Chapter 1:

Decked With Doom

The small town of Winterglow sparkled beneath a sky heavy with snow, the air crisp with the scent of pine and distant wood smoke. Twinkling lights wrapped around every tree and house like festive garlands, and the town square buzzed with preparations for the annual Christmas market. For most people, Winterglow was a haven of holiday joy, a place where the magic of Christmas lingered in the air like the soft snowflakes drifting down.

But for Emberlyn Frost, the magic felt more like a headache.

“Sol, are you serious?” Emberlyn asked, standing at the edge of the living room, arms crossed. She watched her best friend, Solstice “Sol” Winters, who was currently balancing on a stepladder, stringing yet another set of lights across the ceiling.

“Of course I am!” Sol responded with a grin, her reindeer antlers wobbling as she reached to pin the last strand in place. “You can never have too many lights, Em! It’s Christmas!”

Emberlyn sighed, looking around the room. Tinsel dripped from every surface, ornaments dangled from the windows, and a small forest of miniature Christmas trees stood on every available table. Sol’s enthusiasm for the holiday was infectious—except when it threatened to turn their home into a cluttered maze of yuletide chaos.

“I just don’t get how you can live in this mess,” Emberlyn muttered, smoothing her dark hair behind her ears, already mentally cataloging how she would clean up once Sol’s frenzy died down.

“It’s not a mess. It’s Christmas cheer!” Sol’s voice rang with a musical quality as she hopped down from the ladder. “You need to lighten up, Em. Where’s your spirit?”

Emberlyn shot her a wry smile. “My spirit is perfectly fine, right where it belongs—under control. Unlike this,” she gestured broadly to the glittering explosion around them.

As Sol admired her handiwork, Emberlyn retreated to the kitchen, where she found some semblance of order among the chaos. The two had been friends since childhood, and despite their differences, they worked well together. Sol was the dreamer, always seeking adventure and thrills. Emberlyn, the realist, kept them grounded—but that didn’t mean she lacked her own brand of curiosity.

A loud thump from the living room interrupted her thoughts. She peeked through the doorway to see Sol standing in the middle of the room, staring wide-eyed at their Christmas tree.

“Em… did you move these?”

Emberlyn walked over, her gaze following Sol’s. The ornaments that had been delicately placed just hours before were now rearranged into disturbing, almost grotesque patterns. The shimmering baubles formed faces—skulls with hollow eyes, twisted grins, and gnarled hands reaching up from the tree’s base as if the tree itself was alive.

“Nope, not me,” Emberlyn replied, feeling an uncomfortable chill run down her spine. She looked at Sol, who usually embraced any opportunity to dive into the weird or strange, but this time, her friend was eerily quiet.

Sol crouched closer to the tree, her fingers brushing a bauble that now seemed to glint with a sinister hue. “This… wasn’t like this before. I hung these myself.”

“It’s probably just a prank,” Emberlyn said, though her voice lacked its usual conviction. “Maybe those kids from across the street snuck in and rearranged them while we were in the kitchen.”

“Right,” Sol muttered, though her gaze lingered on the tree for a moment longer. She stood up, giving a nervous laugh. “Guess I’m just imagining things. Who’s afraid of a Christmas tree, right?”

The two laughed it off, but the uneasy feeling lingered.

Later that evening, the strange occurrences began to intensify. As Emberlyn sat on the couch, sipping tea and reading a book, she heard a faint giggle, followed by the rapid pitter-patter of footsteps running above them on the roof.

“Sol?” Emberlyn called, her voice tight as she set her cup down.

Sol came rushing in from the kitchen, her eyes wide. “You heard that too, right?”

They stood in silence, both straining to listen. The footsteps were unmistakable now—small, quick, and darting from one end of the roof to the other. Then, more giggles, higher-pitched, almost childlike, but too eerie to be playful.

“Maybe it’s those kids again,” Sol said, though she sounded far from convinced.

Emberlyn grabbed her coat. “Let’s check outside.”

The cold air hit them as they stepped onto the porch. Their yard was bathed in the soft glow of the Christmas lights, but something was off. The decorations Sol had spent hours setting up were gone—every last light, wreath, and ornament, vanished.

“What the hell?” Sol whispered, stepping forward. “Where did everything go?”

As if in response, a twinkle of light caught Emberlyn’s eye. She looked up, and her breath hitched. The decorations were not gone—they were moved. High above, strung between the telephone poles and the church spire, were their missing lights, wreaths, and tinsel. They swayed gently in the wind, impossibly placed at heights no one could reach.

“This is getting weird,” Emberlyn muttered, pulling Sol back toward the house. “We need to lock the doors.”

But just as they turned, a soft glow filled the air around them. The lights from their own house flickered to life, bright and blinding, wrapping around the house like a snake. In an instant, the lights surged forward, snapping into place like a net, trapping them.

“We’re… trapped?” Sol whispered, her voice trembling.

Emberlyn yanked at the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge. The windows were sealed tight, and no matter how hard they pulled or pushed, the string lights seemed to bind the house like a cage. Panic clawed at Emberlyn’s chest. “We need to call the police.”

Sol fumbled for her phone, her fingers shaking. She dialed, but just as the line connected, the giggling returned, louder this time. It echoed around them, coming from every direction. And then—silence.

“Winterglow Police Department,” a voice crackled on the other end. “What’s your emergency?”

Emberlyn took the phone from Sol, her voice steady but her heart racing. “We’re trapped in our house. And something… someone… is messing with us.”

As they waited for help to arrive, the house hummed with an eerie stillness. The lights around them continued to glow, casting long shadows that seemed to dance in the corners of the room.

Something was very wrong with Winterglow, and Emberlyn had the sinking feeling that this Christmas would be anything but merry.