 Well hello again it's Santa here with another edition of spooky Santa I have more scary stories to tell you and I know for a lot of kids like you spooky stories can make for a very merry Christmas so be sure to ask your mom and dad first before you begin to listen in this episode I'll tell three stories the first is called the bloody axe it's about a boy who suspects that his father might be a murderer I'll share a short scary email I received from eight-year-old Joshua in Sioux Falls South Dakota it might keep you up at night plus a holiday story from Jackie Horsefall called Big Foot Busters hey remember if you want to send me your own scary story you can email it to me at letters at spooky Santa.com I might read your story in an upcoming episode now bolt your doors lock your windows turn off your lights pour a mug of hot cocoa and come with spooky Santa for another holiday chiller here is my first story the bloody axe I remember that Christmas when I was eight years old as if it happened yesterday I remember how I would lie very still under the old moth-eating quilts my mother made I was wide awake and listening for those familiar sounds the thump of the front door closing the clump clump clump of my father's mud-kicked boots on the stairs and the sound that to this day still fills me with revulsion and horror drip drip drip then my father would pass my doorway and the light from the hallway would cast his shadow on my bedroom wall and the shadow of the bloody axe he carried in his hands the next morning I would eat my watery oatmeal in the wintery chill of our kitchen and asked my mother very slowly and carefully where was daddy last night she would just look at me with her sad gray eyes I will never forget the pain and torment in those eyes but mother never said a word after breakfast I would set about doing the chores on our little farm my father never did much work on the farm he always seemed to be busy with other matters on those chilly windy mornings as the snow began to fall I had a lot of time to think at school I couldn't pay much attention to my lessons I was always lost in my troubled thoughts when I got home in the evening I would arrive just in time to see my father leaving his axe clutched tightly in his hands I rarely saw my father during daylight hours and at night all I ever saw was his shadow I can still vividly recall that terrible night when I was awakened by the sound of the shutters of my bedroom window clattering in the screaming December winds when I got up to close the shutters I happened to glance over at the barn and noticed a shadow in the darkness it was my father and he was putting something into the feed box that we used to feed the cattle I returned to bed and lay awake long into the night puzzled by what I had just seen eventually though I did fall into a tortured and troubled sleep the next day my curiosity got the better of me I took the key that hung on a hook in the kitchen and opened the feed box I remember standing and staring for several seconds at the foul-smelling bloody pulp inside trying to understand why my father would put parts of a slaughtered animal into the feed box and then I noticed something that struck horror into the pit of my soul jutting up out of the bloody awful was a severed human hand from that moment I was filled with a nameless dread I no longer looked at my parents with trust but with a dark creeping suspicion I began to notice things that had previously escaped my attention newspaper headlines that spoke about brutal murders and discovered bodies overheard conversations about a blood thirsty fiend on the loose finally I heard a boy at school utter two words that repeated over and over in my tortured mind axe murderer that night my sleep was invaded by shapeless horrors in these nightmares I saw two images that haunted me constantly the face of my father and an axe dripping with blood unable to sleep I got out of bed and crept downstairs taking my father's axe from the fireplace I dimmed the lights and crouched in the darkness at the top of the stairs it seemed an eternity before I heard the key in the lock and the front door swing open and then close thump I listened for those familiar footsteps on the stairs clump clump clump stepping out of the darkness I raised the axe above my head and I brought it crashing down chunk in the eerie silence that followed I listened for the sound of any movement from my parents bedroom I hoped against hope that my mother had heard nothing the only sound I heard was the creaking of the floorboards beneath my feet and the pounding of my heart I looked for the last time at the headless body that lay crumpled at the bottom of the stairs then quietly tiptoed back to my bed early the next morning I was awakened by the sound of strange voices in our hallway silently I crept to the top of the stairs and peered down at the scene below a group of policemen were crowded around my father's bloody corpse my mother was standing beside them watching silently no one was paying any attention but when she glanced up she noticed me then very briefly very discreetly she gave me a knowing wink looks like mom did know what was going on and she knew who killed her husband it was her own son whoa that is a scary story but not near as scary as something that actually did happen Joshua is eight years old he lives in Sioux City South Dakota and he sent me this short but very creepy email he says it's absolutely true he says I used to babysit this kid with Down syndrome he couldn't talk very well he communicated with grunts and sign language he was very expressive though and easy to understand well this one night he runs upstairs and refuses to come down I finally ask him