.
And for one of those calendars
to have fallen into the hands
of such a vulnerable
young woman.
Wow. That simply
breaks your heart.
- Just get a load of that
lovely image of Krampus.
Makes you feel all
Christmasy inside.
- For the non-German
speakers out there,
allow me to translate.
Warning, use of calendar,
may invite spirits,
living dreams and nightmares
and doppelgangers to manifest
to all in your home.
And a doppelganger is...
- An apparition or a
double of a living person.
Usually a sign of
bad luck to come.
[lightning roars]
- And the word on the sack,
seelen, translates as souls.
Definitely no chocolates
inside this thing.
Something far darker resides
within this old bit of wood.
Or that's what they'd
have you believe.
- Who's they?
- The very small
number of people
that verbally recount this tale.
This is an urban legend you
most likely haven't heard.
I know I hadn't and well
I've heard them all,
but I'll be investigating
if there's more to it
by taking on the
Krampus calendar
and documenting the
whole thing on camera.
Is this the real deal or a fake?
Let's find out as we
open the first door.
- My offer to play
Twister still stands.
- Okay. The craftsmanship
on this thing is amazing.
I wonder who made it.
No signature anywhere.
[gasps] Okay, let's
get the first door.
And just after midnight.
[Hayley sighs]
[Hayley vocalizing]
- What are you waiting on?
- Okay, so I am a
little bit scared.
- Okay, brilliant. Let's see
if we can get your money back
and we'll put it towards
a New Year's ski trip.
[ominous music]
[door thumping]
- Evil praise on the broken,
the innocent and
the seemingly brave.
From the moment she
opened that first door,
Hayley didn't stand a chance.
[door thumping]
- Hayley!
- What the hell, Charlie.
- No, don't.
[light switch clicks]
Well that's not working.
Look please, Hayley. We
don't know what's out there.
- I am not scared.
[audio crackling]
One.
Two.
Three.
[door thumps]
[audio crackles]
Don't stop filming
Charlie, you promised.
- [Charlie] Hayley!
- [Hayley] Yeah?
- [Charlie] Shadow.
Oh, this is it.
The whole reason we've
been doing this stuff.
- [Charlie] What are you saying?
- I, I'm going
down these stairs.
I want you to come with me.
- [Charlie] No chance.
- Charlie.
- No!
- I do not believe in ghosts.
I'm going down these
stairs right now
and you're coming with me.
Do it for the viewers.
- I don't give a fuck
about the viewers.
Sorry, viewers.
[Hayley whimpers]
Okay.
[exhales sharply]
Yesterday up on the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
Oh now I wish he'd go away.
[exhales sharply]
Remember that from school?
[exhales sharply]
[stairs creaking]
- [Charlie] Why do
stairs have to creak?
- Because they're old.
[stairs creaking]
Ready to catch this
thing on camera?
[stairs creaking]
[audio crackling]
[footsteps plodding]
a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed
[electricity crackling]
Mary was that mother mild
[music fades]
[Stephen snores]
Dad?
He came down to
earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable
[Hayley exhales sharply]
[ominous music]
[fire crackling]
Okay.
[footsteps thumping]
- Hey!
- This is stupid.
- Please turn the
lights back off.
[light switch clicks]
[foreboding music]
Whoop!
- [Charlie] You okay?
- I'm fine. Okay. [laughs]
So that's three times clockwise.
Now it's three times
anti-clockwise.
So I changed direction, right?
I think that's what it means.
Don't think it means
me walking backwards.
At least I hope not. Whatever.
[footsteps thumping]
[foreboding music]
And now I get to make a wish.
Okay, so that's done.
[chair thumping]
[fire crackling]
[footsteps rustling]
[stairs creaking]
[chair rustling]
Give me the camera.
[foreboding music]
[magazine rustling]
- Hayley never really
understood the calendar
that hung on her wall.
Digging a little deeper, I
discovered it all ties back
to a seldom told
Krampus chapter.
Something which has
only a line or two
in some of the earlier
books on folklore.
I was told the story
by a Krampus obsessive,
but even they were at a
loss to give me very much
in the way of details.
- Repeat task today.
Circle the tree again.
Gonna get so bloody dizzy.
Hope you all like the
Christmas jumper, by the way.
