krampus

File:Krampus Morzger Pass Salzburg 2008 04.jpg, Austria]]

Discussing his observations in 1975 while in Irdning, a small town in Styria, anthropologist John J. Honigmann wrote that:

The Saint Nicholas festival we are describing incorporates cultural elements widely distributed in Europe. St. Nicholas himself became popular in Germany around the eleventh century. The feast dedicated to this patron of children is only one winter occasion in which children are the objects of special attention, others being Martinmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and New Year's Day. Masked devils acting boisterously and making nuisances of themselves are known in Germany since at least the sixteenth century while animal masked devils combining dreadful-comic ({{lang|de|schauriglustig}}) antics appeared in medieval church plays. A large literature, much of it by European folklorists, bears on these subjects. ...

Austrians in the community we studied are quite aware of "heathen" elements being blended with Christian elements in the Saint Nicholas customs and in other traditional winter ceremonies. They believe Krampus derives from a pagan supernatural who was assimilated to the Christian devil.{{cite journal |last=Honigmann |first=John J. |title=The Masked Face |journal=Ethos |volume=5 |issue=3 |date=Autumn 1977 |pages=263–80 |doi=10.1525/eth.1977.5.3.02a00020 |doi-access=free}}

Krampus is usually featured as a man with horns with one grotesque human foot and one foot of a goat. He is typically covered in black hair and has a very long snake or dragon-like tongue. These qualities have increasingly made Krampus a character for horror costumes and films.{{Cite web |last=Vizor |first=Sabrina |date=2024-12-05 |title=The Dark Origins of Krampus: Europe's Ancient Christmas Demon |url=https://madabouthorror.co.uk/blog/krampus-christmas/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Mad About Horror}}

In the 17th century Krampus was paired with St. Nicholas as a helper. Because Nicholas is a saint, it wasn’t logical or deemed saintly behavior for Nicholas to deliver punishments. Therefore a helper was assigned to St Nicholas; such as Farmhand Rupert, Schmutzli, Père Fouettard, or Zwarte Piet, who would go down the chimney or punish the naughty children. Krampus served St Nicholas in the same role.{{Cite news |title=Run, Kris Kringle, Krampus is Coming! |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,594050,00.html |newspaper=Der Spiegel Online |access-date=17 December 2011 |date=2 December 2008}}

In the aftermath of the 1932 election in Austria, the Krampus tradition was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/23/archives/krampus-disliked-in-fascist-austria-genial-black-and-red-devil.html |work=The New York Times |title=Krampus disliked in Fascist Austria; Genial Black and Red Devil, Symbol of Christmas Fun, Is Frowned Upon |date=23 December 1934}} under the clerical fascist Fatherland Front ({{lang|de|Vaterländische Front}}) and the Christian Social Party.

In the 1950s, the Government of Austria distributed pamphlets titled "Krampus Is an Evil Man" for fear that encounters with Krampus might damage children's mental health.{{cite news |title=Throw Out Krampus |date=7 December 1953 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890728,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222115126/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,890728,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 December 2008 |magazine=Time |page=41 |access-date=18 December 2011}} Towards the end of the century, a popular resurgence of Krampus celebrations occurred and continues today.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2009/11/merry-krampus.html |title=Merry Krampus? |access-date=17 December 2011 |last=Silver |first=Marc |date=30 November 2009 |website=NGM Blog Central |publisher=National Geographic Society |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922072934/http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2009/11/merry-krampus.html |archive-date=22 September 2010}}

The Krampus tradition is being revived in Bavaria as well, along with a local artistic tradition of hand-carved wooden masks.{{cite news |first=Erik |last=Olsen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000003337979/the-krampus-returns.html |title=In Bavaria, Krampus Catches the Naughty |work=The New York Times |date=21 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108132954/https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000003337979/the-krampus-returns.html |archive-date=8 November 2020}}{{cite news |first=Zawadil |last=Alexandra |title=Santa's evil sidekick? Who knew? |date=6 December 2006 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-christmas-devil-idUSL0438534320061206 |publisher=Reuters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102221605/http://www.reuters.com:80/article/us-austria-christmas-devil-idUSL0438534320061206 |archive-date=2 November 2017}}

