A fun occult creature feature based on old folklore and with an eighties vibe.

• Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
• Originality factor: ★★★★★
• Occult folklore factor: ★★★★★
• Fun factor: ★★★★★
• Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
• Eighties vibes: ★★★★★

Secret Santa is a lot of fun, based on old German folklore, this create feature is cause for a lot of mayhem, and it does feel a bit like Gremlins. A perfect Christmas gift to give yourself to read.

It consists of 220 pages.

Plot

Lussi is a horror book editor in the eighties. We’re in the middle of the eighties horror books bloom and Lussi has been let go and is now looking for a new job. It seems a bit far fetched but she is applying for a job as editor with a very established but conservative publisher who doesn’t even publish horror books. But Lussi sees an opportunity. And she has some very (un)fortunate luck. The boss who’s interviewing her himself has no interest in her, but she has an interest in the little Percht sitting on a shelf. She recognizes it from her grandmother. Before he can sent her away, he has a heart attack and dies. So nobody knows if she’s been hired or not. She takes her chances and when she meets the boss’ son who’s going to take over, she tells him his father has hired her as a new editor. 

When she’s in her first week at work, not everybody seems to be happy to see her and she’s not very welcomed, except for the boss’ son. Things are getting strange when she also gets a Secret Santa gift under the Christmas tree for her. It’s the Percht that was sitting on the shelf. And now she’s its master. She realizes that the Percht might be responsible for her “luck”. With the help of her best friend Fabien she has to find a way to get out of this deal, before it’s too late and things get ugly.

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Short Review

It’s a very original and fun story about German folklore and the Percht in particular. This Percht that has something evil attached to it, needs a master. It “helps” its master in very unconventional ways and that is not without danger and death. A lot of strange accidents are about to happen at the office. But Lussi is a strong and feisty woman who can manage things on her own and doesn’t recoil quickly. She’s a very fun and powerful character that certainly isn’t a typical screaming woman from the eighties but a far more strong headed, witty and smart woman. That change in eighty vibes is a very good choice, because now you can root for a real woman of flesh and blood and not some oblivious girl. 

And she has a lot to deal with. Not only the Percht who is cause for a lot of mischief and worse at the office building of Blackwood-Patterson. But there are also other strange things going on with the staff. At first she thinks because they don’t like her, but there’s something far more sinister at play. This part of the story has a very big surprise up its sleeve that turns things around very quickly and you won’t see it coming. 

The whole story feels and radiates an eighties vibe. If you picture Lussi you just can see her shoulder pads in her big blazer. It’s full of dark humor, mischief and weird characters. It mixes dark humor with the occult and folklore and all of this is taking place during Christmas. The ordeal Lussi finds herself in gets worse and worse and she has to even fight for her life. While trying to make a good first impression at work, doing her job, it feels like a dark episode of The Office, but when the Percht comes in you’ll find yourself in Gremlins (1984). Lussi has to solve the problem of the Perch and its mystery but that’s easier said than done and it sets her on a very surprising and shocking path. 

Secret Santa is a very original story that relies on folklore, the occult and a lot of dark humor. The eighties vibe is great and it’s just so much fun to read. A perfect read for Christmas or if you’re into a creature feature with an original mischievous and evil being that needs to be stopped. If that’s even possible.