Somewhat of a break
from the usual black,
and a gift of
course from my Nan.
[door thumps]
- [Dad] Hayley.
- Yeah?
- [Dad] Bed.
- [breathing deeply] I
am 26. Goodnight, Dad.
I'll sneak back down in an hour.
[ominous music]
- Listen.
In a pear tree
- [Charlie] Christmas carols
as bloody usual, Hayley.
It's 4:00 in the morning.
- Keep recording. I
know what I heard.
[door thumps]
- [Charlie] What the fuck?
[door thumps]
What was...
On the second day
- Someone...
My true love sent to me
or something...
Five
out there knocking
on the window.
Golden rings
I'm gonna get the curtains.
- [Charlie] Hayley.
- [Hayley] It's okay.
- Come closer.
- No.
- Charlie.
[Charlie breathing deeply]
- [Hayley] You ready?
- [Charlie] Don't
say that. Just do it.
[Hayley breathing deeply]
- Okay.
[door thumps]
[curtain rustling]
Four calling birds, three
French hens, two turtle doves
[window lock clicks]
[wind whooshing]
[door thumps]
[door thumps]
- The mirror.
[window lock clicks]
[door thumps]
[Christmas carol
continues faintly]
Hmm?
- Germany 1921,
and wooden advent calendars
with numbered doors first
come into existence.
Legend has it the Krampus
is the devil himself.
And he was rather peeved
at the church's domination
of a season which he
considers his own.
And for anyone who doubts his
ruling of the holiday season,
just take a look at the
rather glaring clues.
Santa coming down the
chimney into the fireplace
is pretty much a
descent into hell.
The common nickname
for the devil, old Nick
is derived from St. Nicholas,
and it takes a great
deal of black magic
to keep reindeer flying through
the sky dragging a sleigh.
Word had reached Krampus
about the advent calenders,
and he took it upon himself
to spread a little mischief
to remind people that
he was still there.
[foreboding music]
[clothes rustling]
[hands rustling]
[ominous music]
- So we have a lineup
of Christmas movies.
"Elf," "Home Alone 1 and 2,"
"Muppets Christmas Carol,"
and "Scrooged."
Charlie's coming over
later with pizza.
So this task [clicks
tongue] officially rules.
- Krampus appeared one
evening at a marketplace
outside Berlin handing
out beautifully crafted
but slightly sinister
looking advent calendars
to anyone who would take one
to unleash a little
hell on earth,
to provide a little
light entertainment
in exchange for your soul.
It really was a very bad bargain
'cause normally souls
are exchanged for riches.
Of course, people
thought it was a hoax.
Someone in a costume.
Though some reported there
was something unearthly
about the way those eyes
of his had fixed upon them.
It sent chills down spines
already frozen by
that unrelenting snow.
- Today's challenge
was a repeat one.
Circle the Christmas tree.
Yet again, Charlie didn't
even stay up for it.
He's out for the count
in the spare room.
This book that fell,
my mother would read this...
[door thumps]
- This room clean yet?
- Dad, please.
- What are you hiding?
- Mom is still here.
- Do I need to worry about you?
- No more than I need
to worry about you.
That's what people who
love each other do.
[door thuds]
- [Speaker on TV]
Yeah, this might-
- Most of you will see
this in the morning.
I've woken Charlie up
and he's not too happy.
- I'm so fucking tired.
- Well I heard my
dad talking to my mom.
- [Charlie] What?
- He was walking around
downstairs saying her name.
- [Charlie] Did, did
you hear him well?
- No. Look, let's
just go check it out.
- [TV] My time is short.
You will be haunted
by three spirits.
Without their belief,
you cannot hope to
shun the path I tread.
You shall be called the
vision of a Christmas past.
- Dad's room is never open.
- [TV] And the
Christmas has yet to come.
Expect the first when the
clock strikes midnight tonight.
[floor creaks]
[footsteps pattering]
[foreboding music]
[footsteps rustling]
- Dad?
[foreboding music]
[footsteps rustling]
Dad!
[foreboding music]
[footsteps rustling]
[door thuds]
[hinges creak]
[Stephen whimpers]
- It's all my fault.
