Krampus in popular culture

Krampus, the "Christmas Devil" of Austrian and Bavarian folklore, has entered the popular culture of North America;[1] Christian Jacobs notes that "thanks to the Internet and YouTube,[note 2] [Krampus] is now very much on America's Christmas radar."[2] Tanya Basu interprets this as part of a "growing movement of anti-Christmas celebrations": a "bah, humbug" rejection of – or novel alternative to – mainstream festivities.[1] Brian Joines of Image Comics suspects that the reason Krampus (specifically, as well as dark aspects of Christmas in general) has not been historically popularized in America is a social artifact resulting from "the nature of how we view Christmas in this country, both as a big day for kids and as the birth of a big religious figurehead".[3] In some North American depictions, Krampus is an antihero who seeks to prevent children from becoming spoiled by rampant consumerism flowing from the economics of Christmas.

Sign on a pole in University City, late 2014.[note 1]

Krampus is often mentioned in media related to Christmas,[note 3] but the following lists instances where the character is featured significantly.

Krampus celebrations

Washington DC Krampusnacht walk, 2016.

Krampus-related events are held in cities across North America. Each may have a theme or cause, be it a simple bar crawl, toy drive, or a charity fundraiser. Below are a few:

• Krampusnacht Washington DC.[4]
• Toronto Krampus Ball.[5]
• Chicago Krampus Fest.[6]
• LA Krampusfest.[7]
• San Francisco Krampus Krawl.[8]
• Dallas Krampus Society.[9]
• Krampuslauf Philadelphia.[10]

Costumes

Costumed characters are a central part of all Krampus celebrations. These characters include: Krampus, Saint Nikolaus, the woodsman, angels, and the old woman. As Krampus is half-goat and half-demon, the costume normally shares certain primary elements such as: a fur suit, horns, demon mask, and hooves. Props commonly used are; bells, a birch switch, basket worn on the back, chains, walking staff, and a horse hair or hemp flogger. The most traditional Krampus costumes are made from goat/sheep skins, animal horns, and hand carved masks. More often they are made with modern and less costly materials, such as: fake fur and latex masks. Several Krampus costume instructional YouTube videos are available.[11][12][13][14][15]

Film

• Krampus: The Christmas Devil: a direct-to-video horror film (2013).[16]
• vom Krampus: zwischen Latexhaut und Schaffell: video-documentary film (2013).[17]
• Krampus: The Reckoning: a direct-to-video horror film (2015).[16]
• A Christmas Horror Story: an anthology horror film (2015).
• Krampus: a horror comedy (2015) from Universal Pictures. Produced for US$15 million, as of December 14, 2015 it is estimated to have grossed $61 million worldwide.[18] Its director, Michael Dougherty, commented: "The dark ancient origins of our holidays have always fascinated me."[19]
• Krampus: The Devil Returns: a direct-to-video horror sequel to Krampus: The Christmas Devil (2016).[16]
• Krampus Unleashed: a direct-to-video horror film (2016).[16]
• Mother Krampus: a direct-to-video horror film (2017).[16]
• Mother Krampus 2: a direct-to-video horror film (2018).
• Krampus origins: a direct-to-video horror film (2018).
• Slay belles: a direct-to-video horror film (2018).

In production

• Anti-Claus (initially titled Comes the Krampus), from Kevin Smith.[20]
• Happy Krampus!, from Walden Media and The Jim Henson Company.[21]

Television

• G4 commercial (2003).[22] Christmas carolers outside a house sing a dirge about Krampus, who has entered to punish the naughty children inside.
• The Colbert Report segment "The Blitzkrieg on Grinchitude - Hallmark & Krampus" (2009), regarding the so-called 'War on Christmas'.[23]
• American Housewife episode "Krampus Katie" (2016), regarding the so-called 'War on Christmas'.
• "The Devil of Christmas" (2016), an episode of Inside No. 9 features the figure.[24]

Animation

• The Venture Bros.[3] episode "A Very Venture Christmas" (2004).
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated[3] episode "Wrath of the Krampus" (2012). Voiced by Carlos Alazraqui.
• American Dad! episode "Minstrel Krampus" (2013).[1] Voiced by Danny Glover and Charles Bradley.
• Hotel Transylvania: The Series episode "The Fright Before Creepmas" (2017).
• The Robot Chicken episode "The Robot Chicken Christmas Special: The X-Mas United" features Krampus as Santa's opponent on a college debate tour in 2002. Both Santa and Krampus have sex with a groupie, but Krampus does not use a condom and fathers "The Nerd", a recurring Robot Chicken character. The episode was first broadcast on December 13, 2015 on the Adult Swim programming block of the Cartoon Network.[25] The next season, the episode "Freshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot Cookie Freakout Special: Special Edition" features Krampus as the leader of a rock band called "Krampus". It was first broadcast on December 10, 2017 on Adult Swim.[26]

