All Chapters of Silent Night, Eyes Shut Tight: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

With two days until Christmas, my five-year-old sister, Sophie, ran up to me, all excited."I saw Santa Claus last night!"I couldn't help but smile. "Oh yeah? Did he bring you a present?""No." Sophie shook her head, her expression a little confused. "He was weird."Mom walked out of the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee. "Sophie's been going on about this all morning." She winked at me. "Such a vivid imagination."But Sophie wasn’t smiling. She clutched her unicorn doll tighter and whispered, "He had four legs."I froze.Four legs? Who has four legs?I sat down next to her. "Are you sure it was Santa Claus?""Yes! He came down the chimney!" Sophie nodded hard. "But his fingers were too long, like a spider's. And they had too many joints."Mom took a sip of her coffee. "Sophie, sweetie, you must have had a nightmare. Santa isn't like that.""It wasn't a nightmare!" Sophie jumped to her feet and started to act it out. "He was just standing there!" she said, pointing to the corner by the

Chapter 2

I practically burst into Sophie's room."Sophie! Sophie!" I shook her little shoulder urgently.Mom sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. "Chloe? What is it? It's so late—""Did Santa have his big sack of presents?!" I cut her off, staring at Sophie's sleepy face.Sophie blinked, groggy. "What?""The Santa who came out of the chimney!" My voice was shaking. "Did he have his big sack of presents?"Sophie shook her head, her voice tiny. "No… He had a sack on his back, but it was all lumpy and wrinkled. And it was moving."My blood ran cold."What do you mean, it was moving?""Like…" Sophie made a squirming motion with her little hands. "Like there were things inside, wiggling around. Not presents. Something else."The answer horrified me.A kid making up a lie would never forget Santa's iconic gift sack. And they definitely wouldn't describe it as a "lumpy, moving sack.""Chloe, are you crazy?" Mom said, her voice sharp with impatience. "Scaring her in the middle of the night! Sophie need

Chapter 3

I didn't see the message until I woke up the next morning.The sender was NocturneNotes. No profile picture, and their profile page was almost completely blank.NocturneNotes: Your sister isn't lying. That thing is dangerous.My heart immediately started pounding.I replied instantly: Do you know what it is? Please tell me!A few minutes later, a reply came.NocturneNotes: The real Santa Claus doesn't bring gifts. Anything that enters your home can't be the real Santa.The message confused me. What did that mean?NocturneNotes: I need you to run a test. Tonight, at exactly midnight, hang a small gift box on your Christmas tree. Inside the box, put one gingerbread man cookie. Any brand will do. Then hide and watch. Remember, exactly at midnight. Not a minute sooner, not a minute later.NocturneNotes: If I'm right, you'll need to act fast.His words sent a shiver down my spine.I spent the entire day in a state of high anxiety.Mom and Dad were preparing Christmas dinner as usual. Sophie

Chapter 4

My phone almost slipped from my hand.Going to die? What does that mean?I immediately started a voice call. It rang twice before he picked up."Hello?" His voice was calm, a young man."Please tell me what's happening!" I was practically sobbing. "What do you mean my whole family is going to die?!""Calm down," he said, his tone unnervingly level. "Whether you live or die depends on luck. But if you're willing to trust me and follow my instructions exactly, you might have a chance.""What instructions? I'll do anything!""Listen carefully. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. From 11:30 PM to 2:00 AM, your entire family needs to be in the living room, in sleeping bags, under the Christmas tree.""And then what?""This is the most important rule," he said, his voice turning serious. "You have to be perfect sleepers. You can't actually fall asleep—absolutely not, or you'll die in your sleep. But no matter what you hear, what you smell, or even if you feel something touch you, you absolutely canno

Chapter 5

At 11:20 PM on Christmas Eve, the four of us were lying in sleeping bags in the living room.Only the red and green glow of the Christmas tree lights flickered in the darkness. The house was unnervingly quiet.Dad's shotgun lay right next to his sleeping bag. The green light of the smart security system blinked steadily on the wall.Sophie, dressed in her favorite unicorn pajamas, lay beside me, buzzing with excitement. "Chloe, when does the game start?""In ten minutes, at 11:30," I whispered. "You remember the rules?""I remember! Don't open your eyes, don't talk, and don't fall asleep," Sophie nodded seriously. "I can totally make it to two o'clock."Mom shifted in her sleeping bag. "Chloe, I still think this is ridiculous," she whispered. "Lying on the living room floor because of some stranger on the internet…""Shh," Dad cut her off. "We already agreed. We'll do what Chloe says. It's just a few hours."At exactly 11:30 PM, I glanced at my phone and whispered, "It's starting."The