what's wrong and he points behind me runs his finger across his throat and makes a claw sound I turned around but nothing was there that would keep me up at night to Joshua that is so creepy I can't believe that actually happened to you hey remember if you have something scary that you would like to share with me maybe a story that you wrote on your own or maybe a scary experience that you had you can email your story to letters at spooky Santa dot com I love getting letters from all of my good little boys and girls on the good list even if they're scary stories especially if they're scary stories it is spooky Santa after all you can send your emails to letters at spooky Santa dot com now for my final story it's by author Jackie horse fall and it's called Big Foot Busters here's the story Park Ranger Lopez held up a blurry photo of a hairy brown blob here's our target this guy's got glowing red eyes and stands about seven feet tall he walks like a man but looks more like a gorilla my hand shot up yes Nick what's your question does he eat humans everyone in the group laughed my face burned I felt dumb asking the question but the beast looked wicked mean rip off my limbs and gnaw them like chicken wings mean Lopez zipped up his parka against the bitter wind we don't know for sure but it's reported he attacks grown-ups not kids that's why we've recruited you young people as Big Foot Busters why on Christmas Eve someone asked Big Foot Hunters say it has something to do with the winter solstice Lopez swept an arm toward avalanche pass in the old days townsfolk left baskets of food on the slope they hoped it would prevent Big Foot from eating their livestock no one does that now but sightings are still reported on December 24th super a man eater was out there ticked that his Christmas gift baskets were cut off dark gray clouds rolled in spilling fat flakes Lopez tucked his sunglasses away if you have a sighting do not engage Big Foot hold your ground and blow your whistle I'll come pronto with the tranquilizer gun oh yeah that'll work like zapping Godzilla with a toothpick we don't want to harm or kill Big Foot he said we want to study the species and its habitat and most important prove to the world Big Foot is real his eyes roamed over the group everyone got it all of our heads knotted we'll spread out and start up avalanche pass together always staying with inside of each other that way we'll calm the entire pass all the way to the summit a girl up front raised her hand my dad says there's no such thing as Big Foot he says it's probably only a bear a high whistling screech nearly blew out my eardrums I clapped my hands over my ears the shriek sliced through the valley like an air raid siren that is Big Foot's signature cry Lopez said it's not a bear bears don't scream the kid standing next to me whimpered suck it up man my voice hardly wobbled it's only a bobcat or a coyote he didn't look at me he stared past me over my head I turned to see what he was staring at at first all I saw was the ski slope pine trees look there he is a finger pointed there's Big Foot every head swiveled gasps rang out in that moment I became a believer it was true Big Foot was real the girls screamed some of the guys too I screamed the loudest of all a huge shaggy haired hulk with long arms hunkered at the top of avalanche pass he waved Lopez waved back and shouted hey moose the Hulk slogged through the snow field to his snowcat we stood still the statues shocked finally someone spoke Big Foot's a moose you kids crack me up Lopez said loading his dart gun that's not Big Foot that's moose the trail groomer he's a big guy who lives by himself in a shack near the top of the chairlift my body relaxed a big moose not a big foot he must be some fearless dude living up there alone with Big Foot on the loose Lopez back in dust closer he lowered his head his voice hushed remember there's a mega million dollar deal writing on this event if we flush out Big Foot we make TV history news specials interviews I'm counting on you kids to put our park on the map I was totally cool with being a celebrity billionaire but there was this awful nagging feeling that I might die first a roar thundered from deep in the pines little hairs prickled on my neck I snugged my ski hat tight over my head and hummed silent night for good luck Lopez handed out whistles at his thumbs up signal I kicked the toes of my boots into the crusted snow and trudged uphill with the group I scored a clear line of tracks for a while it seemed like a fun adventure after about 20 minutes the slope grew steeper I kept my eyes on my boots as I stepped dug in hauled myself up and stepped again in no time I was panting like my dog Rufus huffing out steamy breaths sweaty under my parka a line of snot dribbled out and hardened to ice under my nose heavy snow swirled in the air for a moment I was blinded I couldn't tell up from down my team disappeared in the whiteout bonk I slammed into a big white wall it was a humongous hill about the size of a house I'd have to go around it that really torqued me off I was whipped my belly rumbled I didn't have a clue where I was going or what time it was street lamps were already flickering in the lodge parking lot I decided to head for Moose's shack at the top of the chair left I followed a cleared trail of flat rocks and pine needles a lopsided banged up shack sat on concrete blocks wood slats were nailed every which way like sticks in a beaver dam the snow cat was parked nearby a plastic sled the size of a beach boogie board was propped against the wood pile I climbed the steps the spongy boards squished the door was wide open gouged with claw marks I wrapped on the jam hey anybody home