File:Gruss vom Krampus.jpg

Although Krampus appears in many variations, most share some common physical characteristics. He is hairy, usually brown or black, and has one foot that has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. His long, pointed tongue drops out,{{cite journal |last=Bruce |first=Maurice |title=The Krampus in Styria |journal=Folklore |date=March 1958 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=44–47 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1958.9717121}}{{cite news |last=Zeller |first=Tom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/weekinreview/ideas-trends-have-a-very-scary-christmas.html |work=The New York Times |title=Have a Very Scary Christmas |date=24 December 2000}} and he has fangs.{{cite magazine|last=Basu |first=Tanya |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131217-krampus-christmas-santa-devil/ |title=Who is Krampus? Explaining the Horrific Christmas Devil |magazine=National Geographic Magazine |publisher=National Geographic Society |date=17 December 2013 |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220023507/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131217-krampus-christmas-santa-devil/ |archive-date=20 February 2014}}

Krampus carries chains, thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church. He thrashes the chains for dramatic effect. The chains are sometimes accompanied with bells of various sizes.{{cite news |first=Gretchen |last=Gatzke |title=Krampus? Who's That? |date=1 December 2009 |url=https://www.theviennareview.at/archives/2009/krampus-whos-that |work=The Vienna Review |access-date=17 December 2011}} Krampus will carry a bundle of birch branches with which he occasionally swats children. The birch branches are replaced with a whip in some representations. On Christmas Eve, Krampus travels with a sack or a basket strapped to his back; this is to cart off evil children for drowning, eating, or transport to Hell. Some of the older versions make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and taken away. This quality can be found in other companions of Saint Nicholas such as Zwarte Piet.{{cite book|title=Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800 |first=Robert |last=Davis |date=2004 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1403945518}}

The Feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on 6 December.{{cite news |title=Horror for the Holidays: Meet the Anti Santa |newspaper=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/12/10/143485735/naughty-or-nice-krampus-horror-for-the-holidays |publisher=National Public Radio |access-date=22 December 2011}} On the preceding evening of 5 December, Krampus Night or {{lang|de|Krampusnacht}}, the wicked hairy devil appears on the streets. Sometimes accompanying St. Nicholas and sometimes on his own, Krampus visits homes and businesses. The Saint usually appears in the Eastern Rite vestments of a bishop, and he carries a golden ceremonial staff. Unlike North American versions of Santa Claus, in these celebrations Saint Nicholas concerns himself only with the good children, while Krampus is responsible for the bad. Nicholas dispenses gifts, while Krampus supplies coal and the {{lang|de|Rute}}.{{cite book |last=Siefker |first=Phyllis |title=Santa Claus, last of the Wild Men: the origins and evolution of Saint Nicholas |publisher=McFarland and Co.|year=1997 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |pages=155–159 |isbn=978-0-7864-0246-5}}

There were already established pagan traditions in the Alpine regions that became intertwined with Catholicism. People would masquerade as a devilish figure known as {{lang|de|Percht}}, a two-legged humanoid goat with a giraffe-like neck, wearing animal furs.{{sfn|Ridenour|2016|p=191}} People wore costumes and marched in processions known as {{lang|de|Perchtenlaufen}}, which are regarded as an earlier form of the Krampus runs. {{lang|de|Perchtenlaufen}} were looked at with suspicion by the Catholic Church and banned by some civil authorities. Due to sparse population and rugged environments within the Alpine region, the ban was not effective or easily enforced, rendering the ban useless. Eventually the {{lang|de|Perchtenlauf}}, inspired by the Nicholas plays, introduced Saint Nicholas and his set of good morals. The {{lang|de|Percht}} transformed into what is now known as the Krampus and was made to be subjected to Saint Nicholas' will.{{sfn|Ridenour|2016|pp=97–99}}

It is customary to offer a Krampus schnapps, a strong distilled fruit brandy. These runs may include {{lang|de|Perchten}}, similarly wild pagan spirits of Germanic folklore and sometimes female in representation, although the {{lang|de|Perchten}} are properly associated with the period between winter solstice and 6 January.

