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The Very Naughty List Series #1
The Very Naughty List
When a down-on-his-luck shopping mall Santa is abruptly fired just days before Christmas, he decides to unleash holiday hell on the staff who wronged him. As the body count rises, shoppers at Merryvale will soon discover that this Santa’s got a bag full of wicked surprises - and he’s ready to deliver!
The Very Naughty List is a wickedly funny, twisted, blood-soaked yuletide horror.
The Very Naughty List is a wickedly funny, twisted, blood-soaked yuletide horror.
137 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2024
About the author
Michael D.A. Clarke
8 books153 followersMichael D.A. Clarke believes that by adding in his initials and speaking in the third-person, he may come across as a real writer. In reality, he's not quite sure if he is a real writer as he has only written a few books. I mean, he did write them - so, by definition he's definitely a real writer, right? The question should be, "Is he a good writer?" That's for you to decide. But take comfort in knowing that Michael D.A. Clarke has been writing words since he was just 5 years old and has written many words since then.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
December 29, 2024
Well-written, bloody, and a fun twist on Christmas lore. Santa got fired, which triggered a series of events, leading to his rampage. There were some characters sprinkled throughout, but none of that really mattered. You jumped into this for a maniacal Santa Claus, and you got it. Creative kills and scenes with this bloodthirsty holiday figure. Now, it ended around the 80% mark, leading into an excerpt from another story by the author. There was no mention of this on the Amazon or Goodreads page, which was a little frustrating. The story lacked proper context at times, which could have been easily resolved by keeping the book at its projected length, adding in more development on certain plot points. Aside from that, this was an enjoyable experience.
November 5, 2025
A rather absurd book that didn't really get going until near the end chapters.
It started off slow and the story was somewhat boring and predictable.
A festive little read...but it lacked something special and it needed much more to excite me with it's gore and brutality.
Not really my kind of thing...it could have been better.
Now I expect I'm on the Very Naughty List for this review??? 🤣😭😢 SORRY SANTA 😨
Only 3 ⭐⭐⭐'s As it didn't hold any surprises!! 🎅🌲🦌🔔🕯️🛷⛄
It started off slow and the story was somewhat boring and predictable.
A festive little read...but it lacked something special and it needed much more to excite me with it's gore and brutality.
Not really my kind of thing...it could have been better.
Now I expect I'm on the Very Naughty List for this review??? 🤣😭😢 SORRY SANTA 😨
Only 3 ⭐⭐⭐'s As it didn't hold any surprises!! 🎅🌲🦌🔔🕯️🛷⛄
December 17, 2025
Santa is tired of everyone's shit and everybody is going on the naughty list. It's like Bad Santa meets horror and I love that. Seriously the most unhinged Mall Santa ever!
Clarke flawlessly combined horror and humor and I am living for it! This was a fantastic start to my festive reads.
Clarke flawlessly combined horror and humor and I am living for it! This was a fantastic start to my festive reads.
October 25, 2025
The Very Naughty List by Michael D.A. Clarke
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is an entertaining and twisted short horror story! It’s dark, gory and exiting!
Santa loses his sh$t after he gets fired from his Santa job at the mall a day before Christmas. This job was his life, it defines who he is, and without it he quickly goes off the deep end.
This is my first story from this author and I’m excited to dive into more. This book is well written and I like how the author tells the story!
I recommend this fun read for the holiday season! Who doesn’t love Santa?
There’s book 2 also!! I’m off to read that one!!
🎄 🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎄
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is an entertaining and twisted short horror story! It’s dark, gory and exiting!
Santa loses his sh$t after he gets fired from his Santa job at the mall a day before Christmas. This job was his life, it defines who he is, and without it he quickly goes off the deep end.
This is my first story from this author and I’m excited to dive into more. This book is well written and I like how the author tells the story!
I recommend this fun read for the holiday season! Who doesn’t love Santa?
There’s book 2 also!! I’m off to read that one!!
🎄 🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼🎄
December 11, 2025
Not for me although as always, I enjoyed exchanging thoughts with the buddy I was reading this with.
January 19, 2026
3.5 - 4 stars
The Very Naughty List is a sharp, twisted little stocking stuffer of a novella—110 pages of dark humor, holiday mayhem, and unapologetically over‑the‑top horror. Michael D.A. Clarke leans all the way into the absurdity of a disgruntled mall Santa snapping just days before Christmas, and the result is a story that’s equal parts wickedly funny and gleefully unhinged.
A Santa You Definitely Don’t Want Coming to Town - The premise is simple and deliciously chaotic: a down‑on‑his‑luck mall Santa gets fired and decides to take revenge on the people who wronged him. Clarke doesn’t try to make him sympathetic—this Santa is a villain through and through—but the dark comedy of his meltdown gives the story its charm. The tone is campy, irreverent, and self‑aware, making the horror feel more like a wild ride than something meant to shock.
A Mall Full of Victims, Secrets, and Holiday Carnage - Merryvale Mall becomes the perfect stage for the novella’s escalating chaos. Clarke uses the setting well—crowded shops, stressed employees, oblivious shoppers—to create a sense of frantic holiday energy. As the situation spirals, the story leans into its slasher‑movie roots, but always with a wink. The pacing is fast, the chapters punchy, and the tension builds with each new “surprise” Santa pulls from his metaphorical bag.
Dark Humor That Makes the Horror Go Down Smooth - What makes this novella work is its tone. Clarke balances the violence with humor—sarcastic narration, absurd scenarios, and a protagonist whose descent into madness is played with just enough exaggeration to keep things entertaining rather than bleak. It’s the kind of story that knows exactly what it is and never pretends otherwise.
A Quick, Bloody, Festive Escape - At just 110 pages, The Very Naughty List is a fast read—perfect for horror fans looking for something seasonal, twisted, and not too serious. It’s a “hit or miss depending on your level of twisted,” as the description says, but for readers who enjoy dark holiday tales with a slasher‑comedy vibe, it absolutely hits.
