The Modern Re-Imagining of Krampus: A Mini-Essay

     Although anthropologists and folklorists continue to debate his origins – some argue he is a product of Germanic paganism while others claim he is an element of seventeenth-century legend – Krampus has become a concrete fixture of Austro-Bavarian Alpine mythology. Akin to the Norwegian utbrud, Krampus serves as a boogeyman that terrorizes individuals, particularly children, who breach customary manners and morals. A horned creature with a forked tongue and pointed fangs, Krampus accompanies Saint Nicholas during the winter season. While his benevolent companion rewards selfless souls for their kindness, Krampus punishes others for this misbehavior, rattling his chains and whipping them with a ruten (a bundle of birch branches). The event, known as Krampusnacht, occurs the evening before the Feast of Saint Nicholas and, as Delbert Gietzen highlights, the celebration varies slightly in each region (in Styria, for example, each home possesses a ruten which hangs throughout the year and is surrendered to Krampus on Krampusnacht to administer any possible punishment on the household, namely its children). Despite these minor differences, the legend is rather universal throughout the Austro-Bavarian expanse; however, as Al Ridenour emphasizes, growing popularity of the Krampus mythology, particularity within the United States, has transformed it into an unrecognizable folklore. 
     The largest perpetrator of this re-imaging, according to Ridenour, is Gerald Brom's novel Krampus. Published in 2012, the fictional tale removes the legend from its Austro-Bavarian homeland and transplants it in the Nordic countries, claiming the figure is the son of Loki and transforming his relationship with Saint Nicholas into a vicious rivalry. In fact, much of Brom's alterations resurface in a 2013 article in National Geographic, Brian Joines and Dean Kotz' graphic novel Krampus!, and the 2015 film Krampus by Legendary Entertainment. In each subsequent retelling, the misconceptions presented by Brom are elaborated upon, particularly the invented feud between Krampus and Saint Nicholas. As Ridenour highlights, the interaction between the two individuals has always been depicted as a mutual companionship; however, Brom's rendition and those which have followed dismantle this affiliation and established a bitter conflict. Similarly, Joines and Kotz' comic erroneously mistakes Saint Nicholas with Santa Claus – shifting Krampusnacht from December 5 (the eve of Saint Nicholas' Feast) to December 25 (Christmas Day) – and the film removes both Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus entirely from the legend, fashioning Krampus into a demonic version of the two who brings global death and destruction at Christmastide.
  

Works Referenced 

Basu, Tonya. "Who is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Devil." National Geographic. December 2013.

Brom, Gerald.  Krampus: The Yule Lord. New York: Harper Voyager, 2012.

Gietzen, Delbert. The Esoteric Codex: German Folklore. Raleigh, NC: Lulu Press, Inc., 2016.

Joines, Brian and Dean Kotz. Krampus! Berkley, CA: Image Comics, Inc. 2014. 

Krampus. Dir. Michael Dougherty. Perf. Toni Collette and Adam Scott. Legendary Entertainment. 2015.

Ridenour, Al. The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House, 2016.