silence I stuck my head inside mr. Moose I clumped inside with my boots the place had been trashed tables splintered lamps smashed stuffing popping out of the slashed sofa I inched my way toward the kitchen and what I saw on the floor made my guts churn like a meat grinder a bloody heap of freshly gnawed bones broken into pieces Moose sure had an appetite for raw meat but where was he a horrible thought suddenly crossed my mind was Moose the pile of meat and bones gagging I charged into the tiny bathroom and dropped to my knees over the camp toilet my mouth filled with sour saliva water I needed water and quick no sink a shower curtain hung down to the floor maybe there was a water tank behind it I stood and pushed the curtain aside rings tinkled on the rod what I saw made my knees buckle I crashed back against the wall bigfoot was hanging in the shower he didn't move his whole body was droopy he looked dead I stuck out a finger and poked at him a few times the first smelled scuzzy like wet wool socks he was dead no not exactly dead he'd never really been alive bigfoot was a costume a gorilla suit so that's what Moose was up to pretending to be bigfoot scaring all the townies and making fools of us wait till Lopez found out we'd all been scammed I backed out of the bathroom and bumped against a wall a big wall and the wall grunted and belched hot air down my neck a foul stench of rotting meat washed over me mr. Moose I croaked it was not Moose it was Bigfoot the real one he towered over me eight feet of shaggy brown hair dangling gorilla arms and hands big as catcher's mitts I frantically dug the whistle out of my pocket and blew it bigfoot bared his teeth and snarled he slapped it out of my hand and I stomped on it I was a dead man but wait Lopez said Bigfoot didn't hurt kids hi I'm Nick I squeaked I'm your friend this was a question Bigfoot smacked his lips his answer was perfectly clear I was not his friend at all I was his dinner I lunged for the door before Bigfoot could grab me I stumbled down the steps and sprawled near the wood pile knocking over the sled I tumbled into it and pulled myself into a crouch leaning forward I put my weight on my front foot like a snowboard shredder I rocketed downhill my arms flailing like a scarecrow in a windstorm woodchucks and rabbits dove for cover the sled hissed as it skimmed over new powder pines whizzed by in a green blur I pictured my brain splattered on a tree trunk above me Bigfoot's shriek shattered the snowmass the next thing I heard was the womb of an avalanche snow spilled down the slope behind me crashing through trees snapping limbs as it barreled down the mountain I whipped at warp speed so fast that by the time I saw the hill I was shooting over it catching some serious air the sled shot off sideways I somersaulted bellowing like a terrified hound dog in a flash I nose dived into a mean header down the steep ice slicked slope pinballing bouncing off small moguls I finally leveled off and slid across a snowy field a puff of snow rose as I scored Olympic gold for a 10-point face plant into a snowdrift I lay there shaky heart jackhammering and that moment I didn't care if we never flushed out Bigfoot I didn't care if I wasn't on TV or never got a fat wad of cash all I cared about was going home I shoved Bigfoot to the back of my mind when we gathered around the tree that night our family tradition was to open gifts from relatives on Christmas Eve I was pretending to love the hand-knit Jingle Bell sweater from Great Aunt Margie when the doorbell rang I'll get it I tore myself free from the mushy kisses probably carolers dad said invite them in for hot cocoa I opened the door and looked out no carolers the only sound was a low growl a big dude wearing sunglasses hunkered by the mailbox I squinted into the dark Ranger Lopez Bigfoot lumbered up under the porch light his wide hairy chest was stuffed into Lopez's parka seems bursting he picked out a fleshy scrap between his teeth and belched a blast of rotting meat hit my nose poor poor Lopez I really liked that guy please don't hurt me I pleaded to Bigfoot I'm only a kid Bigfoot drew the tranquilizer gun from behind his back and he aimed it at me no I said I couldn't die on Christmas Eve I still had gifts to open then an idea hit me wait I said wait right here I dashed back inside to where my family sat opening gifts and listening to Christmas music I dropped to my knees and rummaged under the tree digging through boxes and wrapping paper can't wait for your next turn huh dad said chuckling finally I found it I lugged it out and hoisted it to the door here I handed the cellophane wrapped bundle to Bigfoot and I said Merry Christmas Bigfoot's red eyes glistened he knuckled away a tear his lips turning up in a half smile before I could duck he reached out and patted my cheek hugging the basket to his chest he turned and looked into the darkness at that moment I understood something important about Christmas Eve traditions something deadly important and I would never forget Bigfoot's gift basket ever again who knew Bigfoot celebrated Christmas well did you like the stories I told this time if so do Santa a big favor and tell your friends and family members about the spooky Santa podcast that way they can listen to and remember you can write your own scary story and email it to me at letters at spooky Santa dot com it can be an original story or it could be something scary that really happened to you you can send it again to letters at spooky Santa dot com spooky Santa is a registered trademark of Marlar House Productions copyright Marlar House Productions 2019 now be a good little girl or boy and join me next time for more creepy tales from spooky Santa