You better watch out . . .

When listening to the radio in December,
it’s unlikely to hear holiday songs singing the praises of Krampus:
a half-goat, half-demon, horrific beast who literally beats people
into being nice and not naughty.

Krampus
isn’t exactly the stuff of dreams^[1]: Bearing horns, dark
hair, fangs, and a long tongue, the anti-St. Nicholas comes with a
chain and bells that he lashes about, along with a bundle of birch
sticks meant to swat naughty children. He then hauls the bad kids
down to the underworld.

In Catholicism, St.
Nicholas^[2] is the patron saint of
children. His saints day falls in early December, which helped
strengthen his association with the Yuletide season. Many European
cultures not only welcomed the kindly man as a figure of generosity
and benevolence to reward the good, but they also feared his
menacing counterparts who punished the bad. Parts of Germany and
Austria dread the beastly Krampus, while other Germanic regions
have Belsnickle^[3]
and Knecht
Ruprecht^[4], black-bearded men who
carry switches to beat children. France has Hans Trapp^[5] and Père Fouettard^[6]. (Some of these helpers,
such as Zwarte
Piet^[7] in The Netherlands have
attracted recent controversy.)

Krampus’s name is derived from the German
word krampen, meaning claw, and is said to be the son of
Hel in Norse
mythology^[8]. The legendary beast
also shares characteristics with other scary, demonic creatures in
Greek mythology, including satyrs and fauns.

The legend is part of a centuries-old
Christmas tradition in Germany, where Christmas celebrations begin
in early December. Krampus was created as a counterpart to kindly
St. Nicholas, who rewarded children with sweets. Krampus, in
contrast, would swat “wicked” children, stuff them in a sack, and
take them away to his lair.

According to folklore, Krampus
purportedly shows up in towns the night of December 5, known as
Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night. The next day, December 6, is
Nikolaustag, or St. Nicholas Day, when children look outside
their door to see if the shoe or
boot they’d left out the night before^[9]
contains either presents (a reward for good behavior) or a rod (bad
behavior). (For more on the history of St. Nicholas, see From
St. Nicholas to Santa Claus^[10].)

A more modern take on the tradition in
Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic
involves drunken men dressed as devils, who take over the streets
for a Krampuslauf—a Krampus Run of sorts, when people are
chased through the streets by the “devils.”

Why scare children with a demonic, pagan monster? Maybe it’s a
way for humans to get in touch with their animalistic side. Such
impulses may be about assuming "a dual
personality," according to António Carneiro,
who spoke to National Geographic magazine about revitalized pagan traditions^[11]. The person dressed as
the beast "becomes mysterious," he said.

Krampus’s frightening presence was suppressed for many years—the
Catholic Church forbade the raucous celebrations, and fascists in
World War II Europe found Krampus despicable because it was
considered a creation of the Social Democrats.

But Krampus has been having a resurgance over the past few
years, thanks partly to a "bah, humbug" attitude
in pop culture, with people searching for ways to celebrate the
yuletide season in non-traditional ways. In the United States,
people are embracing the dark side of Christmas with Krampus movies^[12], special
"Krampus" television episodes. They’re throwing
Krampus parties, attending local Krampusnachts (in cities like
Washington, D.C.^[13] and New
Orleans^[14]), and running in
Krampus-themed races.^[15] (Read "How Krampus, the Christmas ‘Devil,’
Became Cool."^[16])

For its part, Austria is attempting to commercialize the harsh
persona of Krampus by selling chocolates, figurines, and
collectible horns. There are already complaints that Krampus is becoming too
commercialized^[17] and losing his edge
because of his newfound popularity.