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The Horrifying True Stories of Three Real-Life Killer Santas

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With Christmas just about a month away now, it’s getting to be that time where we’re all going to be talking about killer Santas in the movies. But what about killer Santas in the real world? Has anyone ever actually dressed up as Kris Kringle and gone on a killing spree, ala Billy in Silent Night, Deadly Night?

That’s what we’re here to talk about tonight, and I think you can guess the answer to that question, being that I wouldn’t exactly have a post to make here if the answer was no!

Though killers dressed as Santa Claus have been depicted in the world of fictional entertainment since the early ’70s, with the very first one popping up in the original Tales From The Crypt movie, the earliest real life instance of a man donning the red suit for a night of mayhem and murder that my research was able to dig up was actually not until 2008, when a man by the name of Bruce Pardo became perhaps the very first person to turn Santa into a killer…

Killer Santa

On December 24th, 2008, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo knocked at the door of his ex-wife’s family’s house, where a Christmas Eve party was being held. When an 8-year-old girl answered the door, she saw Pardo standing in front of her, dressed as Santa Claus and carrying a gift-wrapped present in one hand, and a 9mm handgun in the other.

He immediately shot the little girl in the face, and began pumping bullets into the other 20+ party-goers. Pardo then unwrapped the ‘gift’ he brought with him: a homemade flamethrower, which he used to burn the house to the ground.

Nine people in total were killed, including Pardo’s ex-wife and her mother, father, sister and two brothers. Three more were injured, including the 8-year-old girl, who thankfully survived the gunshot to the face.

The house engulfed in flames, Pardo took off the Santa outfit, fled the scene and drove to his brother’s house, about 30 minutes away, where he fired a fatal gunshot wound into his own head. His body was found covered in third degree burns, and portions of the Santa suit had actually melted onto him. Though his initial plan was to flee to Canada after the murders, it’s likely that his severe burns resulted in him pulling the trigger on himself.

Why was Pardo wearing a Santa suit, when he committed the murders? Allegedly because his wife’s family had a tradition of a neighbor dressing up as Santa Claus, and visiting their house on Christmas Eve. As if that story needed to get any sicker.

Killer Santa

A very similar tragedy befell a Texas family on Christmas day, in 2011, when 56-year-old Aziz Yazdanpanah entered his ex-wife’s apartment, dressed as Santa, and fatally shot not only his ex-wife, but also their two teenage children and three other relatives. Much like Pardo, Aziz shot himself after taking the lives of his family members.

Reports indicate that the family had been opening Christmas presents at the time they were murdered, and Aziz’s niece had sent out a text message to a friend shortly before, expressing her disgust over the fact that Aziz was unexpectedly at the apartment, wearing a Santa suit and trying to “win father of the year.”

Aziz and his wife had split up earlier in the year, and he was not doing well financially, as he had been unemployed for nearly 10 years. A family friend indicated that Aziz was jealous of his wife’s success on her own, after they split up, and pointed to that as a possible motive for the murders.

killer santa claus

On January 6th of 2012, in Israel, the head of the Orthodox Church Association, 51-year-old Gabriel Cadis (above), was stabbed in the street during a parade, in celebration of the Nativity of Jesus. Eyewitnesses at the scene reported seeing a man dressed in a Santa suit stabbing Cadis in the back, and then fleeing the scene. Cadis died of his injuries shortly thereafter.

Though the Santa killer in this case still hasn’t been identified, there are several suspects, and it’s likely that Cadis’ murder was orchestrated by a man he was in a real estate dispute with.

Well, this has been a depressing post, eh? Let’s end things on a positive note, with a reminder that not everyone who dresses up as Santa is an evil, bad man. Remember that, kiddies!

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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