Every year there are arguments during Krampus runs. Occasionally spectators take revenge for whippings and attack Krampuses. In 2013, after several Krampus runs in East Tyrol, a total of eight injured people (mostly with broken bones) were admitted to the Lienz district hospital and over 60 other patients were treated on an outpatient basis.{{cite news|first=Helmut |last=Mittermayr |url=https://www.tt.com/artikel/7588184/70-verletzte-bei-krampuslauf |title=70 Verletzte bei Krampuslauf |language=de |trans-title=70 injured in Krampus run |work=Tiroler Tageszeitung |date=8 December 2013}}

Europeans have been exchanging greeting cards featuring Krampus since the 19th century.{{cite web |title=Meet Krampus, the Christmas Devil Who Punishes Naughty Children: The Alpine legend is the original bad Santa |url=https://www.history.com/news/krampus-christmas-legend-origin |first=Becky |last=Little |date=5 December 2018 |website=History |access-date=17 December 2022}} Sometimes introduced with {{lang|de|Gruß vom Krampus}} (Greetings from Krampus), the cards usually have humorous rhymes and poems. Krampus is often featured looming menacingly over children. He is also shown as having one human foot and one cloven hoof. In some, Krampus has sexual overtones; he is pictured pursuing buxom women.{{cite book |last=Beauchamp |first=Monte|title=The Devil in Design: The Krampus Postcards |publisher=Fantagraphics |date=2004 |location=Seattle, Washington |pages=14–29, 32 |isbn=978-1-56097-542-7}} Over time, the representation of Krampus in the cards has changed; older versions have a more frightening Krampus, while modern versions have a cuter, more Cupid-like creature.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}} Krampus has also adorned postcards and candy containers.{{cite book |last=Apkarian-Russell |first=Pamela |title=Postmarked yesteryear: art of the holiday postcard |publisher=Collectors Press |year=2001 |location=Portland, Oregon |page=136 |isbn=978-1-888054-54-5}}

Krampus appears in the folklore of Austria, Bavaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Northern Italy (Autonomous Province of Trento, South Tyrol, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia), Slovakia, and Slovenia.{{cite book |first=Victoria |last=Williams |title=Celebrating Life Customs around the World: From Baby Showers to Funerals |location=Santa Barbara, California |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2016 |page=222 |isbn=978-1-4408-3659-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_58DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA222 |via=Google Books}}

In Styria, the {{lang|de|Rute}} is presented by Krampus to families. The twigs are painted gold and displayed year-round in the house—a reminder to any child who has temporarily forgotten Krampus. In smaller, more isolated villages, the figure has other beastly companions, such as the antlered "wild man" figures, and St Nicholas is nowhere to be seen. These Styrian companions of Krampus are called {{lang|de|Schabmänner}} or {{lang|de|Rauhen}}., and are similar to the kukeri dancers of Bulgaria.

