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'Twas the Night: A Novel – A Christmas Horror Mystery Where a Reporter Investigates Disappearances in a Village That Worships Santa
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Expected 15 Oct 26Win a free print copy of this book!
8 days and 14:26:41
25 copies available
U.S. only
Yuletide cheer is served with a double dose of horror in Kevin Johnson’s gripping debut, in which a young reporter follows a string of disappearances into the middle of a terrifying Christmas cult inspired by our favorite holiday classics.
You better watch out. You better not cry.
It’s Christmas in the village of Yule, Maine.
In fact, it’s always Christmas in Yule. Here, Santa Claus isn’t a storybook figure. He’s an icon. A god. The villagers don’t just believe in him—they worship him. And the world is better for it.
Halley Belanger hates Christmas, and she doesn’t have much love for Santa either. But when a string of child disappearances across Maine seems to spare only the village of Yule, Halley—a sharp, skeptical reporter—decides to investigate.
What she finds is a town that guards its secrets with gingerbread smiles and a snow globe sheen. Outsiders aren’t welcome. She isn’t welcome. And something sinister is keeping the Christmas spirit alive.
As Halley digs deeper, she begins to uncover the horrifying truth behind Yule’s eternal cheer. Christmas comes at a grisly cost. And Santa Claus is no saint.
You better watch out. You better not cry.
It’s Christmas in the village of Yule, Maine.
In fact, it’s always Christmas in Yule. Here, Santa Claus isn’t a storybook figure. He’s an icon. A god. The villagers don’t just believe in him—they worship him. And the world is better for it.
Halley Belanger hates Christmas, and she doesn’t have much love for Santa either. But when a string of child disappearances across Maine seems to spare only the village of Yule, Halley—a sharp, skeptical reporter—decides to investigate.
What she finds is a town that guards its secrets with gingerbread smiles and a snow globe sheen. Outsiders aren’t welcome. She isn’t welcome. And something sinister is keeping the Christmas spirit alive.
As Halley digs deeper, she begins to uncover the horrifying truth behind Yule’s eternal cheer. Christmas comes at a grisly cost. And Santa Claus is no saint.
- GenresHorrorHorror Thriller
Kindle Edition
Expected publication October 15, 2026
5 people are currently reading
1612 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Johnson
1 book5 followersKevin Johnson grew up reading Goosebumps and roaming the horror aisles of the nearest Blockbuster Video. He studied Creative Writing at Florida State University and currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife and a rambunctious long-haired miniature dachshund named Pepper. ‘Twas The Night is his debut novel. You can find him on social media @bookevinjohnson.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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March 10, 2026I LOVE Christmas Horror stories! this one sounds fun!
** UPDATE ARC REC'D THANK YOU SO MUCH!! **
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
** UPDATE ARC REC'D THANK YOU SO MUCH!! **
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It's very disappointing to have to give this a low rating, as Christmas horror is a particularly fun subgenre, and Kevin Johnson has come at it from an original angle. He has created a world where Santa is an accepted, universal reality and has (implausibly) been a source of global goodwill and relative peace. To the surprise of no one having picked up a horror novel, however, Santa may not be as jolly as he seems. We explore Santa's secret dark side through the eyes of Holley as she explores the mysterious, eternally Christmasy town of Yule.
Holley's journey comes with some satisfying twists and several scenes of festively bloody action. What it lacks, unfortunately, is solid characterization and mythology. In order to facilitate a twist, essential background of the POV character of Holley is withheld from the reader. As is often the case, this is frustrating, because our entire understanding of her motives and who she is falls apart at the reveal. While this could perhaps be forgivable with a strong stable of supporting characters, those are lacking here. We get only the barest outlines of characters: sarcastic gay man, hard-hearted evil village headwoman (with a tragic background), and cute dorky kid.
All of this would have been almost irrelevant if the overall story was fun, gross, or surprising. It's not. Save the aforementioned twist -- which is slightly surprising -- the rest of the story is quite basic with nothing being especially frightening or shocking. I was particularly surprised by the lack of any world building about a world with a recognized Santa. It seems almost irrelevant to have that bit of background, given that the book takes place wholly in a secret, Christmas cult village. Why pique my interest about Santa-inspired world peace if you're going to do nothing with it??