You see, I'm so
sorry. [whimpers]
[door thuds]
[footsteps rustling]
[door thuds]
[object thuds]
[object creaks]
[foreboding music]
- The Krampus calendar
became a game whispered about
at the Christmas parties
of the fashionable elite.
As is so often the case,
someone knew someone
who knew someone who had one.
There were said
to be 50 in total.
They kind of looked like
regular advent calendars.
But behind each
of those 24 doors,
there were the challenges
often repeated,
which you've seen
Hayley take on.
These challenges were
written in blood,
in the form of a
spell or incantation,
to place a curse upon the player
to slowly remove your soul
from your body over 24 days.
The devil's idea of a joke.
- Okay, viewers.
You keep asking about my
mother, so here she is.
Ah, doesn't matter how she...
Strangely, she used to read
me the story before bed.
Such a sad story about a
girl freezing to death,
'cause she has happy visions
when she lights matches.
Visions that die out
when the flame does
until she dies
striking the last match
and enters into
one of her visions.
[lip smacks]
Merry Christmas, Mom.
[foreboding music]
Before we get to
tonight's challenge,
what to say about last night?
- It was terrifying and
I think we should stop
all of this right now.
- No surprises there.
[exhales sharply] I said
I'd believe it if I saw it,
but it doesn't quite
work like that.
What I saw, that you saw too,
you're gonna put down
the camera tricks
and well, I'm gonna deny.
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
- Terrific.
How we get just one night off
from the bloody
Christmas carols.
- Because it just doesn't
sink in right away.
Ride and sing
Like...
Tonight
when I got the phone call
about my mom's body being found,
Jingle all the way
I knew that call had happened.
Oh what fun it is to ride
I knew what had happened, but,
Jingle bells
well, I didn't for
one second believe it.
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
[footsteps rustling]
[candlelight holder thumps]
[clothes rustling]
Laughing all the way
[foreboding music]
[Hayley breathing deeply]
- So something
strange is happening
that we can't quite explain.
Well, there's a lot
we can't explain,
but this is a bit
different. [chuckles]
This morning I noticed my
dad was unusually cheery,
smartly dressed,
and well, sober.
[liquid sloshing]
Remember that German website
about the Krampus calendar?
Well, I finally translated it.
It says there's an early
task in the calendar
where after you circle
your tree and make a wish,
if the calendar's power
is truly activated,
just for a day, your
wish will come true.
The world may change
as if made of elastic.
You would question everything
you thought you knew.
It can be a frightening and
heart-breaking experience
as your face is pressed
against the glass
of the life you truly want.
I wish that things were like
the way they were before.
That my mom was alive
and my dad was happy.
[footsteps plodding]
How's your day been, Dad?
- Yeah, I did some
work on the shed door.
I think it's fixed.
- Do you mind us filming?
- No, of course not.
How's it all going?
- Oh good. Want a beer?
- No, no thanks.
- Where are your cigarettes?
- Gave up.
Filthy habit. Those
things will kill you.
- What are you up to?
- Oh, so there's this job that
I'm thinking about going for.
[Hayley chuckles]
- Stop it. What are
you even talking about?
Hayley.
Look, I know things haven't
always been easy between us,
especially since...
I, I just want you to
know that
I'm here.
Is everything okay?
- [Hayley] No.
- You need to sleep.
You know, I think you should
have a really good lie down.
You'll feel so much
better afterwards.
[wind whooshing]
[footsteps rustling]
[siren blaring]
- Dad?
- Hey honey.
- What are you up to?
- I don't know.
I came out here for
something. [chuckles]
- What was it?
- I dunno.
You still have a temperature?
- Just a little.
- You need to sleep.
Can't have my little
girl getting sick.
What would your mother say if
she saw you up and out of bed?
- All right.
Let's have a look
at tonight's challenge.
- What's this?
- It's a key.
- You cut yourself.
- It was a challenge.
- It was a challenge, but the
challenge was the self-harm.
- It's just a game, Charlie.
- It's not,
just a game Hayley.
[doorknob rattles]
[door thuds]
- She wanted me to
watch all her shows
and I promised I would.
But life just gets busy.
Well, especially
around Christmas
and I just couldn't
keep up with her output.
