Neil Patrick Harris is a man of many talents. He can act, sing, dance, and make absolutely anything sound scary.
When Harris stopped by The Late Show on Wednesday, he showed off his multi-faceted talent by transforming a joyful Christmas carol into an ominous tale of doom and woe. Stephen Colbert joined Harris in the frightening fun by turning off the lights, cuing the creepy music, and intoning, “Dashing through the snow.” Harris continued with a sinister, “In a one horse open sleigh.” It got even darker from there with peals of maniacal laughter and an overwhelming sense of terror.
The performance even frightened the performers with Colbert admitting he was terrified, while Harris nodded, “I got shivers.” Colbert couldn’t let him have the last word, though: “I s— my pants. Merry Christmas!”
Harris used the nefarious performance to prove that he definitely has the chops to play the villainous Count Olaf in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the Lemony Snicket books, A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Watch below.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- Coco Gauff Is Playing for Herself Now
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- If You're Dating Right Now , You're Brave: Column
- The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
- Fallout Is a Brilliant Model for the Future of Video Game Adaptations
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com