The Very Naughty List is a wickedly fun, blood‑spattered holiday romp that blends horror and humor into a compact, chaotic package. Ideal for readers who love:
Christmas‑themed horror
dark comedy
campy slasher energy
quick, punchy novellas
villains who go full unhinged
It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who enjoy their holiday stories with a sinister grin, it’s a delightfully twisted treat.
The Very Naughty List is a sharp, twisted little stocking stuffer of a novella—110 pages of dark humor, holiday mayhem, and unapologetically over‑the‑top horror. Michael D.A. Clarke leans all the way into the absurdity of a disgruntled mall Santa snapping just days before Christmas, and the result is a story that’s equal parts wickedly funny and gleefully unhinged.
A Santa You Definitely Don’t Want Coming to Town - The premise is simple and deliciously chaotic: a down‑on‑his‑luck mall Santa gets fired and decides to take revenge on the people who wronged him. Clarke doesn’t try to make him sympathetic—this Santa is a villain through and through—but the dark comedy of his meltdown gives the story its charm. The tone is campy, irreverent, and self‑aware, making the horror feel more like a wild ride than something meant to shock.
A Mall Full of Victims, Secrets, and Holiday Carnage - Merryvale Mall becomes the perfect stage for the novella’s escalating chaos. Clarke uses the setting well—crowded shops, stressed employees, oblivious shoppers—to create a sense of frantic holiday energy. As the situation spirals, the story leans into its slasher‑movie roots, but always with a wink. The pacing is fast, the chapters punchy, and the tension builds with each new “surprise” Santa pulls from his metaphorical bag.
Dark Humor That Makes the Horror Go Down Smooth - What makes this novella work is its tone. Clarke balances the violence with humor—sarcastic narration, absurd scenarios, and a protagonist whose descent into madness is played with just enough exaggeration to keep things entertaining rather than bleak. It’s the kind of story that knows exactly what it is and never pretends otherwise.
A Quick, Bloody, Festive Escape - At just 110 pages, The Very Naughty List is a fast read—perfect for horror fans looking for something seasonal, twisted, and not too serious. It’s a “hit or miss depending on your level of twisted,” as the description says, but for readers who enjoy dark holiday tales with a slasher‑comedy vibe, it absolutely hits.
The Very Naughty List is a wickedly fun, blood‑spattered holiday romp that blends horror and humor into a compact, chaotic package. Ideal for readers who love:
Christmas‑themed horror
dark comedy
campy slasher energy
quick, punchy novellas
villains who go full unhinged
It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who enjoy their holiday stories with a sinister grin, it’s a delightfully twisted treat.
November 29, 2025
A man obsessed with Christmas… to the point he genuinely believes he is Santa Claus. That alone is already unhinged in the best way, but this story takes it further. When he feels wronged (by the world, by the people around him, by the “loss” of the Christmas spirit), he decides it’s his personal responsibility to set things right. And by “set things right,” I mean create his own brand-new holiday traditions that absolutely no one asked for.
We watch a mall Santa slowly crack, and honestly? It’s ridiculous, messy, dark, and fun. He gets fired, snaps, and goes on a revenge tour to “restore Christmas,” punishing the people who he thinks destroyed everything the holiday is supposed to mean.
We watch a mall Santa slowly crack, and honestly? It’s ridiculous, messy, dark, and fun. He gets fired, snaps, and goes on a revenge tour to “restore Christmas,” punishing the people who he thinks destroyed everything the holiday is supposed to mean.
October 24, 2025
This is a great little read for Christmas about Santa Claus finally giving up being Mr nice for the children and taking revenge on those who slight him and in this book quite a few people deserve it so I was right there with him. This is fun and dark in equal measure and would make a great little film for Christmas for those of us who like a darker tale around that time.
Read
December 11, 2025IN A NUTSHELL
This was a misbuy on my part. It's too much of a gorefest for me. I enjoyed the start of the novel when the situation and the characters were being established. I thought the Santa's origin story and his relationship with Mrs Claus were inspired. Once the novel became a succession of bloody slaughter scenes, I lost interest.
This was a buddy read. I used this post to share my thoughts as I went along, so the chapters appear in reverse order.
Chapter 13 in which Santa slaughters his replacement and I set the book aside
This was a gorefest. It also didn't seem feasible. You cannot take the top of someone's skull off with a rusty hacksaw. And why was it rusty? Didn't Santa just buy this at the hardware store?
It seemed to me that Santa as a character had disappeared, the observational humour had evaporated and, all that lay ahead were more scenes of manic slaughter.
I'm not interested in reading any more.
Chapter 12 in which we get some comic relief and no one dies
No one gets killed in this scene between the security chief and the DJ/Influencer but the whole chapter is a protracted sneer at how pathetic both men are.
Chapter 11 in which Santa slaughters a helpless woman
Yeah, that was about as much fun as it sounds. No wit. No irony. Just a defenseless, terrified woman being sliced up on camera by a very large, very angry man.
This was when I started to think that this book wasn't going to work for me.
Chapter 10 in which the manager gets stressed out by the chaos at the Mall
It was quietly satisfying to watch the manager's world fall apart as his Mall became crowded with people who'd come to see the DJ rather than spend money. AND no one got killed in this chapter.
Chapter 9 in which Santa shaves off his beard and makes his first kill
I liked the start of this, with Santa feeling like he was cutting away his personality and his memories of Christmas happiness as he shaves off his beard with an open razor.
Then the kill came.
Yes, the guy who Santa kills is a very unpleasant man but he's not one of the people who fired Santa.
This is a rage kill. Described in blow by slice detail.
I had a mixed reaction to this. Firstly I thought, did we really need an additional kill beyond the four main characters responsible ending Santa's career. Then, when I read: "Blood sprayed from the wound, splattering across the cubicle walls and floor, coating Santa's hands in thick, dark red.", instead of being grossed out, I found myself thinking "Blood from an arterial spray shouldn't be thick and it shouldn't be that dark either."