I like Johnson's big idea here, and love that he swung for the fences. I'd happily check out future work from him, but this was not a home run debut.
Thank you to NetGalley and Willaim Morrow for the ARC. It was fun to experience Christmas horror in the spring!
Holley's journey comes with some satisfying twists and several scenes of festively bloody action. What it lacks, unfortunately, is solid characterization and mythology. In order to facilitate a twist, essential background of the POV character of Holley is withheld from the reader. As is often the case, this is frustrating, because our entire understanding of her motives and who she is falls apart at the reveal. While this could perhaps be forgivable with a strong stable of supporting characters, those are lacking here. We get only the barest outlines of characters: sarcastic gay man, hard-hearted evil village headwoman (with a tragic background), and cute dorky kid.
All of this would have been almost irrelevant if the overall story was fun, gross, or surprising. It's not. Save the aforementioned twist -- which is slightly surprising -- the rest of the story is quite basic with nothing being especially frightening or shocking. I was particularly surprised by the lack of any world building about a world with a recognized Santa. It seems almost irrelevant to have that bit of background, given that the book takes place wholly in a secret, Christmas cult village. Why pique my interest about Santa-inspired world peace if you're going to do nothing with it??
I like Johnson's big idea here, and love that he swung for the fences. I'd happily check out future work from him, but this was not a home run debut.
Thank you to NetGalley and Willaim Morrow for the ARC. It was fun to experience Christmas horror in the spring!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for an eARC of 'Twas the Night by Kevin Johnson. 'Twas the Night was such a delightful action-packed, bloody adaptation of a Christmas tale. All of the characters surrounding the main character of Halley were so memorable and made reading the novel such a breeze. I enjoyed the unique take on Santa Claus and was elated with how Halley's journey played out. The ending really left an exclamation point on what came before it and made me think long and hard about it once I was finished. For readers who love holiday horror, pick 'Twas the Night up at all costs.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A young reporter whose investigation of a series of missing children leads her to the village of Yule, Maine, preparing for their Christmas traditions. Halley and her investigation are very unwelcome, and it quickly turns horrifying and bloody.
This is a fun and entreating cast of characters, the story has lots of gruesome action, with a good twist. A dark, cold, and exciting Christmas story.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, would be a great read for fans of horror around the holidays or anyone who would like to imagine a darker take on the Christmas story.
Thank you, Willian Morrow, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This is a fun and entreating cast of characters, the story has lots of gruesome action, with a good twist. A dark, cold, and exciting Christmas story.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, would be a great read for fans of horror around the holidays or anyone who would like to imagine a darker take on the Christmas story.
Thank you, Willian Morrow, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I gotta say, I love a good creepy fun horror Christmas story, even if it's read in April!
This was a creative world that was created. So much of Santa's backstory is just accepted and this leans hard into the weird to make a truly great and horrifying version of Santa.
You can tell Kevin did his research on all things Santa as there was some great Santa origin knowledge that was dropped in here that was fascinating to research.
This book never really slows down too much. I think there are some threads kind of left to dangle and never be answered, but for the most part this story is tight and well done.
Really enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy!
This was a creative world that was created. So much of Santa's backstory is just accepted and this leans hard into the weird to make a truly great and horrifying version of Santa.
You can tell Kevin did his research on all things Santa as there was some great Santa origin knowledge that was dropped in here that was fascinating to research.
This book never really slows down too much. I think there are some threads kind of left to dangle and never be answered, but for the most part this story is tight and well done.
Really enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Well, I will never look at Santa the same way.
This was an awesome, Christmas themed horror. I loved the terrifying monster that was Santa. This story was filled with absolute gory carnage. I found myself rooting for Halley, even when her chaos caused the death of a great character. There were some twists and turns throughout, which was a pleasant surprise. I’d love for there to be a second book, but I did also love how it ended. Not every story has a happy ending.
Read this around Christmas? Maybe Halloween for the creep factor? Or anytime really! It was a great read that included creepy scenes, a scary god like monster, with witty characters to boot.