A toned-down version of Krampus is part of the popular Christmas markets in Austrian urban centres like Salzburg. In these, more tourist-friendly interpretations, Krampus is more humorous than fearsome.{{cite book |last=Haid |first=Oliver |title=Festivals, tourism and social change: remaking worlds |chapter=Christmas markets in the Tyrolean Alps: Representing regional traditions in a newly created world of Christmas |editor1-first=David |editor1-last=Picard |editor2-first=Mike |editor2-last=Robinson |publisher=Channel View Publications |year=2006 |location=Buffalo, New York |pages=216–19 |isbn=978-1-84541-048-3}}

File:Dallas Krampus Walk 2016.jpg

North American Krampus celebrations are a growing phenomenon.{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/12/10/143485735/naughty-or-nice-krampus-horror-for-the-holidays |publisher=National Public Radio |last=Crimmins |first=Peter |title=Horror for the Holidays: Meet the Anti-Santa |date=10 December 2011}}

Similar figures are recorded in neighboring areas. {{lang|bar|Strohbart}} in Bavaria, {{lang|bar|Klaubauf(mann)}} in Austria and Bavaria, while {{lang|bar|Bartl}} or {{lang|bar|Bartel}}, {{lang|bar|Niglobartl}}, and {{lang|bar|Wubartl}} are used in the southern part of the country. Other names include {{lang|de|Barrel}} or {{lang|de|Bartholomeus}} (Styria), {{lang|gsw|Schmutzli}} (German-speaking Switzerland), {{lang|de|Pöpel}} or {{lang|de|Hüllepöpel}} (Würzburg), {{lang|cs|Zember}} (Cheb), {{lang|swg|Belzmärte}} and {{lang|swg|Pelzmärtel}} (Swabia and Franconia). In most parts of Slovenia, whose culture was greatly affected by Austrian culture, Krampus is called {{lang|sl|parkelj}} and is one of the companions of Miklavž, the Slovenian form of St. Nicholas.{{cite book |last=Miles |first=Clement A. |title=Christmas in ritual and tradition: Christian and Pagan |chapter=VIII |publisher=Bell and Cockburn |year=1912 |location=Toronto |pages=227–29 |chapter-url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/time/crt/crt12.htm#page_219/this, |isbn=978-0-665-81125-8}}

In many parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, Krampus is described as a devil wearing a cloth sack around his waist and chains around his neck, ankles, and wrists. As a part of a tradition, when a child receives a gift from St. Nicholas he is given a golden branch to represent his good deeds throughout the year; however, if the child has misbehaved, Krampus will take the gifts for himself and leave only a silver branch to represent the child's bad acts.{{cite web |url=http://www.index.hr/black/clanak/dobili-ste-sibu-u-cizmici-evo-tko-je-krampus-koji-ju-je-ostavio/860555.aspx |title=Dobili ste šibu u čizmici? Evo tko je Krampus koji ju je ostavio |language=hr |trans-title=Got a kick in the boot? This is who the Krampus who left her is |website=Index.hr |date=6 December 2015 |access-date=14 December 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hrvatskarijec.rs/vest/A2755/Sve%C2%ADti-Ni%C2%ADko%C2%ADla-%E2%80%93-Mi%C2%ADku%C2%ADlas/ |title=Sveti Nikola – Mikulaš |language=hr |trans-title=Saint Nicholas - Mikulas |website=www.hrvatskarijec.rs |access-date=14 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131735/http://www.hrvatskarijec.rs/vest/A2755/Sve%C2%ADti-Ni%C2%ADko%C2%ADla-%E2%80%93-Mi%C2%ADku%C2%ADlas/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.24sata.hr/lifestyle/krampus-nije-bas-tako-los-kao-sto-se-cini-on-samo-opominje-395670 |title=Krampus nije baš tako loš kao što se čini, on samo opominje |language=hr |trans-title=Krampus isn't as bad as he seems, he just warns |website=www.24sata.hr|date=6 December 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.liburnija.net/foto-sveti-nikola-i-krampus-stigli-su-morem-i-nagradili-dobru-djecu-ika/ |title=FOTO: Sveti Nikola i Krampus stigli su morem i nagradili dobru djecu |language=hr |trans-title=PHOTO: Saint Nicholas and Krampus arrived by sea and rewarded good children |website=Liburnija.net |date=26 November 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}}

{{further|Krampus in popular culture}}

The character of Krampus has been imported and modified for various North American media,{{cite web |title=Joines & Kotz's "Krampus!" Terrorizes Christmas at Image |url=https://www.cbr.com/joines-kotzs-krampus-terrorizes-christmas-at-image/ |website=Comic Book Resources |access-date=21 December 2014 |date=19 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126163812/https://www.cbr.com/joines-kotzs-krampus-terrorizes-christmas-at-image/ |archive-date=26 January 2021}} including print (e.g., Krampus: The Devil of Christmas, a collection of vintage postcards by Monte Beauchamp in 2004;{{Cite web |url=https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/krampus-is-coming-to-town/ |title=You'd Better Watch Out: Krampus Is Coming to Town |last=Hix |first=Lisa |date=11 December 2012 |website=Collectors Weekly |access-date=4 December 2018}} Krampus: The Yule Lord, a 2012 novel by Gerald Brom{{cite web |url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/05/prepub/fiction-previews/fiction-previews-november-2012-pt-1-mccall-smith-mayle-munro-and-more/ |title=Fiction Previews, November 2012, Pt. 1: McCall Smith, Mayle, Munro, and More |first=Barbara |last=Hoffert |date=3 May 2012 |website=Library Journal |access-date=21 December 2014 |archive-date=29 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629225725/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/05/prepub/fiction-previews/fiction-previews-november-2012-pt-1-mccall-smith-mayle-munro-and-more/ |url-status=dead }}), Krampus, a comic book series from Image Comics in 2013 created by Dean Kotz and Brian Joines, television – both live action ("A Krampus Carol", a 2012 episode of The League) and animation ("A Very Venture Christmas", a 2004 episode of The Venture Bros.; "Minstrel Krampus", a 2013 episode of American Dad!{{cite web |last1=McFarland |first1=Kevin |title=American Dad: "Minstrel Krampus" |url=https://www.avclub.com/american-dad-minstrel-krampus-1798179016 |website=The A.V. Club |date=16 December 2013 |access-date=5 September 2020}}), video games (CarnEvil, a 1998 arcade game;{{cite web |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/12-games-where-you-beat-everloving-cheer-out-santa-claus/ |title=12 games where you beat the everloving cheer out of Santa Claus |first1=Ashley |last1=Reed |first2=David |last2=Houghton |date=19 December 2014 |website=GamesRadar |access-date=21 December 2014}} The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, a 2014 video game{{cite web |url=http://bindingofisaacrebirth.gamepedia.com/Krampus |title=Krampus – Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Wiki |date=18 November 2016 |access-date=5 December 2016}}), and films (Krampus, a 2015 Christmas comedy horror film from Universal Pictures,{{cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |author-link=Dave McNary |date=4 December 2015 |title=Box Office: Christmas Horror-Comedy 'Krampus' Jingles its Way to $16 Million |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/box-office-krampus-mockingjay-good-dinosaur-creed-1201653946/ |access-date=14 December 2015 |website=Variety}} and Red One, a 2024 Christmas action adventure comedy film from Seven Bucks Productions and Amazon Studios).{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2021-06-28 |title=Dwayne Johnson & Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Developing ‘Red One’ With Amazon Studios |url=https://deadline.com/2021/06/dwayne-johnson-dany-garcia-seven-bucks-amazon-movie-red-one-1234782819/ |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}

Anisocentropus krampus, a species of caddisfly.

Austrosphecodes krampus, a species of sweat bee.{{Cite web |title= Austrosphecodes krampus Gonçalves & Pereira, 2022 |url= https://www.gbif.org/species/195350135 |access-date=2024-12-27 |publisher= Global Biodiversity Information Facility}}

Microbacterium phage Krampus (Krampusvirus krampus).{{cite web |title= Microbacterium phage Krampus |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=2201435 |access-date=2024-12-27 |publisher= National Center for Biotechnology Information}}