Chapter 8 in which Santa goes to the hardware store
This was a little odd. Santa visits the hardware store to the things he means to use to maim and kill people. He indulges in a little fantasy involving superglue and glass shards that seemed entirely expoitative. And why the hardware store? Why not go to Walmart and buy real weapons instead of hacksaws and nailguns? This isn't where I thought this would go.
Chapter 7 in which Santa's delusions become murderous and musical.
When Santa wakes on Christmas Eve morning with no Christmas spirit to look forward to, his mind slips its gears, and he gets messages from the cadaverous Mrs Claus, playing on a broken piano, and sharp-toothed elves crowding at this window,
I think this is the point where the story either stops working for you or you choose to be swept along by its manic and murderous energy. For me, the thing that kept me moving was the menacing absurdity of the songs. They made the madness undeniable.
Here's the final verse that lets Santa's madness bubble up inside him.
"New traditions, new delight!
On this merry, blood-soaked night!
Sharpened sleighs and screams of fright,
Oh, Christmas Eve will be a sight!"
Chapter 6 in which we visit the ghost of Santa's childhood past
This was a change in tone. Nothing to smile at here. Six-year-old Santa, then known as Sam Clarkson, suffers abuse and neglect on Christmas Day. Grim without being exploitative, this chapter lays the foundation for Santa's manic attachment to Christmas.
Chapter 5 in which the shopping mall owner dreams of profit but courts disaster
The shopping mall owner, Kieran, and his events manager, Liz, and wannabe cop Head of Security Conner, are pantomime villains. Kieran is arrogant, greedy, and unpleasant. Liz is his anxious sidekick, and Conner is a swaggering incompetent.
They're great as figures to hiss and boo at, knowing that they and their plans are doomed. Planning a crowded Christmas Eve with a prima donna social influencer DJ using foam cannons. What could possibly go wrong? Well, Connor and his merry band of undertrained rentacops, probably.
Chapter 4 in which we meet Mrs Claus and many things become clearer and much scarier
This is the chapter where any lingering sense of this being a retelling of 'Miracle of 42nd Street' or a Hallmark Christmas movie is dispelled. Santa has a mania for his job. This chapter reminded me the people with manias are... maniacs.
Mrs Claus, in a her own unique and surprising way, sets Santa on the road to revenge.
From here on in, nothing is going to be pretty.
Chapter 3 in which we meet the unlovely people who want to cancel Santa
I enjoyed the rogue's gallery of people who assemble to fire Santa. The current owner of the Mall is described as:
" ...a young man with more inherited wealth than wisdom"
Who believes he is:
...some kind of business pro, rather than a guy who'd stumbled into his father's empire by sheer luck.°
Then there's the media savvy woman who wants Santa gone because he's...
"...guilty in the court of public opinion. They have .... cancelled you."
Then there's the actor who will play Santa whose...
"...most notable recent "performance involved being the rear end of the horse in Werrington VIllage Hall's ill-fated adaptation of Black Beauty."
Finally, there's the security guard/wannabe cop who:
"...strutted in with a swaggerr that screamed of someone desperate for authority"
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys get what's coming to them.
Chapter 2 in which Santa goes viral but the truth is not out there.
The description of Santa's decrepit house was a little heavy on the pathos but the descriptions of how an edited version of Santa's outrage went viral were spot on. It showed the hate-pit that social media has been re-engineered to be in an effort to keep people on line. Santa becomes rage bait.
I liked that Santa was enraged to find that:
"...no one -absolutely no one - seemed to care about the truth. The reality of the situation simply wasn't as interesting as thee narrative being spun around him."
The Oxford word of the year for 2025 is Rage bait : online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content.
Chapter 1 in which Santa loses it.
I found the messaging that this Santa REALLY liked Christmas, seeing it as his vocation, a little more labouted that it needed to be but I liked Santa's interaction with the kids, especially the five-year-old Emily who, stuffed bear held close to her chest, tells Santa she wants "a Denny Demon action figure with a moving chainsaw add-on,a rotating head and extra blood vomit cartridges".
The scene where the foul-mouth teens sexually harass the woman playing Santa's Elf was well done. Sadly, it was easy to believe, as was Santa's outraged reaction.
This was a misbuy on my part. It's too much of a gorefest for me. I enjoyed the start of the novel when the situation and the characters were being established. I thought the Santa's origin story and his relationship with Mrs Claus were inspired. Once the novel became a succession of bloody slaughter scenes, I lost interest.
This was a buddy read. I used this post to share my thoughts as I went along, so the chapters appear in reverse order.
Chapter 13 in which Santa slaughters his replacement and I set the book aside
This was a gorefest. It also didn't seem feasible. You cannot take the top of someone's skull off with a rusty hacksaw. And why was it rusty? Didn't Santa just buy this at the hardware store?
It seemed to me that Santa as a character had disappeared, the observational humour had evaporated and, all that lay ahead were more scenes of manic slaughter.
I'm not interested in reading any more.
Chapter 12 in which we get some comic relief and no one dies
No one gets killed in this scene between the security chief and the DJ/Influencer but the whole chapter is a protracted sneer at how pathetic both men are.
Chapter 11 in which Santa slaughters a helpless woman
Yeah, that was about as much fun as it sounds. No wit. No irony. Just a defenseless, terrified woman being sliced up on camera by a very large, very angry man.
This was when I started to think that this book wasn't going to work for me.
Chapter 10 in which the manager gets stressed out by the chaos at the Mall
It was quietly satisfying to watch the manager's world fall apart as his Mall became crowded with people who'd come to see the DJ rather than spend money. AND no one got killed in this chapter.
Chapter 9 in which Santa shaves off his beard and makes his first kill
I liked the start of this, with Santa feeling like he was cutting away his personality and his memories of Christmas happiness as he shaves off his beard with an open razor.
