Well, well, little boys and girls, you all know jolly old Father Christmas who comes down your chimney on Christmas Eve to bring you presents for being good throughout the year.
What you probably don’t know is that he has an evil twin named KRAMPUS! This Evil Santa is a half-goat, half-demon monster in some legends, with horns and a long, flicking tongue. His role is to punish bad children or scare them into being good. He is said to whip people with branches and sticks. You think that’s bad? He even eats children or takes them to Hell! He kidnaps kids by throwing them in a sack and hauls them off to torture.
The figure of Krampus originated in Central and Eastern Alpine folklore. That’s right, the snowy Alpine Mountain ranges is where he is most likely to prowl.
Jolly old Santa Claus picks him up in his sleigh and they go off for their nightly Christmas visits. It’s like Saint Nick and Old Nick (a nickname for the Devil), together for a night of frivolity and FEAR!
In European traditions, Krampus Night is December 5, while the Feast of St Nicholas is December 6, a few weeks before our Christmas. Due to his devilish appearance, Krampus celebrations were banned by the Catholic Church in the 12th century.
So basically, you don’t want to hear Krampus’ horns scraping down your chimney and his gleeful cackle as he enters your home with evil intentions!
The figure of Krampus now appears in popular culture around the world – in movies, TV and computer games. If you’re a heavy metal music fan, you would’ve heard the Snowy Shaw song ‘Krampus’ on his 2018 album ‘White is the New Black’. As far as movies go, there’s the 2015 Christmas comedy-horror ‘Krampus’ from Universal Pictures. If you’re a gamer, Krampus appears in the 1998 arcade game ‘CarnEvil’ and the 2014 video game ‘The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth’. So Krampus is everywhere and he’s coming to get you this festive season!
