Everyone needs a side-kick, and Saint Nicklaus is no exception. We’re not talking about cutesy elves and glow-in-the-dark reindeer, but the Krampus, an anthropomorphic, demonic goat-horned creature of European folklore. Santa knows when you’ve been good and bad, and so does Krampus. Santa just ignores the naughty kids. Krampus beats them to a pulp with … Continue reading "Greetings From Krampus: Gorgeous Old Postcards Of Santa’s Demonic Sidekick"

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Everyone needs a side-kick, and Saint Nicklaus is no exception. We’re not talking about cutesy elves and glow-in-the-dark reindeer, but the Krampus, an anthropomorphic, demonic goat-horned creature of European folklore. Santa knows when you’ve been good and bad, and so does Krampus. Santa just ignores the naughty kids. Krampus beats them to a pulp with … Continue reading "Greetings From Krampus: Gorgeous Old Postcards Of Santa’s Demonic Sidekick"

If you've ever been on Santa's naughty list, beware: punishment comes worse than coal. Learn about the monsters of Eastern European holiday folklore.

Everything you wanted to know about Krampus the Christmas Devil but were afraid to ask.

This weekend kids in Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and many other countries wait for Saint Nicholas to bring them chocolates, tangerines, nuts and other little gifts.

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Wlassics Olga: Ellentétes érzelmek, 1950-es évek (*) (via Fotoművészet) Copyright WestLicht Wien Sammlung Peter Coeln

The powers that behold Santa Claus is typically associated with America. During the Xmas season, he is all over the globe, infringing on the traditions of other countries. Some traditions are back.

For everyone who didn't make it on the "nice" list.

Last year here at Dangerous Minds we declared that Krampus had hit the American mainstream, and just a couple of weeks ago we told you “fuck the elf on the shelf, here’s Krampus in the corner.” As we begin to see the department stores trot out their Christmas wares, we are reminded that Krampustime will soon be upon us. If you’re looking for a Krampusnacht gift for someone special, we have a suggestion: Feral House has just published the definitive work on Krampus and assorted other dark pagan Yuletide terrors. The exhaustively-researched The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil by Al Ridenour explores the origins of the Krampus myth, its recent popularization in the United States, the various celebrations and traditions associated with the creature, as well as similar European Christmas beasts. Click here to order this title via Amazon. Krampus, for anyone out of the loop, is a horned, anthropomorphic, demon-like creature who, according to Alpine folklore, is a companion to Saint Nicholas. He acts as the yin to Santa’s yang—punishing the naughty children while Saint Nicholas rewards the good. Krampus provides the dark...

Besides appearances in local family homes, along with St. Nicholas, Krampus and his cohorts put on a show in the streets of many Austrian and Bavarian towns.

I was initiated into the Krampus tradition by my Hungarian, Transylvanian, and Czech in-laws many years ago. Right up my alley, you might say! From rotten.com... On Dec. 5, the eve of the feast day of St. Nick, Austrians celebrate Krampus by running across the city in grotesque masks and generally scaring children. This is an extension of the good-cop, bad-cop theory. St. Nick makes his rounds on Dec. 6 rewarding all the good little children, a task which is made easy since Krampus has been out the night before, punishing pretty much the same children with a good switching. more... The hideous Krampus is a shaggy monster with horns, covered with bells and dragging chains. In Bavaria, St. Nikolaus is followed by a similar horned creature, called Klaubauf; in Styria this attendant is named Bartel. Krampus carries the presents for the good and a birch stick or lumps of coal for the naughty ones. It is rumored that naughty children might get put in the sack and taken along to hell. In the Salzburg area there are Krampus runs on and around December 5th, preceding the festival of St. Nikolaus. The tradition in the National Park region is that St. Nikolaus drags along not just a single Krampus, but a group of up to ten of these frightening freaks. The Krampus masks are known as Larven. A proper Krampus Larve must of course have large horns, and the carver usually uses the horns of a goat, Ibex or Chamois.There are two ways to get a good look at St. Nikolaus and his Krampuses in the Salzburg region. The easiest way is having children... then you can invite Jolly old St.Nick into your home, and the Krampus will come with him to help your little ones wet their pants. The second way is to visit one of the street runs or parades. In Hungary, there are the same two key Christmas figures... Mikulás (St. Nick) and Krampusz. St. Nick is a nice-ish tall thin guy who dresses in either red or white and gives out candies or presents. Krampusz punishes bad children by beating them or taking them away. Clearly Europeans are still into hitting and threatening their kids in a public way. Scary! Clay Rizen has a nice personal write up of his Krampus experience here.

Thanks to the internet, popular American understanding of European Christmas traditions has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decades. There’s also...

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For such a beautiful book containing such rich and powerful religious iconography there is surprisingly little known about Livre de la Vigne Nostre Seigneur other than it is a French book written circa 1450-70 and is an illustrated treatise “on the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ” and “the Antichrist, Last Judgement, Hell, and Heaven.” The book’s title Livre de la Vigne Nostre Seigneur is an “allusion” to: ...a vineyard often evoked in the Old Testament, planted by Yahweh and symbolizing the people of Israel. The image is taken up in the New Testament [Matthew 20-21], Jesus comparing the Kingdom of God to a vine whose Christians are the winegrowers. The manuscript is illustrated throughout with stunning miniatures produced by many different hands depicting a diverse range of demons carrying out their dastardly deeds in Hell. These “medieval demons”: ...undertake a much broader variety of activities—none of them good—and as observable here and elsewhere in the Livre de la Vigne imagery, their physiognomies often incorporate a baroque set of negative pictorial signs, which may include dark skin; deformity; bestial features such as fangs or beaks, horns, hooves, and tails; ugly grimaces; and supernumerary bodily orifices. Demonic...

A collection of vintage Gruss vom Krampus greeting cards to fill your Yule with Christmas terror.

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Chort is a demon from Slavic folklore, son of Chernobog, who is trickster figure in folktales. It often tries to trick people into selling their souls, but is easily outsmarted.