Episode 45 - Krampus

Everyone was preparing for the Feast. It was an exciting time. A time to celebrate, to reflect, and to prepare for the new year.

The town was busy. It would be even busier tomorrow and the next day of course, until the evening of the Feast when you all would come together to enjoy the food you were all preparing.

But first, there was the work of the festival. The whole of the town was making food, preparing masks and costumes, planning the path of the parade. It was a frenzy of activity, but still, you enjoyed.

You helped bake goods in the morning, preparing food alongside your family. In the afternoon, you were recruited by a few neighbors to help them plot the parade’s course, help to clear it of snow. And in the evening you took a break to eat a meal, have a drink, and relax. Tomorrow would be busier, and would see the beginning of the festival’s actual events.

All in preparation for the Feast of Saint Nicholas in two days. But first, you had to make it through his companion, and the night devoted to his mischief and dark work, for tomorrow was Krampusnacht.

Krampus is a horned man, often described with red eyes, sharp teeth, and goat’s hooves. Sometimes thought to be half-goat, half-demon, Krampus is one of Saint Nicholas’ companions in several regions throughout central Europe, where he serves to punish the wicked in the night or nights leading up to the visit by Saint Nicholas who would reward the good and well-behaved with presents.

The myth of Krampus is an old one, although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin, it has been featured in celebrations for centuries.

More recently, Krampus has exploded onto the scene of pop culture and folklore across the world, with popular festivals, holiday movies, and greeting cards all featuring the character.

Krampus has shown up throughout time as a companion to Saint Nicholas, as an interpretation of various gods and goddesses, and as something more like an evil Santa Claus. While the traditions have changed over time, been banned and resurrected; Krampus persisted. Sometimes he is accompanied by other spirits, servants that help him complete his dark tasks, other times, he works alone.

His celebration moves around a bit, but one of the most traditional interpretations places Krampusnacht or the Night of Krampus on December 5th, the day before the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Others have him arriving on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day; and still others place him sometime closer to midwinter. Regardless of when he arrives, you can be sure that he brings trouble.

I am Andrew Eagle, and I am excited to invite you to join me in passing Through the Veil, and exploring the story of Saint Nicholas’ cruelest companion, Krampus.

The morning of Krampusnacht was especially exciting. This year, you were in the parade. You’d been working on your costume for weeks. There would be dozens of Krampus in the parade of course, everyone dressed up with horns and hooves and fur and beads. People would offer small gifts to the parade Krampuses, including you, as a sort-of fake sacrifice to hopefully help their children avoid Krampus’ anger that evening.

You spent the early portions of the day, before the parade, helping to prepare for the feast. You brought bread and fruit to several of your neighbors - a simple holiday gift from your family. And they often handed you something to bring back as well. There would be gifts among family and close friends tomorrow, but today was for neighbors and the community. It was a giving time. A time to share good fortune and help to fix the bad.

The parade filled the afternoon, you marched along in your costume alongside the other Krampuses. Each was unique, but they all featured the common traits: a long beard, a pair of large horns, red eyes.

Some featured rattling chains and a birch scourge, traditional armaments of Krampus. Some carried wicker baskets that could be used to carry away the bad children. Everything you could expect from such a party.

The appearance of Krampus varies wildly. In some tellings, he’s very nearly human, with a few animal-like features. In others, he is far more animalistic, and in some cases, nearly demonic.

He is often described as having dark hair, in some cases this is fur that covers his entire body. He usually has cloven hooves, although some tellings say he has one hoof and one human foot. He almost always features the horns of a goat.

In many versions of the Krampus story, he carries or is wrapped in thick chains that he rattles and shakes to strike fear in his victims. Sometimes he also wears bells that ring and jingle.

In the pagan stories that would eventually become Krampus stories, he would usually carry a ruten - a bundle of birch branches he would use to whip children. This ruten is sometimes replaced by a whip.

He often carries a large sack, or wears a large basket on his back. These containers are used to store and carry away naughty children. Depending on the story, their fate could be drowning, being eaten, carried away to Hell, or forced to labor for Krampus. This behavior is thought to perhaps be bleed-over from other companions of Saint Nicholas that serve a similar purpose in other stories.

After the parade was a small celebration. Nothing compared to the feast being planned for tomorrow, but even so, food and drink flowed freely.

Just before sundown you made your way home, and on your walk, the snow began to fall. By the time you got to your door, it was falling quickly, and the wind was picking up. A blizzard was coming, appropriate weather for Krampusnacht. The storm had started quickly, but with intensity, and as soon as you got indoors, you changed into dry clothes, and left the rest up to dry.