Then the kill came.
Yes, the guy who Santa kills is a very unpleasant man but he's not one of the people who fired Santa.
This is a rage kill. Described in blow by slice detail.
I had a mixed reaction to this. Firstly I thought, did we really need an additional kill beyond the four main characters responsible ending Santa's career. Then, when I read: "Blood sprayed from the wound, splattering across the cubicle walls and floor, coating Santa's hands in thick, dark red.", instead of being grossed out, I found myself thinking "Blood from an arterial spray shouldn't be thick and it shouldn't be that dark either."
Chapter 8 in which Santa goes to the hardware store
This was a little odd. Santa visits the hardware store to the things he means to use to maim and kill people. He indulges in a little fantasy involving superglue and glass shards that seemed entirely expoitative. And why the hardware store? Why not go to Walmart and buy real weapons instead of hacksaws and nailguns? This isn't where I thought this would go.
Chapter 7 in which Santa's delusions become murderous and musical.
When Santa wakes on Christmas Eve morning with no Christmas spirit to look forward to, his mind slips its gears, and he gets messages from the cadaverous Mrs Claus, playing on a broken piano, and sharp-toothed elves crowding at this window,
I think this is the point where the story either stops working for you or you choose to be swept along by its manic and murderous energy. For me, the thing that kept me moving was the menacing absurdity of the songs. They made the madness undeniable.
Here's the final verse that lets Santa's madness bubble up inside him.
"New traditions, new delight!
On this merry, blood-soaked night!
Sharpened sleighs and screams of fright,
Oh, Christmas Eve will be a sight!"
Chapter 6 in which we visit the ghost of Santa's childhood past
This was a change in tone. Nothing to smile at here. Six-year-old Santa, then known as Sam Clarkson, suffers abuse and neglect on Christmas Day. Grim without being exploitative, this chapter lays the foundation for Santa's manic attachment to Christmas.
Chapter 5 in which the shopping mall owner dreams of profit but courts disaster
The shopping mall owner, Kieran, and his events manager, Liz, and wannabe cop Head of Security Conner, are pantomime villains. Kieran is arrogant, greedy, and unpleasant. Liz is his anxious sidekick, and Conner is a swaggering incompetent.
They're great as figures to hiss and boo at, knowing that they and their plans are doomed. Planning a crowded Christmas Eve with a prima donna social influencer DJ using foam cannons. What could possibly go wrong? Well, Connor and his merry band of undertrained rentacops, probably.
Chapter 4 in which we meet Mrs Claus and many things become clearer and much scarier
This is the chapter where any lingering sense of this being a retelling of 'Miracle of 42nd Street' or a Hallmark Christmas movie is dispelled. Santa has a mania for his job. This chapter reminded me the people with manias are... maniacs.
Mrs Claus, in a her own unique and surprising way, sets Santa on the road to revenge.
From here on in, nothing is going to be pretty.
Chapter 3 in which we meet the unlovely people who want to cancel Santa
I enjoyed the rogue's gallery of people who assemble to fire Santa. The current owner of the Mall is described as:
" ...a young man with more inherited wealth than wisdom"
Who believes he is:
...some kind of business pro, rather than a guy who'd stumbled into his father's empire by sheer luck.°
Then there's the media savvy woman who wants Santa gone because he's...
"...guilty in the court of public opinion. They have .... cancelled you."
Then there's the actor who will play Santa whose...
"...most notable recent "performance involved being the rear end of the horse in Werrington VIllage Hall's ill-fated adaptation of Black Beauty."
Finally, there's the security guard/wannabe cop who:
"...strutted in with a swaggerr that screamed of someone desperate for authority"
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys get what's coming to them.
Chapter 2 in which Santa goes viral but the truth is not out there.
The description of Santa's decrepit house was a little heavy on the pathos but the descriptions of how an edited version of Santa's outrage went viral were spot on. It showed the hate-pit that social media has been re-engineered to be in an effort to keep people on line. Santa becomes rage bait.
I liked that Santa was enraged to find that:
"...no one -absolutely no one - seemed to care about the truth. The reality of the situation simply wasn't as interesting as thee narrative being spun around him."
The Oxford word of the year for 2025 is Rage bait : online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media content.
Chapter 1 in which Santa loses it.
I found the messaging that this Santa REALLY liked Christmas, seeing it as his vocation, a little more labouted that it needed to be but I liked Santa's interaction with the kids, especially the five-year-old Emily who, stuffed bear held close to her chest, tells Santa she wants "a Denny Demon action figure with a moving chainsaw add-on,a rotating head and extra blood vomit cartridges".
The scene where the foul-mouth teens sexually harass the woman playing Santa's Elf was well done. Sadly, it was easy to believe, as was Santa's outraged reaction.
October 27, 2025
This was so much fun! A bloody, gore-fest of a slasher with Santa at the helm. The rubber chicken incident and beard/stapler situation had me cackling. I just wish I would've read this at Christmas. Part 2 here I come!
November 2, 2025
Wow I finished this so fast! Short and got to the points. I liked this read. I had so many moments where I said to myself ‘oh this would make a good movie’.
Santa gone bad yes sir. Personally, I would have loved if his hardware store thoughts coming to life lol (especially for Liz iykyk).
I will for sure be reading more by this author.
Santa gone bad yes sir. Personally, I would have loved if his hardware store thoughts coming to life lol (especially for Liz iykyk).
I will for sure be reading more by this author.
March 19, 2026
Twisted, but awesome
A really great little Christmas story 🤣🤣
It’s twisted in the most holly giving way - although to be fair there was no holly … it could have been used. Thinking about it, I think Michael may have missed a spot there lol
A really great little Christmas story 🤣🤣
It’s twisted in the most holly giving way - although to be fair there was no holly … it could have been used. Thinking about it, I think Michael may have missed a spot there lol
![Profile Image for Samantha✨ [reads everythinggggg].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1773675787i/154238456._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
January 15, 2026
OoOoo, this was really good—in a messed-up kind of way. I loved the horror Christmas theme, with the gore and the vengeful Santa.
