• All of Salem gathers for Midnight Mass.
• A light snowfall begins to fall on Salem starting at Midnight. Throughout the hour, it grows heavier and heavier.
• Celeste tosses and turns in her bed.
• The congregation sings “Silent Night.” Someone leaves the church in the middle of Midnight Mass. The person’s footsteps walk away from church, making footsteps in the snow, but the snowfall quickly fills the imprints.
• The babysitter of Claire, Zach, and JT reads the little ones a bedtime story.
• She begins:

“ T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

• Meanwhile, the mystery person approaches a house. He or she peers through the windows and sees nothing. The snow continues to fall.
• The babysitter continues:

“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”

• A chimney rests upon a picturesque, Salem house. The rooftop is laden with snow. Suddenly, a ladder comes into view and is rested upon the house. The mystery person’s face now pops up slowly as he or she climbs the ladder. The person is now wearing a black ski mask.
• The story continues:

“The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.”

• Inside the house, it is quiet. The house is decorated for Christmas, and all seems well. The beds are all made, but everyone seems to be in attendance at Midnight Mass…except for one bed that has a sleeper cuddled into it.
• Meanwhile, outside the house, the assailant reaches into a bag and takes out a bottle that is half-filled. The person places a rag into the battle and leaves it so that half of the rag is hanging out of the bottle. He or she reaches into a pocket and pulls out a match. The match is struck against the chimney and ignites. The mystery person sets the rag on fire and drops the bottle down the chimney. The bottle hits the bottom of the fireplace and sets off an explosion that rips through the living room of the house. The Christmas decorations all whither away and burn to a crisp one by one. The fire quickly spreads roaring from room to room.
• From the outside of the house, the fire glows orange and red. The fresh snow that lines Salem reflects the color of the fire. The entire town glows red and orange.

• The mystery person scurries down the ladder. Seconds later, the ladder burns too. The fire lights up the black mask. Cold eyes lie behind the mask.
• "Silent Night" radiates throughout the town as the Salemites sing.
• Celeste wakes up and lets out a piercing shriek. The nurses come in and strap her down. They sedate her as Celeste continues to scream over and over and over again. Her eyes are filled with pain, fear, and agony.
• The attacker's eyes rage with hate and glow orange and red from the fire.
• Inside the house, the fire rages closer and closer to the bedroom inside which the one person in the house sleeps. Her face is revealed, and it is familiar face to all.
• The babysitter concludes with a whisper:

"Merry Christmas to all....and to all a goodnight."