Live action

• The League[3] episode "A Krampus Carol" (2012).
• The Aquabats! Super Show! episode "Christmas with The Aquabats!" (2013).[2] Voiced by Robert Smigel.
• Grimm episode "Twelve Days of Krampus" (2013). Depicted as a man who annually transforms into Krampus (Derek Mears) to kidnap and eat "naughty" children on Christmas.[27]
• Lost Girl episode "Groundhog Fae" (2013).[28]
• Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell episode "Krampus Nacht" on Adult Swim.
• Murdoch Mysteries episode "A Merry Murdoch Christmas" (2015, season 9). A sighting of Krampus is reported on the night a philanthropist dressed as Santa is murdered at a Christmas Gala. Inspector Brackenreid has a nightmare of his boyhood encounter with Krampus.[29][30]
• Supernatural: the third season episode "A Very Supernatural Christmas", features the protagonists facing what they initially believe to be Krampus, but is later identified as pagan gods, with their ally Bobby Singer informing them that Krampus doesn't exist and they're idiots for believing otherwise.

Print media

• Krampus: The Devil of Christmas (2004), by Monte Beauchamp collects early 1900s Krampus postcards[31]
  • Art director and graphic designer Monte Beauchamp published Krampus postcards from the 19th and 20th centuries in his magazine BLAB! after being introduced to them by a collector. He then had two books of Krampus postcards published in 2004 and 2010. An exhibit was mounted in a gallery in Santa Monica, and a friend of Beauchamp's opened a Krampus-themed club in Los Angeles.[32]
• Chickenhare graphic novel (2006), had a Krampus named Banjo as one of the main characters.[33]
• Krampus: The Yule Lord novel (2012), by Gerald Brom set in Boone County, West Virginia.[34][note 4]
• Klaus, a graphic novel by Grant Morrison.
• Krampus: Shadow of Saint Nicholas, a 2015 graphic novel released by Legendary Entertainment as a tie-in with the 2015 Krampus film.

Others

• CarnEvil arcade game (1998), has a "freakishly evil St. Nick" boss named Krampus.[35][36]
• Random Spirit Lover album (2007), by the Canadian indie band Sunset Rubdown, features a picture of Krampus on the back cover. Spencer Krug stated that it was placed there because "he represents the sort of duality that's a theme on the record, the two sides of every thing."[37]
• The Binding of Isaac video game (2011), features Krampus as a possible surprise boss encounter in rooms where the player would normally expect the chance to make a pact with the Devil. Upon being defeated, he leaves behind a lump of coal, or his own head that can be used as a weapon.[38]
• In the video game Don't Starve (2013), Krampus is a monster that appears after the player kills a certain number of innocent creatures. Carrying a sack, he steals nearby items on the floor as well as in storage containers.
• The single "Naughty Christmas" (2016) by Italian band Lacuna Coil mentions Krampus repeatedly throughout the song.[39]
• Bicycle company Surly offers a trail bike model named the Krampus.
• In the video game Killing Floor 2, Krampus and his lair have been added as a content update in December 2017.
• Krampus: A Yuletide Tale, a musical by Carrie Gilchrist (book, lyrics) and Nils-Petter Ankarblom (book, music, lyrics).[40] It was first produced at Short North Stage in Columbus, Ohio in December 2015.[41][42][43]
• Overwatch, an online video game by Blizzard Entertainment, features a customized Krampus skin for the character Junkrat to be featured for their "Overwatch Winter Wonderland" event.
• Fortnite, a video game developed by Epic Games added 2 Krampus skins during their 2018 Winter events. One was added for their battle royale mode, and the other for the Save the World mode. The battle royale version features cloven hooves, a long pointed tongue, and a sack on its back called a "Brat Bag".

See also

• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), a Finnish thriller film about finding the source of the original Santa Claus myth; a supernatural being who, rather than rewarding good children, punishes the naughty.

Jack Frost in Harper's Weekly (1861)

Apart from evil versions of normally good Christmas characters (i.e. Santa, Frosty, etc.), or Jack Frost who is usually depicted as just mischievous, malevolent monsters associated with Christmas in North American popular culture other than Krampus include, in chronological order:

• Bogeymen from Babes in Toyland (1934)
• The Grinch (1957)
• "Bumble", the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
• Gremlins (1984)
• Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
• Santa Claus (1959) from Mexico features a demon who ineptly attempts to ruin Christmas.

References

Informational notes

1. cf. Kilroy was here
2. A short film called A Krampus Carol was produced in 2011 for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations but never aired, as the Travel Channel considered it inappropriate; "Luckily, the special lives on on YouTube". Seth Abramovitch (December 12, 2011). "Travel Channel Pulls Touching Christmas Special About a Child-Licking Demon". Gawker. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
3. Krampus is briefly mentioned in the Supernatural (U.S. TV series) episode "A Very Supernatural Christmas" (2007) as being one of the anti-Clauses in folklore.
4. ISBN 978-0-06-209565-7. Brom's Krampus page.