Definitely recommend this one!
This was an awesome, Christmas themed horror. I loved the terrifying monster that was Santa. This story was filled with absolute gory carnage. I found myself rooting for Halley, even when her chaos caused the death of a great character. There were some twists and turns throughout, which was a pleasant surprise. I’d love for there to be a second book, but I did also love how it ended. Not every story has a happy ending.
Read this around Christmas? Maybe Halloween for the creep factor? Or anytime really! It was a great read that included creepy scenes, a scary god like monster, with witty characters to boot.
Definitely recommend this one!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 👌
I have read A LOT of Christmas books, but nothing quite like this! As a thriller lover who let's Halloween bleed into Christmas for as long as possible, this totally checked all of my horror and Christmas loving boxes. Halley's backstory was horrifically creative. Mardi's as well! I mean good grief, the poor woman even until the end and even with all her attitude. I appreciated the dry humor lines between Halley, Bob and Barry. Santa has never terrified me, but if I heard this story as a child I would be petrified. This was a very enjoyable holiday horror.
I have read A LOT of Christmas books, but nothing quite like this! As a thriller lover who let's Halloween bleed into Christmas for as long as possible, this totally checked all of my horror and Christmas loving boxes. Halley's backstory was horrifically creative. Mardi's as well! I mean good grief, the poor woman even until the end and even with all her attitude. I appreciated the dry humor lines between Halley, Bob and Barry. Santa has never terrified me, but if I heard this story as a child I would be petrified. This was a very enjoyable holiday horror.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I absolutely love and adore Christmas horror. Holiday horror is not always something that people venture into, but I think Kevin Johnson did an awesome job executing this. Black Christmas is one of my favorite movies, and while the premise of this book is different, it gave those perfect vibes. The horror and suspense I felt while reading is not something that always happens for me. I would recommend this book to my book club, full stop.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I really like the plot of this book, I mean, Santa as a bad guy? I love books like this! This one was pretty good, just not cohesive in some parts. One second the main character is staying in the lighthouse, the next paragraph she's outside...what, why did she change her mind? Overall I liked the plot of this, not sure how I feel about the ending, but it was...fine.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Absolutely outstanding Christmas horror! What a FUN read!! I especially loved the tie-ins to the best and worst parts of the history of Santa Claus and his reindeer!
Amazing character development, I really came to love a few of them! I thoroughly enjoyed Kevin's writing style. I wouldn't change a single thing about this book if given the chance. Love to see a unique subgenre like this that you just don't find much of. Violent and bloody is exactly how I like my Christmas stories!
Amazing character development, I really came to love a few of them! I thoroughly enjoyed Kevin's writing style. I wouldn't change a single thing about this book if given the chance. Love to see a unique subgenre like this that you just don't find much of. Violent and bloody is exactly how I like my Christmas stories!
March 19, 2026
This was wild with a capital W. I in no way shape or form could have told you how this novel was going to go, but I did know just from the description that I HAD to read it. Missing kids, a Santa Claus cult, and a weird ass town in Maine. This is a book where you just have to sort of buckle in for a ride of insanity. I won’t give away the plot but I definitely don’t want Santa to visit my house, okay? I think this is a strong debut and I can’t wait to see what the author does next. This will be out in October of 2026. If you’re looking for Christmas themed horror make sure to add this to your list.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Christmas + horror?? Count me in!
Imagine if Santa Claus was an evil beast. Reading this book around Christmas time would be absolutely everything. I loved the characters and felt deeply for them(specifically Halley, Bob and Berry)
Imagine if Santa Claus was an evil beast. Reading this book around Christmas time would be absolutely everything. I loved the characters and felt deeply for them(specifically Halley, Bob and Berry)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ARC for review. To be published October 13, 2026.
2 stars
Santa goes evil in this debut horror which I’m sorry to say I did not love. It was silly, but blessedly short, so there’s that. If holiday themed horror is your thing maybe you’ll have a better time with it than I.
2 stars
Santa goes evil in this debut horror which I’m sorry to say I did not love. It was silly, but blessedly short, so there’s that. If holiday themed horror is your thing maybe you’ll have a better time with it than I.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews