Dark December [A Holiday Filled Horror Anthology]

Christmas at the Talbot House by @Goodnight_Saigon

*Hi everyone, Kaitlyn (Goodnight_Saigon) here. Quick note: a character in this story is incredibly bigoted, racist, prejudiced, and overall, totally backwards. She does call another character a name that is considered offensive and made me uncomfortable to write, but to preserve the authenticity of that character's personality, I have kept it in. I hope I don't offend anyone. These are not my views, these are simply the words of a horrible character.*

Christmas at the Talbot House by Goodnight_Saigon 

Though the winter holidays were usually wet and often gloomy in the State of Maine due to the proximity of the Atlantic, this year the snowfall had been plentiful in the little town of Tolley; the colour white blanketed everything, making the roofs groan under the weight of the snow, and covering driveways that had been cleared only an hour before. Heaters worked on overdrive as the temperature plunged and most residents shut themselves into hibernation, only emerging from their safe and warm nests to restock on supplies or purchase last minute gifts that had somehow been forgotten in the maniac frenzy of the approaching holiday.

Due to its population and size, Christmas was as big as public celebrations got in Tolley, but even with fundraising efforts by the local community centre, the city council had been forced to dish out some extra funds to spend on a couple of ragtag floats and decorations for a Santa Claus Parade, which had taken place a week before the twenty-fifth. It was nothing particularly special with its twenty car procession, the crowning achievement consisting of the Howard family's oldest son in a pull-on beard and wig, and scarlet overalls stuffed with pillows, standing atop two rocking chairs pushed together and covered with a crimson-painted tarp to create a makeshift sleigh.

However, the majority of people did come out to watch, and even the Talbots, the wealthiest family in town, descended from their extravagant hilltop manor like the gods of Mount Olympus to grace the event with their presence.

The Talbots were an aging family, with two daughters out of the house and married, and a son taking a year off before he went to college in a neighbouring city. The parents were secluded and arrogant, many times sending their son to run errands in town rather than be forced to mingle with the 'plebeians' who were apparently beneath them.

This was fine with the general public, as, in addition to their antisocial behaviour, it was rumoured that the mother was an incredibly bigoted cow with a habit of sneakily filling her trademark carpetbag purse with anything that wasn't nailed down, and that the father was a perverted alcoholic who got his kicks groping anyone who wandered across his path and taking his wooden cane to the bottoms of misbehaving children.

Furthermore, the nature of their wealth was rooted deep in the property repurposing business, and the Talbot fortune only ever grew (the father was a penny pincher and a smart man who knew how to play the stock market). More and more ambitious projects awaited authorization by the city council, and the most recent undertaking was the controversial renovation of Tolley's only tourist attraction, a picturesque covered road-bridge that ran over top a small river, affectionately nicknamed the Tolley Toll Bridge (though no toll was actually in place).

However, in the recent months, many conservationists had held public protests against the construction work, arguing that it would destroy what little local history remained in the town, but of course, that was no concern to a man accustomed to getting what he wanted; Mister Talbot had scheduled the project to begin as soon as the snow melted, and with Tolley's vicinity to the warm winds of the coastline, it would not take very long.

Therefore, due to a plethora of different reasons, the Talbot family had grown to be disliked over the years.

Shae Chebet, second daughter of that unpopular family, knocked her head repeatedly against the steamy passenger window of her family car, a snub-nosed jeep not built for the snow, willing her headache to fly away with the chill wind outside.