Season 1: Episode 7, Darkest Light

On this episode we bring you two tales of juxtaposition one grim and one lighthearted, ending the old year in darkness and starting the new year in joyous light. To begin this episode we start with the grim tale of SCP: 4666 nicknamed the Yule man. Before we begin discussing what SCP: 4666 does we need to learn a bit more about the SCP Foundation.

The SCP Foundation is a collection of fictional stories about anomalous entities, places, and things. Started in January of 2008 this writing collaborative has inspired and terrified readers for over a decade. The goal of this Foundation is to secure, contain, and protect these various anomalies from the general public. The Foundation itself has various means of identifying and containing these anomalies based on the danger it presents to the general public. Neutralized is the lowest in terms of danger as the anomaly no longer exists or has been destroyed by a variety of external factors. Safe is the second level, as the anomalies pose little to no threat to the general public and is even sometimes beneficial in helping people. Euclid is the beginning of more dangerous entities and have the potential of causing great harm to the general public. Finally Keter, this is the highest and most dangerous as these anomalies have the ability to end the world or universe that the entity dwells. There are other means of identification, but this is the simplified version and I would encourage listeners to take a look.

https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/

Art made by Charcoalman

SCP: 4666 is classified as a Keter level anomaly who appears anywhere in the world above the 40th parallel between December 21st and January 2nd. His appearance is that of a naked elderly emaciated European man. He tends to hunt families in rural areas with at least one or more children under the age of 5. The SCP Foundation classifies these attacks as Weissnacht events. Usually Weissnacht events begin with the children noticing a man watching them from a distance often parents ignore the pleas from children as being part of their imagination. As the days go on the children and parents begin noticing strange occurrences, including a putrid smell as well as noises coming from the roof or attic. Often parents attribute this to some rodent infestation or get the attention of the authorities. On the last night there are one of two outcomes of a Weissnacht event. The first being the rarest, is the child wakes up to find a toy laid at the foot of their bed. The toy is crude and made of body parts of various children who have been attacked in a previous Weissnacht event. The second and most common is the butchering of the entire family before the subsequent kidnapping of one of the children. The children SCP: 4666 kidnaps are then forced to labor in an unknown location and make the insidious toys.

All information about SCP:4666 is located here. https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4666

On the lighter side of this episode we have a story that comes straight from the bayou and wishes you a bright new year. The story of Papa Noel and his travels through the Louisiana bayou to give all the good boys and girls the gifts they deserve. To begin with Papa Noel comes from the French iteration of Pere Noel meaning Father Christmas. Unlike the French interpretation of Santa Clause, Papa Noel has a unique Cajun influence. Unlike Santa who flies in a sleigh, Papa Noel uses a pirogue that is carried by eight alligators.

Image of a pirogue

In this children's story we hear of Papa Noels attempts at reaching the children on Christmas. Much like the tale of Rudolph the bayou has an intense fog that covers the land. Papa Noel fixes the alligators to the pirogue in this order, Entienne, Emille, Remy, Renne, Alcee, Alphonse, Francois, Fabienne, and leading is Nicolette. Nicolette leads the way due to her bright green lantern eyes that can usually pierce through the fog. This night however was different and even Nicolette's eyes were not enough to pierce through the dense fog.

Thankfully the citizens of the bayou light Papa Noel's way with bright burning bonfires leading his way into town to give the children their well deserved gifts. Papa Noel also gets the treat of a Cajun cookie called ti gateaux.

If you found this story cute and want to spread the story of Papa Noel here is a link where you can purchase this Louisiana classic. https://www.amazon.com/Legend-Papa-Noel-Cajun-Christmas/dp/1585362565

Finally we at Macabre Matters would like to wish you an amazing 2023 filled with fear and fun! Happy New Year!