‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ Is Coming Home For Christmas

Not to sound corny or anything, but Chilling Adventures of Sabrina put a spell on me. Fine, that was quite corny; but the first season conjured up one hella fun, spooky treat that seduced many of us with its devilish magic. Season two can’t come soon enough, but the good news is that we don’t have long to wait until the teenage witch and the Church of Night grace our screens again while we wait for it. That’s because Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is getting it’s very own Christmas special — just in time for the Winter Solstice.

Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa broke the news on Twitter, revealing that the holiday episode, titled “A Midwinter’s Tale,” will hit Netflix on December 14. That’s not long to wait at all. Furthermore, he even shared a little teaser video to get us in the mood.

Praise Satan! I mean, Praise Santa! @sabrinanetflix has a X-mas Special dropping on 12/14!! I love this episode of #CAOS!! @netflix pic.twitter.com/A5DPs4Dajv

— RobertoAguirreSacasa (@WriterRAS) November 12, 2018

Netflix also released a synopsis for the upcoming special. It doesn’t give away too much information, but they have provided enough nuggets to suggest that there will be some chills in the air for the Spellman clan this year. Check it out below:

The Church of Night, like all covens, celebrates the Winter Solstice — the longest night of the year — when families gather together around the Yule Fire to sing pagan carols, tell ghost stories and huddle against the supernatural creatures that come out to cause mischief. Since the Winter Solstice is when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest, it’s the perfect time to conduct a séance — which Sabrina convenes, to try and contact her mother. But the holidays are also a time for guests and visitors — both welcome and unwelcome — and you never know what might come down the chimney.

The Winter Solstice backdrop is very fitting, given its significance to real witch folk. But let’s get one thing straight first. There are different offsets of witch circles out there, all of which have their own beliefs and customs. Unlike Sabrina’s family, most of them don’t worship the Dark Lord, either. That’s just something the show has included to give viewers the willies.

In most traditions, though, the Winter Solstice, otherwise known as Yule, is the Sabbat that begins the Wiccan Year. It is also the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere — a perfect time for supernatural hocus pocus to transpire. This holiday is typically celebrated on December 21st, but it can vary from year to year if the Gregorian calendar and the rate of the Earth’s rotation around the sun aren’t aligned. Overall, the Solstice symbolizes about introspection and rebirth. Surely that means something evil will be reborn in Sabrina?

If you’re looking for accuracy then Chilling Adventures of Sabrina isn’t your best source. But if sensational fantasy is your cup of tea, this special will undoubtedly deliver a jolly good Yuletide scare. The brief nod to the actual Solstice is a nice touch and it’ll be fascinating to see how it’s been reimagined in the Spellman household. That said, I’m more interested to meet some of these “unwelcome” guests will be sliding down the chimney.

As we at FSR discovered last year, there are plenty of mischievous Christmas legends out there. The show has no shortage of material to mine from should they decide to incorporate some of them. The most obvious choice is the Krampus (who’s a big star in the DTV holiday horror market these days). Or maybe Sabrina will give some underappreciated creatures their due? Like Kallikantzaros, the prankster goblin; La Befana, an Italian witch; Jólakötturinn, a giant cat that preys on humans; or Frau Perchta, a scary lady that replaces naughty people’s organs with straw. The possibilities are endless.

At the end of the day, though, holiday specials are always some of the most fun episodes of television out there. And when shows have a supernatural bent to them, there’s no telling which direction they’ll take. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has already demonstrated a strong propensity for unleashing pure entertainment with good old-fashioned frights. With this in mind, I have no doubt in my mind that the festive fear will be strong with this special.

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