[foreboding music]
[paper rustling]
While fields and floods
[paper rustling]
Repeat the sounding joy
[paper rustling]
Repeat, repeat the sounding
[door thuds]
[hinges creak]
[Charlie laughs]
- Brilliant.
Massive improvement.
[paper rustling]
[paper rustling]
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders
[paper rustling]
Of all His love
Joy to the world
[paper rustling]
[hinges creak]
[door thuds]
[door thumps]
[door thumps]
We wish you a merry
[hinges creaking]
[footsteps plodding]
And a happy new year
Good tidings we bring
To you and your kin
We wish you a
merry Christmas
[footsteps thumping]
[wind whooshing]
[door thumps]
[lock clanking]
- Do you have your keys?
[hinges creaking]
[footsteps thumping]
We wish you a
merry Christmas
We wish you a
merry Christmas
We wish you a
merry Christmas
[foreboding music]
[footsteps thumping]
[doorknob rattles]
[door thuds]
[footsteps plodding]
[audio crackling]
[doorknob rattles]
[hinges creaking]
[footsteps rustling]
[Stephen whimpering]
[Stephen whimpering]
[Stephen whimpering]
[Stephen whimpering]
- If you were to only open
the first door of
a Krampus calendar,
there'd still be a price to pay.
A sickness develops
because you are dying.
As your soul leaves your body,
your body gives up on you.
Though it's extremely unlikely
you'd stop opening doors.
Once it's in your possession,
it acts like an extremely
powerful magnet.
It exerts a form
of hypnosis on you.
The high temperature that
one develops is a response
to being suddenly stood
over the flames of hell
as realities collapse.
- As you can see, my
temperature, flu, bullshit,
whatever it is,
hasn't gone away.
This is a very mucusy
area right now.
But with that screen
there to protect you,
you all are fine being
this close to me.
Last night's challenge.
[foreboding music]
[Hayley inhales deeply]
[papers rustling]
[phone clanks]
Oh, sorry. Yeah, you go.
I'm just filming things.
- It's all right, thanks.
[Hayley gagging]
[Hayley coughing]
- Are you all right?
[car whooshing]
Bloody tooth fell out.
Gonna end up looking
like a witch.
Challenge number 12 was to
stay up all night, yet again,
lots of caffeine will
be needed. [chuckles]
[doorknob rattles]
- Hayley?
Get some sleep. I mean it.
- Sorry.
And turn that
fucking camera off.
[lighter clicks]
[doorknob rattles]
[hinges creak]
[door thumps]
- The tasks start off by
being easy, almost fun,
but become progressively harder
and or more disturbing.
The player doesn't realize
they're being manipulated,
turned into a puppet
by an unseen force.
People don't pick up on
the increase in severity
of the challenges.
A gradual desensitization
takes place
through challenges which
force you to skip sleep
and render your brain dead.
You no longer question the
calendar hanging on your wall,
easier to take your
soul if you're worn down
and unable to fight back.
- Charlie's out and
his mom has let me in.
I told her I needed to pick up
some camera
equipment. [chuckles]
He is not gonna be
happy about this,
but it has to be done.
[foreboding music]
- [inhales deeply]
Um, bottom line is,
I have to complete
these challenges.
Now, I'm not gonna kill a
dog or anything, no way.
But Charlie owns a
hamster, Brewster.
Hear me out.
It is very old and, and
will die soon anyway.
Also, it's a nasty
little fucker.
It bit loads of times.
I have racked my
brain on this one,
and the hamster simply needs
to take one for the
team. [chuckles]
I gotta make it look like
a natural death though.
This will send it quickly
into a peaceful sleep.
[inhales deeply] Deep breath.
Now, where is little Brewster?
[Brewster squeaks]
[graphics ding]
[graphics ding]
[graphics ding]
[foreboding music]
- So this is gonna get some
weird looks from the neighbors.
[hinges creaking]
[door thumps]
[hinges creaking]
- Hayley, your dad.
- Oh, shit.
[hand thumps]
- I was a little worried.
She was perhaps
spending too much time
looking into the dark side,
but that was Hayley all over.
Once she got an
idea into her head,
she was gonna go all the way.
- [exhales sharply]
Challenge was to stay awake
all night again.
I'm getting better at it.
Just takes little tricks like
going out for short walks,
protein bars every few hours,
and, um, weirdly pinching
yourself quite a bit.