Citations

1. Tanya Basu (December 17, 2013). "Who Is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Devil". National Geographic Society. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
2. Hill, Jim (December 20, 2013). "Watch Santa Give Krampus a Seasonal Smackdown on The Aquabats! Super Show! Holiday Special". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
3. "Joines & Kotz's "Krampus!" Terrorizes Christmas at Image". Comic Book Resources. November 19, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
4. Krampusnacht Dc. "Krampusnacht Dc". Krampusnacht Dc. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
5. "Krampus Ball". Krampusball.ca. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
6. "Martyrs' 4th Annual Krampus Fest – Dec. 3 | Dark Chicago". Chicagohorror.com. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
7. "2016 LA KRAMPUSFEST EVENTS". Krampus Los Angeles. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
8. "2016 "Krampus Krawl": Scary Xmas Pub Crawl | Oakland | Funcheap". Sf.funcheap.com. December 10, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
9. "Krampus Walk | Krampus Society | Dallas Fort Worth | Tx". Krampus Society. February 22, 1999. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
10. "philadelphia's family-friendly, maker-friendly festival of winter terror!". Krampuslauf Philadelphia. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
11. "Fur suit Krampus part 1". YouTube. December 6, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
12. "The Making of Krampus, for the Krampus run in Salzburg Austria". YouTube. December 3, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
13. "Making Krampus". YouTube. December 6, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
14. "Woodcarving "Wooden mask" : Timelapse". YouTube. April 21, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
15. "Schnitzteufel - Feri Heindl 2012". YouTube. December 13, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
16. Squires, John (December 6, 2017). "The 8 Different 'Krampus' Horror Films You Can Watch This Holiday Season". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
17. "vom KRAMPUS". cargocollective.com. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
18. "Krampus (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
19. Mike Fleming Jr (May 9, 2014). "Legendary Taps Michael Dougherty To Helm Horror Comedy 'Krampus'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
20. "Cannes: Kevin Smith's 'Anti-Claus' Presells in Key Foreign Markets (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. May 31, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
21. Busch, Anita (July 16, 2015). "Walden Media, Jim Henson Pact For Family Holiday Laffer 'Happy Krampus'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
22. G4 Winter 2003 Commercials (Krampus commercial begins ~4:21)
23. "The Colbert Report - Series | Comedy Central Official Site | CC.com". Colbertnation.com. September 30, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
24. Nicholson, Rebecca (December 28, 2016). "Inside No 9: The Devil of Christmas review – macabre merriment all round". Retrieved December 9, 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
25. "The Robot Chicken Christmas Special: The X-Mas United, 8x07..." Adult Swim
26. "Freshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot Cookie Freakout Special: Special Edition" TV Maze
27. Josh Zyber (December 17, 2013). "'Grimm' 3.07 & 3.08 Recap: "We're Dealing with One Sick Santa"". The Bonus View. High-Def Digest. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
28. Dorothy Snarker (January 2, 2014). ""Lost Girl" Recap (4.08): Soylent green is candy". AfterEllen. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
29. Bellwoar, Rachel (November 15, 2018). "3x The Christmas Cheer With Murdoch Mysteries: The Christmas Cases". COMICON. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
30. "09x09 - A Merry Murdoch Christmas - Murdoch Mysteries Transcripts - Forever Dreaming". transcripts.foreverdreaming.org. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
31. Hix, Lisa (December 11, 2012). "You'd Better Watch Out: Krampus Is Coming to Town". Collectors Weekly. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
32. Little Becky (December 1, 2017) "How Krampus, the Christmas 'Devil,' Became Cool" National Geographic
33. Kevin Melrose (July 21, 2011). "Dark Horse's Chickenhare Getting Animated By Sony". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
34. Barbara Hoffert (May 3, 2012). "Fiction Previews, November 2012, Pt. 1: McCall Smith, Mayle, Munro, and More". Library Journal. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
35. Ashley Reed and David Houghton (December 19, 2014). "12 games where you beat the everloving cheer out of Santa Claus". GamesRadar. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
36. "CarnEvil- Rickety Town boss". YouTube. May 10, 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
37. Jason Crock (October 15, 2007). "Sunset Rubdown". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
38. "The Binding of Isaac - Krampus". YouTube. June 30, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
39. "Lacuna Coil - Naughty Christmas (Lyric Video)". YouTube. Century Media Records. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
40. "Creating Krampus: Naughty to Nice". Short North Stage : Blog. December 1, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
41. "Krampus: A Yuletide Tale at Short North Stage". Short North Stage. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
42. Grossberg, Michael (December 14, 2015). "Theater review | 'Krampus': Light touch just enough to brighten holiday tale". Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
43. Sanford, Richard (December 13, 2015). "Theatre Review: Short North Stage's Krampus: A Yuletide Tale Has Magic to Spare". Columbus Underground. Columbus, Ohio, US. Retrieved November 20, 2016.