I actually thought the length was perfect, as I don’t know what more could be said for this little revenge act from Santa. I’m also curious to read the second part, as I’m sure it will be something a bit different—while still staying true to its roots!
I also loved the humorous tones throughout the book. I found myself laughing and then squinting through the gory moments… Bravo!
I actually thought the length was perfect, as I don’t know what more could be said for this little revenge act from Santa. I’m also curious to read the second part, as I’m sure it will be something a bit different—while still staying true to its roots!
I also loved the humorous tones throughout the book. I found myself laughing and then squinting through the gory moments… Bravo!
November 14, 2025
Just finished reading this and can't wait to start the second one. If you're a fan of horror, you definitely don't want to miss out on this one.
The main character has been a devoted man for 30 years to Santa and Christmas that in his mind, he is Santa. When he gets fired as a mall Santa, his revenge is sweet, gory and dare I say, well deserved.
The writing is excellent and the story flows nicely. This really got me thinking about two main points. 1) If people weren't so mean on social media, would this story have still happened the same way? 2) I will never look at another Santa the same way ever again.
The main character has been a devoted man for 30 years to Santa and Christmas that in his mind, he is Santa. When he gets fired as a mall Santa, his revenge is sweet, gory and dare I say, well deserved.
The writing is excellent and the story flows nicely. This really got me thinking about two main points. 1) If people weren't so mean on social media, would this story have still happened the same way? 2) I will never look at another Santa the same way ever again.
November 12, 2025
Santa did WHAT now?????
A quick and crazy story about holiday cheer(?) except Santa loses every last one of his marbles and things get… less than holly and jolly. Ho-Ho-Hoooooo no 😳
This is a true horror/gore story, so if you aren’t a fan of that genre this won’t be for you.
A quick and crazy story about holiday cheer(?) except Santa loses every last one of his marbles and things get… less than holly and jolly. Ho-Ho-Hoooooo no 😳
This is a true horror/gore story, so if you aren’t a fan of that genre this won’t be for you.
December 14, 2025
Mall Santa gets painted as the bad guy thanks to some lying teenagers and their viral video of Santa losing it and manhandling them. He loses his job, he loses his Christmas spirit and eventually loses his civility. He’s out for revenge…
These teens berate Santa and sexually harass his elf knowing that if he snaps and they get it on video, it will go viral and ruin this man’s life. For what purpose? Ugh. Poor mall Santa. It’s no surprise that his rage boils overtop and eventually takes over…
It makes me so angry because I’m positive this happens in the real world. People lie to and misguide the general public to seek pity, money or their 15 minutes of fame. Or all THREE! All you have to do is start videoing, cut out the bad part of you at the beginning of the altercation and then keep the part of you being the victim and then show it to the world. People as a whole are quick to judge. Quick to persecute. Quick to cancel. Nobody ever even questioning the reality or truth of the situation. And it’s at the cost of an innocent man’s livelihood. Absolutely despicable and believable which is why this plot is so good and makes me so upset.
I liked the thought process of Santa deciding to finally go through with his revenge plan and the bloody kills that came from it. The added layer of Mrs. Claus was quite entertaining as well. Looking forward to reading the sequel.
These teens berate Santa and sexually harass his elf knowing that if he snaps and they get it on video, it will go viral and ruin this man’s life. For what purpose? Ugh. Poor mall Santa. It’s no surprise that his rage boils overtop and eventually takes over…
It makes me so angry because I’m positive this happens in the real world. People lie to and misguide the general public to seek pity, money or their 15 minutes of fame. Or all THREE! All you have to do is start videoing, cut out the bad part of you at the beginning of the altercation and then keep the part of you being the victim and then show it to the world. People as a whole are quick to judge. Quick to persecute. Quick to cancel. Nobody ever even questioning the reality or truth of the situation. And it’s at the cost of an innocent man’s livelihood. Absolutely despicable and believable which is why this plot is so good and makes me so upset.
I liked the thought process of Santa deciding to finally go through with his revenge plan and the bloody kills that came from it. The added layer of Mrs. Claus was quite entertaining as well. Looking forward to reading the sequel.
December 22, 2024
When I’m offered horror and Santa…well, I just can’t say no. A short story with a lot of heart, humour and gore!
Michael’s story of Santa’s vengeance against society is funny, twisted, gory and right up my street. You side with Santa as individuals are exposed, so much that I began to hate them and looked forward to reading how Santa would seek his revenge. The story shows the weaknesses and greed of society and how we have all had that one person be rude or entitled, maybe not enough as Santa but you get what I mean.
My fave character was Mrs Claus, you’ll soon see why and I loved how Michael included characters from his previous books, showing his skill as a writer and how much care he puts into his stories. Loved the film references, any nostalgic notes always make me smile. More short stories please Michael, this thoroughly entertained me.
Michael’s story of Santa’s vengeance against society is funny, twisted, gory and right up my street. You side with Santa as individuals are exposed, so much that I began to hate them and looked forward to reading how Santa would seek his revenge. The story shows the weaknesses and greed of society and how we have all had that one person be rude or entitled, maybe not enough as Santa but you get what I mean.
My fave character was Mrs Claus, you’ll soon see why and I loved how Michael included characters from his previous books, showing his skill as a writer and how much care he puts into his stories. Loved the film references, any nostalgic notes always make me smile. More short stories please Michael, this thoroughly entertained me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2025
OKAY MICHAEL! This book surprised me SO much and I loved it. It was the perfect quick read and it was different than my last book, but I absolutely loved the switch up of a good Christmas book. My horror and gory lovers: You would die for this book.
The Very Naughty List reminded me of Ed Gein and if you watched the documentary, you would know what I am talking about. This was a bloody new twist on Christmas of a man who believed whole heartedly he was Santa. I don't want to give away too much, but he has a passion for Christmas that no one would be able to match. This entertaining horror story was dark and gory. This was my first book by the author and I do plan on reading more.
