Kim Kardashian’s Family’s Elf On The Shelf Game Took A Hilariously Dark Turn

If you know anyone with kids, you know that Elf On The Shelf has become a huge tradition for a lot of families. And this week, things went a little haywire for the one that lives in the Kardashian-West household. It's sad, but true: Saint West's Elf On The Shelf died, but don't worry — big sister North was there to make sure he received a proper burial. And yes, this is all just as strange as it sounds.

For any of this to make sense, you have to understand the backstory of these elves, because they're more than little dolls that parents put in funny positions while their kids are sleeping. It actually came from the 2005 children's book of the same name by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, inspiring kids to behave for their elves around Christmas time, lest the elves tell Santa they've been naughty.

But there's one major thing you have to avoid if you have an elf living in your house: you cannot, under any circumstances, touch it, because according to the official Elf On The Shelf website, it loses its Christmas magic and essentially dies, which is what happened when Saint got a little too curious about his elf.

And as Kim Kardashian pointed out on her Instagram story on Wednesday, that was North's cue to make a grave, including a tombstone, for the poor little guy.

And yes, that is a skull and crossbones on the elf's tombstone. Naturally.

"Saint touched his Elf on a Shelf so North just brought this in," Kardashian wrote.

Sadly, there have been no further updates on this poor elf, and hopefully, this hasn't been too traumatic for Saint (even if North seemed to enjoy the opportunity to show off her art skills). Fortunately, there is good news: the Elf On The Shelf site outlines a few things families can do to bring their elf back to life, like sprinkling cinnamon around the elf, singing Christmas carols, and writing a note to apologize to the elf (and Santa) for touching him. Seems reasonable.

It seems like the elf tradition is something that Kim picked up from Kourtney — she's had an elf at her house watching over Penelope, Mason, and Reign for years at this point. In 2016, she shared a letter that the elf wrote to Mason back in 2015.

Judging by the contents of the letter, it seems that Mason may have been guilty of touching his elf, being that he's reassuring him that he didn't lose his magic. Maybe he can offer Saint a few words of advice during this difficult time?

Let's all cross our fingers for an update from Kardashian on whether or not Saint was able to bring his elf back to life. If nothing else, this has been an important lesson to us all: do not ever touch the Elf On The Shelf that lives in your house. Everyone gets curious, but is it worth risking all of your gifts?