- Strangely, she never
shared the call with Mark
with anyone.
The calendar already
had its claws in her,
but she did record it.
- Hello, who's this?
- I shouldn't have
sold you the calendar.
I didn't want to be the only one
telling a story
people laughed at
till I stopped telling it long
enough to doubt it happened.
- How far did you go
- Door 23.
Couldn't finish it.
Got scared.
Look at me.
I'm alive, but barely. [gasping]
This, this fever,
this, this sickness.
Hot as hell all the time.
Just wanna tear off my flesh.
Every day, there are nightmares.
The worst you
could ever imagine.
You can't really sleep ever.
These nightmares,
they just get crazier
[gasping] every day.
[siren blaring]
- [Hayley] Why did you call?
- [gasps] Merry Christmas.
[flesh squelching]
[laptop thumps]
[foreboding music]
- Tonight's challenge
involves nudity,
though I promise you perverts
won't get much of a look.
Don't get off on this.
- [Charlie] [scoffs] You wish.
- Or put it in your
spank bank or wank bank
or whatever it is.
What is it again?
[Charlie scoffs]
Spank bank or wank bank?
- [Charlie] I don't know.
[Hayley exhales sharply]
[fire crackling]
[clothes rustling]
- [Hayley] Krampus.
I invite you in.
[fire crackling]
Well, that was disappointing.
[ominous music]
- [Charlie] What the hell?
- What?
[object thudding]
[stairs creak]
[object thudding]
[stairs creak]
[stairs creak]
[object thudding]
Was it my mom?
- [Charlie] Hayley,
I'm gonna go.
- And so go. Don't come back.
[object thudding]
[audio crackling]
[Hayley sniffs]
[foreboding music]
- I will stare at my reflection
but looking the way I do,
I can't promise I
won't break the mirror.
[static buzzing]
[static buzzing]
[hand thumps]
Still out there?
Oh god, I stink.
I have seen the
woman Charlie filmed.
That's not my mom.
But my mom is still out there.
I can feel it.
Mom,
I know you never left us.
I need to see you.
Please.
[Hayley whimpers]
- As your soul is daily
extracted from your body,
hungry spirits
gather around you,
like dogs on a bone.
They want a piece of
it, but they're too weak
and broken to do anything
but warm their hands.
Krampus knows your soul is his.
[tense music]
[tense music continues]
[Hayley thuds]
[Hayley gasping]
- Okay.
[audio crackling]
[Hayley gasping]
[calendar thuds]
[Hayley gasping and sniffing]
[hands thudding]
[Hayley gasping]
[Hayley gasping]
[Hayley thuds]
[static buzzing]
[static buzzing]
[foreboding music]
[fire crackling]
[fire crackling]
- Yes, it's said that if you
complete all the challenges
in the early hours
of Christmas morning,
the devil will come for you.
Well, that soul of yours anyway.
After which you'll feel
compelled to gift your body
to Krampus by throwing
yourself out of a high window
to destroy your
now useless flesh.
Of course, the whole thing was
largely laughed off as a hoax
or an incitement to moral panic.
That is until the morning
of Christmas that year
when bodies were found on
the streets of Germany,
[wind whooshing]
people had leapt from high
windows to their deaths.
Inside every house there
was a Krampus calendar,
with all 24 doors opened up.
The authorities took
away 33 calendars,
leaving 17,
which may or may not have
been used still out there.
[foreboding music]
- [exhales sharply] Dad. Dad!
- [Dad] What?
Is that thing on?
- No.
- You're acting strange.
- I'm not.
- Well, yes you are.
- Because I'm fucking strange.
You got a problem with that?
Dad.
- What?
- It's your fault.
- Don't. No.
- It is your fault.
- Excuse me?
- You treated her so badly.
- Hayley.
- Why weren't you nicer to her?
Why can't you just be nice?
- How?
- It isn't hard-
- How dare you.
- To be decent.
- Fuck off.
What the hell is this?
What is this saying?
What is this?
- It's one of the rules.
Yeah, he told me
to burn my clothes.
- What is this?
- It's a Krampus calendar.
I made a wish and
the wish came true
and you stopped
drinking for a day.
Had to buy some more
after, didn't you?
