I’m sure some of you have heard of Krampus. I know if you watch Grimm you have. There is a few Krampus YouTube videos which you can look up. There are a few Krampus Creepypasta. Here is one from Creepypasta Wikia: http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Christmas_Krampus There are plenty more out there for you to read/listen to if you like the YouTube Creepypastas.
I am also seeing a Krampus movie so we will have to see if it is as scary as I hope. The trailer looks good but I found that they pull the good parts for the trailer and sometimes that is the only good part. I found this trailer on NewTrailersBuzz page on YouTube. Now this Krampus movie is called A Christmas Horror Story. It has already been released in Canada and the UK but I'm not seeing an official date for the US. Here is the link to IMDb.com for this movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3688406/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
This is what wikipedia had for Krampus:
In German-speaking Alpine folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure. According to traditional narratives around the figure, Krampus punishes children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Regions in the Austrian diaspora feature similar figures and, more widely, Krampus is one of a number of Companions of Saint Nicholas in regions of Europe. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated a pre-Christian origin for the figure (see Germanic paganism).
Traditional parades in which young men dress as Krampus, such as the Krampuslauf (German 'Krampus run'), occur annually in some Alpine towns. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten.
Me being the dark morbid person I am, thinks that Krampus is much darker than just ‘punishing’ naughty children. To a naughty child having a horned creature come to punish them would be frightening especially if they were of a Christian faith. But what about the non-christian children? Why would they be scared of Krampus?
If my parents told me the legend of Krampus but instead of punishing me he would take me to his lair and eat me bit by bit until the next year so he could deliver my bones to my parents. I would be more than willing to behave. Probably have night terrors too. Which is why I only expose my dark morbid self to those looking at my blog!
As the season continues to draw closer more and more people become stressed by what they are going to give people and getting what their family wants. But what if Krampus visited more than naughty children? What if he visited naughty adults too?
Well goodbye 90% of the adult population! That’s right. We expect our children to be ‘good’ during this holiday season but what about ourselves? How many times were we rude to someone just because we were in a bad mood? Or had road rage? Inside and outside of the store?
I work in retail and I have met plenty of rude people even during a non holiday season. How do I not slap them and tell them to grow up? I imagine I am Darth Vader and can force choke them or as it is now the Christmas season I will be imagining that Krampus will be coming to visit them. What do you do in times like these?
Did you know that there was a Krampus festival? I didn’t! Now I want to go and hang out with the Krampus Army. The festival takes place in Klagenfurt, Austria. This is from Fest300.com about the attendance of Krampusnacht:
Numbers vary, but an estimated 1,000 Krampi, the largest concentration in the world, descend upon Klagenfurt for a parade through the streets that eventually morphs into a party. Those who dress as Krampus tend to be men in their teens and twenties, and as is the wont of the universe, when large groups of men in their teens and twenties get dressed up, they tend to get drunk.
There's a pagan spirituality element to the equation too; while some Krampi are having fun, others reference pre-Christian traditions of spiritual possession via the usage of mind-altering substances. Which is a nice way to say: some Krampus get crazy on the Krampuslauf. During the after party, expect to hear Black Metal; it's a popular in the area, and the mix of thrashy songs, pagan references, demon/devil iconography and general strutting machismo makes for a natural auditory backdrop to the Krampus crowd.
That said, the Krampuslauf isn't all boozy, demon-clad testosterone time. Many treat the event as a costume contest, and the quality of some Krampus outfits is pretty amazing. In addition, many women take to the streets dressed as Perchta , a pagan goddess of Germanic origin; as a result, a Perchtenlauf (Perchta run) is now a standard component of the Krampuslauf.
Many of those who take the pre-Christian origins of the event seriously do their best to evoke the fear Krampus originally inspired, and it wouldn't be hyperbole to say that for them, the Krampuslauf takes on mystical, and even religious overtones. For these runners, Krampus is the dark counterpart to the gemütlichkeit Christmas evokes. Gemütlichkeitis a hard word to translate, but it encompasses both coziness and conviviality, whereas Krampus is the other half of the winter solstice: darkness, cold, and snowy fir forests where branches snap and things go bump in the frozen night.
I found this at http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/yuletraditions/p/Krampusnacht.htm
December 5 is the evening on which parts of Germany and Bavaria celebrate Krampusnacht, which is a throwback to a pre-Christian tradition. The word Krampus means "claw", and apparently certain Alpine villages have big parties featuring a scary clawed incubus who hangs around with Santa Claus. The Krampus costume also includes sheepskin, horns, and a switch that the incubus uses to swat children and unsuspecting young ladies
The Krampus' job is to punish those who have been bad, while Santa rewards the people on his "nice" list. There's been a resurgence in interest in Krampus over the past century or so, but it seems as though the custom goes back hundreds of years.
While the men parade around dressed as creepy demons, the women get to have some fun too, wearing masks and representing Frau Perchta, who was a Nordic goddess, who may have been an aspect of Freyja, the fertility goddess. Interestingly, in the Pennsylvania Dutch community, there's a character called Pelsnickel or Belznickel who is an awful lot like Krampus, so it appears that the tradition migrated across the water when Germans settled in America.
Krampus.com, which calls itself the official home of "Krampus, the holiday devil," calls Krampus a "dark counterpart of Saint Nicholas, the traditional European gift-bringer who visits on his holy day of December 6th. The bishop-garbed St. Nicholas rewards good kids with gifts and treats; unlike the archetypal Santa, however, St. Nicholas never punishes naughty children, parceling out this task to a ghastly helper from below."
According to everfest.com this year’s Krampusnacht is taking place on December 5th but theeventpalette.com says it is on November 28th. If you find out the actual date as to when the Krampusnacht is happening this year please email me so I can put a definite date on here.
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