The Very Naughty List reminded me of Ed Gein and if you watched the documentary, you would know what I am talking about. This was a bloody new twist on Christmas of a man who believed whole heartedly he was Santa. I don't want to give away too much, but he has a passion for Christmas that no one would be able to match. This entertaining horror story was dark and gory. This was my first book by the author and I do plan on reading more.
December 21, 2025
'Ho-Ho...errr...Ho!'
After being wronged, Santa goes berserk down Merrydale shopping mall in order to take revenge upon his adversaries.
A humorously, grisly, short murderous Christmas tale containing pools and pools of thick red blood.
T'was good fun from start to finish, so on to the sequel.
Rating: 3.7 bright red stars.
After being wronged, Santa goes berserk down Merrydale shopping mall in order to take revenge upon his adversaries.
A humorously, grisly, short murderous Christmas tale containing pools and pools of thick red blood.
T'was good fun from start to finish, so on to the sequel.
Rating: 3.7 bright red stars.
November 13, 2025
Hreat start to my Christmas/slasher reading! this was so awesome! I loved all the Gore! it loved Santa!!!! this was prefect! love love cant wait to start book 2!
January 1, 2025
Rounding up from 4.5 stars
Santa's gone batshit crazy and I love it! This may just be a short Christmas horror story, but it's a pretty thorough story!
Santa's gone batshit crazy and I love it! This may just be a short Christmas horror story, but it's a pretty thorough story!
January 21, 2026
This book was super fun. It was a short horror story entertaining and very gory. Santa was not playing this Christmas lol it was super fun because it’s about a man who thinks he’s the real Santa, so he has mental issues and after being fired from being a mall Santa he goes ballistic on everyone whose done him wrong. Even though he’s the bad guy you still somehow find yourself routing for him. Loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2026
“The Very Naughty List” by Michael D.A. Clarke is a lean Christmas horror short novel that embraces the lurid tradition of 1980s slasher cinema. Written in the splatter-soaked spirit of “Silent Night, Deadly Night,” “Christmas Evil,” and “Don’t Open Till Christmas,” it channels grindhouse excess while sharpening its satire for the age of viral outrage and performative morality. The result is festive on the surface but vicious underneath, using Christmas iconography as both shield and weapon.
The story unfolds inside a chaotic, slightly decaying shopping mall at the height of the holiday season. Flickering lights, malfunctioning animatronics, and desperate marketing gimmicks strain to conceal an uncomfortable truth: the mall is dying. Shops are shuttered, foot traffic is thinning, and closure looms after Christmas. The artificial brightness feels forced, as though the building itself is clinging to relevance. At the centre sits a shopping mall Santa who does not merely play the role but inhabits it entirely. He does not see himself as an employee in costume. He believes he is Santa.
Locations are kept deliberately minimal, focusing primarily on the mall and Santa’s home. This restraint sharpens the psychological portrait. If the mall represents commercial decline, Santa’s house serves as its quiet, intensely personal counterpoint. It is modest but overflowing with year-round Christmas artefacts—catalogues, decorations, preparation lists, carefully preserved props. The space feels shrine-like, underscoring themes of isolation, obsession, and absolute devotion to holiday magic. Away from public scrutiny, his identity is not seasonal but constant. In private, his frustrations deepen and his purpose hardens into fixation.
The thematic conflict is clear: Christmas joy must be protected in a world that mocks and commodifies it. Santa’s devotion borders on religious fervour. He prepares all year and treats the red suit as sacred. Around him swirl entitled customers, cynical management, and spectacle-driven campaigns designed to extract one final profitable season from a failing complex.
Even minor characters enhance the tonal balance. A little girl pivots from tearful innocence to pitch-black humour in a single line when she declares she wants a gun to avenge her dog. Later, a DIY employee responds to Santa’s increasingly alarming remarks with enthusiastic retail-worker solidarity, providing dry and absurd comic relief. Both moments are brief yet memorable. In a story steeped in escalating violence, they deliver some of its sharpest humour.
There is, however, a small lapse in practical realism involving that DIY setting. At one point, a hardware-store employee implies that petrol can be purchased directly from the shop. In the United Kingdom, motor fuel is sold through licensed filling stations equipped with regulated storage tanks and dispensing systems, not through standard DIY retailers. Hardware stores may sell fuel containers or gas cylinders for appliances, but not automotive petrol. The detail is minor and does not derail the narrative, yet it briefly disrupts the otherwise grounded retail environment.
Not all dialogue is equally sharp. While certain exchanges land effectively, others lean too heavily on blunt exposition or heightened aggression. A tighter hand in places—allowing more subtext and less direct declaration—would strengthen the emotional beats and deepen the psychological tension.
The turning point arrives when teenagers approach Santa while filming on their phones. Their mockery escalates into harassment involving his elf, and Santa intervenes physically. The footage is edited and weaponised as outrage bait. Stripped of context, he is recast as the aggressor and swiftly dismissed. In that moment, Santa loses not just his job but the identity around which he has structured his life.
From there, the descent becomes both structural and psychological. Devastated and unmoored, he retreats inward as hallucinations intensify—most notably in the form of Mrs. Claus. She emerges as one of the novel’s most inventive elements: not a comforting spouse but a complex, menacing presence woven into his psyche. Part memory, part delusion, she blends pathos with dark humour and manipulation, pushing him further toward violent conviction. Through her, Clarke enriches what might otherwise read as a straightforward revenge narrative.
When Santa commits to retaliation, his targets are clear: the former employers who discarded him and the culture that humiliated him. The climax unfolds during a concert staged at the mall by YouTube sensationalist Lee Lauren, an entitled and self-important figure whose fame thrives on spectacle. Rude, performative, and attention-obsessed, Lee embodies the viral culture that facilitated Santa’s downfall. The spectacle that destroyed him becomes the stage for his revenge.
