10 Dark Christmas Movie Theories That Will Give You Chills

Christmas is the perfect time to watch some romcoms and lighthearted comedies. However, some theorists with crazy sharp eyes have spotted some details that can turn a wholesome festive film into something far darker. Their Christmas movie theories sound so crazy and dark that they can send a chill down your spine.
So let’s see how bizarre these Christmas movie theories can get. Are these theorists overthinking, or is there really something far more sinister lurking underneath the surface of these innocent movies?

1. Santa's Death Was Staged In The Santa Clause

Source: Walt Disney Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

In the movie The Santa Clause, the main character Scott Calvin is forced to become Santa after the previous Santa falls off the roof and dies. A Redditor called SupaBloo theorized that the original Santa staged his death, pointing out that he probably didn't want to be Santa Claus anymore.
So with the help of the elves, they staged his death in front of Scott to make him believe that death is the only way out of being Santa Claus. The original Santa gets so depressed with his job that he has to fake suicide to get out of really changes the tone of the movie huh?

2. Santa From The Santa Clause Is Actually A Wizard From Harry Potter

Source: Walt Disney Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Another cool theory about this movie is that Santa Claus might be a wizard from Harry Potter. There are a lot of similarities between Santa's behavior and things you might learn at the wizarding school, like using floor powder and apparating to get down chimneys or using the Obliviate charm to make sure no one sees him in their home.
On top of that, a time-turner is the only way he could get to all the houses on Christmas Eve. The elves could be a kind of Gringotts goblins too.

3. Hermey In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Is Santa's Rebellious Son

Source: NBC/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Hermey looks nothing like an elf, but he does look a lot like Santa. There is a theory that he is actually Santa and Mrs. Claus' rebellious son. Santa is very unhappy in this movie, and his attitude isn't the best either. The theme of rebellious sons is seen throughout the movie with Rudolph's father telling him to 'be normal' and to conform to everyone else, so what if this is the same case with Santa too?
Maybe he wants to train Hermey into a great toy maker, or the next Santa Claus, but Hermey refuses. Another detail is that Mrs. Claus always refers to Santa as 'Papa', which is what married couples WITH CHILDREN typically call each other.

4. Myron Doesn't Exist In Jingle All the Way

Source: 20th Century Fox/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

What if the psychopathic postman in Jingle All the Way was never real? Myron Larabee could be a figment of Howard's imagination. He only shows up when Howard is most stressed out, and he runs around with bombs disguised as parcels. He even gets away with bombing a group of police officers! Clearly, this is a sign of Howard having a psychosis episode, right?
Well, not really. We do see Myron interact with people aside from Howard, so he must be real. Unless Howard was imagining those interactions too?

5. Kevin From Home Alone Is The Jigsaw Killer

Source: 20th Century Fox/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

The traps in Home Alone might be funny to watch, but they just become 10 times scarier once you linked them with the deadly traps in Saw. Some theorists suggest that these traps are the prototypes and that Kevin will later grow up to be the Jigsaw Killer.
Kevin has anger issues and violent tendencies. Plus, he has blonde hair along with blue eyes just like Jigsaw. Combine that with the fact that he is very smart for a kid his age and is able to set up elaborate traps using the most normal things ever, and suddenly this theory kinda makes sense.

6. Max Was An Unwanted Gift In The Grinch

Source: Universal Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

In this movie, the Grinch gets all his stuff by taking it from the dump. That could suggest that his dog, Max, was once thrown away too. Some online users think that Max is an unwanted Christmas gift sent to Crumpit in the trash. Kids often ask for puppies and pets for their Christmas gifts, so this theory isn’t that far reach. But still, thinking Max is abandoned just makes the movie a lot sadder.

7. Buddy From Elf Is A Pervert

Source: New Line Cinema/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Maybe the naive and a little bit silly Buddy isn’t as innocent as we thought. Some people point out that he excuses himself for creepily watching Jovie in the shower, claiming that he doesn’t know she is naked in the shower. Remember, he was naked in the shower at the North Pole earlier in the film, so why would he say so?
The theory also claims that he brutally injures multiple children on their way home from school in the snowball fight, fakes his innocence to verbally abuse a man, and uses his obsession with syrup to get away with screwing up his work.

8. The Presents At The Beginning Of Elf Are For The Dead Kids

Source: New Line Cinema/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

This is probably one of the saddest Christmas movie theories on this list. In the opening scene at the orphanage, some presents are left out after all the presents for the children are accounted for. One Redditor suggests that these presents are for the kids who have unfortunately died before they received their Christmas gifts. Yup, way to ruin a funny movie.

9. In Love Actually, Mia And Rufus Are A Devil And An Angel

Source: Universal Pictures/ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Fans of Love Actually think that Mia is the visual representation of evil, a demoness in flesh and bones. She always tries to tempt Harry to do bad things like dark deeds in dark corners. Meanwhile, Rufus is an angel who is trying to stop Harry from falling into temptation. The hilarious over extravagant jewelry-packing scene was actually him giving Harry time to cool his head and think about what he was about to do.

10. Ralphie Actually Shot His Eye Out In A Christmas Story

Source: MGM/UA Entertainment Co./ Courtesy of Everett Collection

Ralphie in A Christmas Story has an obsession with a BB gun. He wants to find one under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day so badly, despite being told throughout the movie that he'll shoot his eye out. An online user believes that is exactly what happens.
Ralphie has to live in hostile environments. He was bullied at school and his home life was a mess. The pain and the tortured memories became too much, which led him to fall deeply into alcohol and drug abuse. The whole story was actually told during his group therapy session at a rehab clinic, which explained why the voiceover was a grown-up Ralphie and the viewers never knew who he was speaking with.
Do you agree with these Christmas movie theories, or do you think they are completely bonkers? Speaking about movie theories, online theorists also come up with many other bizarre hypotheses about iconic movies. You should definitely check them out!