All very strange.
Do you remember
standing here one night
staring at this thing?
Yeah. I can show you.
- I'm taking this.
- No, give it back.
Give it up please, Dad.
Please Dad, just
a few more days.
- A few more days Until what?
- Until Christmas.
- I'm getting you
professional help.
[door thuds]
- Hayley's mother had
become that person
you see in the town center
conversing with the air.
I bumped into her,
but she looked right through
me as she did to everyone else.
And then one evening,
she took a can of
petrol from the garage
of Hayley's car mechanic father
and the rest is
Hayley's history.
[ominous music]
[static buzzing]
- [Hayley] Charlie,
what are you doing?
- [Charlie] Can't hear you.
- [Hayley] Come in here.
- [Charlie] Just checking
the low light settings.
- Come in here. I wanna
show you something.
- What?
Show me what?
You better not be trying
to jump out on me.
I'm gonna film you
looking like a twat.
- [Hayley] Come
in here a moment.
- [Charlie] Okay.
What are you doing down there?
- Shh.
There's someone in my bed.
[foreboding music]
[Charlie breathing deeply]
Charlie, what are
you doing in here?
- The Krampus calendar is
a game that cannot be won.
It is said there is no 25th door
beacuse there'd be no one
left alive to open it.
- You've had a few
days break from me
and thank you for your words
of worry, but I'm fine.
Just the last few challenges
have been repeats.
[foreboding music]
Well, here we are.
Door 24, our final challenge.
[fire crackling]
[Stephen gasping]
- [Dad] Hmm.
Hayley, what are
doing back there?
- [Hayley] Challenge 24.
- [Dad] Challenge what?
- [Hayley] My calendar.
- [Dad] [laughs] That
thing they told you
to burn all your clothes.
- [Hayley] Yes.
- [Dad] Dumb bitch.
What's the challenge?
- Take a life.
- [Dad] What?
What are you hiding
behind your back?
Whatever you're thinking
of doing, don't.
Hayley.
Hayley, what the
hell are you doing?
[flesh squelching]
[Stephen groans]
[Stephen groans]
[flesh squelching]
[Stephen groans]
[Hayley gasping]
[graphics dinging]
- A merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.
You wanna know what it
feels like to kill someone?
It doesn't feel like anything.
Like taking off a jacket.
Slightly colder after.
[calendar thuds]
[object clattering]
[footsteps rustling]
[object rustling]
[object rustling]
[match sparking]
[Hayley whispering]
[flame crackling]
[matches clattering]
[clothes rustling]
[footsteps plodding]
[objects clattering]
[lock clicks]
[wind whooshing]
[flesh squelching]
[door creaking]
[hooves stomping]
- I was driving back
from a Christmas party,
when I saw her lying there.
She'd somehow survived the fall,
but she was in a
critical condition.
The ambulance arrived
and rushed her
straight into a hospital.
Thereafter, she spent
some time in jail
before she was
eventually transferred
to a psychiatric hospital
where she resides to this day.
I have visited her,
but it's like visiting a ghost.
She doesn't speak,
doesn't move a muscle.
She's locked away
in there somewhere
and someone's thrown
away the key.
She'd have been delighted
to know that her
videos had gone viral.
Well, for about the five minutes
before YouTube pulled them down.
Nothing excuses what Hayley did,
and we could go around
in circles debating
whether her actions
were down to Hayley
or her use of the
Krampus calendar.
Her footage is often
re-examined by people
who come away
scratching their heads.
Once upon a time
there was a girl
whose curiosity got
the better of her.
The police that
searched her home
naturally found the calendar
and it was swiftly removed,
never to be seen again.
As to the calendar's
ongoing legacy,
a video emerged from
Russia last year
of a boy circling
a Christmas tree.
I'll leave you with this.
Rumor has it that what the
police found under the 24th door
wasn't the challenge,
take a life that had
previously been there,
but a drawn picture of Hayley,
like she was trapped
inside the thing,
her pleading hazel
eyes staring out of it.
[foreboding music]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[foreboding music continues]
[ominous music]
[ominous music continues]
[ominous music continues]
[film slate clapping]
- [Crew] That was good.
That's definitely good. We
got that recorded right?
[group laughing]
That's terrific.