More subtly, the novel critiques spectatorship itself. The same culture that consumes viral outrage also consumes violence as entertainment. The crowd that once queued for photographs now gathers for spectacle, indifferent to the consequences unfolding before them. Clarke suggests that the line between observer and participant has eroded; the audience is never innocent.
The kills are brisk, punctuating the narrative with bursts of brutality. A brief altercation with a security guard involving a rubber chicken provides one of the more amusing beats, allowing absurdity to puncture violence. The true standout, however, arrives in the finale.
In a grotesque crescendo that unmistakably echoes “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Santa dons Lee Lauren’s face. The sequined jacket splits across his chest, jeans cling awkwardly to blood-slicked legs, and the pop star’s mutilated features hang over him like a butchered mask. The skin sags and misaligns, lips droop, bone collapses beneath torn flesh. It is recognisable yet hideously wrong, like a waxwork melted under stage lights. By wearing the face of a man whose power lay in image, Santa literalises the novel’s obsession with performance and identity.
The closing image mirrors and inverts the opening. Where the story began with artificial cheer in a failing mall, it ends in ruin. The beacon of commercialised joy stands soaked in blood, its final season remembered not for celebration but for horror. Santa’s legend survives, but not as a mythic guardian. It survives as a cautionary tale.
Not everything lands with equal force. Some sequences feel more efficient than inventive, and portions of the dialogue lack subtlety. Even so, Clarke’s structural control and thematic clarity carry the narrative through its excess.
Ultimately, “The Very Naughty List” is more than a killer-Santa novelty. It is a study of obsession and collapse set against the fading glow of a dying shopping centre. Beneath the gore and satire lies something tragic: a man who believed so completely in a myth that when the world rejected him, he chose to burn the myth—and everyone around it—to the ground.
The story unfolds inside a chaotic, slightly decaying shopping mall at the height of the holiday season. Flickering lights, malfunctioning animatronics, and desperate marketing gimmicks strain to conceal an uncomfortable truth: the mall is dying. Shops are shuttered, foot traffic is thinning, and closure looms after Christmas. The artificial brightness feels forced, as though the building itself is clinging to relevance. At the centre sits a shopping mall Santa who does not merely play the role but inhabits it entirely. He does not see himself as an employee in costume. He believes he is Santa.
Locations are kept deliberately minimal, focusing primarily on the mall and Santa’s home. This restraint sharpens the psychological portrait. If the mall represents commercial decline, Santa’s house serves as its quiet, intensely personal counterpoint. It is modest but overflowing with year-round Christmas artefacts—catalogues, decorations, preparation lists, carefully preserved props. The space feels shrine-like, underscoring themes of isolation, obsession, and absolute devotion to holiday magic. Away from public scrutiny, his identity is not seasonal but constant. In private, his frustrations deepen and his purpose hardens into fixation.
The thematic conflict is clear: Christmas joy must be protected in a world that mocks and commodifies it. Santa’s devotion borders on religious fervour. He prepares all year and treats the red suit as sacred. Around him swirl entitled customers, cynical management, and spectacle-driven campaigns designed to extract one final profitable season from a failing complex.
Even minor characters enhance the tonal balance. A little girl pivots from tearful innocence to pitch-black humour in a single line when she declares she wants a gun to avenge her dog. Later, a DIY employee responds to Santa’s increasingly alarming remarks with enthusiastic retail-worker solidarity, providing dry and absurd comic relief. Both moments are brief yet memorable. In a story steeped in escalating violence, they deliver some of its sharpest humour.
There is, however, a small lapse in practical realism involving that DIY setting. At one point, a hardware-store employee implies that petrol can be purchased directly from the shop. In the United Kingdom, motor fuel is sold through licensed filling stations equipped with regulated storage tanks and dispensing systems, not through standard DIY retailers. Hardware stores may sell fuel containers or gas cylinders for appliances, but not automotive petrol. The detail is minor and does not derail the narrative, yet it briefly disrupts the otherwise grounded retail environment.
Not all dialogue is equally sharp. While certain exchanges land effectively, others lean too heavily on blunt exposition or heightened aggression. A tighter hand in places—allowing more subtext and less direct declaration—would strengthen the emotional beats and deepen the psychological tension.
The turning point arrives when teenagers approach Santa while filming on their phones. Their mockery escalates into harassment involving his elf, and Santa intervenes physically. The footage is edited and weaponised as outrage bait. Stripped of context, he is recast as the aggressor and swiftly dismissed. In that moment, Santa loses not just his job but the identity around which he has structured his life.
From there, the descent becomes both structural and psychological. Devastated and unmoored, he retreats inward as hallucinations intensify—most notably in the form of Mrs. Claus. She emerges as one of the novel’s most inventive elements: not a comforting spouse but a complex, menacing presence woven into his psyche. Part memory, part delusion, she blends pathos with dark humour and manipulation, pushing him further toward violent conviction. Through her, Clarke enriches what might otherwise read as a straightforward revenge narrative.
When Santa commits to retaliation, his targets are clear: the former employers who discarded him and the culture that humiliated him. The climax unfolds during a concert staged at the mall by YouTube sensationalist Lee Lauren, an entitled and self-important figure whose fame thrives on spectacle. Rude, performative, and attention-obsessed, Lee embodies the viral culture that facilitated Santa’s downfall. The spectacle that destroyed him becomes the stage for his revenge.
More subtly, the novel critiques spectatorship itself. The same culture that consumes viral outrage also consumes violence as entertainment. The crowd that once queued for photographs now gathers for spectacle, indifferent to the consequences unfolding before them. Clarke suggests that the line between observer and participant has eroded; the audience is never innocent.
The kills are brisk, punctuating the narrative with bursts of brutality. A brief altercation with a security guard involving a rubber chicken provides one of the more amusing beats, allowing absurdity to puncture violence. The true standout, however, arrives in the finale.
