What happens when the cozy magic of Christmas collides with the dark folklore buried in its pagan roots? That’s the question at the heart of Yuletide, a new three-issue, extra-length comic series from Oni Press launching this October.
Yuletide is the brain-child of writer George Northy (who is best known for his work on Charmed for The CW and Oni’s EC Comics relaunch) and artist Rachele Aragno (Leonide the Vampyr). Here, we follow three teenagers in Christmas, Pennsylvania after they stumble upon an ancient relic and unleash a horde of terrifying holiday monsters. Think The Goonies meets Goosebumps with a touch of Hocus Pocus — and just in time for the holidays.
Even before the first issue hits shelves, Yuletide has already been picked up for a film adaptation, with Northy scripting and producing. But before Hollywood gets its hands on it, readers will experience the story as it was first born: in the pages of comics, a story that’s equal parts heartfelt adventure, folklore-driven horror, and holiday magic.
I spoke with Northy and artist Aragno about how they crafted this balance, the monsters that inspired them, and why Yuletide is the perfect story to unwrap this holiday season.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
A Holiday Quiz Gone (Wonderfully) Wrong
For Northy, the idea of Yuletide began in the most unlikely place: a Christmas Day trivia quiz he made for his in-laws visiting from the UK. One round was called “The Forgotten Monsters of the Yuletide,” and soon he found himself fixating on the figure of Perchta. Sometimes portrayed as a wicked Christmas witch, in other tellings she’s descended from a pagan goddess who led the Wild Hunt, a spectral procession of ghosts and demons across the winter sky.
“That’s how the idea to use Perchta to tie all these different creatures into one adventure came about,” Northy said. What began as a family game quickly became the spark for a sprawling adventure story.
Balancing lighthearted fun with genuine frights can be tricky, but Yuletide thrives on that tension. Northy points to the adventure films of the 1990s, like the aforementioned Goonies and Hocus Pocus, as tonal touchstones — stories that felt dark and dangerous but never lost their sense of wonder. Aragno agreed, adding that they approached the series with the same mix of folklore, fantasy, and youthful adventure.
“In the ’90s, these kinds of films mixed the dark with fantastical creatures, folklore with the new, kids’ adventures with adult problems,” Aragno said. That balance, she further noted, was the guiding spirit of their collaboration.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
Designing a Small Town of Big Horrors
Aragno’s art plays a crucial role in setting the tone, and she approached Yuletide by grounding the human characters first.
“I wanted a diverse and very captivating group of kids,” Aragno said. “They are the center of the story and must capture attention and be loved.”
Once our leads (Jake, Abe, and Wyn) were on the page, Aragno turned her eye to the monsters, drawing inspiration from artists and filmmakers like Mike Mignola, Guillermo del Toro, Jim Henson, and Steven Spielberg. The result is a world that feels both cozy and terrifying, where twinkling Christmas lights cast shadows long enough for monsters to hide in.
Thinking in Comics, Dreaming in Film
Because Northy comes from film and television, his scripts naturally take on a cinematic quality.
“Yuletide is even split into three issues that work pretty much as the three-act structure of a film,” Northy said.
Aragno felt the same pull during Yuletide‘s development, admitting that she visualized the story in motion the moment she read the script.
“Giving them life, movement, and action is important; it gives everything authenticity,” Aragno said. The fact that Yuletide is already headed for the big screen feels almost inevitable.
Three Teenagers, Three Views of Christmas
Jake, Abe, and Wyn are effectively bound by curiosity and a shared fascination with the darker side of Christmas. Jake is the skeptic, a miniature Scrooge with his own reasons for doubting the holiday spirit. Abe, his best friend, provides the counterpoint as an outsider to the holiday — he’s Jewish, and sees no harm in embracing the cheer. Meanwhile, Wyn is the one who knows the pagan origins and forgotten legends, and she becomes the gateway for the boys into a world of monsters and myth.
“They’re curious kids who are drawn to the forbidden and push each other to do things they shouldn’t,” Aragno said. That dynamic, equal parts charm and danger, only further fuels the story.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
Monsters as Metaphors For The Season
While Yuletide delights in its folklore-fueled scares, Northy says the horror is also deeply personal.
“Really, it was more in making sure the human characters each had some kind of ‘demon’ or personal problem to face, and then I just took the list of Yuletide creatures and tried to figure out ways these demons could connect to what’s going on with each character,” Northy said.
The monsters are metaphors as much as they are antagonists, those rich embodiments of the emotional struggles that tend to surface during the holidays.
Of all the creatures Aragno designed, Perchta stands as her favorite.
“She’s strong, powerful, so cruel and ruthless,” Aragno said with a grin. “I pictured her in my mind with her cloak and her knife — she was majestic.” Readers, and eventually movie audiences, will soon get to meet her in all her terrifying glory.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
If You Had to Survive Christmas, PA…
For fun, I asked both creators how they’d survive a night in Christmas, Pennsylvania when surrounded by unleashed yuletide horrors.
Northy would improvise a bludgeon with fruitcakes stuffed in a stocking. Aragno, meanwhile, imagines a star-shaped tree topper — ideal for both hand-to-hand combat and throwing. It’s a playful answer that expertly underlines what makes Yuletide so appealing: It’s a book as much about fun and creativity as it is about scares.
A Holiday Story Worth Unwrapping
At its heart, Yuletide is a fast-paced, monster-filled romp about three kids trying to save their town. But it’s also about growing up, facing fears, and discovering that the holiday season (much like life itself) is as much about darkness as it is about light. With Aragno’s gothic visual flair, and Northy’s cinematic storytelling approach, the book promises a blend of thrills and heart that feels both timeless and utterly new.
Yuletide #1 arrives in comic shops this October, with the three-part saga concluding just in time for the holidays.
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