Protomelas krampus, a freshwater actinopterygian fish, is named after Krampus.{{cite journal|author=Dierickx K., Snoeks J.|date=2020|title=Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae)|url=https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/999/2369|journal=European Journal of Taxonomy|issue=672|doi=10.5852/ejt.2020.672|s2cid=225649985 |archive-date=2022-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804170100/https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/999/2369|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}

File:1911 circa anonymer Künstler Wiener Werkstätte Postkarte No. 542, Krampus mit Kind.jpg|{{lang|de|Krampus mit Kind}} ("Krampus with a child") postcard from around 1911

File:Nikolaus krampus.jpg|Krampus and Saint Nicholas visit a Viennese home in 1896

File:Nikolaus und Krampus.jpg|Nikolaus and Krampus in Austria in the early 20th century

File:Međimurski fašnjak 2015. - Svetomartinski krampus.jpg|A Straggele costume from Sveti Martin na Muri, northern Croatia, at a local carnival in Čakovec (2015)

File:DC Krampus.jpg|A man in a Straggele costume at the Washington, D.C. Krampusnacht walk (2016)

File:Masopust držíme 31.jpg|A Saint Nicholas procession with Krampus and other characters, c. 1910

File:KrampusWeissbach.jpg|Saint Nikolaus with 12 Straggele in Berchtesgadener Land, Germany (2016)

File:Kramupus a Sesto 03.jpg|Straggele In Sexten, Italy (2016)

File:Krampus at Perchtenlauf Klagenfurt.jpg|A modern Perchten at the Perchtenlauf in Klagenfurt (2006)

File:Krampus Toblach.jpg|Straggele in Toblach, Italy (2006)

{{Portal|Christianity|Holidays|Mythology}}

• {{annotated link|Belsnickel}}, another West Germanic figure associated with the midwinter period
• {{annotated link|Ded Moroz}}
• {{annotated link|Germanic paganism}}
• Goatman – a malevolent figure in urban folklore originating in the Southern United States, such as Maryland
• {{annotated link|Green Man}}
• {{annotated link|Holly King and Oak King}}
• {{annotated link|Kallikantzaros}} and creature in Balkan folklore
• {{annotated link|Knecht Ruprecht}}
• {{annotated link|Koliada}}, where participants wear masks and costumes and run around
• {{annotated link|Kurentovanje}}
• {{annotated link|Mari Lwyd}}
• {{annotated link|Namahage}}
• {{annotated link|Nataska}}, an ogre Kachina who enforces good behavior from children during winter ceremonies
• {{annotated link|Nuuttipukki}} and a creature in Finnish folklore
• {{annotated link|Perchta}}, a female figure in West Germanic folklore whose procession ({{lang|de|Perchtenlauf}}) occurs during the midwinter period
• {{annotated link|Pre-Christian Alpine traditions}}
• {{annotated link|Silvesterklaus}}, a Swiss New Year's Eve celebration featuring a musical procession of performers in grotesque costumes
• {{annotated link|Sinterklaas}}, celebrated in the Low Countries on 5 or 6 December. He has a companion called Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who used to punish bad children with a "roe" and kidnap them in bags to take to Spain, but nowadays they are just as friendly as {{lang|nl|Sinterklaas}} ("de Sint"), and give presents and sweets to all children.
• {{annotated link|Turoń}}
• {{annotated link|Wendigo}}
• {{annotated link|Wild man}}
• {{annotated link|Yule goat}}, associated with the midwinter period among the North Germanic peoples

• {{annotated link|Bogeyman}}
• Demon
• Horned deity
• Kukeri

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Ridenour |first=Al |title=The Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil |publisher=Feral House |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-62731-034-5 |location=Port Townsend, WA}}

{{Commons category|Krampus}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Krampus-article.ogg|date=23 November 2015}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170620091119/http://www.viennareview.net/on-the-town/city-life/out-and-about/trailing-the-krampus Roncero, Miguel. "Trailing the Krampus", Vienna Review, 2 December 2013]

{{Christmas|state=collapsed}}

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