My favorite animated holiday special is that one where our brave hero (a Man-of-the-Green) attacks a mountain village as they prepare to welcome Yu’ul, the Beast, into our world.  It all takes place as part of their winter holiday, a cacophony of horrors.

Our hero disguises himself as a high priest in the local faith and sneaks into the village in dead of night.  As the villagers sleep,  he creeps into their homes and steals the powerful items they need for the ceremony.  A couple of times, he thinks he has been caught, but soon enough all of it - the bells, garlands, the indescribeable instruments of their worship, and their planned offerings of greenery and flesh - are packed up and stolen away.  All but certain of his success, the MOTG ascends the nearby mountain to watch and confirm it. 

As the morning sky lightens, he’s confident, perhaps even a bit cocky. But soon enough, the village begins to stir.  And the sounds he hears rising from the valley are not cries of alarm.  His heart sinks as he realizes it is the sounds of chanting that rise from the valley.  The truth dawns - he hasn’t stopped the summoning at all.  

The villagers have linked hands and begun joyfully singing the chants of “Wa’hu Gloray!  Wa’hu Doray!”  An old growth pine has been offered as a sacrifice in the center of the circle. Golden energies begin to gather in the  and spread up the mountainsides.  Frantic, this brave Man-of-the-Green, still in the guise of a false high priest, climbs atop his sledge and calls forth a false Horned Beast to take him into the village.  In the light of dawn, the disguise is awful.  But he only needs it to succeed until he breaks into the circle. In the momentary confusion, the ceremony is ruined. It will be a millennium before this summoning can be repeated.  Until the next danger arises, Mankind is safe.  

But as the story ends, we see that the MOTG has been changed by the energies that the villagers unleashed- his body had begun to transform, with strange organs growing within.  But the true horror is belied by the strange glint in his eye.  Not only his body, but also his mind has been twisted.  The MOTG has saved us all, but he has been driven mad in the process.  He has become one with the villagers.  He now loves Yu’ul.