Chapter 6

The alarm cut out, and the living room plunged back into a deathly silence.Under the flickering lights of the Christmas tree, I saw the most terrifying thing I will ever see.Click. Clack. Click.The sound of dislocating bones echoed from the fireplace as the creature unfolded itself.First came a second leg, just as pale, its joints bent at angles that defied anatomy.Then a third, and a fourth.CRACK.With a louder snap of bone, the creature's torso squeezed out of the chimney.Its body was gaunt and skeletal, its skin a corpse-white gray, with ribs clearly visible beneath its skin. Its four limbs were splayed out at bizarre angles, like a spider that had been crushed and then reassembled.If it weren't for the enormous, dark red cloak draped over its body, it would have looked nothing like Santa Claus at all.When it had fully emerged from the fireplace, I almost screamed.I was certain it was much, much bigger today than what Sophie had described.Even in a crouched position, its

Chapter 7

Just when I thought I was going to pass out, the creature moved back to my father.It crouched down, its twisted face just inches from his.Then it extended its tongue.It was a black, serpentine thing, at least eight inches long, covered in slime and backward-facing barbs.It slowly reached for my father's closed eye.The tongue began to lick his left eyelid, making a wet, sticky sound.Dad's body began to twitch uncontrollably.I watched as his eyelid turned red and swollen under the creature's licking, then began to bleed.Slurp… slurp…The creature licked faster, its disgusting tongue sliding back and forth across his eye."Nngh—" Dad let out a strangled, agonized groan. His fingers started to convulse. I knew he was at his limit.Suddenly, the creature's tongue pierced through his eyelid, touching his eyeball directly."AAAAAHHHHH!"Dad couldn't take it anymore. He let out a blood-curdling scream.He shot up, grabbing the shotgun beside him, and jammed the barrel against the creat

Chapter 8

The creature was gone, dragging my father with it. The living room fell quiet again.But a deep sense of unease told me it wasn't over.I glanced at my phone. It was still half an hour until 2:00 AM.The rules said not to make a sound until two, but Mom had already broken that rule.I wanted to tell her to be quiet, but I was too terrified to speak myself.All I could do was watch her kneel in the blood and weep.Strangely, the creature didn't return to attack her for crying.For a moment, there was a brief, eerie calm, broken only by my mother's choked sobs in the blood-soaked room.Sophie, still in her eye mask and earmuffs, tugged on my sleeve, trying to say something.I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth.Just then, a familiar voice echoed from deep within the chimney:"Sarah… help me!"It was Dad's voice."Sarah, I'm not dead… Pull me out! I'm stuck… Please… help me…"His voice was filled with pain and desperation, as if he were fighting for his life inside the chimney."Honey

Chapter 9

I held Sophie tight, counting the seconds in my head to get through the next twenty agonizing minutes.Just then, there was a knock at the front door."Police! Is anyone home?" a firm, male voice called from outside. "We received an alert from your smart security system about a possible intrusion. Is everything alright in there?"My heart leaped. Was it help?But my reason quickly took over.The security system had been shut off. It couldn't have sent an alert."Sir? Ma'am? If you're okay, please give us a sign. We're just doing a routine check to make sure you're safe."The voice outside sounded so real. I could even hear the static of a police radio and the low murmur of partners talking.But I wouldn't fall for it again.This had to be another one of the monster's tricks.If it could mimic my father's voice, why not a police officer's?I stayed silent. After a few minutes, the voices outside disappeared.They were replaced by another sound from the chimney.Thump. Thump. Thump.A he

Chapter 10

The minutes crawled by. I fought to stay awake, lost in a haze of exhaustion and fear.The monster was still crouched over me. Realizing I wouldn't be easily tricked, it stopped humming and just watched me, its rotten eyes roaming over my face.Then its gaze shifted to Sophie, lying beside me."Sophie, Mommy has a Christmas present for you," it said in my mother's sweet voice. "Open your eyes and see."Sophie whispered, "Mommy?"No!I realized with a jolt of horror: When did her earmuffs come off?Then, my father's voice spoke."Sophie, Daddy's here. Take off your eye mask and see the big present Daddy bought for you."I didn't have time to react."Daddy! Mommy!" Sophie tore off her eye mask and shot up, beaming. "The game is finally over—"Her voice cut off.Before her was not her mother and father, but the monster.It was crouched over me, staring down at her with its putrid face.And held high in its right hand was a dripping head: my mother's. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, her m

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