The Nightmare Before Christmas - Investigating The Krampus Phenomenon
From Switzerland to Croatia, every December 5th is one devil of a night
Those old enough to remember a time called the 1970s might recall how John Craven's Newsround - when it wasn't busy covering rocket launches and panda births - always made a point of covering the annual St Nicholas' Day celebrations in the Netherlands. As a child for whom Christmas simply couldn't come quickly enough, it was hard not to envy the infants of Holland whose big festive celebration came at the beginning rather than the end of December. St Nicholas' Day looked an absolute scream, not withstanding the fact that Zwarte Piet's fondness for blackface felt out of place even in the 1970s.
Little did one know that a rather different event was taking at the same time many miles to the south. For in Austria and Bavaria, in the Czechia and Hungary, in Croatia and Slovenia - in fact, pretty much everywhere that had once been ruled by the Hapsburgs - while December the 6th belonged to St Nick, so the night of December 5th was the province of Krampus, a horned half-man half-goat who sought to punish naughty children even while his counterpart rewarded the good.
Exactly how so foul a beast became part of the most wonderful time of the year has been the subject of some debate. The folklorist Maurice Bruce believes the demon's origins are tied to the pre-Christian traditions of the Alpine countries. It's a position the Smithsonian's Jennifer Billock supports. As she wrote in 2015, "Krampus's roots have nothing to do with Christmas. Instead they date back to pre-Germanic paganism. His name originates with the German 'krampen' meaning 'claw' and tradition has it that he is the son of the Norse god of the underworld."
With his horns, cloven hooves, furry torso and craven eyes, Krampus has more than a touch of the Devil about him. Heck, according to some interpretations of the myth, he's even given to abducting children and dragging them to the netherworld, an element of the folk tale inspired by the way in which the Moors kidnapped people from coastal Europe and then pressed them into slavery.
All of which goes someway towards explaining why the Catholic Church tried so hard to remove all mention of the fiend from seasonal festivities during the 1200s. Further attempts to crack down on Krampus occurred in the 1920s and 1950s, the latter decade seeing the distribution of a government-sanctioned pamphlet entitled 'Krampus Is An Evil Man'. And anti-Anti-Christmas forces remain at work today, their motivation stemming from the hysterical cry made famous by The Simpsons' Helen Lovejoy, 'Won't someone think of the children?!'
So what do the small people make of the chain-wielding freak who whips those juveniles he believes to be delinquent with a birch switch? Given the growing popularity of Krampuslaufen - aka Krampus Runs, in which a man dons full demonic regalia then pursues kids through the neighbourhood streets - it would appear they can't get enough of the Horned One.
As The Telegraph's Rozina Sapur reported, he's so child-friendly that he's even been used to help refugee kids feel more a part of Austria's festive activities, a move that was applauded by Jeremy Seghers, the man responsible for Krampusnacht celebrations in Orlando, Florida. "I think it's wonderful that they want to get the refugees used to this sort of thing," Seghers enthused. "You can't force people to adopt cultural traditions of which they have no basis or point of reference."
It's really no surprise that kids should have taken to Kampus. He's just so much more entertaining and exciting than the benign St Nicholas, the martyr who is the yin to his yang. In fact, Krampus and the beatific one are but two of a wide cast of St Nicholas Day/Krampusnacht characters, others of which include a woodsman, an old woman and a choir of angels. Alongside such worthy companions, our anti-hero couldn't help but seem thrilling.
It's also interesting to note how certain Krampus traditions correspond with those that have sprung up around Santa Claus. For while children might leave mince pies and brandy to help fortify Father Christmas on December 24th, those who 'fear' the seasonal sprite seek to placate him with a glass of schnapps on Krampusnacht, the day before the feast of St Nicholas. It's also worthy noting that both Santa and Krampus are synonymous with sacks, even if they do use them for markedly different purposes.
And now, of course, the rest of the world is getting to know Krampus. Given how big a part he is of mainstream festive celebrations in central Europe, it's strange that word of the myth didn't spread quicker. After all, since the 1800s, our friends on the continent have exchanged Krampuskarten - comical greeting cards often bearing slogans to the effect of 'Best wishes from Krampus'. What with the appetite for such things, you could be forgiven for assuming that i) Hallmark would have been quick to make a quid out of them; and ii) the greetings card demigod would've sought to spread the phenomenon's popularity in the hope of maximising their investment.
Thanks in large part to the character being so compelling, Krampus would eventually make his way across the Atlantic. There, he would inspire comic-books, video games and TV shows. Always on the lookout for a new big bag, Hollywood also cottoned on to Krampus. In fact, at the time of writing, the Christmas demon has featured in the titles of some seven feature films. The pick of these is 2015's Krampus starring Little Big Lies' Adam Scott and Little Miss Sunshine's Toni Collette. A comic fantasy centring on a child accidentally summoning the Horned One to his family home, it's by no means the best movie in the world. Still, it's a damn sight better than Krampus Unleashed, Krampus: The Christmas Devil, Krampus: The Devil Returns, Krampus: The Reckoning, Mother Krampus and Lady Krampus, all of which you'll be appalled to learn are real, actual movies.
Though he also showed up in fun anthology film A Christmas Horror Story, the best use of Krampus in pop culture to date came in the Inside No.9 episode 'The Devil Of Christmas'. In this, the demon is the folk legend that spreads discord between family members during an Alpine holiday. Featuring series creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, alongside Rula Lenska, Jessica Raine and the voice of Derek Jacobi, the programme's a loving tribute to shaky camera 1970s supernatural dramas such as Nigel Kneale's Beasts and Roald Dahl's Tales Of The Unexpected. And as is so often the case in horror, here Krampus is that much scarier for remaining largely unseen.
As this year there are Krampuslaufen scheduled to take place as far afield as Washington DC, Toronto and San Francisco, there's no questioning the universal popularity of the Anti-Christmas. Put another way, if you're not donning your hooves, horns, goat-skin bodysuit and wooden devil's mask this December 5th, you're the one missing out. For just as the Devil has all the best tunes, so he also knows how to throw one helluva Christmas party.