Scary Ghost Stories & Tales of The Glories Have yourself a scary little Christmas
T
here are various pieces of holiday lore scattered around the world that might seem to fall more in the traditions of Halloween than of the jolly contemporary versions of the winter and Christmas Holidays. But these Winter Holidays have darker historical trappings than most people realize, as there are all manner of grotesque metaphysical beings and beasties that lurk about this time of year. Thus, the children who are generally afraid of sitting on Santa’s lap have far scarier things to worry about than the ominous, immortal toymaker whose elfish minions spend their days shadowing children to see if they are misbehaving. On the topic of misbehaving children, our first dark helper comes to us from Germany, and is probably the most well known of the Holiday terrors. I speak of Krampus. Sometimes called Knecht Ruprecht, among other names, Krampus is counterpart to the immortal St. Nicholas, but whereas St. Nicholas rewards well behaved children with toys and candies, Krampus, a massive anthropomorphic “GoatBeast” who some might compare in
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appearance with what mortals call “The Devil”, seeks out misbehaving children and swats them with his thorny switch every Krampusnacht, or December 5th. Some depictions have him carrying the children away in a knapsack or basket he has hanging from his back. Another Holiday spook comes to us from France. Hans Trapp, a mortal who was prosecuted for practicing black magic, was banished from his village and became a wandering hermit in the nearby woods where he continued to practice his incantations. He slowly began to lose his mind, started dressing like a scarecrow and developed a craving for the taste of human flesh. He also began seeking out children. Now, every Christmas Eve, parents warn their misbehaving children that Hans Trapp roams the night looking for naughty children to eat.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS BODILY
By Danny B. Stewart