With a fire burning, your house grew warm and comfortable quickly. And you settled down in front of the fire-place to relax for a while. No reason not to stay up and enjoy the night for a while longer.

You had fallen asleep in front of the fire, as it burned low, when you awoke to the sounds of clinking metal. At least, that’s what you thought you heard. It was hard to tell over the wind, and half-asleep as you were. You sat up and began to look around your home. Maybe you had left a window loosely latched and the wind had shaken it loose.

As you made your search, you began to doubt you had heard anything after all, perhaps it was just a fluke of your drowsy state.

But then you heard it again. Louder, and from above you. Metal clanking. You went to the upper floor and checked the windows there. Nothing was unlocked, nothing was unlatched.

The sounds of metal came one last time and there was a loud sound as something heavy landed on the ground outside your house. You rushed downstairs to investigate. You saw a large figure. Hulking and heavy, with curled horns and hoofed feet walking away toward the neighbor’s house. A figure that could only be one thing… You saw Krampus. When you woke up the next morning, you were not sure if what you had seen was real, or if it was a dream. Either way, it would surely make a good story.

The origins of Krampus are not entirely clear. There are a number of theories. Additionally, because of how many variations there are on the Krampus story, it is not possible to know that they all have the same origin, or if they evolved together over time.

However, some of the theories are more prevalent than other. Perhaps the most common is that Krampus is an evolution of the Horned God that comes from pagan or wiccan beliefs. Some covens use the birch ruten as part of initiation rites, and the rest of the description is similar. It is theorized that the chains that Krampus is known to bear and be wrapped in are a later addition. The speculation is that the chains were added in retellings after the introduction of Christianity to the region as a symbol of binding the Devil.

It seems to be the most common belief that Krampus pre-dates Christianity in many of the regions where the story has its roots, and over time the figure became associated with the Christian devil more and more.

Many regions have developed Krampus stories, but it seems that they have the deepest roots in Austria and Germany, with the other regions taking those stories and the people there tweaking and changing them.

In Styria, a tradition has risen of presenting ruten bundles to families with painted twigs that are displayed year round as a reminder to children that Krampus is watching. They also developed the story that Krampus is accompanied by beast-like companions called Rauhen.

In Austria, particularly Salzburg and other cities, Krampus has been toned down and made far more friendly to tourists, with a focus on humor and mischief rather than violence and punishment.

Several other regions have their own variants: The Udine province in Italy holds an annual Krampus festival, Croatia has a version of Krampus who comes after Saint Nicholas, rather than before, stealing the gifts that were given to bad children.

And in much more recent history, Krampus festivals are becoming a more common phenomenon in North America.

The Feast that evening was a bold and entertaining affair. Food and drink was plentiful. Music and dancing and singing filled the town. Everyone was there. You decided on your way there to keep your story to yourself, assuming that seeing Krampus was a dream, you figured telling your story was a good way to get ridiculed. So you spent your night talking about other things, dancing and celebrating with your neighbors.

The festival would last late into the night, and as it got later and later, people began filtering home. You were left with a small group of neighbors and friends, sharing stories and having conversation. Not discussing much of any importance.

When one of your neighbors leaned in and got quiet. They said that they’d seen something last night, outside their house. Their tone made it seem serious, and the group quieted quickly. You leaned in, excited and a little concerned to hear what they had to say.

When they described the thing they had seen, a large figure - horned and hoofed - making its way through their property, you could hardly believe it. When another one of your neighbors nodded and said that they had seen it too… It made everything from the night before seem so much stranger.

You had all been visited by Krampus…

The story of Krampus has deep roots, and has evolved drastically over time. It has become the center of movies and books, serving as protagonist or antagonist. The tellings range from horrifying to humorous, they have been used on greeting cards and to inspire costumes and festivals and parades. It is a story that has served many purposes and taken many forms.

Krampus is a great example of a story that has shifted dramatically as it spread and was told and told again.

So whether your version of Krampus comes on Krampusnacht, or Christmas Eve, or the Solstice; may you and yours never earn his ire.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Through the Veil. I hope you enjoyed. I encourage you to subscribe to receive new episodes weekly wherever you listen as we continue our exploration of folklore, myth, and magic.

Music this week was: Krampus Is Here by Myuu

If you are enjoying the show, and have subjects you would like to hear covered, please email me at throughtheveilpodcast@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter, you can find me @ThroughVeil.

Happy holidays, everyone.

As always, thank you, for listening.