In a grotesque crescendo that unmistakably echoes “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Santa dons Lee Lauren’s face. The sequined jacket splits across his chest, jeans cling awkwardly to blood-slicked legs, and the pop star’s mutilated features hang over him like a butchered mask. The skin sags and misaligns, lips droop, bone collapses beneath torn flesh. It is recognisable yet hideously wrong, like a waxwork melted under stage lights. By wearing the face of a man whose power lay in image, Santa literalises the novel’s obsession with performance and identity.
The closing image mirrors and inverts the opening. Where the story began with artificial cheer in a failing mall, it ends in ruin. The beacon of commercialised joy stands soaked in blood, its final season remembered not for celebration but for horror. Santa’s legend survives, but not as a mythic guardian. It survives as a cautionary tale.
Not everything lands with equal force. Some sequences feel more efficient than inventive, and portions of the dialogue lack subtlety. Even so, Clarke’s structural control and thematic clarity carry the narrative through its excess.
Ultimately, “The Very Naughty List” is more than a killer-Santa novelty. It is a study of obsession and collapse set against the fading glow of a dying shopping centre. Beneath the gore and satire lies something tragic: a man who believed so completely in a myth that when the world rejected him, he chose to burn the myth—and everyone around it—to the ground.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2025
Things begin wholesome and then a giant dose of reality just drop in and things go haywire pretty quickly. Having served a few years in retail myself I can totally get on board with the taking revenge part.
However, from the blurb I thought it was going to lean into satire more, like working retail at Christmas is hell and some customers and managers you just want to knock into the new year but it just seemed to veer towards the ridiculous and shock splatter and lean on that instead on one hand but then on the other it didn't really seem to commit to that either. And way too much was happening for such a short little story.
However, from the blurb I thought it was going to lean into satire more, like working retail at Christmas is hell and some customers and managers you just want to knock into the new year but it just seemed to veer towards the ridiculous and shock splatter and lean on that instead on one hand but then on the other it didn't really seem to commit to that either. And way too much was happening for such a short little story.
December 10, 2025
This seasonal horror is the first in a duology and it dives straight in without hesitation, pulling you immediately into a world of intrigue, trauma, and bloody revenge. It’s dark, unsettling, and absolutely gripping from the opening pages. The story blends murder with a Santa who is definitely not right in the head, weaving in elements of psychosis and delusional ideation that add a deeply chilling psychological layer.
The writing is strong and immersive, creating a vivid, almost cinematic experience. You can feel the tension, the dread, and the unraveling as the plot unfolds. It’s well paced, well crafted, and far more disturbing than your typical holiday horror, in the best possible way.
A compelling start to the duology that promises even darker things ahead.
The writing is strong and immersive, creating a vivid, almost cinematic experience. You can feel the tension, the dread, and the unraveling as the plot unfolds. It’s well paced, well crafted, and far more disturbing than your typical holiday horror, in the best possible way.
A compelling start to the duology that promises even darker things ahead.
December 23, 2025
Santa has gone off the deep end. This guy is in need of adoration and affirmation. Mrs Clause freaked me out too. In this story Santa is let go at the mall when he got some bad press. Now he is out for revenge and nobody is safe. Is it bad to say I was not upset about the very last victim. This book is gory and bloody. I liked the book a lot but what happened to sweet carols and presents? Merry Christmas!
November 14, 2025
Naughty Santa
Listen, if you want a little festive quick read that’s also a slasher. Read this. I enjoyed this little read! No Santa that I’ve ever met has been like this one! I will be reading the 2nd one!
Listen, if you want a little festive quick read that’s also a slasher. Read this. I enjoyed this little read! No Santa that I’ve ever met has been like this one! I will be reading the 2nd one!
November 26, 2025
This started off slow, but then I realized that Santa is batshit crazy and unhinged. This is a fast, gory, and hilarious read. This is perfect for those who love Christmas horror. Let me get my act and thoughts together so that I don’t get on the Naughty List!
December 6, 2025
Summary: When a down-on-his-luck shopping mall Santa is abruptly fired just days before Christmas, he decides to unleash holiday hell on the staff who wronged him. As the body count rises, shoppers at Merryvale will soon discover that this Santa’s got a bag full of wicked surprises - and he’s ready to deliver!
Review: What a fantastic festive extreme horror! This one is perfect for the Christmas season - gory and gripping. It’s a brutal short book, the kind you tear through in one sitting and immediately want to talk about. A brilliant quick read!
Review: What a fantastic festive extreme horror! This one is perfect for the Christmas season - gory and gripping. It’s a brutal short book, the kind you tear through in one sitting and immediately want to talk about. A brilliant quick read!
January 3, 2026
*paperback
🎅🏼🤶🏻𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋 𝐃. 𝐀. 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄🤶🏻🎅🏼
Pub Date: 12/14/2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨✨ (3.5/5)
Just figured I’d check this novella out for a different type of Christmas read.
It was horror with absurd dark humor thrown in. Mrs. Clause encourages her husband to take revenge on the mall after a particularly hard day at work.
Santa goes all crazy in the shopping mall and is totally delusional.
It was a quick fun read but definitely gory.
QOTD: What was your fav holiday read?
#theverynaughtylist #michaeldaclarke #indieauthorspotlight #Goodreads #christmasnovella
🎅🏼🤶🏻𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐍𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐋 𝐃. 𝐀. 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄🤶🏻🎅🏼
Pub Date: 12/14/2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨✨ (3.5/5)
Just figured I’d check this novella out for a different type of Christmas read.
It was horror with absurd dark humor thrown in. Mrs. Clause encourages her husband to take revenge on the mall after a particularly hard day at work.
Santa goes all crazy in the shopping mall and is totally delusional.
It was a quick fun read but definitely gory.
QOTD: What was your fav holiday read?
#theverynaughtylist #michaeldaclarke #indieauthorspotlight #Goodreads #christmasnovella
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